CoCo Lee

Chinese-American pop diva CoCo Lee became one of the most notable Asian artists to cross over into the West. With music styled after American vocalists such as Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera, her R&B-inspired vocals and pop sense made her a hit in both Mandarin- and Cantonese-language markets. Releasing several albums in the 1990s -- including her 1996 self-titled best-seller -- she signed with Sony for her English-language debut, 1999's Just No Other Way. That global breakthrough coincided with her work on major movie soundtracks like Mulan, Runaway Bride, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. From there, she juggled a multilingual career, releasing her sophomore English set, Exposed, in 2005, just as she reached over a dozen albums issued in Asia. Her final album of original material, Illuminate, arrived in 2013, with compilations, television appearances, and touring keeping her active into the 2020s.

Born Ferren Lee in Hong Kong, she grew up in San Francisco and subsequently studied biochemistry at the University of California at Irvine. After winning the Miss Teen Chinatown pageant in 1991, Lee returned to Hong Kong long enough to take second prize in the New Talent Singing Contest (the Asian equivalent of Star Search), resulting in a recording contract with Capital Artists; her Mandarin-language debut album, Love from Now On, appeared in 1994, with the follow-up Promise Me trailing just months later. A series of releases including 1995's English-language covers set Brave Enough to Love, 1996's self-titled LP (her Sony label debut), and 1998's Sunny Day launched Lee to the top of the Asian pop charts. In 1998, she was cast as the voice of Mulan in the Mandarin version of the Disney animated film, while also delivering a Mandarin version of Christina Aguilera's soundtrack hit, "Reflection."

The international attention helped push the recording of Lee's English-language debut, 1999's Just No Other Way, which included "Do You Want My Love" and "Before I Fall in Love" from the Runaway Bride soundtrack. Another film song, "A Love Before Time" from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, propelled her to the Oscars stage, where she became the first Chinese-American to perform at the Academy Awards. Now a globally recognized star, she continued to juggle public appearances and albums in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.

Despite the lack of a real commercial breakthrough in the West, Lee continued to top Asian charts with 2005's sexually charged, English-language set Exposed and 2006's Just Want You. After 2009's East to West and 2013's Illuminate, she shifted focus to television, both as judge and contestant on various shows. Most notably, she took home the crown for the fourth season of the popular Chinese singing competition I Am a Singer in 2016. She also continued touring throughout China, Taiwan, and the U.S. on anniversary tours through 2019. CoCo Lee died on July 5, 2023, at a hospital in Hong Kong; she was 48 years of age. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi