Still Another Rumor of Millions for Faye Wong’s Return

The Chinese media routinely reports rumors of millions of dollars being offered to Faye Wong (王菲) for a comeback performance either onstage or in a recording. Here’s a recent example, “Faye Wong tipped to return” (CRI 4 May 2008): “Record company Live Nation has reportedly offered a price of HK$ 100m for pop diva Faye Wong to return to the stage, after she faded from the entertainment scene since her marriage 3 years ago. Live Nation boasts such big names as Madonna, who is on a 10-year contract for HK$ 930m, as well as Irish rock band U2, and US hip-hop king Jay-Z.”

These are usually accompanied by comments from Faye’s manager, Katie Chen (Chen Jiaying 陈家瑛) or her friends Carina Lau (Liu Jia Ling 刘嘉玲) and Na Ying (那英), who deny any knowledge of plans to return but express the personal wish that she would. Lately, lyricist extraordinaire Lin Xi (林夕), who’s collaborated with Faye on numerous songs, has been quoted by the media as saying that he wishes Faye would relent and accept the Olympic committee’s invitation to perform in the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Rumors also have the committee offering Faye millions to come out of her semi-retirement to perform. BTW, this photo is from the closing set of Faye’s Hong Kong Scenic Tour 98-99 concert series.