Yao Beina

Yao Beina 姚贝娜
Background information
Chinese name	姚貝娜 (traditional)
Chinese name	姚贝娜 (simplified)
Pinyin	Yáo Bèinà (Mandarin)
Born	(1981-09-26)26 September 1981 Wuhan, Hubei, China
Died	16 January 2015(2015-01-16) (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	Yao Feng (the teacher of Bibi Zhou) Li Xinmin
Alma mater	China Conservatory of Music

Yao Beina (26 September 1981 – 16 January 2015), also known as Bella Yao, was a Chinese record singer-songwriter. Known as the "true best voice of China", Bella was the first Chinese singer who excelled in pop, rock, Chinese opera, Chinese folk songs, Bel canto, music composition, and song writing. She was the most successful Chinese singer in combining the techniques of Chinese folk singing with those of Bel canto when singing pop songs, creating a unique power of penetration in her mixed voice without any detectable "flip point". Bella also enjoyed acting in comedy skits. She had many nicknames: Lucky-charm (Ru-Yi), Dumb-Na (Er-Na), Lyric-skipping-Na (Wangci-Na), big-mouth Yao (Yao Dazui), Gluttonous-Na (Chihuo-Na), all given out of affection by her friends and fans for her transparent and down-to-earth personality. Among the record-making professionals, she was referred to as "One-pass-Yao" or "Precision-Yao", describing her high success rate of recording songs (usually requires only one complete pass) and her absolute sense of precision of the keys. She was also often referred to as the "Asian Vocal Diva"， for her wide vocal range of approximately four octaves.

She rose to prominence after winning the Chinese Young Singer TV competition Championship in 2008 with the first full mark in history. The CCTV Young Singer TV Competition is the most professional and influential singing competition of 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 was the designated singer of the Mandarin version of Let It Go (at the end of the movie) 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. But at the time of the birth of Bella, he was an assistant professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. Under the supervision of her parents, she started to take piano lessons at the age of 4. At the age of 6, according to her father, she could precisely tell the note of each key on the piano and sing it out. Eventually she was qualified as a Level 10 piano player, which is the highest qualification level in China. Her first recording for the local TV station took place at the age of 9, after her father discovered her unique voice when she was singing the national anthem. She continued to sing for galas on the local TV channels as a child star through her teenage years.

Bella went to Wuhan No. 45th Middle school for junior high. She was an average student overall. Though excelled in music she had difficulties with the math class. One time after receiving 21% on her math exam, she took a long walk by herself in the city without returning home till very late at night. She later termed this event as the "only major rebellion during her teenage years." She was admitted by the Wuhan Conservatory of Music Affiliated High School for her senior years. Her father became her teacher in popular music. She excelled in all music subject as the number one student of the high school. After her father's job transfer to Shenzhen, there was no teacher left at the high school to teach popular music and her grades became the second last of the school. After a talk with Mrs. Feng, a teacher of Chinese folks music at the high school, Bella quickly adjusted her attitudes and became the number one student again.

In 2000, she was admitted to China Conservatory of Music with Dong Hua, a master of the Chinese folks music, as her mentor.^[1][2][3] According to Dong Hua, the most impressive quality of Bella during the admission exam was "her precise notion of the key." "She was quick in understanding, and I decided right away that I wanted to teach her everything I've got."

Career

As a pop singer, Yao Beina had had a nearly perfect artistic experience. Yao worked for four years in 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 in 2005. 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]

When singing "The Spring River" on New Year's Eve Gala of 2011, she combined Tibetan folk style with rock to sing this Chinese folk song, finishing with a G5 note that lasted 7.7 seconds.

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：

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.^[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, she was considered the most suitable candidate 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 went through eight sessions of chemotherapy, during which she recorded the songs for Empresses in the Palace.

Yao hoped her story and her songs could 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 had 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, Yao needed 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. Through these posters, Yao wanted to send the message "You can win in the battle against breast cancer."

In September of that year, she visited patients at Beijing Cancer Hospital. Yao also talked with members of the Beijing Cancer Rehabilitation Association.

Through these efforts, Yao wanted everyone to know that, "When facing cancer, you have no other choice than to defeat it."

On the other hand, Yao understood that many breast cancer sufferers fear that they may lose their breasts. With her personal experiences, Yao sought to show them that breast cancer surgery would not cause more damage than the cancer itself and to help to persuade them to choose proper treatment therapies according to doctor's advice.

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"), was produced by Liu Chia-chang.

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 "Born 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 listed as 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.

Charities and Social Contributions

As an enlisted member of the Naval Political Department of the Song and Dance Troupe of the People's Liberation Army in 2008, Bella was ordered to help relieve the earthquake zones in Sichuan province, where more than 80,000 people lost their lives. She and her colleagues traveled to the disaster zones and performed for the survivors as well as the PLA soldiers working in the area. She personally donated 30,000 RMB (5,000 USD) while her annual salary as an enlisted member was estimated to be less than 15,000 RMB (2,500 USD). According to later documented interviews with her, she was coping with a long term depression at the moment of the earthquake and she had constant thoughts of death. Later, when her parents went through her belongings after she passed away, a short note was found and it said: "When I saw the eyes of the children from the disaster zones were again filled with hope, I felt that my performance was valuable."

Due to the depression, she finally left the Troupe after requesting resignation for the third time in 2009. She continued to participate in charity events by constantly organizing fund-raising events, gathering clothes and medical supplies, and sent them to Sichuan and Xinjiang provinces, especially to help the children who needed education. She mentioned that some Japanese friends also helped her to gather the medical supplies. The known charities continued throughout 2014, uninterrupted by the terrorist attack at the Kunming train station in March. The overall frequency and the total amount of aid sent by her were not clear.

After the earthquake and radiation leakage in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011, she encouraged a fund-raising event to help. She said on her blog that she was praying for the victims and the refugees of the disaster, and would like to help them make through the difficult times. Learning that some Japanese workers risked their own lives and stayed in the contaminated area to contain the contamination from the reactor, she wrote: "They are the real heroes."

In addition to cancer awareness activities, Bella also attended an awareness-raising event for the care of children as the "Ambassador of Love" in 2014. Regretting not having any child of her own, possibly because of the cancer, she once commented during an interview: "When you saw all of your friends have children who are old enough to run errands, and post their pictures on the Internet, this was the only time you would feel just a little stimulated."

Her decision came at the end of 2014 to donate her body in case of death. It turned out that before her death in 2015, the metastasis left only her corneas intact and suitable for donation. So far her corneas have helped four patients to recover their visions. Shortly after her death, the number of Chinese people who voluntarily signed organ donation agreement had doubled within a month. This coincides with the government announcement that from the first day of 2015, organ harvesting from executed prisoners was banned in China. The unexpected coincidence was mentioned by the Minister of Health, Huang Jiefu, during an TV interview and he said: "Maybe we can still hear her singing in Heaven..."

Her parents auctioned her personal belongings on the Internet after her death. The auction raised 2,510,000 RMB (~400,000 USD) and they were donated to a high school in the Xinjiang province, where Bella and her father had an inspiration for writing a song that incorporated the unique local ethnic music style. The donation was to be dedicated to renovating the school and a scholarship for achievements in music. According to her father, helping the local children was a wish that she had long shared with him.

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

Professional Critics

"The most capable female singer of our time, without the 'one-of' prefix."

"The best voice of the past decades of China."

"Her singing techniques are about to rewrite Chinese music textbooks."

"From the start till the end of the National Competition, she was extremely stable in her condition and she was in the lead all along..." "The more we listened to her, the more touched all of the judges became. We decided that this was a genius... a genius of music." "We don't usually give a full mark unless something very exceptional; but we gave her the full mark, for the first time in the history of the Competition." (Judges of the CCTV National Young Singers Competition)

"One of the best experts of vocal art, an extremely rare professional singer." (Han Lei, professional singer)

"If you could find just ONE other like her from the whole China, I would bring myself down to my knees, for you made a great contribution to Chinese music." (Lao Zai, composer, pop song writer and editor)

"You are, I can say, already an extremely top-rated singer." (Wang Feng, Judge of the Voice of China)

"You people probably have no idea, what a great singer she is. She is SO SO EXCELLENT." "Yao's capability is so substantial... beyond your imagination. If she gives it a burst, ... (she becomes) a totally different person." "Losing her, is the loss of everyone." (Liu Huan, singer and composer, icon figure of Chinese pop music)

Awards

References