Yao Beina
| Yao Beina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chinese name | 姚貝娜 (traditional) |
| Chinese name | 姚贝娜 (simplified) |
| Pinyin | Yáo Bèinà (Mandarin) |
| Born |
26 September 1981 Wuhan, Hubei, China |
| Died |
16 January 2015 (aged 33) Shenzhen, Guangdong, China |
| Other name(s) | Bella Yao |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Genre(s) | Mandapop, folk music，Rock,R&B,Jazz |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, guitar |
| Label(s) | Huayi Brothers Music |
| Years active | 2005 - 2015[1] |
| Parents | Feng Yao（the teacher of Bibi Zhou） |
| Alma mater | China Conservatory of Music |
Yao Beina (26 September 1981 – 16 January 2015), also known as Bella Yao, was a Chinese recording singer-songwriter. Often referred to as the "Asian Vocal Diva"， she had a wide vocal range of approximately four octaves.She rose to prominence after her winning Chinese Young Singer Championship with the first full marks in the CCTV Young Singer TV Competition,the most professional and influencing singing competition in China. She performed on the stage of Beijing Olympic Games Closing Ceremony and gradually accumulate her fame as singing theme songs of Empresses in the Palace, Painted Skin: The Resurrection and Back to 1942. She also sang the pop version of Let It Go in Mandarin Chinese for the Disney film Frozen. She competed in the The Voice of China television reality show. Bella's performance caused an Internet sensation that led to her almost-overnight popularity with the No.1 Internet Searched pop star in the Baidu and Sina Weibo.
Bella returned to CCTV Young Singer TV Competition as the youngest judge of this music show in 2013. In the same year，she released her new album “Half of Me”（二分之一的我）.All of songs in this album achieved the No.1 on the Baidu Music Chart,and she once became the No.1 Mandopop Female Singer in the Baidu Music. According to the promising sales and reputations of this album，Bella achieved the best female vocalist in the MusicRadio China TOP Charts Awards, which is the most authoritative award in the Mandopop. She was the first pop solo vocalist performing the finale of CCTV New Year's Gala before new year's coming.
Early life
Yao was born to a family of musicians on 26 September 1981 in Wuhan. Her father, Yao Feng, was the former chairman of the Shenzhen Association of Musicians and now serves as the vice chairman of Guangdong Association of Musicians. Under the influence of her family, she had taken up piano since the age of 4. In 2000, she was admitted to China Conservatory of Music with Dong Hua as her mentor.[1][2][3]
Career
As a pop singer, Yao Beina had had a nearly perfect artistic experience. Growing up in an artistic family, Yao worked for years with the Naval Political Department of the Song and Dance Troupe of the People's Liberation Army, after graduating from the acclaimed China Conservatory of Music. During her servicing in the Troupe, she won the champion in Chinese Young Singer Championship (全国青年歌手电视大奖赛, Quán guó qīng nián gē shǒu diàn shì dà jiǎng sài).[2]
In 2009, she left the Troupe and signed with a label called "乐巢音尚, (Lè cháo yīn shàng)".[4] After giving her first concert in Shen Zhen in 2010，she released her firsh album "Yao Beina"(同名专辑：姚贝娜). The songs, mainly composed by herself, received widespread praise. She impressed Liu Huan and got the opportunity to sing the theme song of the TV series Empresses in the Palace .[5] Yao became well-known to the public after she made a series of songs for the hit drama Empresses in the Palace , in 2012. In the same year,Yao was invited by the famous director Feng Xiaogang to sing the theme song "The River of The Life" ("生命的河")of the film Back to 1942. She sang "Hua Qing" for Painted Skin: The Resurrection，the highest grossing domestic film in China. After she performed in the global premiere of the film perfectly, the song became a hit. Up to 2012, she has made songs for 60 TV dramas and films, and performed twice in CCTV Spring Festival galas (2007 and 2010).
In mid-2013, with her reputation rising and attracting a number of fans, Yao participated in the reality talent show The Voice of China and received great recognition from the show's jury. The show helped her name become the most searched phrase online in China. Yao's every appearance in the talent show was widely commented upon online, with some praising her outstanding singing skills and some digging into her life backstage.Looking back at her experiences over the past several years, Yao said the reality talent show was the most valuable to her, because it helped her become known to the public.Before the talent show, people just knew her as "the one that sang the theme tune to Empresses in the Palace ". More importantly, the challenges and tears during the talent show have made her more determined and stronger, and taught her how to bravely face the odds in life.
Performances in The Voice：
| Date | Round | Song | Original Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 13, 2013 | Blind Auditions | Maybe Tomorrow (也许明天) | A-mei |
| August 16, 2013 | The Battle of Team Na Ying | Reflection (自己,feat Lin Yu-chun) | Christina Aguilera |
| September 13, 2013 | The Knockouts of Team Na Ying | Maybe still (也许在) | Sun Nan |
| Septeber 20, 2013 | The playoffs of Team Na Ying Round 1 | Hold (把握） | Su Rui |
| Septeber 20, 2013 | The playoffs of Team Na Ying Round 2 | Dear Friend | Shun Zi |
| Septeber 20, 2013 | The playoffs of Team Na Ying Round 3 | All By Myself | Celine Dion |
Due to the huge success in The Voice, Yao performed thirdly in CCTV Spring Festival gala and this time, there is a solo opportunity performing the finale of CCTV New Year's Gala before new year's coming. Bella became the first pop solo singer singing at this period of time in CCTV New Year's Galas.As a CCTV online survey showed, Yao's songs topped the list of audiences' favorite performances during the 2014 Spring Festival Gala. She also gained recognition from Disney and sang the Let It Go pop version in Mandarin Chinese for Frozen. Her version was soon hitted over hundreds of million times in China in 2014.
Year 2014 was Bella’s year. For the promising sales and reputations of "Half of Me"("二分之一的我"),she won many prizes and awards, including The Best Artist, The Best Debut, The Most Wonderful Song, The Best Singer. On 26 April 2014，she achieved the best female vocalist in the MusicRadio China TOP Charts Awards,which is the most authoritative award in the Mandopop. She covered two songs,"矜持"and "至少还有你 ". These two songs soon became hits in Chinese music website. She was selected as the image ambassador of Lancôme in the summer of 2014. In Autumn，Bella was invited to attend the 60th anniversary of Communication University of China and then she hold a concert in the Shanxi Agricultural University. On 10 October 2014 , Bella performed on the stage of China TV Golden Eagle Awards with Liu Huan,China's modern era pioneers in pop music and considered China's King of Pop. In the same month，Bella took part in the musical reality show "Hi Song"("Hi歌") performing "Fish"("鱼") . This song was hitted over 50 million times in 3 days. And this was her last live performance in her short life. She dropped the chance to cooperate with Hyorin to sing "let it go" in Mandarin Chinese and Korean due to her health problem.
Cancer and death
Yao was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2011. Afterwards, she went through mastectomy, chemotherapy and cosmetic treatments.[1][4]
In September 2013, Yao was invited to become the image ambassador for China Pink Ribbon Campaign, which aims to raise awareness of breast cancer. As a breast cancer survivor herself, she was considered the most suitable for the post.
In December of that year, Yao released the song Heart Fire, which describes her struggle and pain when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 at the age of 30. "If you never cry in the middle of the night, you will never be qualified to talk about fate… don't ask me why, because I have fought the devil several times," she wrote in the lyrics.
Fortunately, Yao survived, but the cost was high. She underwent a mastectomy and had her left breast removed. "It is a wise choice if you face reality and bravely fight and defeat cancer," Yao said.
After the surgery, Yao received chemotherapy, during which she made the songs for The Legend of Zhenhua.
Yao hopes her story and her songs can bring hope to those suffering from breast cancer. "I hope I can bring strength to people and boost their confidence with my songs," she said.
Because of her personal experience, Yao has a solid understanding of the fear and pain that breast cancer patients suffer from, both physically and psychologically. After recovering, Yao joined Pink Ribbon campaign to raise awareness of preventing and treating breast cancer.
As is traditional with this campaign, its image ambassador needs to make a topless poster to remind women to take care of their body and raise the public's awareness of women's breast health. The visceral impact of seeing a woman with an amputated breast, especially in an age saturated in images of commodified female flesh, has proven to be a successful, yet shocking method of raising awareness, among both men and women. Growing up in a relatively conservative society, Yao initially felt nervous, but later relaxed after thinking about 'bringing victims courage by doing so.'
In the autumn of 2013, Yao's posters were posted across the country, and through these posters she wanted to send the message: "You can win in the battle against breast cancer."
In September that year, she visited patients at Beijing Cancer Hospital. Along with encouraging them, Yao also talked with members of the Beijing Cancer Rehabilitation Association.
Through these efforts, Yao wants everyone to know that, "When facing cancer, you have no other choice than to defeat it."
On the other hand, Yao understands that many breast cancer sufferers fear that they may lose their breasts. With her personal experiences, Yao shows them that breast cancer surgery won't cause more damage than the cancer itself, and help to persuade them to choose proper treatment therapies according to doctor's advice.
As an optimistic person, Yao hopes to continue contributing whatever she can to give cancer victims the strength to recover and survive.
Mournfully，in December 2014, Yao had a recurrence of the cancer and her situation was reported to have worsened on 15 January 2015. She died a day later in Shenzhen, Guangdong, aged 33.[6][7] According to her wish, her corneas were donated to two recipients in Shenzhen and Chengdu.[8]
Memorial services were held on 20 January.[9] Her first posthumous album "Forever"("永存"),produced by Liu Chia-chang，who was responsible for the success of Teresa Teng.
Her ashes were interred on September 4 in the Shimenfeng Memorial Park of her place of birth, the city of Wuhan, China, prior to the release of her second posthumous album "Proud"("天生骄傲") , which was still under production at the time of her death. It was released on her birth anniversary (September 26) and the celebration of her homecoming. The album was one of the best selling albums in the year list of Jing Dong.
Her posthumous single,Glory ("风光")，was released on 16 January 2016. After few days,the single peaked No.2 on the QQ Music New Single Chart.Up to February, the single has still been at the top 2 on the Asian New Single Chart.
Asteroid 41981
On April 9, 2015, according to the news released by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the asteroid "41981" was named after Yao Beina. The asteroid was discovered by Yang Guangyu in 2000, an amateur astronomer from Hong Kong. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) named the asteroid "Yaobeina", which was suggested by Yang in memory of the singer. NASA describes Yao Beina in its website as "Yaobeina (1981–2015) was a talented and courageous Chinese singer who won numerous awards for the best Chinese pop song performance. One of Yao's famous songs, "Fire of the Heart", was about the reflections on her battle with breast cancer.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Nomination | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | CCTV-MTV Music Awards | Most Popular and Potential Vocalist | Bella Yao | Won |
| 2010 | Chinese Song Chart-Beijing Pop Music Awards | Best Female Vocalist | Bella Yao | Nominated |
| 2010 | CCTV-MTV Music Awards | Best New Vocalist | Bella Yao | Nominated |
| 2013 | TV Drama Awards Made in China | Most Popular Female Vocalist | Bella Yao | Won |
| 2013 | Top Chinese Music Awards | Best EP | Half of Me （二分之一的我） | Won |
| 2013 | Female Model Prize | Personal | Bella Yao | Won |
| 2013 | Tencent Weibo Awards | Most Popular Female Vocalist | Bella Yao | Won |
| 2013 | Sina Weibo Awards | Most Popular Female Vocalist | Bella Yao | Won |
| 2014 | CCTV New Year's Gala Awards | Most Popular live performance | “天耀中华” | Won |
| 2014 | MusicRadio China TOP Charts Awards | Best Female Vocalist | Bella Yao | Won |
| 2014 | MusicRadio China TOP Charts Awards | Top 10 Gold Songs | Fire of the Heart（心火） | Won |
| 2015 | Huading Awards | Most Popular Female Vocalist | Bella Yao | Won |
References
- 1 2 3 "33岁女歌手姚贝娜乳腺癌复发昨去世 病中为了音乐仍然很拼" (in Chinese). China Internet Information Center. 17 January 2015.
- 1 2 "Voice of China profile". The Voice of China (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ↑ "回顾姚贝娜绚烂一生：刘欢爱徒 家庭背景非同一般" (in Chinese). 大众网. 17 January 2015.
- 1 2 "姚贝娜忆患癌：手术历时8小时 乳房切了再造". Tencent. 28 December 2013.
- ↑ "Newspaper apologises for snapping photos of deceased singer". China Daily (AsiaOne). Asia News Network. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ↑ "姚贝娜病逝仅33岁 医院确认时间16点55分". Phoenix Television (in Chinese). 16 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ↑ ""Voice of China" Singer Yao Beina Dies of Breast Cancer". CRI News. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ↑ "姚贝娜眼角膜摘除手术持续5分钟 医生称非常透明". ChinaNews.com (in Chinese). 16 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ↑ "姚贝娜追悼会放自己歌曲 母亲含泪怜惜" (in Chinese). Sina Corp. 18 January 2015.
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