CoCo Lee

CoCo Lee ( zh, c=李玟; 17 January 1975 – 5 July 2023) was a Chinese-American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is one of the best-selling artists in Asia and widely regarded as a significant figure and a diva. Her career began in 1993 in Hong Kong, and she gained early fame in Taiwan through a series of successful albums, establishing herself as an icon in Asia. During her life, she lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, and mainland China. Her diverse cultural experiences shaped her background and laid the foundation for her success in the entertainment industry. She released 18 studio albums, 2 live records, and 5 compilations.

Lee has been described as "Asian Mariah Carey". She was also noted for her Americanized dance routines. She voiced the lead character of Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of the 1998 Disney film ''Mulan'' and sang its theme song, "Reflection".

Lee was the first Asian singer to have music released globally, making her the first Chinese singer to break into the western market. Her 1999 release, ''Just No Other Way'', was the first ever English-language album recorded by an Asian singer. Her single "Do You Want My Love" had international success, appearing on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Breakouts Chart at No. 4 and entering the top 50 of the US Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart while also peaking at No. 14 on the Australian Singles Chart and No. 20 on the Official Chart in New Zealand.

Lee's 2000 song "A Love Before Time", from the film ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and she performed it at the 73rd Academy Awards, becoming the first, and so far only, Chinese artist to perform at the Oscars. Lee was also the first Asian-American singer to sing the US National Anthem at an NBA game, the first Asian singer to hold a concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the first non-mainland Chinese singer to win the Chinese singing reality show ''I Am a Singer'', and the first Asian brand ambassador for Chanel.

Lee died by suicide in Hong Kong, at the age of 48.

Early life

Ferren Lee was born on 17 January 1975 in Hong Kong or Wuhan. She was a posthumous child, as her father had died earlier of an illness. She had physical defects in her left leg, which affected her throughout her life and contributed to her later challenges. After her father's death, Lee's mother moved the family to Hong Kong to seek support from relatives. They faced difficult times there before emigrating to the US when Lee was nine years old. She had two elder sisters, Carol and Nancy, the latter of whom would become Lee's manager early in her career. Growing up in San Francisco, Lee attended Redding Elementary School, Presidio Middle School, and Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School. She won the title of Miss Teen Chinatown San Francisco in 1991 at age 16.

At age 17, Lee twice won a local singing contest. After graduating from high school in 1993, she entered a TVB competition in Hong Kong and was offered a recording contract. She attempted to juggle her singing career in Hong Kong with her pre-medical studies at the University of California, Irvine, which she eventually left after one year. During an interview in 1997, Lee said she never intended to become a star. Her goal in life had been to become a surgeon, following in her mother's footsteps.

Career

Beginnings and Sony Music: 1993–1998

In 1993, Lee returned to Hong Kong to visit her sisters. While there, she took part in the 12th annual New Talent Singing Awards and was the first runner-up, singing Whitney Houston's '' Run to You''. The following day, Capital Artists offered her a recording contract.

Lee made her debut on compilation albums such as ''Red Hot Hits '93 Autumn Edition'' ( zh). In 1994, she released her first solo albums in Mandarin in Taiwan, ' and ', through Fancy Pie Records. Her English-language cover album ' and her third Mandarin album, ', came out the following year.

In 1996, Lee signed with Sony Music Entertainment. Her next Mandarin album, ', became the best-selling record in Asia that year. She subsequently released another English cover album, ', also in 1996. The following year, she issued the Mandarin album ' as well as a Cantonese record, ', the only one she ever recorded in that language. In 1998, her Mandarin album ' came out, selling one million copies in less than three months.

International collaborations and English debut: 1998–2005

From Lee's next album, ', the track " Colors of the World" was used for the opening of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and "The Answer" (答案) was featured in the Chinese movie '' Bishonen''. In 1998, Lee was hired by Walt Disney Pictures to sing the theme song "Reflection" (自己; translation: "myself") and voice Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of ''Mulan'' (花木蘭). The same year, she sang "Missing You in 365 Days" ( zh), one of the theme songs of the film '' Lotus Lantern'', the first commercial animated feature film in mainland China.

In August 1998, Lee performed in Taiwan to an audience of more than 50,000 fans. The next year, she performed in a " Michael Jackson and friends" charity concert and later released the Mandarin album '. Later that year, under 550 Music, she released her first English album of original songs, titled ''Just No Other Way'', which included the hit "Do You Want My Love". The song reached No. 4 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December, making Lee the first Chinese singer to break into the American market. Her love song " Before I Fall in Love" was included in the soundtrack to the movie '' Runaway Bride''. She also recorded the duet "Can't Get Over" with Kelly Price. Lee recorded the charity singles "We Meet the Future" and "Hand in Hand" for SARS with other artists, including Wang Leehom, Stefanie Sun, Elva Hsiao, and Jolin Tsai. In Asia, she released the Mandarin album '. By 2000, she had released 20 albums in Asia and sold 7.5 million copies of her records on that continent.

In 2001, Lee sang the song "A Love Before Time" for the movie ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', which she performed at the Oscars. The track was introduced by the actress Julia Stiles as an "evocative love ballad" that combined "the flavor and texture of Eastern music with the orchestral color and sensitive lyrics of Western culture". Lee's next album, ', was released in October 2001 and included a Mandarin cover song titled " Baby, I'm Sorry" (Baby 對不起). The track placed at No. 35 on the Taiwan Yearly Singles Top 100 chart that year. In 2002, Lee released the remix album ''D. Is Coco'' (''Dance Is Coco''). She also sang an anti-tobacco song called "From the Beginning 'til the End" (煙絲萬縷) with singer Jacky Cheung. The same year, at the NBA debut of Yao Ming, Lee performed the US national anthem and became the first Chinese-American singer to sing at an NBA game. She also sang the anti-racism song "A Dream of One" with Korean singer Park Jin-young. In 2003, she performed with Shaggy at the MTV Asia Awards in Singapore and also hosted the show with him.

Lee co-starred in the Chinese comedy movie ''Master of Everything'' (自娱自乐) with John Lone, which won the Best Foreign Film award at the 2005 Beverly Hills Film Festival.

Second English album and Warner Music: 2005–2011

In 2005, Sony BMG released Lee's second English album, ''Exposed''. It was banned in mainland China for "sexy" lyrics in a few songs, such as "Touch" and "So Good". Lee's next Mandarin album, ' ( 要定你), came out on 22 September 2006. In 2008, she was chosen to sing one of the 2008 Summer Olympics songs, " Forever Friends", alongside Sun Nan.

As the first Asian singer to perform at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Lee had a solo concert there in July 2009, singing some of Michael Jackson's songs in homage to her idol. On 14 August 2009, she released a new Mandarin album, '' East to West'' ( CoCo的東西) with Warner Music Group. It includes the song "Turn" (流轉), which was on the soundtrack to the film '' The Legend of Silk Boy'' for the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Lee also recorded the song "Smile Shanghai" (微笑上海), with artists including JJ Lin, Andy Lau, Jam Hsiao, and Jane Zhang for Shanghai World Expo 2010. On 27 March 2010, she began her East2West World Tour at Taipei Arena, in Taiwan. She performed at the Encore Theatre in Wynn Casino in Las Vegas on 3 and 4 July, then at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 2 October and in Nanning on 16 December. In March 2011, Lee was one of many artists who participated in the recording of the ''Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders'' official theme song, "Succumb Not to Sorrow" ( 不要輸給心痛), on the Cantonese version. On 7 April 2011, her song "Dreams on Oriental Seas" (梦在东方的海上), featuring Sun Nan, was broadcast. It was named as the theme for the 14th FINA World Championships, which took place in Shanghai on 16 July.

New album and final projects before death: 2011–2023

On 8 June 2011, Lee announced that she had set up her own recording studio. On 25 June, her song " Four Seas Alliance" (四海盟約), the theme song for the 2011 China television drama '' All Men are Brothers'', was broadcast. On 17 December, she performed at the Booey Lehoo Concert in Beijing with will.i.am and apl.de.ap from the Black Eyed Peas as well as John Legend and Shunza. On 9 February 2012, she performed at the TRANS4M Boyle Heights benefit at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, with will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo.

Her next album, ''Illuminate'' ( 盛開), was released on 31 May 2013 by Universal Music. She was a judge on the 2015 version of ''Dancing with the Stars'' in China.

In 2016, Lee competed in the fourth season of the Chinese reality show ''I Am a Singer'', where she admitted that losing her voice to bronchitis in 2014 had affected her singing ability. Regardless, she went on to win the competition, making her the first non-mainland Chinese singer to do so. She later returned as a guest singer for two more seasons: in the fifth season, during the biennial concert, and in the sixth as a guest performer for Jessie J, the eventual winner of that season. In 2020, she announced that she was going to re-record the Mandarin end-credits version of the song "Reflection" for the live adaptation of ''Mulan'', as she had already done in 1998.

In 2023, Lee was digitally animated using motion capture for the virtual reality interactive concert Millennium Realm (千禧之境) on the Pico VR video platform.

Personal life

Lee married Hong Kong-based Canadian businessman Bruce Rockowitz on 27 October 2011 in Hong Kong in a Jewish ceremony. The wedding included performances by Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys, and Ne-Yo. For her wedding, she recorded the song "I Just Wanna Marry U" (Chinese and English version), which was released on 24 October 2011. In March 2018, she mentioned in a brand event that she was undergoing IVF in New York. She had no biological children but had two stepdaughters from her husband's previous marriage. Rockowitz is alleged to have cheated on Lee. There were reports saying they had separated before Lee died and were due to sign the divorce papers in July 2023.

Health issues

Lee was born with an abnormality in her left leg. At the age of two, she underwent surgery which failed to correct the problem, causing her to rely more heavily on her right leg for most of her life.

Lee received a diagnosis of depression in 2019. Her sister said the condition deteriorated drastically the few months before her death although she had sought professional help.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022 and had a tumor removed. In December 2022, the singer reported her weight as 42 kg (92 lbs), sparking concerns for her health. On 8 March 2023, she disclosed on social media that she had surgery on her pelvis and thigh in Hong Kong the previous month, after triggering an old leg injury during a dance rehearsal in October 2022. She shared videos of herself learning to walk again with the aid of a walker as well as a nurse. Lee had to take muscle relaxant medication after the surgery, an insider said.

Death

Lee attempted suicide on 29 June 2023. She spent one night in a private hospital, before moving to her sisters' house at the Peak. She attempted suicide again on 2 July and was taken to the hospital, where she died three days later, on 5 July, at the age of 48. The news of her death received significant attention in China, getting almost 1.4 billion views on Weibo in one day.

The family asked Hong Kong authorities to investigate Lee's death, and an autopsy has been requested to determine the cause.

Services and tributes

Lee's sister Nancy has urged the government of Hong Kong to officially recognize the late star's contributions. A vigil for Lee was held on 31 July at Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point, with a public memorial service. There were eight pallbearers for the funeral, including her brother-in-law Billy Ho; singer Jenny Tseng; lyricist and music producer Chien Yao; Jonathan Serbin, the co-president of Asia at Warner Music; fan and television host Yang Yang; Grace Lee, Lee's high school classmate in San Francisco; Lily Pang and Colleen Yu Fung, Lee's good friends. The private funeral service was on 1 August.

Rockowitz's name was missing from multiple announcements made by Lee's sisters. It was reported that towards the end of the funeral service on 31 July, Nancy suddenly became emotional when hugging a friend and was heard shouting repeatedly in Cantonese: "He took my sister away!" Carol, the eldest sister, was also heard shouting: "She's saying he caused my sister to die!" Their cries did not name any person and lasted for some time before the audio was muted. On 1 August, when asked to say something to Coco outside the crematorium, Rockowitz, who was being mobbed by Lee's angry fans, said, "I love her. My whole life." He has come under criticism after Lee's death and has sought to dispel various allegations against him.

On 21 October 2023, Lee's ashes were buried at the Shimen Peak Memorial Park in Wuhan, China. According to her sister, it was their mother's wish that the ashes of Lee, who had never met her father when she was little, be laid to rest next to his.

She was remembered by the New York Times as "a Chinese American singer and songwriter best known for performing an Oscar-nominated song in the hit film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Aftermath

Leaked clips and ''Sing! China''

On 17 August 2023, a nine-minute audio clip featuring Lee, a coach during the season 7 of the show ''Sing! China'', came to light. In the recording, she commented on her humiliation at the hands of the production team during the show's final episode in October 2022. This humiliation followed her questioning of the competition format in September 2022.

Lee, who was about to undergo surgery on her left leg, alleged that she was subjected to a sudden placement change during a performance with Wang Zepeng, a contestant on her team. Wang, who was supposed to accompany Lee on stage to assist her due to her fragile condition, had his back turned to her, causing Lee to stand alone and fall during their duet. She described this experience as "humiliating", especially since her health issues had been largely concealed from the public.

Wang later supported Lee's claims by sharing screen captures of their private text messages, where Lee accused the director of intentionally undermining her. There was also a leaked video of a staff member on set attempting to remove Lee from the stage as she repeatedly said, "Don't touch me."

In the nine-minute audio clip, Lee stated that the production team threatened her, saying they would not give contestant Feige a chance to return to the stage unless she wrote a Weibo post. She complied to ensure Feige had an opportunity to showcase his talent.

'Jammy' Li Jiajie, one of the contestants in season 8 (2023) agreed with Lee after the clips' leakage. He said in his Weibo post that "the price of 500,000 yuan per seat, in his opinion, is certainly not a baseless rumor... the top ten places in the finals are all available for purchase." His posts were mysteriously removed, and Li later said that his allegations were made without basis. People were surprised by the posts' removal and his "apologies". They left comments asking him if he was threatened.

The controversy led to a significant debate among netizens, with calls to boycott the show's sponsors. By 25 August 2023, the stock price of Star China Media, the parent company of "Sing! China," plummeted by more than 50 percent, resulting in a loss of approximately $3 billion in value. On the same day (25 August), Zhejiang Satellite TV announced that the program had been frozen from broadcasting briefly pending an investigation over the alleged mistreatment of Lee and other issues raised by netizens and viewers.

In September, Sing! China's producer Can Xing Media (a subsidiary of Star China Media) filed a suit against the management company of Lee, Warner Music China (HK) Limited. The company was accused of being shameless by some netizens for filing the suit.

Legacy

Lee is remembered by millennials who grew up during a time when Mandopop boomed and enjoyed listening to her songs in English and Mandarin. She is considered the 'Asian Mariah Carey' due to her impressive voice and dance. She was one of the first Asian singers to be widely recognized on both sides of the Pacific. Because of her multilingual and multicultural background, Lee has been compared to Ricky Martin. She has also been credited for breaking down international barriers and bridging the gap between East Asia and the West.

Philanthropy

Lee was actively involved in the work of UNICEF as a youth ambassador, promoting children's right and their well-being. She supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants children with critical illness their wishes. She was also an ambassador for the Organisation for World Peace in China, Cancer Fund's Pink Ambassador at Hong Kong's first breast cancer survivors' fashion show in 2016 and Youth AIDS ambassador at a global AIDS conference in Bangkok, Thailand in 2004. As the Youth AIDS ambassador, she attended the conference as the representative of the Asian artists to meet various youth groups discussing what she could do to educate them about AIDS.

Artistry

Lee was inspired by musicians such as Whitney Houston, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey. Because techniques employed by R&B singers in English would change the pitch and meaning of words in Cantonese, she taught herself Mandarin, which allows for more tonal flexibility.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilations

Remix albums

EPs

Maxi-singles

Digital singles

Compilation appearances

Videography

Filmography

Film

Television

Tours

See also

* Elva Hsiao
* Han Hong
* Jay Chou
* Jin Xing
* List of best-selling albums in Taiwan
* Michelle Yeoh
* Wang Leehom

References

Further reading

The Footprints
– In loving memory of Coco Lee
mirror


Remembering Coco Lee: 7 highlights from her 30-year career

Celebrating Coco Lee: Honouring the Hong Kong icon through 5 of her career-defining achievements

Stars share their memories of CoCo Lee

《壹週刊》 第1263期 – 娛樂名人 香港女 李玟
(Cantonese) – Interview of Lee in 2014

蘋果人物 – 李玟淚訴 聽不清的母女情話
(Mandarin) – Interview of Lee in 2013, in which she cried when talked about the hearing problems of her mother

Interview With Coco Lee
(English) – Lee interviewed in Beijing soon after she won "I am a Singer"

Media coverage of the death of Lee

External links

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