Yumiko Cheng is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer. Cheng was given the Japanese nickname "Yumiko" by her friends in secondary school, and upon signing with EEG, adopted it as her official stagename.
Career
Cheng was originally marketed as a member of the group 3T, which released an EP in 2002. She was the sole member of the group who went on to release a solo EP later that year. This was followed by a second EP, DanceDanceDance and her first full-length album One2Three, in 2003. In 2004, she released the album, Perfect Date, though made a decreasing number of media appearances due to health problems and an overall strategy re-evaluation within her company. 2005 saw a return with the lead single 'Arabian Market', complemented by a novel image that featured her in traditional Arabic dress. She would continue covering Middle-Eastern pop hits in subsequent singles such as 'Lupine Girl' in 2006, and 'Five Centuries' in 2008, which became a minor hit in its own right in the Chinese dance charts, and was even mentioned in a report by a major Israeli newspaper. Yumiko's Space, the 2005 album to which 'Arabian Market' belonged, otherwise showed an 80s disco and electronic influence. Veteran music producer Carl Wong took on songwriting and production credits for 6 songs, including that of the second single 'Think'. Electronic pop duoPixelToy also contributed one song, who again appear with songwriting credits on Cheng's 2008 Mandarin album Spectacular Era. Cheng has interviewed in the past that Yumiko's Space remained a personal favourite of all her albums. Aside from a career in pop music, Cheng has starred in several films, including a special guest appearance in Stanley Kwan's 2005 feature, Everlasting Regret. In August 2015, Cheng left Emperor Entertainment Group after 15 years, and has since focused on acting for mainland television dramas as well as developing her clothing label, "Why So Cool".
Wardrobe walfunctions
Cheng dominated the entertainment headlines in December 2006, due to a wardrobe mishap while performing an aerialist stunt for TVB's annual charity show. While being retrieved from mid-air on a trapeze, her trousers were accidentally pulled off by her stunt partner Chin Kar-lok, revealing her underwear. Much to Cheng's embarrassment, the incident garnered a great deal of media attention. The MCEric Tsang later apologised due to public disapproval over a number of remarks made at the time of the incident, including a request for a replay of the accident in slow motion, though other MCs such as Nancy Sit and Lydia Shum were seen to have laughed uncontrollably in the television broadcast. She again made news on 23 June 2007 while performing as a featured guest for New Talent Singing Awards Toronto Audition, where she exposed part of her bare chest. The material was cut from the delayed broadcast in Vancouver. When pressed by Stephen Chen in a 2008 TVB interview to comment on whether or not these incidents were staged, Cheng's manager, Mani Fok remarks: "Every woman has a bottom line."
