Tia Ray (simplified Chinese: 袁娅维; traditional Chinese: 袁婭維; pinyin: Yuán Yàwéi; born 12 December) is a Chinese singer-songwriter from Hunan, China. She rose to fame in 2012 as a contestant on the televised singing competition The Voice of China, where she finished as one of the final contenders. She has since released four commercially successful albums, all of which she co-wrote and co-produced.
Prior to breaking into the mainstream, Ray has spent close to a decade performing in smaller venues, music festivals and collaborating with musicians in Beijing, where she pursued her studies of performing arts. In 2010, she formed her jazz band The Knutz with Chinese and African American musicians, with whom she wrote, recorded and performed mainly R&B and neo soul music.
Ray had her international breakthrough in 2018 with the hit Be Apart, which generated 1.8 billion streams and was the seventh bestselling single in the world that year. She has since collaborated with various artists from the United States, including Kehlani, Jason Derulo, Gallant and Far East Movement, blending Chinese elements with traditionally Western music styles. Domestically, she has worked with singer-rapper Jackson Wang from the K-pop group GOT7 and Masiwei from Chengdu rap group Higher Brothers.
Ray's popularity in Taiwan and Chinese-speaking communities has grown over the years. In 2021, she released her fourth studio album Once Upon A Moon and received the “Most Popular Female Singer of the Year” award from state-broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).
Life and career
Ray was born and raised in the town of Huai Hua, in the southwest province of Hunan. Ray's interest in music began at a young age, after being introduced by her friend to American singer Mariah Carey. In Grade 7, she won her first award in singing at a school competition. A few years later, she left her hometown for Beijing in pursuit of performing arts studies.
2000 - 2010: Career beginnings
Inspired by neo soul artists like India Arie, Stevie Wonder, Eryka Badu and Jill Scott, Ray formed her first band Soulside with fellow young musicians in Beijing. Soulside focused on R&B and soul music, which were niche genres in the local live music scene, occupied largely by old-school rock and jazz musicians. The band gained a following through live-house and festival performances.
In 2010, Ray started her second band The Knutz. They continued to play at emerging venues and record original music.
2012 - 2014: The Voice of China; release of debut album T.I.A. Ray's mainstream breakthrough came in 2012, when she joined the televised singing competition The Voice of China. Her blues-infused rendition of the Chinese folk classic The Curvy Moon (弯弯的月亮) received critical acclaim from the judges. She signed with Gold Typhoon Group, one of China's largest independent music companies before being acquired by Warner Music Group in 2014, and released her debut album T.I.A., writing or co-writing all songs, including the hits Lost In Traveling and Love Can Fly.
2017 - 2018: Breakthrough hit; TIARA
In 2017, Ray recorded Be Apart for the soundtrack of the movie The Ex-File: The Return of the Exes, which became her biggest hit and the seventh highest-selling song on IFPI's Global Singles chart. The following year, she released her sophomore album TIARA and kicked off her first solo concert tour. She collaborated with R&B singer Kehlani on Just My Luck, Jackson Wang on Lucky Rain and Will Pan on his single Moonlight.
2019: International collaborations; 1212
In 2019, Ray released an EP titled 1212, written, produced and recorded mainly in Los Angeles, where she worked with local musicians including The Rascals, frequent collaborator of Ariana Grande, Kehlani and Babyface, whom she met in one of the studio sessions.
During her stay in the city, she also collaborated with hip-hop group Far East Movement on "Paint the Clouds", Gallant on "Trust Myself," and Jason Derulo on "Champion", the theme song of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
2020 - Present: Beijing Winter Olympics theme song; release of ONCE UPON A MOON
In 2020, Ray released Starfall featuring electronic group HOYO-MiX, the theme song of Chinese video game Honkai Impact 3rd.
She recorded the original version of the Beijing Winter Olympics theme song Together for a Shared Future with Hong Kong singer William Chan, which developed into a final version featuring over 200 artists.