Elva Hsiao (, born 24 August 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, dancer, actress, and businesswoman. Since being signed to a record deal in 1998 after competing in a singing competition, Hsiao had gone on to release fourteen studio albums and has achieved great commercial success within the Chinese pop music industry. Known for her R&B-influenced ballads, the artist's first album, Elva First Album (1999), was considered one of the first to incorporate R&B in the Chinese market. Her most recent album, Naked Truth, was released in 2020. Hsiao was recognized as one of four of the most popular female singers in the Chinese music scene among her contemporaries. As a result, she has also been brand ambassadors to various brand names such as, Motorola, Sprite, De Beers, Avon, Pantene, and Ford. Hsiao was named one of Taiwan's top earning singers in 2014, with more than US$18 million earned. Life and career Hsiao was signed to EMI Virgin Records in 1998, as their first artist, after being scouted from the singing competition New Talent Singing Awards, affiliated with Hong Kong TV channel TVB. She was one of twelve finalists. Singers Jacky Chu and Ruby Lu also competed that year. Hsiao was part of a girl group called Phenomenon initially, but pursued a solo career after her bandmates dropped out. She was studying design in Vancouver, Canada, at John Casablancas Institute, at the time. After signing, Hsiao was managed and groomed by songwriter Yao Chien, who was also the president of Virgin/EMI in Taiwan at the time. Yao would also have a hand in writing for many of Hsiao's albums released under Virgin/EMI. Hsiao's first album was self-titled and was of the pop and R&B genre. The album was released in 1999 and was considered a pioneer for the R&B genre in Chinese-speaking markets. The album was a commercial success, selling a total 800,000 copies in Asia the following year. The success of the album paved the way for her first solo concert in Taipei later in 2000. The single, "Cappuccino", became popular in Chinese karaoke settings. Hsiao was also tapped to record the jingle for the re-branding effort by the Broadcasting Corporation of China in Taiwan. For Hsiao's third album, Tomorrow, Virgin/EMI made a push for the mainland Chinese market, capitalizing on the singer's name recognition in the Taiwanese and Hong Kong music markets. The album included hip hop influences and