Coco Lee

Coco Lee
Lee in 2013
Born
Ferren Lee

(1975-01-17)17 January 1975
Hong Kong or Wuhan
Died5 July 2023(2023-07-05) (aged 48)
Pok Fu Lam, Southern District, Hong Kong
Resting placeShimenfeng Memorial Park, Wuchang District, Wuhan, China[1][2]
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • dancer
  • actress
Years active1993–2023
Spouse
​
(m. 2011)​
Relatives
  • Carol Lee (sister)
    Nancy Lee (sister)
Musical career
Origin
  • Hong Kong
  • Taiwan
  • San Francisco
Genres
Labels
Chinese name
Chinese李玟
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Wén
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingLei5 Man4
Birth name
Chinese李美林
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǐ Měilín
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingLei5 Mei5-lam4
Websitecocolee.com
Signature

Coco Lee (Chinese: 李玟; 17 January 1975 – 5 July 2023) was a Chinese-American singer, songwriter and actress.[3][4] She is widely regarded as a significant figure and a Tianhou (Diva) in C-pop. Her career marked a modernization of C-pop music and influenced many other artists of her era. Her career began in 1993 in Hong Kong, and she gained early fame in Taiwan through a series of successful albums in Mandarin Chinese, establishing herself as an icon in the Greater China area.[5][6] During her life, she lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the USA, and mainland China. Her diverse cultural and educational experiences shaped her background and laid the foundation for her success in the Asian entertainment industry. She released 18 studio albums, two live albums, and five compilation albums.[7][8]

Lee has been described as 'Asian Mariah Carey' and "enormously influential".[9][10] She was also noted for her Americanized dance routines.[11] She voiced the lead character Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Mulan, a 1998 animated Disney film, and sang its theme song, "Reflection". She was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market. Her album Just No Other Way, which was released in 1999, was the first English-language R&B album recorded by a Chinese singer.[12] Her English single "Do You Want My Love" received international attention, appearing on the US Billboard Hot Dance Breakouts chart at No. 4 and entering the top 50 of the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart as well as the Australian Singles Chart.[13][14] Lee performed the song "A Love Before Time" from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the 73rd Academy Awards, becoming the first, and so far only, Chinese performer to perform at the Academy Awards.[15][6][16] She was also the first Chinese-American singer to sing at an NBA game, the first Asian to hold a concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the first non-mainland Chinese singer to win the Chinese reality show I Am A Singer, and the first Chinese brand ambassador for Chanel.[17] She spent most of her life in Hong Kong and died there at the age of 48.

  1. ^ "李玟21日安葬長眠武漢 現場粉紫色紀念｜TVBS新聞 @TVBSNEWS01". YouTube. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  2. ^ "永別天后李玟！天使紀念雕像曝光 86歲高齡母無法參與安葬儀式". NOWnews今日新聞 (in Traditional Chinese). 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  3. ^ Sun, Celine (2 April 2005). "Coco Lee exposed to US market". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Pop diva Coco Lee savors new tour in China". People's Daily Online. 1 July 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  5. ^ 邱國強 (9 April 2016). "我是歌手4總決賽 李玟奪冠" (in Traditional Chinese). Beijing: CNA. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Hong Kong-born singer Coco Lee dies by suicide aged 48, siblings confirm". The Guardian. 5 July 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  7. ^ Frater, Patrick (5 July 2023). "Coco Lee, Hong Kong-Born Singer-Songwriter, Dies at 48". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Hong Kong-American Pop Singer Coco Lee Dies Aged 48". barrons.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  9. ^ Berry Wang, Nectar Gan (25 August 2023). "Coco Lee: 'Sing! China' suspended after uproar over treatment of late pop star". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bashforth 2023 v490 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Borelli, M.B. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Dance and the Popular Screen. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford University Press. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-19-989783-4. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  12. ^ "How late singer Coco Lee crossed cultural divides to bring together Chinese communities around the world". South China Morning Post. 23 July 2023. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023.
  13. ^ "CoCo Lee | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  14. ^ "australian-charts.com , CoCo Lee - Do You Want My Love". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  15. ^ EFE, Agencia (6 July 2023). "Coco Lee, China's only Oscars performer, dies at 48". EFE Noticias. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  16. ^ "登奧斯卡首位華人歌手 李玟獻唱英版月光愛人｜三立娛樂星聞 - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023.
  17. ^ Travis, Emlyn (5 July 2023). "Coco Lee, beloved Hong Kong singer-songwriter, dies at 48". EW.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.