Dropped by music label Universal, Hong Kong singer Jace Chan is making it on her own and loving the freedom. ‘Welcome to my new world,’ she says

Jace Chan’s career had a meteoric rise during the Covid-19 pandemic, but at the beginning of 2023 she was dropped by her label, Universal Music

For the past 10 months, she has been focusing on herself, soul-searching and writing. The result is a new EP – ‘This sounds like you, finally,’ friends told her

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Jace Chan at her “Unbordered” concert in December 2021 in Hong Kong. Chan was shelved by her label Universal Music at the beginning of 2023. For the past 10 months, she has been focusing on herself and writing. Photo: courtesy of Jace Chan

Mabel Lui

Published: 7:15am, 30 Nov 2023Updated: 7:51am, 30 Nov 2023

For the better part of the past year, singer Jace Chan Hoi-wing has been absent from the Hong Kong entertainment scene.

Although the singer’s career seemed to be on an upwards trajectory following her meteoric rise during the Covid-19 pandemic – her notable songs include “Quarantine” and “I Wish” – Chan was shelved by her label, Universal Music, at the beginning of 2023, with conflicting values cited as the reason for the split.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” Chan says. “It’s been very much a confusing process. But the one thing that I know [now] is that I do want to do everything by myself. I want to take full control of what I can do, I want to learn, I want to experience more.”

It was Universal that first discovered the artist. After graduating from Hong Kong Baptist University, Chan worked as an anchor for the label’s UM Webzine, dabbled as a dance teacher and was a stylist for the Hong Kong singing competition series King Maker.

Chan performing at her “Unbordered” concert in December 2021 at Star Hall in Kowloon Bay. Photo: courtesy of Jace Chan

Eventually she began performing with Hong Kong band Dusty Bottle, which led to Universal signing Chan as an artist in 2018.