Beijing (EFE).- The Hong Kong-American singer Coco Lee, the only Chinese artist who has performed at the Oscars ceremony, died this Wednesday in a Hong Kong hospital at the age of 48 due to injuries inflicted three times. days earlier in an attempt to take his own life, his family reported.
Lee’s sisters, Carol and Nancy, announced through posts on the social networks Instagram and Facebook that the interpreter suffered from depression for several years, tried to commit suicide last Sunday and had remained in a coma since then.
“It is with great sadness that we come to share the most devastating news: Coco has suffered from depression for some years but her condition has deteriorated drastically in recent months,” reads the publication, which adds that although the artist sought professional help and fought against the disease, “that inner demon got the best of her.”
Lee’s family also highlighted the singer’s “untiring” work to “open up new horizons for Chinese singers on the international music scene” and her effort to “shine for all Chinese people”.
Contract with the giant Sony Music
Lee was the first Chinese artist to sign a worldwide contract with the giant Sony Music and also the first and so far only representative of her ethnic group to have performed at the Oscars ceremony, where in 2000 she sang the song ‘A Love Before Time’ belonging to the film ‘Tiger and Dragon’, by Ang Lee.
Coco Lee’s death has caused shock in both Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan, where the networks were filled with comments from netizens expressing their sadness and remembering her long and successful career.
The interpreter was born in Hong Kong in 1975, moved with her family to San Francisco (United States) at the age of nine and returned in 1993 to participate in a television talent contest in which she was a finalist, which earned her her first contract. record label.
He achieved his first regional success in 1994 with the release in Taiwan of a Chinese-language album called ‘Love From Now On’, and in 1999 he released his first English-language work, ‘Just No Other Way’.
Throughout her career, Coco Lee, who also participated as an actress in three films, released more than fifteen albums that sold tens of millions of copies, and her single ‘Do You Want My Love’ reached fourth place on the US Billboard chart. December 1999.
Among the artists who influenced her style, the singer mentioned Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, Madonna and Mariah Carey, with some of whom she came to share the stage.