All right, Coco, it’s such a pleasure to have you here on Up Close.

Thanks for coming.

Thank you for having me.

亦怡 I love your name.

很有意义

Thank you so much.

Well, you know, Coco, this has been a big year for you.

May 31st, you just released your newest album.

It’s called "Illuminate."

You did it in Taiwan, where you pretty much started your career.

Yes.

I’ll tell– and you’ve been very prolific in your career.

It’s been over two dozen releases.

Yes.

How is this one different?

I’ve got to say, I really experience a lot more things in my life now.

And there’s a reason why it’s called "Illuminate,"

because I feel that everyone needs that light.

You know, that light that sort of gives you hope in life,

and you have that dream.

And it’s a positive energy.

And for me, I feel these few years,

I have grown up the most.

I really have.

I got married in these four years.

I spent more time with my family.

And I got to travel, which is something I really needed.

Because being in the industry for so many years,

you sometimes get jaded.

And then you sort of feel numb to the music that you’re making.

You lose inspiration.

And so I wanted to recharge.

I wanted to travel around the world.

I wanted to see different cultures,

and listen to different types of music.

So I went to Europe.

I went to– I mean, everywhere, pretty much everywhere.

Did you have to find inspiration again?

I mean, it sounds very reflective and very philosophical.

Yeah.

I wanted to find that new me.

I wanted to find the new me in music, rediscover myself.

And so by going to all these places,

I felt like, wow, I’ve absorbed so much new elements.

And looking at different architectural stuff,

or beautiful buildings, beautiful artwork, food.

And just the people around just gives me all these ideas.

And when I go to places, I always take pictures of things.

Because it could be just this mannequin with this clothes

that maybe there’s something about the way they dress the mannequin.

Like, oh, this is really cool, which

will inspire me on my costumes.

Or it could be a certain sound that I heard in Vienna,

that I recorded it, and I wanted to put it in my album.

So I have all these different elements that I absorb.

I felt like I was a sponge.

Wherever I go, I was learning, absorbing, and picking up new things.

And then I wanted to put all that into my album.

And plus, I really grew up as a person.

I felt so much love in my life.

I got married.

I have a wonderful husband.

So that really influenced this album.

Yes, absolutely.

So this album is really all about love.

It really is all about love.

The word love is so powerful.

And we all experience it at different levels.

And then love has so many different meanings.

Because it could be sorrow.

It could be happiness.

It could be just sassiness.

There’s all these different types of expression of love.

You can experience it in many different ways.

Absolutely.

And so I express all that into my music.

You’re talking about all these elements.

Can you give us an example of some of the sounds or something that we’re going to hear that’s different in this album?

Oh, yeah.

I have to say I do have a few of my favorite, favorite.

One of the singles is called "Stuck On You,"偷心贼

And this is so different from anything I’ve done before.

It’s very Amy Winehouse and Adele.

So it’s like Motown, very–

Soulful.

Very soulful, very ’60s retro.

And when people hear it, they’re like, oh my god, is that Coco?

Because I use a different tone.

But it’s something that I’ve always loved.

And I always wanted to try it.

So what happened was my producer,

they sent me a bunch of demos.

And I picked this one out right away.

And it’s so different.

And my producer at first, he was worried that it is so not commercial.

I said, who cares about commercial?

It’s all about doing great music and music you love.

And when it’s great music, people will love it too.

And so that was our approach towards the whole entire album.

I wouldn’t say we were looking at what’s commercial or not.

We really focused on creating an album that people could listen to.

It’s timeless.

And there’s no pressure.

It could be like you could be working on something.

It could be playing on the background.

And you don’t feel like it annoys you.

So we really wanted great music that’s timeless.

But it seems like throughout your career,

even in the beginning of the career, you were like that.

I remember when your first album came out.

At that time in Taiwan, a lot of the female singers,

it was all about heartbreak and very soft, feminine type of songs.

But you came out with something that was much more high energy, a little bit R&B, just more energetic.

Were you trying to go against the trend?

Were your producers trying to make you more commercial and follow the market?

How did it happen that way?

It was very interesting when I came out.

It was the era where usually girls

are very more conservative in their demeanor,

and very elegant, very demure.

And I was like the California sunshine girl.

I came out with shorts and braids on my head.

And then–

Attitude.

It was just very different.

I was very different.

And I would be singing a ballad that’s very commercial.

But I’d change it up and make it ad-libs and riffs here and there.

And that’s what they used to compare me to Mariah Carey.

And of course, to me, that’s a huge compliment,

because Mariah Carey is the biggest selling

female artist in the world.

And she’s a wonderful vocalist.

And I idolized her.

And so to be compared to her was like, oh my god,

Are you serious?

No way.

Not even close.

But I love her.

But I was different.

I was very different from all the other female singers.

But to go back to that question you asked me before, I think another thing that’s

very different in this album is my tone is very different.

How is it different?

I used a lot more– instead of so focused on technique, which

I felt back then I was always trying

to prove that I was a good singer,

because people were more focused on my image,

or on her looks, or Coco’s body.

And I wanted to let people know I’m a singer.

I’m an artist.

And so I was more focused on the techniques.

But this time I was more focused on emotions.

So I would say this album is my most emotional one, most real

and raw, but yet very happy.

Because you’re very happy right now.

Reflective of your current life.

I would say so, yeah.

It’s been a huge year for you.

You have this new album.

You also have a new– you’re a judge on the China show.

It’s Chinese Idol.

It’s the Chinese version of Pop Idol and American Idol.

American Idol.

It’s the first time that you’ve been a judge, yeah?

Oh, yeah.

How has that been?

Tell me about that experience.

First of all, I’m a huge fan of American Idol.

I’ve been watching it for all these years.

And this is a world-renowned show

that’s proven to have discovered many superstars of today.

And so I remember I used to watch the show,

and I’ll be at home critiquing those singers.

Like, no, no, no, no, this person went off on that note.

Or like, oh, no, that’s a wrong song choice.

And I’m thinking, dude, I should be doing this.

I really love doing it.

And then, so when Dragon TV, Shanghai TV,

asked me to participate and be a judge– actually,

it was the first one they thought of–

without even hesitating, I said, absolutely.

And there’s another reason.

It’s because I, myself, I came out from a singing contest.

Right. In Hong Kong.

Yeah, it was like the New Talent Search, which was the biggest singing contest in Hong Kong.

And because I had a dream.

It was just because I love to sing.

And I wanted a platform to let people know that I can sing.

And to fulfill my goal, I guess, is to perform on the stage.

And so now, when I see these contestants,

I felt I can feel their emotions.

I know what they’re going through.

I can relate to them.

And I want to use my experience and my knowledge

on music and stage performance to help them enhance their performance.

I really want to help them achieve the goal of being a successful artist.

How do you think you can help–

judges always have, on the television show,

they have some sort of personality to report to them.

What do you feel like– what role do you fill?

Well, first of all, they have a little title for me called

宝贝姐

Because I call everybody baby.

宝贝 宝贝

There’s a reason.

Because–

You’re trying to nurture them.

Well, no.

You know what happened is, when they come

into a preliminary round, it’s really nerve-wracking

to be singing in front of all four of us.

You know, we’re sitting there, it’s intimidating.

It really is.

And for that contestant to stand in front of us

to perform, like super, super nervous.

So I want to calm their nerves by saying, you know,

sweetheart, or you know, my darling, my baby.

You know, just try to use these words to comfort them,

make them feel more at home, at ease.

And because of that, they call me Miss Baby,

because I call everybody baby.

All right.

When we come back, we’re going to hear more

from one of Asia’s top recording artists, Coco Lee.

Stay tuned.

And welcome back to Up Close.

We’re speaking with one of Asia’s top recording artists, Coco Lee.

Coco, we were talking about your role with Chinese Idol.

Yes.

And how you’re trying to help these new–

I guess the people with a dream.

Yeah.

Once you had a dream.

That was back in 1993.

Yes.

When did you first discover your voice?

You know, both of my sisters, my older sisters,

they’re excellent singers.

And I’ve always been that little sister, little baby sister

that idolizes my sister.

Whatever they do, I’m like, oh, oh, I cheer them on.

And I’m really shy.

I’m actually a very shy person.

So I always love music, and I love to sing.

But I will hide in the bathroom to sing.

I will listen to radio.

You’re singing in the shower.

Yeah, singing in the shower.

Because in the shower, the acoustic is the best, right?

And I will listen to a lot of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey,

Michael Jackson, George Michael, a lot of these ’80s type of artists.

And they really influenced me.

And I think I really felt I can sing with age of 16.

What happened was in my school, there was a music class, which I didn’t take.

But that teacher was going to do a music history concert.

And he heard from my friend that I can sing really well.

So he invited me to sing the modern part.

It’s like, all right.

So the song that I was going to do was Whitney Houston’s "Run to You."

And I remember going on stage.

And I’m in San Francisco.

There’s lots of different types of ethnicities.

And I remember some of the classmates started laughing when I’m going on stage.

Who is this Chinese girl going to go sing?

Come on now, right?

And I started singing.

And everyone became really quiet.

And after I finished singing Whitney Houston’s "Run to You,"

I got African-American classmates standing up, Mexicans.

I mean, everybody was standing up, clapping for me.

And then I remember after it was done,

I was walking in the hallway.

All these classmates were saying, oh my god, Coco,

if you come out with an album, I would definitely buy it.

Everyone was saying, you should be a singer.

You would be huge.

And that was really the first time I thought, wow,

maybe this is what I was supposed to do.

So fast forward to 1993.

And you talked about it earlier, the Hong Kong,

the New Talent Competition.

And that must have taken a lot of confidence to say, OK,

I’m going to go enter myself into this competition.

So what happened was from high school–

and it always stayed with me that I really love music.

I love to perform.

And it was right after high school graduation.

Both of my sisters were already in Hong Kong.

And it was really a trip to go see them.

And so there was this contest.

I’m like, you know what?

Let me try my luck.

And I entered.

And you never had formal voice training before that?

Never.

It wasn’t just singing in the shower, singing at home?

I never had any voice training.

It’s because I never thought I would be a singer.

Not even when I was young.

You were going to be a doctor.

I wanted to be a doctor, yes, absolutely.

And so when I entered, it was really like, I’ll just try.

I’ll just try my luck.

But I really love to sing.

I want to see how far I can go.

And I just never imagined I would be the final three.

And then from 30,000 people that joined, I was the final three.

And I won. I was first runner up. I was second place.

And honestly, I felt like it was enough.

For me, it felt like I won already.

Because I never imagined I would go that far.

I just wanted an opportunity to prove to people that I can sing.

I’m a little chubby girl who can sing.

And that was it.

That’s all I care about.

And so to be able to stand on that stage and felt so comfortable,

it really showed me my path.

When I was on that stage, not even for one second was I nervous.

And that’s when I felt–

Really? No stage fright at all?

That time, no.

Have you ever had stage fright?

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

But for some strange reason, on that time,

it’s because probably I practiced so much.

And I really came prepared.

I was practicing for that competition.

And I knew my material really well.

I was very confident.

And when I felt so comfortable up there, not even a little bit nervous,

that’s when I felt, this is where I belong.

I really belong on stage.

But to answer your question, have I felt super, super stage fright?

Oh, yeah!

Lots of times, especially– let me tell you, the most freaked out–

not freaked out, but really nervous was probably the Oscars.

Oh, my gosh.

Tell me about it.

You’re the only Asian who’s ever performed at the Oscars.

Well, Chinese pop artist.

And I tell you, that time, I was the first one,

first Chinese pop artist to perform at the Oscar.

And I’ll never forget when I was on that platform,

started on the platform, and there’s a huge screen blocking me.

And so this commercial break, and the next part is going to be me.

I was like shaking.

And it’s live.

Oh, my god, it’s live.

You’re going to have over a billion people watching the show.

And I grew up watching the Academy Awards.

But never imagined one day I would actually be on the other side.

I’ll be performing on it.

And what happened was I was shaking so hard.

My heart was beating so fast.

And I felt my blood was rushing up to my head.

I thought my head was going to pop.

And so the music started playing.

I told myself– I was talking to myself.

I said, you’ve got to calm down.

This stage belongs to you right now.

The moment that screen opens, the whole world’s going to see you.

You’re the first Chinese to perform on here.

I don’t care if you’re going to win or lose tonight.

You better be the best performer tonight.

So this is how you psych yourself up.

This is how you– you were saying these things to yourself.

I was telling myself, you better not let Chinese people look bad on that stage.

You better sound good.

So the moment that screen went up, I was like, and I was singing.

And then I saw Tom Hanks. Hello.

I saw Steven Spielberg. Brad Pitt.

You were singing to them.

Yeah.

I felt that at that moment, the stage was mine.

All of you are watching me.

This is my stage.

And I was really confident.

I was in the zone.

And then– so the music ends.

You know, they’re clapping.

And I’m looking.

Tom Hanks! Oh!

Steven Spielberg! Oh!

Brad Pitt! Ah!

I was so nervous at that moment.

It’s like waking up from a dream, you know?

And then walking off the stage, but really, really nervous at that moment.

And then I saw my sister.

She was the first person I saw.

And she was teary.

She was crying.

And she felt so proud.

At that moment, she was really, really proud. Yeah.

I’m sure, I’m sure.

Everybody was very proud of you.

Your whole family, your whole– everybody who’s been part of your crew.

And Chinese people are very proud of you for that moment as well.

It was really a really unforgettable moment.

Like a dream.

It really still feels like a dream.

You know, to this day, I don’t want to see the playback.

I have not watched the video of the performance.

You’re kidding.

Do you watch your videos?

Do you watch your concerts?

I do.

I always do, because I critique myself.

And I try to improve on my flaws.

That’s the only one I don’t want to watch, because I feel like it

would ruin my memory of it.

Because I would start to critique what I did wrong here and there.

And I won’t be able to enjoy what I remember.

So right now, it’s still my perspective is from the stage.

OK, Coco.

The next time you sing at the Oscars, then you can watch this one.

From 2001.

Oh, I hope so.

I would love to have another of it.

Coco Lee spreading the joy through her music.

We’ll come back after this short break.

Stay tuned.

And welcome back to Up Close, Coco.

You’ve definitely had a very diverse experience.

You were born in Hong Kong, raised in San Francisco in the United States.

And then you’ve been living the last couple of decades

in Asia, in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and greater China.

What do you think this background brings to your music?

How are you different from the other female Asian pop stars?

I feel like I’m a dichotomy of the East and West. It really is.

And the great thing is, growing up in the States,

it helps me to have creativity in my music,

and to keep an open mind, to accept new things, new challenges.

But the great thing about the Eastern culture is with my work ethic and my principle as being a person.

Family is very important to me.

Work ethic, being respectful to people, being professional at your job, working hard, I think all that is from the Eastern side of me.

And I think my mother is a great role model.

She’s a tough cookie.

But she’s been through a lot of hardship in her life to bring us up,

because we’re a single parent family.

And my mom worked really, really hard to raise us.

And she always taught us to persevere during tough times.

Never give up.

But always work hard. Always work hard.

And don’t depend on other people.

Depend on yourself.

And you can achieve anything as long as you work hard

and you put your mind to it.

You have to put in the time.

And so for me, still to this day, I practice singing, I practice dancing, and never stop.

It’s been hard work.

Oh, it’s always been hard work.

Life is not easy.

I think for all those people who are successful,

it’s not because it’s fallen from the sky.

It’s really because they’ve put in the hard work.

They worked really hard.

They prepared for the job and do their homework and put in the time.

And I always believe in that.

Always, always work hard.

Yes.

Very focused on my work.

You’ve had some amazing collaborations with some incredible singers.

You know, Michael Jackson, Julio Iglesias, Will.i.am.

You’re doing a lot of concerts with Will.i.am now these days.

Yeah, that was a lot of fun with Black Eyed Peas, Will.i.am.

That was super, super fun.

We did a concert about a year and a half ago in Beijing,

不亦乐乎, really to encourage that exchange program where

the people from the West come to China to learn about the Chinese culture.

And for me, collaborating with Western acts is always a great experience because I can learn from them.

Because the way they perform on stage is very different from the Chinese performing on stage.

And so every single time is a learning experience.

But I have to particularly thank Julio Iglesias.

Before I thank him, I want to say one more thing, is Michael Jackson.

Being able to meet Michael Jackson seriously to this day

is my biggest, biggest, greatest moment in meeting any star

because I love Michael Jackson since I was a child.

And he’s such a great inspiration.

And he always spreads the word of love.

He really is truly a person who believes in love and sharing love

because this world needs love.

And it makes it a better place.

What was he like?

He’s super shy.

He’s really shy.

He’s very timid.

And he’s quiet.

He’s a quiet guy.

But I loved it when he met me and he said, oh, you know, I love your name, Coco. I love your name.

And I’m like, oh my god, Michael Jackson loves my name.

And actually to become friends with him and go to Neverland and hanging out and really, you know, he’s such an enthusiastic person.

He’s never jaded.

And I learned that from him, too, to never be jaded in what you do.

And he took us to his house and then he brought us to this giant theater and he was playing "Thriller," the remakes.

And he was dancing and showing us.

I was like, oh my god, he’s so adorable.

And this is like 3, 4 o’clock in the morning, OK?

And he’s just full of enthusiasm and just so much energy and passion for his work.

And so I learned that from him as well.

Coco, everyone wants to hear about your marriage with Bruce.

Tell me, what sort of man gets Coco Lee to marry him?

What sort of man gets Coco Lee?

I got a perfect answer for you.

Bruce Rockwood.

What’s he like?

He’s a very, very humorous guy.

He’s very funny.

He’s very charming.

And he’s a very confident type of guy.

But what I love about him is his soul.

He’s a very kind person.

He’s always very generous.

And we donate to a lot of organizations, to charities.

We’re always doing lots of charity work.

And he’s really, really a super, super great guy who’s very handsome.

And so I’m very blessed that he’s very supportive of whatever I love to do.

And a lot of my performances, my concerts,

he’s always there to support me.

And–

He was there for the release of this last album.

Yeah, that was a surprise.

It was a total surprise.

And he knew how important it is to me.

He knew how much work I’ve put into this album.

He’s seen so many nights where I stay up just going through every single lyric.

And because the process of making an album is not easy.

And not every single artist is that hands-on.

And for me, when I do music, it is an extension of me.

It is every single part has to come from me.

And so with the lyrics, the story has to be mine.

And then with the arrangement, because I have all these–

I have an idea of how I want to arrange this music.

And what’s the idea?

What’s the story?

What’s the theme?

And so I’m so grateful for all the producers who’s

given me the freedom to express myself through my music.

But my husband, he’s super supportive.

And he’s seen all the work I’ve put into this album.

So he wants to be there to support me.

Yeah, I’m very blessed.

And we are honestly each other’s best friends.

And we’re each other’s pillar.

And a lot of time, I feel in a relationship,

you’ve got to communicate.

And that’s what we always do.

We communicate with each other.

And I’ll give him advice.

And he’ll give me advice.

And we’re each other’s best listener.

Sounds absolutely wonderful.

Sounds like a perfect, perfect match.

So you’ve accomplished so much, Coco.

You’re still very young.

What’s next for you?

What’s the next challenge?

You seem like somebody who– you said hard work.

You like hard work.

You like challenges.

What’s next for you?

What’s next for me?

I want to keep doing music, for sure.

And I’ve always said I want to do music until nobody

wants to hear me singing anymore.

So I have nobody–

You’ll be singing forever.

I guess.

Well, I hope so.

I just love music.

I feel like with music, there’s so much more I want to express.

And so many different types of music that I want to express through.

And I just feel like in work, I feel like the door just opened for me.

And that now I’m doing–

I’m as a Chinese idol judge.

And with all these young people, I feel like there’s something I can develop, help develop as an artist.

So maybe not necessarily doing on-stage stuff, but maybe more behind the scenes.

So a lot of things are happening.

Or even clothing line, and lots of things, lots of exciting things.

But I definitely don’t want to stop working.

Coco, it’s been such a pleasure to have you.

And to talk to you has been so much fun.

Thank you so much.

Thank you 亦怡

And thank you to our viewers at home for tuning in.

We’ll see you next weekend on Up Close.

Bye for now.