Coco Lee
Pop star Coco Lee was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, becoming a household name across three continents. Despite celebrating her 20th year in the music industry this month, she’s never played a full show in Hong Kong—until now. Ahead of a charity concert with producer Chiu Tsang-hei, she tells Andrea Lo about growing up in the US, performing at the Oscars, and learning how to help people.
I was born and raised here. I moved to San Francisco when I was 10. A lot of my fondest memories are from Hong Kong.
My father passed away a few months before I was born. My mom raised me and my two sisters by herself. She was a tough cookie, and she was tough on us.
She taught us: “You’ve got to be a caring person and help other people, have a kind heart and be very disciplined—because life is hard.”
When I was 17, there was a music festival at school. When I, this little Chinese girl, walked up on stage, everyone was laughing. Then I started belting out Whitney Houston, and then they all stood up and started going crazy.
San Francisco is a melting pot of cultures. Our circle was very Hong Kong-oriented. I listened to Anita Mui, Priscilla Chan and Sally Yip.
As a little girl, I would be in front of the mirror, pretending to be Anita. I never imagined one day I would be performing on the same stage as her.