Tia Ray

Tia Ray, the Chinese vocalist whose style fuses pop with R&B, first drew widespread notice in 2012 through her appearance on the televised contest The Voice of China, after which she issued her debut full-length T.I.A. in 2014. International listeners soon took notice of her work, which has included joint tracks with Kehlani, Jason Derulo, Far East Movement, and additional partners; she followed up with the 2018 album Tiara.

Born in 1984 in the modest settlement of Huai Hua within Hunan’s southwestern region, Ray cultivated an early passion for music and later relocated to Beijing for formal training in the performing arts. Citing Mariah Carey, Jill Scott, and Beyoncé among her key inspirations, she entered the profession in 2004 as a supporting vocalist behind artists such as Jane Zhang and Ma Tianyu. Her profile rose sharply in 2012 via The Voice of China, and the exposure paved the way for the release of T.I.A. In 2017 she returned to competition television on The Singer, while her track “Be Apart” served as the theme for the popular Chinese film The Ex-File: The Return of the Exes. Tiara arrived the next year, and she shared the single “Just My Luck” with Kehlani. In 2019 she issued the EP 1212, contributed guest vocals to Far East Movement’s “Paint the Clouds,” and teamed with Jason Derulo on “Champion,” the designated anthem for that year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup.