Thai teen reminds fans of Teresa Teng

Vanatsaya Viseskul, the Thai teenage singer [Photo provided to China Daily]

Vanatsaya Viseskul, a sweet-voiced, round-faced 16-year-old Thai singer, whose name, at the moment, is inextricably linked with the late Teresa Teng, a singer from Taiwan whose love songs gained her wide fame across Asia, sat on a chair in a dressing room of a theater in Beijing.

Viseskul was preparing for her performance at a gala by China Oriental Performing Arts Group, one of the country's most prestigious performing art groups which has official endorsement.

Titled Oriental Love, the gala, which was staged from Dec 14 to 17 at Mei Lanfang Grand Theater, showcases music and dances from more than 10 countries. Viseskul, representing Thailand, performed The Moon Represents My Heart, one of Teng's most famous ballads, which is also one of the favorite songs of the young Thai singer.

It is Viseskul's first public performance after participating in the popular reality TV show, the fourth season of The Voice of China, which was aired by Zhejiang Satellite TV from May to October this year.

During the show, she performed Teng's popular hits. Thanks to her voice, singing style as well as her image, which resembles the legendary Teng, Viseskul gained overnight fame, though she didn't win the competition.

Life did become different after the reality show.

With nearly 100,000 followers on her Sina Weibo account, Viseskul was recognized by the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for her contribution to promoting a positive image of Thailand in China at the competition.

Visesku talks slowly and softly in fluent Chinese. It's easy to forget that she is just 16 because of her smile and calmness on and off the stage.

Born in a small village of Kamphaeng Phet, Viseskul was fond of singing from the time she was 3. At 7, she listened to Teng's songs for the first time after her parents traveled back from Hong Kong, bringing home the CDs of the singer.

"The moment I listened to her songs, I felt so familiar. Though I couldn't speak any Chinese, I learned the songs fast. Since then, I hoped to visit China and become a singer," she says.

She adds that she likes Chinese songs, especially from the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2014, Viseskul was admitted into the affiliated high school of China Conservatory. Now, she is studying at an international school in Beijing, focusing on learning Chinese. She also has other plans, such as furthering her studies in Japan or South Korea.