Reverend Ho Yeow Sun (), better known as Sun Ho, is a Singaporean
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
pastor and co-founder of
City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church () or CHC is a pentecostal megachurch located within the Yunnan subzone of Jurong West planning area, Singapore.
Founded in 1989 by Kong Hee, the church officially bases its values on Charismatic and Pentecostal teachin ...
, and former
Mandopop
Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Standard Chinese, Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Ta ...
singer.
Early life
Ho studied at
Anglican High School and
Victoria Junior College
, motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour
, streetaddress = 20 Marine Vista, 449035
, country = Singapore
, coordinates =
, type = Government
, gender ...
. Born in Singapore, she started as a pastor when she was 20 years old with her husband,
Kong Hee
Kong Hee (; born 23 August 1964) is the founder and senior pastor of City Harvest Church.
He was convicted in 2015 of being involved in the City Harvest Church Criminal Breach of Trust Case, Singapore's biggest case in misuse of charitable fu ...
, founding City Harvest Church. Eight years later she moved to
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, where she became a
Mandopop
Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Standard Chinese, Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Ta ...
singer.
Career
Ho is one of the co-founders of
City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church () or CHC is a pentecostal megachurch located within the Yunnan subzone of Jurong West planning area, Singapore.
Founded in 1989 by Kong Hee, the church officially bases its values on Charismatic and Pentecostal teachin ...
and its community services and is married to Kong Hee.
[
] Ho also led
City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church () or CHC is a pentecostal megachurch located within the Yunnan subzone of Jurong West planning area, Singapore.
Founded in 1989 by Kong Hee, the church officially bases its values on Charismatic and Pentecostal teachin ...
's Creative Department from 1992 until late 2000, when she resigned and relocated to
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, where she would do most of her recordings, to pursue her singing career.
[Personal communication from Rev. Derek Dunn, Pastor/Manager- HR, Office & Pastoral Administration Departments, City Harvest Church.] At the beginning of her music career, she faced accusations that her dressing and song lyrics were sexually charged and inappropriate for her religious background, and rumours of her using her church's support to aid in album sales.
After a series of concerts,
she had the opportunity
to further develop her career outside of Singapore, focusing on China, Taiwan and the US.
From 2002 to 2007, Ho, based in Taiwan, released a succession of five Mandarin pop albums through
Warner Music Taiwan
Warner Music Group's labels include the following.
Flagship labels
*Atlantic Records
*Elektra Records
*Parlophone Records
*Warner Records
Atlantic Records Group
* 1st & 15th Entertainment
* All Money In
* Artist Partners Group
* Asylum Re ...
, that have either reached double or triple platinum status.
During this five-year period, Ho worked with composers such as Ma Yufen (马毓芬), the late Ma Zhaojun (马兆骏)
F.I.R.
F.I.R. () is a Taiwanese pop rock band formed in 2004. The band consists of Lydia (lead vocals), Ian Chen (keyboards), and Real Huang (guitar, vocals). Producer Ian Chen formed his own band then recruited the other two members to form F.I.R. The ...
, Milk, Arys Chien (深白色), Lee Wei Song (李伟菘), and Tan Han Jin (陈奂仁). "Lonely Travel" was ranked No. 1 on nine top music charts. Her next album "Gain" released in 2006 reached No. 1 position on 10 top music charts.
In 2007, Ho released "Embrace" which hit No. 1 on 11 top music charts.
Her song, "''Starting Point''", was used as theme song for Singapore TV series "''Turning Point''" based on real-life inspirational stories, of which Ho was the host.
In 2003, Ho broke into Hollywood with her debut American single "''Where Did Love Go''," produced by David Foster and Peter Rafelson. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play "Breakout" Chart in December 2003. Subsequently, three of her singles, "''One With You''", "''Without Love''" and "''Gone''" reached No. 1 positions on the Billboard Dance Chart. "''Ends Of The Earth''" also joined the abovementioned three singles to reach No. 1 positions on the UK MusicWeek Chart.
While in the United States, Ho worked with top industry personalities such as
Wyclef Jean
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...
,
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award.
Wa ...
,
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
, Jimmy Harry,
Tony Moran
Anthony "Tony" Moran is a DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart twice with " Walk Away" featuring Kristine W and "Kee ...
, Chris Cox, Eric Kupper, Jason Nevins, Moto Blanco and the Underdogs.
Ho returned back to Singapore from 2010 and resumed back her pastoral duties at City Harvest Church. In 2015, she was ordained and given the title Reverend and the position of the Executive Pastor.
In 2018, she co-founded The Harvest Network (THN) together with Rev Dr Bobby Chaw to help City Harvest Church to connect to other like-minded Churches around the region.
Awards
On 6 November 2003, Ho was among 10 international nominees to be presented "The Outstanding Young Person of the World 2003" Award for her social work in Asia.
The ceremony was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, under the auspices of
JCI (Junior Chamber International). Ho is the fourth Asian celebrity to receive the award after
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the "God of Songs", he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong pop music. Cheung is known for his technically skilled vocals, lengthy tours, and m ...
,
Andy Lau
Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...
and
Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...
.
Controversy
In 2010, Sun Ho was questioned by the
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...
when City Harvest Church came under
investigation for alleged misuse of funds.
After the City Harvest Church trial began which created an extended scrutiny of Ho's singing career, two suspension orders were imposed against her where "Ms Ho is not involved even though she is a direct beneficiary". She resumed her role as the Executive Director of the church in Singapore after they were lifted in May 2013 by the Commissioner of Charities (COC).
On 19 October 2015, two days before the sentencing of her husband Kong Hee, Ho was ordained by
Michael Scales from
Nyack College
Alliance University (formerly Nyack College ()) is a private Christian college affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and located in New York, New York. Enrolling just over 1,000 students, the school is organized in three academic ...
. The ordination paved the way for Ho to lead the church as senior pastor while her husband awaited a potential prison sentence.
Two days later, all six City Harvest Church leaders were sentenced to between 21 months and eight years' jail on Friday (20 November) for misappropriating S$50 million of church funds as well as criminal breach of trust, and falsification of accounts.
Ho's husband, senior pastor Kong Hee, the founder of the church, was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for criminal breach of trust. John Lam, former secretary of the church's management board, was sentenced to three years' jail. Sharon Tan, former finance manager, was sentenced to 21 months in prison. Former board member Chew Eng Han was given a sentence of six years and senior pastor Tan Ye Peng, five years and six months. Serina Wee, former finance manager for the church, was handed a five-year jail term.
The November 2016 appeal revealed the City Harvest Church leaders spent $24 million on Ms Sun Ho’s musical foray into the United States which included a house in Hollywood that cost $28,000 a month in rent; a whole entourage of staff; a $1.9 million paycheck to rapper
Wyclef Jean
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...
to produce the "China Wine" video; as well as another $500,000 to sweep up her albums when they tanked.
Over the course of the trial, the court heard that Kong Hee had set up a multi-purpose account where church members deposited "love gifts" that were used to pay for expenses between 2006 and 2010.
Examples of expenses included more than $300,000 spent on travel, more than $100,000 on food, and over $100,000 on make-up and medical costs. Ho's earnings of more than $400,000 a year came from these gifts, and Kong admitted in court that donors were unaware of Ho's earnings. The 2012 Commissioner of Charities (COC) inquiry found that $3 million was purportedly spent by Sun Ho from the MPA between April 2007 and March 2010. Givers to the MPA were not told the Crossover project was in fact funded by illegal bonds and were persuaded to give towards the project's costs. Besides Sun's 'salary' from the MPA of $400,000/year, Sun was receiving an official salary from Xtron at US$10,000/mth and entitled to 25% of project gross income, regardless and before costs.
Today, Sun Ho continues to sit on the Board of
City Harvest Church
City Harvest Church () or CHC is a pentecostal megachurch located within the Yunnan subzone of Jurong West planning area, Singapore.
Founded in 1989 by Kong Hee, the church officially bases its values on Charismatic and Pentecostal teachin ...
.
Personal life
Together with husband Kong Hee, Ho has one son, Dayan Kong, who was born in 2005.
Ho formerly lived in a 5,242 sq ft duplex penthouse located on the 11th floor of The Oceanfront in the premium residential enclave
Sentosa Cove
Sentosa Cove is a residential enclave in the eastern part of Sentosa Island in Singapore, which is planned to include about 2,500 units when fully expanded. It is largely made up of reclaimed land. The master developer of the site was Sentosa Cove ...
. The penthouse was co-owned by her husband with Indonesian tycoon Wahju Hanafi, a church follower. The pair bought the penthouse for $9.33 million in 2007, each paying monthly installments of $17,000, before the apartment was sold at a loss of over S$2 million to a Kenyan diplomat.
Depiction in popular culture
In August 2016, blogger and online television personality
Xiaxue
Cheng Yan Yan Wendy (born Cheng Yan Yan; 28 April 1984), better known by her pseudonym Xiaxue, is a Singaporean blogger and online television personality who writes about her life, fashion and local issues in a provocative style. Her main blog ...
lampooned Ho with a makeup tutorial inspired by her look in the controversial "Mr Bill" music video.
Discography
*''Sun With Love'' (2002)
*''Sun*day'' (2002)
*''Lonely Travel'' (2003)
*''Gain'' (2006)
*''Embrace'' (2007)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Yeow Sun
Living people
Dance musicians
Victoria Junior College alumni
Singaporean Charismatics
21st-century Singaporean women singers
Singaporean Mandopop singers
Warner Music Group artists
1972 births