Tata Young
Amita Marie Young (born Su Min Ta Marie Young, Thai: อมิตา มารี ยัง Amita Marie Yang, December 14, 1980), better known under her stage name Tata Young, is a Thai singer, model actress and dancer.
She gained prominence when she placed first in a national singing contest at age 11, subsequently signing a record deal and releasing her first album Su Min Ta Tata Young in 1997. Within five months, the album had sold over one million copies. Since then, Young has released eight other studio albums, three in English rather than Thai. Her most recent album is the English Ready for Love, released in 2009.
In addition to her music career, Young has acted in several television dramas and movies. She is regarded as one of the most successful Thai musicians of all time.
Tata Young
Tata Young
Tata Young
Tata Young
1994-1995: Thai breakthrough
Young was born to an American father, Tim Young, and a Thai mother, Bunchorn Young Thai: บัญชร ยัง,[1].[2] She started singing and dancing at an early age.
At age 11, Tata was chosen from 5,300 other children to be crowned winner of the international division of the nationwide Thailand Junior Singing Contest with her performance of "One Night Only". The victory earned her a contract with Yamaha Music, which started her in the entertainment business. In 1994, the 14-year-old caught the eye of A&R executives from GMM Grammy, Thailand 's biggest entertainment conglomerate, who offered her a recording contract. She soon released her debut Thai-language album Amita Tata Young which topped Thai charts and sold more than 1 million copies in less than five months. In celebration of her debut album's sales, a special compilation album was released. The album, titled Tata 1,000,000 Copies Celebration, spawned the hit single Chan Rak Thur (English: I Love You), which sold over one million units as well.
For her first year in the business, she collected a string of awards and accolades, included "Entertainer of the Year" by the Bangkok Press, as well as "Best Recording Artist for 1995", an award for "Music Video of the Year", awards for #1 and #2 "Single of the Year", and "Album of the Year" for Amita Tata Young at the Radio Vote Awards in Thailand.
[edit]International stardom: 1996-1997
She was chosen to represent Thailand for the Australian television program World Telly Broadcast, which was broadcast in February 1996. The program was seen by audiences in Australia and throughout Southeast Asia .
In April 1996, Tata held her "Tata Live in Hollywood Concert" at the Hollywood Palladium.
She was selected by the Chinese government to represent Thailand at a concert held on July 5, 1997 to mark the Hong Kong handover from Great Britain to China. She performed alongside such international acts such as Wet Wet Wet, Michael Learns to Rock, Lisa Stansfield, All-4-One and Brand New Heavies.
In 1997, Tata became the youngest entertainer ever to receive the coveted "Golden Pikkanes God Award", presented by the Musical Artist Association of Thailand under the patronage of the King of Thailand. Following the presentation of the award, she performed a private concert for His Majesty at his summer palace in Chiang Mai.
She formed the Tata Young Fan Club in 1997 under the auspices of her company, Tata Entertainment, to promote the Thai children's charity, the Human Development Foundation, to her fans.
Recently, she was signed by the Los Angeles-based agency, McGhee Entertainment, which has managed such artists as Bon Jovi, Tee Jaconson, Liz Phair and Diana Rose.
Film, television and beyond: 1997-2003
Tata has also had a modeling and acting career.
She made her film debut in 1997 in the youth drama 'The Red Bike Story, which broke records for audience-attendance for the Thai film industry. Her debut earned her the "Best Actress Award (Thailand)" presented at the Fourth Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards 1997. She followed that up with two other hit films, O-Negative and Plai Tien.
In 2001, she launched a self-titled album under her new record company TERO Records. The album was an instant hit. Almost all of the album's songs, including "Shot:, "A-bo-da-be", "Tua Saeb", "Wan Jai" and "Keb Chan Wai Yuen Khang Thoe Tham Mai" climbed to the top of the music charts.
In 2003 Tata released her second album with Tero Records called Real TT. She co-produced the album, co-wrote the songs and laid out the concepts. Hits included "Super Fan" and "Yak Keb Thoe Wai Thang Song Khon".
In 2008, Young had one of her singles (Come Rain, Come Shine) featured in the made-for-Wii Dance Dance Revolution game, Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2.
Asian star: 2004-2007
In 2004, Tata released her English-language debut album, I Believe on Columbia Records.
The first single taken from the album was "Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy", which was controversial in Thailand. In Malaysia, she had to change the name of the tune to "Sexy, Naughty, Cheeky". Further single releases from the album included 'I Believe' and 'Cinderella'
She expanded her reach to India, recording the song, Dhoom Dhoom, for the soundtrack to a Bollywood movie, Dhoom. Dhoom, whose OST album sold over 800,000 units in India, was a phenomenal success for a soundtrack. Later, she embarked on her Dhoom Dhoom tour.
In Taiwan, Tata became the first Thai artist to be invited to perform at the Golden Melody Awards – Taiwan's equivalent of the Grammy Awards. In Hong Kong, China and Japan, "Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy" and "I Believe" climbed to the top of the charts.
Her second English-language album, Temperature Rising was released in August 2006; its first single was "El Nin-YO!". The album includes songs composed by Diane Warren, Paul McCartney and Natasha Bedingfield.
In 2007, she recorded her single "Zoom" in Simlish for the top-selling PC game The Sims 2: Seasons.
Tata has also lent her voice to humanitarian causes, including the AIDS program of Father Joe Maier's Human Development Foundation and MTV's Exit campaign to end human trafficking.[3][4]
In early 2008, Tata Young released her sixth Thai album. The headline single "One Love" was released on Valentine's Day.
Health and professional struggles: 2008-present
Young had been working on her third studio English album since 2008 in Berlin, Germany, working with Sony BMG Europe. Demo tracks of four new songs from the album surfaced on the internet in early 2009' 'Ready for Love' and 'Suffocate'. She hired Korean stylists to direct her image for the new album. The first single, Ready For Love, was released in July 2009 with a Korean directed video. Although "Ready for Love" reached number one in some local radio markets in Indonesia, the single and the album were considered flops in other markets. 'My Bloody Valentine' reached the Indonesian Charts and Tata Young has been credited as the singer with the label Sony BMG. The single was finally released as the album's second single. Tata announced a promotional tour in Australia and Europe, which did not take place. Her third single, "Mission is You", was later released with video footage from the opening of the album but no additional film, raising questions about the situation between her and her label. In 2010, Tata changed her image again and participated in a concert contributing to Michael Jackson.
In 2007, Young developed hypothyroidism, treatment for which caused her to gain weight and went through a notable image change, also dying her trademark red hair black.
Personal life
The Thai media has covered Young's career. In 2003, she was thought to be in a relationship with tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan, but reportedly ended the romance after Srichaphan's father's disapproved of her.
Young started dating Prem Busarakamwong, son of a businessman, in 2005. The couple was reported to have met during charity work in aid of the 2004 tsunami. Young and Busarakamwong announced their engagement in 2007; the engagement was cancelled one year later.
