A ray of sunshine: Pop singer Coco Lee’s friends deliver moving tributes at her memorial service

A ray of sunshine who warmed the hearts of those around her – this best sums up how endearing Mandopop superstar Coco Lee was to her family and friends, who bade farewell to the songbird on Monday, more than three weeks after she died at the age of 48.

Her memorial service at a funeral home in her birthplace Hong Kong was decorated with a medley of white, pink, purple and light blue flowers surrounding her brown coffin. Three striking pink flower wreaths in the shape of hearts stood next to the coffin.

Among the black-clad attendees were singers Jenny Tseng and Elva Hsiao, who gave eulogies remembering Lee, whose real name is Ferren Lee.

Lee’s sister Nancy started a live stream of the memorial service on her YouTube channel at 4pm, with more than 40 celebrities and friends such as action star Jackie Chan and singer Jolin Tsai recounting their memories with Lee in pre-recorded videos.

Singapore singers JJ Lin and Stefanie Sun, as well as renowned artistes such as Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Karen Mok and Fish Leong, also paid tribute to the late star.

Many remembered Lee as a talented friend full of warmth and sunshine who touched everyone’s hearts.

In one clip, singer-composer Wang Leehom shared simple moments from the early days of his career working with Lee in Taiwan.

“One day, she bought some really tasty drinks for everyone. I took a sip and thought how could this thing taste so good,” said Wang, who asked Lee for the name of the beverage.

“Then Coco, in her sunny voice, said ‘Starbucks mocha frappuccino’. I was wondering if she was speaking Italian,” Wang said, adding that this was in 1998, when the US coffee chain first entered Taiwan.

“I will forever remember that it was Coco who bought me my first cup of Starbucks.”

Acclaimed director Lee Ang recalled seeing the late singer when she performed A Love Before Time, the theme song of his award-winning movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, at the Oscars in 2001.

“She looked at me and said cutely, ‘I’m the first Asian to stand on this stage, I will do my very, very best to sing’. Her adorable image is still present in my heart,” said Lee Ang.

Her high school classmate in San Francisco, Ms Grace Lee, said she first met Lee when they were both 13, describing her as “refined, popular and, of course, so beautiful”.

She recalled their time spent together in the United States such as playing football and watching the sunset at Santa Monica in Los Angeles.

“When I was with her, I felt free to be whoever I was because I knew she would not judge me, that she loved me no matter what, just as I love her,” said Ms Lee.

She drew parallels between their friendship and a sunflower, describing their friendship as “bright, warm, wild and free, growing in the wilderness”.

Ms Lee said: “Because we never knew when we would see each other again, it was always hard, so hard for us to say goodbye... I don’t know when, but I know we will see each other again, Ferren, pinky swear.”

At least 10,000 fans from around the world watched the live stream on YouTube at one point. Over at Chinese social media platform Weibo, the video chalked up at least 20 million views.

The memorial service at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point will be

held over two days until Tuesday,

when her body will be cremated.

Members of the public and the media were allowed to enter in groups from 6pm to 10pm on Monday. Fans were seen laying flowers near the casket after paying their respects.

Among those who gave their eulogies on Monday was Mr Jonathan Serbin, co-president of Warner Music Asia. Lee joined the music entertainment company in 2022.

He said: “Coco Lee was a true legend in the music industry but just as importantly, she was kind, compassionate and a great friend and mentor to everyone in the world including everyone in this room.

Local media reported that funeral wreaths from her fans and celebrity friends such as producer Edward Chan and Taiwanese diva A-mei streamed in steadily from early on.

Last week, her family released

the list of pallbearers for the funeral.

There were eight names on the list, including her brother-in-law Billy Ho, famed lyricist Yao Chien, Tseng and Mr Serbin.

The other four were Ms Lily Pang, Lee’s close friend of more than 30 years; television host Yang Yang; Ms Lee, her high school classmate; and socialite Colleen Yu Fung.

Lee’s estranged husband, Canadian businessman Bruce Rockowitz, was not on the list. The South China Morning Post reported that he arrived at the memorial service on Monday.

Media reports said Lee’s fans from China, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan were planning to go to Hong Kong for the star’s final send-off.

Lee attempted suicide at home in Hong Kong on July 2 and

subsequently died on July 5.

Lee’s sisters Nancy and Carol have reportedly chosen a photo of Lee from her album Illuminate to be the funeral portrait. In the photo, she wears a white top, said to be her favourite colour, and flashes her trademark smile with wind in her tresses.

Lee burst onto the Mandopop scene in 1994 when she was 19 with her debut album in Taiwan, charming fans with her powerful vocals, slick dance moves and bubbly image. Her wide vocal range, reportedly spanning three octaves, earned her the reputation as the “Mariah Carey of Asia”.

She was crowned winner of the fourth season of Chinese reality show, I Am A Singer, in 2016. She was also well known for performing the theme songs of Disney animated film Mulan and Lee Ang’s wuxia film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.