Valen Hsu, also known as Xiu Xiu (琇琇), (traditional Chinese: 許茹芸; simplified Chinese: 许茹芸; pinyin: Xǔ Rúyún) was born on 20 September 1974 in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. She is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter. Hsu is widely known for her ballads which have earned her the nickname The Queen of Love Songs. Her songs are mostly sung in Mandarin Chinese and some in Cantonese. A classically trained pianist, she started playing the piano when she was 4. While she was attending high school in 1993, she was discovered while performing in a restaurant in Taipei, where many known pop artists began their careers. She was offered a contract with Taiwan’s What’s Music Record label and began work on her first commercial album, all before the age of 19. Valen Hsu is known for her vocals, which are wispy yet strong and crystal-clear. Her singing voice and technique have been compared to Hong Kong's Faye Wong. In 1998, the Japanese magazine publication Asia Pop voted her as the best female pop vocalist in Asia. She has been known to deliver CD-quality live performances. Occasionally, she will play the piano while singing live at her concerts. In 1999, after the sale of What’s Music to Universal Records (Taiwan), she recorded a duet with Enrique Iglesias entitled You’re My No. 1, released on Enrique’s Asian version of his Enrique album.