Yao Beina | |||||||
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姚贝娜 | |||||||
Born | Wuhan, Hubei, China | September 26, 1981||||||
Died | January 16, 2015 Shenzhen, Guangdong, China | (aged 33)||||||
Resting place | Shimenfeng Memorial Park, Wuhan, Hubei, China 30°30′52″N 114°29′03″E / 30.514562°N 114.484081°E | ||||||
Education |
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Occupations |
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Musical career | |||||||
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Instrument | Piano | ||||||
Years active | 2005–2014 | ||||||
Website | yaobella | ||||||
Chinese name | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 姚貝娜 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 姚贝娜 | ||||||
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Yao Beina (simplified Chinese: 姚贝娜; traditional Chinese: 姚貝娜; pinyin: Yáo Bèinà; September 26, 1981 – January 16, 2015), also known as Bella Yao, was a Chinese singer and songwriter. She debuted as a professional singer with her portrayal of the diva of the musical Jin Sha (金沙) in 2005.[1] After graduating from China Conservatory of Music in the same year, she started her singing career in the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Political Department of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
Yao won the champion of pop singing in the 13th CCTV National Young Singer Contest in 2008 by earning the first and the only full score throughout the history of the contest.[2] She performed at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[3] In June 2009, she retired from the military and transformed into a pop singer. Her first album Yao Beina (姚贝娜), named after herself, was released on June 8, 2012.
Yao was best known for recording the soundtracks and theme songs of movies and TV shows, such as Empresses in the Palace, Painted Skin: The Resurrection, and Back to 1942. She also recorded the Mandarin version of "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen. In 2013, she was invited to compete in The Voice of China Season 2 and gained great popularity.