Yang Mi plays the lead role as the pretty Luo Qingchuan, who travels back in time to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), in the popular TV series Palace. Photos provided to China Daily

Actor-singers are not a new phenomenon, but what is new is that fierce competition is forcing more young stars, with indifferent skills, to release albums to stay in the limelight. Chen Nan reports.

Actress Yang Mi has finally signed up with a record company, Show City Times, to produce an album, capping a long career in singing. Over the past year, she has partnered popular mainland singers such as Zhang Liangying (Jane Zhang) at New Year galas across the country.

She has also sung the theme song of popular TV series Palace, which brought her overnight fame.

In the horror film, Mysterious Island, which grossed more than 90 million yuan ($14 million) in the mainland, Yang is not just the lead actress, but also the singer. Her two singles, Love of Support and Summer in Love, have topped local new song charts and are highly rated online.

Show City Times, founded by former Super Girl winner Zhang Liangying, comes under the China branch of Universal Music Group (UMG), which has signed on such stars as Mariah Carey, Akon and Bjork.

The actress, who began acting at the age of 4, played a minor role in King of Beggars in 1992, which starred Stephen Chow in the lead. The slim, big-eyed girl then went on to study at Beijing Film Academy.

She had starred in five movies and nine TV series before she rose to fame with her role in the 2006 TV series, The Return of the Condor Heroes, as the lovely and kind Guo Xiang.

Her popularity soared after she played Luo Qingchuan, a simple girl who travels through time and ends up in the Forbidden City during the reign of Kangxi Emperor, in the TV series Palace. The popular series was first shown on Hunan TV.

The actress' foray into music began with singing for a 3D online computer game in 2010. She then started seeking out more singing opportunities.

"As an actress, I want to evolve and I was craving to find a new voice," she says.

"Singing is my hobby and acting is my job. I love them both," says Huang Xiaoming, who has released his latest single Heart after the last album in 2009.

"Singing is my hobby and acting is my job. I love them both," says Huang Xiaoming, who has released his latest single Heart after the last album in 2009.

Yang's screen image built up by her agent company is that of a neighborhood girl. Her songs too evoke her teen idol image.

"My voice is soft and thin. I never thought that I could sing, but gradually I grew to love my voice," she says.

Yang says it's not easy for someone to be successful both as an actor and singer. "I just hope that I won't let my fans down."

Finding the right producers and songwriters are crucial and also challenging, says Feng Ke, CEO of Show City Times. The label has invited Hong Kong veteran singer Eason Chan and songwriter Lin Xi to write songs for Yang.

"She has a stable and big fan base in the mainland, especially among young people. Fans want to know everything about her, on and off the screen. We are confident of connecting to fans, whatever be the medium," Feng says.

But singer-actors are not a new phenomenon, especially in the showbiz scene of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Andy Lau, one of the most successful singer-actors, has been in the industry for almost 30 years. Tony Leung, who won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival, has also released 12 albums, some of which have topped the music charts in Hong Kong.

Mainland actors such as Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun and Chen Kun also have released albums, although their focus remains movies and TV series.

Actress Zhang Ziyi also sang at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala in 2008 after her rising to international prominence with movies directed by the likes of Zhang Yimou.

But the fierce competition in showbiz today is forcing more young stars to become singer-actors.

Like Yang, 24-year-old actress Li Sheng, who plays Little Swallow in the new Princess Pearl, a remake of the 1997 hit TV series Princess Pearl that starred actress Zhao Wei, has also signed up with a record company - Rock Record, a Taiwanese label founded in 1980.

But criticisms of wannabe singer-actors abound. Critics slam not only their singing abilities but even their acting. Li's performance in the TV series Princess Pearl is a case in point.

Huang Xiaoming, who has starred in The Message by director Feng Xiaogang and Ip Man 2 by director Wilson Yip, also received flak when he sang.

But he says, "I don't care about those reviews. Singing is my hobby and acting is my job. I love them both."

Huang has released his latest single Heart, after the last album in 2009. "Singing is another way of communicating with my fans so I won't give it up, although people say the music market is down."

Despite the bad reviews, actors take the risk of singing and release albums because music offers them a new platform to not just grab a share of the spotlight, but also make more money, according to Liu Jiang, who has worked with several Beijing-based indie music labels.

"Young entertainers nowadays do not want to restrict themselves to one field but want to diversify their careers into fashion, TV hosting, singing, acting and even writing. Record companies see their market potential and are eager to tap it. It's a good deal," he says.

As for the fans, Liu says, they are happy to discover their idols are multi-dimensional.

"It's always easy for an actor to start singing. We'll wait to see how far she or he can go. There are many new faces popping up on the scene and everyone wants to be a star. But only genuine talent will last, not just a pretty face or tabloid hype," he says.