Ding Dang

Ding Dang (; born Wu Xian on 17 April 1982), also known as Della, is a Taiwan-based Chinese singer who is known for her wide vocal range and emotive soundtracks for numerous television series. Early life and education Ding Dang was born on 17 April 1982 in Zhejiang. Growing up, her parents divorced. She graduated from the Fourth High School in Jiashan County in 1998. Career 1999–2005: Early career – bar singing and Rock Records In 1999, Ding Dang decided pursue her childhood interest in music, and left for neighbouring cities despite concerns from her parents. She first adopted the stage name, Ding Dang (叮当) taking after her favourite cartoon character Doraemon, the blue robot in the eponymous manga, however the first character of the stage name was changed to a similarly sounding Ding (丁) after taking advice from a fortune teller. She performed in various cabarets in Huzhou, Ningbo, and subsequent was employed in a bar in Hangzhou's World Trade Center as a singer. In March 2003, Della was signed to the Rock Records after executives from the record company heard her sing at the bar. However, due various reasons she did not debut under Rock Records. Initially, she was delayed by a SARS infection during 2002–2004 SARS outbreak in 2003. Then Rock Records had an exodus of employees who were responsible for producing albums, as well as some financial constraints that limited their abilities to take care of every singer under them. Additionally, the Chinese market was getting crowded with new singers minted from popular singing competitions, and thus new singers from record companies had little opportunities to gain a foothold in the market. Ding Dang was unable to participate in the singing competitions due to contractual obligations. With only 1,000 RMB monthly allowance, Ding Dang decided to return to singing at the bar after a discussion with Rock Records.