Yao Beina (; September 26, 1981 – January 16, 2015), also known as Bella Yao, was a Chinese singer and songwriter. She debuted as the diva of the musical theater ''Jin Sha (金沙)'' in 2005. After her graduation from

China Conservatory of Music The China Conservatory of Music () is a public music academy in Chaoyang, Beijing, China. The music conservatory was established in 1964, and currently co-funded by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Beijing Municipal People's Government. ...

in the same year, she joined the Chinese Song and Dance Ensemble in the Political Department of the

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...

as a professional singer. She performed as one of the singing assistants at

Song Zuying Song Zuying (; born August 13, 1966) is a Chinese classical/folk singer. Early life Song was born in Guzhang County, part of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan. She is of Miao ethnicity, and studied at the Department of Music a ...

's solo concert at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. in 2006. Yao won the

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

National Young Singer Contest (the group of popular singing) in 2008 with the first and the only 100 points throughout the history of the contest. She was one of the musical acts at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Her debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''Too Late (来不及)'', was released in 2009 after her military discharge. Yao was best known by recording soundtracks and theme songs for movies and TV shows, such as ''

Empresses in the Palace ''Empresses in the Palace'' (, ''lit.'' ''The Legend of Zhen Huan''), is a 2011 Chinese television series based on the novel of the same name by Liu Lianzi. Directed by Zheng Xiaolong, it stars Sun Li in the title role of Zhen Huan. The series ...

'', '' Painted Skin: The Resurrection'', and '' Back to 1942''. She also recorded the

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

version of ''

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert L ...

'', the pop-version song from

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's '' Frozen''. In 2013, she was invited to be a contestant of ''

The Voice of China ''The Voice of China'' () is a Chinese reality television singing competition broadcast on Zhejiang Television. Based on the original ''The Voice of Holland'', the concept of the series is to find new singing talent (solo or duets) contested by as ...

'' and gained great popularity through it.

Early life

Yao was born to a family of musicians on September 26, 1981, in

Wuhan, China Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city and ...

. Her father, Yao Feng (姚峰; Yáo Fēng), is a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

Wuhan Conservatory of Music Wuhan Conservatory of Music is a musical institution of higher learning located in Wuhan City, Hubei Province whose origins can be traced back to 1920 and the Wuchang College of Art located in the Hunan and Hubei College site. Yao attended Wuhan No. 45 Middle School as a junior high student from 1993 to 1997, during which she was determined to be a singer in her future. She was admitted to the Affiliated High School of Wuhan Conservatory of Music as the top scorer of the major of

Popular Music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

in 1997, and her father, Yao Feng, who at that time was the associate dean of the Department of

Vocal Music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with musical instruments, instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which ...

at Wuhan Conservatory of Music and also the founder of that major, became her advisor. Yao started to learn music systematically from then on. Due to the fact that her father's job was then transferred to

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

in 1998 and that the major of Popular Music was suspended therewith, she was transferred to the major of

Folk Music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

under Professor Feng Jiahui (冯家慧). In 2000, Yao graduated from high school and was admitted to the Department of Vocal and Opera at

with the highest score among her class. She continued the major of Folk Music under Professor Dong Hua (董华) and Professor Ma Qiuhua (马秋华).

Career

Yao worked for four years in the Naval Political Department of the Song and Dance Troupe of the People's Liberation Army, after graduating from the acclaimed China Conservatory of Music in 2005. During her servicing in the Troupe, she won the champion in ''Chinese Young Singer Championship'' (). She rose to prominence after winning the Chinese Young Singer TV competition Championship in 2008 with the first full mark in history. She performed on the stage of Beijing Olympic Games Closing Ceremony. In 2009, she left the Troupe and signed with a label called "乐巢音尚" (Yuècháo Yīnshàng). After giving her first concert in Shenzhen in 2010, she released her first album named after herself, ''Yao Beina'' (). The songs, mainly composed by herself, received widespread praise. She impressed

Liu Huan Liu Huan (born August 26, 1963, in Tianjin) is a Chinese singer and songwriter. He is one of China's modern era pioneers in pop music. He combines his music career with teaching the history of Western music at the Beijing University of Internat ...

and got the opportunity to sing the theme song of the TV series ''

''. Yao became well known to the public after she made a series of songs for the hit drama ''

'', in 2012. In the same year, Yao was invited by the director

Feng Xiaogang Feng Xiaogang (; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and politician. He is well known in China as a highly successful commercial filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well at the box of ...

to sing the theme song "The River of The Life" () of the film '' Back to 1942''. She sang "Love in the Painting" () for '' Painted Skin: The Resurrection'', the highest grossing domestic film in China. As of 2012, she has made songs for 60 TV dramas and films, and performed twice in ''

CCTV New Year's Gala The ''CCTV New Year's Gala'', also known as the ''Spring Festival Gala'', and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as ''Chunwan'', is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group (CMG). It is broadcast annually on the eve of Chinese N ...

s'' in 2007 and 2010. Yao returned to ''CCTV Young Singer TV Competition'' as the youngest judge of this music show in 2013. In the same year, she released her new album ''Half of Me'' (). All of songs in this album topped Baidu Music Chart, making her the No.1 Mandopop Female Singer on Baidu Music. According to the sales and reputation of the album, Yao attained the title "the best female vocalist" on MusicRadio China TOP Charts Awards. She was the first pop solo vocalist performing the finale of ''

''. Yao gradually accumulated her fame for singing theme songs of ''

'', '' Painted Skin: The Resurrection'' and '' Back to 1942''. She was the designated singer of the Mandarin version of ''

'' (at the end of the movie) for the Disney film '' Frozen''. She competed in ''

'' television reality show. Yao's performance caused an Internet sensation that led to her almost-overnight popularity with the No.1 Internet Searched pop star in the Baidu and Sina Weibo. Performances in The Voice:

Illness and death

Yao was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

in May 2011. In September 2013, Yao was invited to become the image ambassador for China Pink Ribbon Campaign, which aims to raise awareness of breast cancer. As a breast cancer survivor, she was considered the most suitable candidate for the post. In December of that year, Yao released the song "Fire of the Heart" (), which describes her struggle and pain when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 at the age of 30. "If you never cry in the middle of the night, you will never be qualified to talk about fate… don't ask me why, because I have fought the devil several times," she wrote in the lyrics. Fortunately, Yao survived, but the cost was high. She underwent a

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

and had her left breast removed. "It is a wise choice if you face reality and bravely fight and defeat cancer," Yao said. After the surgery, Yao went through eight sessions of chemotherapy, during which she recorded the songs for

television series. Yao hoped her story and her songs could bring hope to those suffering from breast cancer. "I hope I can bring strength to people and boost their confidence with my songs," she said. Because of her personal experience, Yao had a solid understanding of the fear and pain that breast cancer patients suffer from, both physically and psychologically. After recovering, Yao joined

Pink Ribbon The pink ribbon is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Pink ribbons, and the color pink in general, identify the wearer or promoter with the breast cancer brand and express moral support for women with breast cancer. Pink ribb ...

campaign to raise awareness of preventing and treating breast cancer. As is traditional with this campaign, Yao needed to make a topless poster to remind women to take care of their body and raise the public's awareness of women's breast health. The visceral impact of seeing a woman with an amputated breast, especially in an age saturated in images of commodified female flesh, has proven to be a successful, yet shocking method of raising awareness, among both men and women. Growing up in a relatively conservative society, Yao initially felt nervous, but later relaxed after thinking about "bringing victims courage by doing so." In the autumn of 2013, Yao's posters were posted across the country. Through these posters, Yao wanted to send the message "You can win in the battle against breast cancer." In September of that year, she visited patients at Beijing Cancer Hospital. Yao also talked with members of the Beijing Cancer Rehabilitation Association. Through these efforts, Yao wanted everyone to know that, "When facing cancer, you have no other choice than to defeat it." On the other hand, Yao understood that many breast cancer sufferers fear that they may lose their breasts. With her personal experiences, Yao sought to show them that breast cancer surgery would not cause more damage than the cancer itself and to help to persuade them to choose proper treatment therapies according to doctor's advice. In December 2014, Yao had a recurrence of the cancer and her situation was reported to have worsened on 15 January 2015. She died a day later in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, aged 33. According to her wishes, her

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...

s were donated to two recipients in Shenzhen and

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

. Memorial services were held on 20 January. Her first posthumous album, "Eternal" (), was produced by

Liu Chia-chang Steven Liu Chia-chang (; born 13 April 1940 or 13 April 1943) is a former songwriter, singer, screenwriter, director and actor from the Republic of China (Taiwan). Background Discography Liu wrote songs such as "Ode to the Republic of China" a ...

. Her ashes were interred on 4 September in the Shimenfeng Memorial Park on

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

, prior to the release of her second posthumous album "Born Proud" (), which was still under production at the time of her death. It was released on what would have been her 34th birthday (26 September 2015) and was supposed to be the celebration of her homecoming. The album was listed as one of the best selling albums in the year list of Jingdong Mall. Her posthumous single, "Glory" (), was released on 16 January 2016 (one-year anniversary of her death), peaking at No.2 on the QQ Music New Single Chart. On April 12, 2019, coach

sung a medley of three songs dedicated to Yao, on the finals of the seventh season of '' I'm a Singer''; his performance was received praise from the panel of audience, and eventually won the competition with over 60% of the votes cast.

Charities and social contributions

As an enlisted member of the Naval Political Department of the Song and Dance Troupe of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

in 2008, Yao was ordered to help relieve the earthquake zones in

Sichuan province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, where more than 80,000 people lost their lives. She and her colleagues traveled to the disaster zones and performed for the survivors as well as the PLA soldiers working in the area. She personally donated 30,000 RMB (US$5,000) while her annual salary as an enlisted member was estimated to be less than 15,000 RMB (US$2,500). According to later documented interviews with her, she was coping with a long term depression at the moment of the earthquake and she had constant thoughts of death. Due to the depression, she finally left the Troupe after requesting resignation for the third time in 2009. In addition to cancer awareness activities, Yao also attended an awareness-raising event for the care of children as the "Ambassador of Love" in 2014. Regretting not having any child of her own, possibly because of the cancer, she once commented during an interview: "When you saw all of your friends have children who are old enough to run errands, and post their pictures on the Internet, this was the only time you would feel just a little stimulated." Her decision came at the end of 2014 to donate her organs in case of death.This turned public at 2015,but the metastasis left only her corneas intact and suitable for donation. So far her corneas have helped four patients to recover their visions. Shortly after her death, the number of Chinese people who voluntarily signed organ donation agreement had doubled within a month. This coincides with the government announcement that from the first day of 2015, organ harvesting from executed prisoners was banned in China. The unexpected coincidence was mentioned by the Minister of Health, Huang Jiefu, during a TV interview and he said: "Maybe we can still hear her singing in Heaven..." Her parents auctioned her personal belongings on the Internet after her death. The auction raised 2,510,000 RMB (~US$400,000) and they were donated to a high school in the Xinjiang province, where Yao Beina and her father had an inspiration for writing a song that incorporated the unique local ethnic music style. The donation was to be dedicated to renovating the school and a scholarship for achievements in music. According to her father, helping the local children was a wish that she had long shared with him.

Legacy

On April 9, 2015, according to the news released by

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

(NASA), the asteroid "41981" was named after Yao Beina. The asteroid was discovered by

William Kwong Yu Yeung William Kwong Yu Yeung (born 1960; also known simply as Bill Yeung; ) is a Hong Kong-born, Canadian amateur astronomer with telescopes based in the United States. He is a prolific discoverer of asteroids and also discovered the comet 172P/Yeung ...

in 2000, an amateur astronomer from Hong Kong. The

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

(IAU) named the asteroid " Yaobeina", which was suggested by Yeung in memory of the singer. NASA describes Yao Beina in its website as "Yaobeina (1981–2015) was a talented and courageous Chinese singer who won numerous awards for the best Chinese pop song performance. One of Yao's songs, "Fire of the Heart", was about the reflections on her battle with breast cancer.

Awards

References

External links

*
Yao Beina Memorial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yao Beina 1981 births 2015 deaths Chinese women singer-songwriters Musicians from Wuhan China Conservatory of Music alumni Deaths from cancer in the People's Republic of China Chinese Mandopop singers Deaths from breast cancer The Voice of China contestants 21st-century Chinese women singers