Mavis Hee

Mavis Hee (born 27 September 1974), born Xu Meifeng, and also known as Xu Meijing, is a Singaporean singer-songwriter and actress. She was the second runner-up and also Miss Photogenic and Miss Amity for Singapore's Miss Chinatown Pageant 1992.^[1]

Career

Hee's first album Knowingly (明知道) was released in August 1994. After the release, Taiwanese singer-composer Jonathan Lee invited her to join his production company. However, Hee rejected the offer so that she could continue working with her mentor, Chen Jiaming (陈佳明).

Hee went on to release other chart topping albums. Her debut album in Taiwan, Regret, propelled her to regional stardom. She was labelled "Heavenly Queen Killer" (or 天后杀手) for having beaten Faye Wong and the 'Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop' in sales charts. Her best-selling album to date, Living By Night (都是夜归人), chalked an impressive 300,000 copies in Taiwan. Following the success, Hee broke into the competitive Cantonese market with the release of Listen Quietly 静听精彩13首. The album topped the Hong Kong IFPI sales chart for 3 consecutive weeks, beating other Hong Kong singer, Andy Lau, Leon Lai and Sammi Cheng. She became the first Singaporean to win the Most Popular Female Singer award in HK Metro Hit awards, beating Faye Wong.

She also released a compilations album, Review 1996-1999, which sold more than 250,000 copies in Taiwan. Her last album released was the electronic infused Heelectronic (静电). She is famous for her ballads such as "Regret" (遗憾), "Iron Window" (铁窗), "Living By Night" (都是夜归人), "Sunshine After the Rain" (阳光总在风雨后) and "Moonlight in the City" (城里的月光).

In 1998, Hee was handpicked by the cinematographer Christopher Doyle to star in his directorial debut film Away With Words. Lending her star support, she was the ambassador of Singapore's National Kidney Foundation in 1999 and also a volunteer in Youth Challenge in the same year.

Hee was the singer for Singapore's National Day Parade 2000 theme song, "Shine on Me", together with fellow Singaporean Jai. She was also appointed a cultural ambassador for China in 2001.

Hee made a conscious decision to fade out from the music scene after 2001, when her record company, What's Music, was absorbed into Universal Music Taiwan, and the company could not accommodate her artistic integrity within commercial considerations. Some of her last public appearances were for MediaCorp, a Singapore television and broadcast station, where she recorded the hit single Watch TV with fellow Singaporean singers Tanya Chua and Stefanie Sun, and as a guest presenter at the Star Awards 2002 (her last public appearance).

From 2003 to 2004, she travelled around Italy.

In June 2006, Hee hit the headlines in Singapore when she was arrested after harassing two hotel guests at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. She was warded at Singapore's Institute of Mental Health, and was diagnosed with clinical depression after a stay of four weeks. She was not charged by the police. In October 2006, she came out to explain her actions in a series of interviews with the Singapore media, explaining that she was on the road to recovery. She also thanked her fans for their immense support all these years.

On 10 Dec 2006, Hee was invited as a guest presenter for Singapore's Star Awards 2006, presumably to mark her official comeback to the music industry. She also apologised for the hotel incident as she was sick.

On 13 February 2007, Hee returned to the stage for the first time after the incident as a special guest at a Charity Concert for Silver Ribbon (Singapore) and sang "Moonlight in the City". She was well supported by her family and friends who attended with her.

In 27 September 2007, Hee's 33rd birthday, she released two new singles after a hiatus of seven years. They were the theme songs of the movie, Anna & Anna, "Remain Behind" (留下) and "Unknown Location" (不知处).

In June 2008, Hee finally returned to the stage to perform the opening act for a charity concert with other Singaporean singers to raise funds to help the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Hee sang "Moonlight in the City" and "Sunshine After the Rain".

Hee's latest performance include attending CCTV's annual mega Mid-Autumn Show 2008 where prominent Chinese entertainers are invited to perform. This had raised Hee's profile tremendously especially since it is transmitted live to millions of audience throughout China and Asia. This show also serve as the first step to Hee's slow but steady comeback.

More performances and meet-the-fans sessions are expected in December. Rumour has it that Hee will release her third single in December 2008 too.

Discography

References