Shiga Lin
連詩雅
Lin at the Jade Solid Gold Awards in 2019
Pronunciation	Lin Si-nga
Born	(1988-06-29) June 29, 1988 (age 35) British Hong Kong
Other names	Taguchi Shiga
Citizenship	Japan
Occupations	Singer actress
Years active	2010 - present
Agent	StarzPeople
Spouse	Carlos Chan ​ (m. 2023)​
Musical career
Origin	Hong Kong
Genres	Cantopop Mandopop
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Labels	Warner Music HK HMV Music Voice Entertainment
Website	Official Instagram
Musical artist
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	連詩雅
Simplified Chinese	连诗雅
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lin4 Si1-ngaa5
Japanese name
Kanji	田口 詩雅
Kana	たぐち しが
Transcriptions Romanization Taguchi Shiga

Shiga Taguchi,^[A] better known as Shiga Lin Si-nga^[B] (born 29 June 1988), is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. As a singer, she is known for songs including "I'm Still Loving You" (2011) and "The End" (2012). As an actress, she is known for her performances in the film Lan Kwai Fong (2011) and television drama Life After Death (2020).

Life and career

1988–2010: Early life

Shiga Lin was born on 29 June 1988 in Hong Kong as the only child in her family.^[1][2] While her parents are from Hong Kong, her mother had acquired naturalised Japanese citizenship after studying and living in Japan. As a result, Lin became a Japanese citizen by birthright.^[2][3] Her family resided in Kowloon Tong where her father worked as a businessman, and her mother served as a translator at the Canadian Consulate General.^[4] During her childhood, Lin witnessed her parents' unhappy marriage, which left lasting scars. She later recalled that she often experienced solitude and longed for "the warmth feeling of a complete family".^[2][5] She attended King George V International School.^[2][6] Lin became interested in singing early and named Christina Aguilera and Sammi Cheng as her inspirations.^[7] As a child, Lin participated in ETV's English-spoken educational programmes.^[8]

At the age of 16, Lin moved to Hong Kong Island with her mother after her parents' divorce and eventually lost contact with her father.^[4][5] She then transferred to West Island International School. Initially feeling misplaced, she gradually adapted to her new living environment and took on various jobs to become financially independent and support her mother. However, struggling to cope with the changes in her life, Lin started sneaking into nightclubs despite being underage, using partying, drinking, and smoking as a way to cope with her grief.^[4] In later interviews, she regretted and referred to her action as "ignorant" and a "waste of time".^[4][9] In 2007, before her official debut, Lin took part in the ATV's youth drama Teen Waves.^[10]

2010–2016: Career beginnings and early works

In July 2010, Lin made her official debut as a singer with the release of her debut song "Earl Grey" (灰伯爵的忌廉遐想). She signed with the record label Warner Music Hong Kong.^[11] Initially projecting a bright image, Lin soon embraced a bolder and more sexually provocative persona through her first film role in Lan Kwai Fong (2011). Set in the famous Hong Kong nightlife district, the theme explored the topic of sex, love, and temptation. Although hesitant at first due to the daring subject matter, she saw it as a good acting opportunity. The film received decent box office results, and Lin received a "Best New Actress" nomination at the 31st Hong Kong Film Awards.^[12][13] Lin also sang the film’s theme song "I’m Still Loving You", for which she penned its English lyrics.^[14] The song became popular and was listed among "Top Ten Best-selling Digital Songs" at the 2012 IFPI Hong Kong Record Sales Awards.^[15]

Lin followed up with the second film installment, Lan Kwai Fong 2 (2012), which shared a similar theme.^[16] On the music front, she released her single "The End" (到此為止, 2012) which has arguably became her most well-known hit to date.^[17][18] Lin shared her personal story in the song, writing a love letter in English to an ex-boyfriend that was later translated into Cantonese by a lyricist as the official lyrics. Lin told in an interview it took singing the song about "a hundred times" before she could finally "let go of that relationship".^[19] It was honoured "Top Ten Chinese Golden Medley" at the 35th RTHK's Top Ten Chinese Songs Music Awards^[20] and "Best New Song" at 2012 Metro Radio Music Awards.^[21] Lin then released "Movin' On" (好好過, 2012) as her next single, signaling a transition from the old love, and in her own words, to "get on with my life".^[22] That same year, however, she was embroiled in a photo scandal in which kissing images between a 16-year-old Lin and her then-boyfriend were exposed.^[9] Continued to be plagued with other negative press, Lin endured a "bad girl" image for some time in the public’s eye.^[23]

In the following years, Lin appeared in several films but struggles to find success in her acting career. On the music front, her song "Once Said" (說一句) was recognized as one of the "Top Ten Best Songs" at 2013 Ultimate Song Chart Awards.^[24] In 2014, "Gotta Be With You" (只要和你在一起) won the award for "Top Ten Digital Best-selling songs" at 2014 IFPI Hong Kong Record Sales Awards.^[25] The following year, her song "Old Street Corner" (舊街角, 2015) was honoured as one of the "Best Songs" at 2016 Metro Radio Music Awards, among others.^[26] In 2016, Lin held her first ticketed solo concert titled "Shiga vs. Shiga Live".^[27] During the same year, she formed the female band Dear John with fellow Warner Music Hong Kong artists Janice Vidal, Jill Vidal, and JUDE as a spin-off of the male band Dear Jane. However, due to Lin's departure from Warner Music Hong Kong a year later, the group was short-lived and only released three singles.^[28][29]

2017–present: Life after Death

In 2017, a contractual infringement dispute arose between Warner Music Hong Kong and her management agency StarzPeople.^[30] Consequently, Lin briefly switched to HMV Music before ultimately signing with The Voice Entertainment in December 2018.^[31][32] In 2019, her single "Walk Alone" (孤身走) was among the "Top Ten Most Streamed Songs" of the year on the Joox music streaming platform.^[33] At The Voice, Lin’s public image began to take a positive turn as she participated in television programmes at its parents company, television network TVB, showing a previously unseen side of her personality.^[23][34] In 2020, she landed her first major television drama role in Life After Death (2020), portraying an obstetrician with an estranged relationship with her older sister, played by Priscilla Wong.^[35] Her performance was warmly received.^[34][36] Lin also lent her voice to the drama's opening theme song “Little Lies” (小謊言, 2020), which was recognized among Top 3 best television theme songs of the year at the 53rd TVB Anniversary Awards.^[37][38]

In 2021, Lin's starring role in the musical micro-film A Hundred Miles Song, where she portrayed a murderer, earned her a Bronze Acting Award from the Hong Kong MicroFilm Association.^[39] The film also received a nomination at the 2021 Rising Sun International Film Festival.^[40] Lin continued having several other supporting roles in TV dramas including Line Walker: Bull Fight (2020), Murder Diary (2021), Barrack O'Karma 1968 (2022), In the Storm (2022), and Forensic Heroes V (2022).

Personal life

Lin and fellow singer-actor Pakho Chau formed a lasting friendship and collaborated on multiple music and film projects.^[41] Additionally, she developed a close bond with Priscilla Wong and Yoyo Chen after working together on the TV series Life After Death (2020).^[42] Lin and actor Carlos Chan met on the set of TVB's variety show 12 Summers (2019). They dated sometime later and were married in 2023.^[43]

Discography

Most songs were released individually through digital mediums before being compiled into the following EPs:

• Moment (2010)^[44]
• Movin' On (2012)^[45]
• Once Said (2014)^[46]
• iTunes Session (2014)^[47]
• 大了一歲 (One Year Older) (2015)^[48]
• Another Me (2017)^[49]