Kelvin Tan
| Kelvin Tan | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 陈伟联 (simplified) |
| Pinyin | Chén Wěilián (Mandarin) |
| Birth name | Kelvin Tan Wei Lian |
| Born |
5 October 1981 Singapore |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Genre(s) | Mandopop |
| Label(s) | Play Music (2005-2006) Warner Music (2006-2007) Skyhigh Entertainment Co., Ltd (2009-present) |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Kelvin Tan Wei Lian (陈伟联) is a blind Singaporean Mandopop singer who earned a living as a busker before he won the first edition of Project SuperStar in 2005. He has released three albums, All I Want Is... (2006), i-Weilian (2007) and Moving Notes...Kelvin Tan (2009). Other highlights of his career include a solo concert at the Singapore Expo, leading a choir at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and singing the NDP 2009 theme song.
Born blind due to Leber's congenital amaurosis (which causes the retina to disintegrate), Tan grew up listening to 1980s Mandopop ballads, which inspired him to learn to play the piano and guitar. He studied at the Singapore School for the Visually Handicapped and Dunearn Secondary School. After his O Levels, he worked as a massage therapist and a singer at a café. He also busked at Jurong East and Waterloo Street, playing his guitar and singing Mandopop ballads for two to eight hours per day. According to The New Paper reporter Mindy Tan, his performances drew large crowds (including Malays and Indians), some of whom were so "impressed [by] his music" that they would "sit on the pavement nearby for up to an hour listening to him".
Tan and four blind friends auditioned for the inaugural season of Project SuperStar, but only he was accepted as a contestant. Throughout the competition, there was extensive debate over whether viewers were voting for him out of sympathy and whether a blind man who could not dance deserved the title. Further controversy arose when his home address was posted online and fans offered him sex services. Nevertheless, he emerged as the male champion and entered the grand final against female champion Kelly Poon. The judges gave Poon more favourable reviews, but Tan garnered 64% of the 533,000 telephone votes. Both finalists also released limited edition singles; Tan's cover of 童话 (Fairytale) by Michael Wong sold 12,239 copies, while Poon's cover of 遗失的美好 (Lost Goodness) by Angela Chang sold 11,319 copies. Thus Tan became the grand champion and was awarded a recording contract with Play Music (later acquired by Warner Music).
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