Denise Ho

Denise Ho
Background information
Chinese name 何韻詩 (traditional)
Chinese name 何韵诗 (simplified)
Pinyin Hé Yùnshī (Mandarin)
Jyutping ho4 wan5 si1 (Cantonese)
Born (1977-05-10) 10 May 1977
Hong Kong
Origin Hong Kong and Canada
Alma mater Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf
Occupation singer-songwriter, music entrepreneur, producer, actress, writer
Years active 1996–present
Nationality Canadian
Genre(s) Cantopop, Mandopop, alternative rock, symphonic rock, synthpop, soul, electronic rock
Instrument(s) Guitar, electronic keyboard, piano
Voice type(s) Contralto
Label(s) Goomusic (2015–present)
East Asia Music (2004–2015)
EMI (2002–2004)
Capital Artists (1996–2001)
Ancestry Shunde, Guangdong
Website www.goomusic.com.hk
hall1c.com
Awards
New Talent Singing Awards
1996 Winner

Denise Ho Wan-see,[1] also known as HOCC[2] (born 10 May 1977[3]), is a Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer[4] and actress, as well as a pro-democracy and LGBT rights activist.

Early life and education

Denise Ho was born 10 May 1977 in Hong Kong, to two parents who were both teachers.[5] There, she began her primary school education, at the Diocesan Girls' Junior School.

At age 11, in 1988, she moved with her parents from Hong Kong to Montreal, Canada.[5] Ho first attended Jean-de-la-Mennais College,[6] an elementary and middle in La Prairie, on the Rive-Sud (the suburban South Shore of Montreal), then attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf,[7] a Catholic college preparatory secondary school and private college.[5] There, she received a Quebec Diploma of College Studies in Arts and Communications.

She then began studies at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM),[6] in graphic design.[5]

Career

1996–1999

At age 19, Ho enrolled in a song contest in Hong Kong—the 1996 New Talent Singing Awards[8]—and to her stated surprise, won the competition (referring to it as an "accident").[5][8]

This gave her the opportunity to meet Anita Mui, a diva of cantopop[5]—"queen of Hong Kong movies and…renowned in the… world of Cantonese pop music"[9]—of whom she had been a fan since childhood,[8] and who would become her mentor following her win.[5] This launched her career, and at this time she took on the stage name, "HoCC"; this gave her the opportunity to record an album,[5] and gave her a recording contract with Capital Artists. In the intervening period between the contents win and her first album, Ho toured as a background vocalist with Mui, and hosted various television programs produced by TVB.

2000–2004

Ho released her first album "First" in 2001, in her fourth year of the contract with Capital Artists. Produced by Choy Yat Chi of Grasshopper (band), this EP, containing her first single "Thousands more of me" (千千萬萬個我）and "Home of Glory" (光榮之家），defined with success Ho's style as the rock pop independent female she is up till recent years. She earned the gold award of "Best new singer" of the year in CRHK and also in various awards ceremony. In October of the same year, Capital Artists announced bankruptcy， resulting in the end of Ho's first record label era.

After Capital Artists closed, Ho joined EMI in 2002. Although she was only with the company for a brief 2-year period, it was during this time that her musical talents flourished. She teamed up with Ying C Foo (英師傅) for her first EMI label release, hocc². The song "Angel Blues" (天使藍), composed by Ho herself, not only reached top spots on music charts, but according to Ho, it is also her "growing up" song.[4]

Another single in the EP, "Rosemary" (露絲瑪莉), written by Wyman Wong, created considerable controversies at the time, as it touched on the topic of lesbianism. This song also marked the beginning of Ho's series of songs containing gay themes. Following the success of "Rosemary" (露絲瑪莉), Ho continued the story of the two lovers in "Goodbye... Rosemary" (再見…露絲瑪莉) in her first full-length album, free love.

The year 2002 proved to be a successful year for Ho. The two singles "Angel Blues" (天使藍) and "Goodbye... Rosemary" (再見…露絲瑪莉) won multiple music awards in Hong Kong, including CASH Golden Sail Music Awards (CASH金帆音樂獎) – "Best Vocal Performance by a Female Artist" for the song "Angel Blues". In the same year, Ho won the renowned "Female Singer Bronze Award" in the Commercial Radio Hong Kong Annual Awards (叱吒樂壇流行榜頒獎典禮).

In 2003, Ho did a "Music is Live" concert with Andy Hui, who is also an apprentice of Anita Mui. Their performance won praise from the critics, and Ho proved to the audience her abilities to perform live as a musician. Later that year, Ho released her second full-length album Dress Me Up!. She was the credited as the producer of the album, indicating that Ho has finally gained full control over her music. In September 2003, Ho's longtime mentor, Anita Mui announced she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Shortly after the announcement, Anita lost her battle against cervical cancer and died on 30 December 2003. Between 2003 and 2004, Ho took on the role of hosting TVB's weekly live music show, Jade Solid Gold. In 2004, she appeared in Sammi Cheng's 2004 "Sammi vs. Sammi" concert as a cross-dressing cigarette-smoking admirer of Sammi Cheng. Ho's critically acclaimed performance in the short musical segment not only brought attention to the role she played, but also further established herself as a tremendous live performer. In September 2004, Ho signed a contract with East Asia Music.

2005–2009

The album Glam, which pays tribute to the superstars of the 80's, was released in January 2005. It also marked the start of a close collaboration between Ho and the Green Mountain Orchestra band. She was named the Orbis Student Ambassador 2005, and visited Hainan in July. In September 2005, Ho performed in the musical Butterfly Lovers (梁祝下世傳奇) as the leading actress, producer and musical director. Her album of the same name gave her three Number 1 singles – "Becoming a Butterfly" (化蝶), "Lawrence and Lewis" (勞斯．萊斯) and "Coffee in a Soda Bottle" (汽水樽裡的咖啡), which are all based on the story of the Butterfly Lovers, with possible homosexual themes. These singles helped her to receive the "Female Singer Silver Award" at the Commercial Radio Hong Kong Annual Awards 2005 (叱吒樂壇流行榜頒獎典禮).

Ho held her first Hong Kong Coliseum concert "Live in Unity 2006" on 26–28 October 2006. The concert was a great success and was positively received by the public. She decided to stage a second concert, "Live in Unity 2007", on 19–20 January 2007 following the original concert's success. Her single, We Stand As One, named after the slogan for the "Live in Unity" concerts, was released on 11 January 2007. Recordings of the concert were later released in February 2007. She went on a worldwide tour, performing in Toronto, Canada and Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The significant public attention and positive reception to her music helped her garner the "Female Singer Gold Award" at the Commercial Radio Hong Kong Annual Awards 2006 (叱吒樂壇流行榜頒獎典禮). She sang the Chinese version of Ayumi Hamasaki's song "Secret", known as "Wounded City Secret" (傷城秘密), for the 2006 movie Confession of Pain. She continued as the Orbis Student Ambassdor 2006 and visited Vietnam, and later started her own charitable fund. In 2008, a new album Ten Days in the Madhouse was released. She produced this album from the viewpoint of society's outcasts and to raise awareness of mental health issues. She encouraged people to understand and find out more about people with mental illnesses and those who formerly suffered from mental illnesses, and care about their needs and situations. Ho encouraged communication between them and the public, ultimately, to achieve social harmony. "Ten Days in the Madhouse" was Ho's most ambitious project yet with the release of a documentary by Hong Kong director Yan Yan Mak (Butterfly) and an exhibition for charity, Ho showed that a multimedia project by a musician can be about something more important than clothing tie-ins.[10]

In 2009, she followed up her plan from the previous year and organised a free concert (a rarity in Hong Kong) called "Happiness is Free" in the outdoor courtyard in Diocesan Boys' School. She managed to book the place because her father was a teacher there. In June, she began shooting a new TVB sitcom titled O.L. Supreme with Liza Wang. In July, she released her new song "The Old Testament" (舊約) and announced that she would hold her "SUPERGOO" themed concerts would be held from 9–12 October that year. Following the concerts, Ho took on a role in the new stage comedy "Man and Woman, War and Peace" (男人與女人之戰爭與和平) directed by Edward Lam. The stage comedy was presented on 13–16 November at Kwai Tsing Theatre in Hong Kong.[11]

2010–2015

In 2010, Ho appeared in the film Life Without Principle directed by Johnnie To.[12]

In September 2010, her first Mandarin album Nameless Poem (無名．詩) was released in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and she held "Homecoming" concerts in Hong Kong in December 2010. In 2011, Ho received her first nomination for a Golden Melody Award, as Best Mandarin Female Singer, at the 22nd Annual ceremony for those awards.

In 2012, she was nominated for a Golden Horse Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the movie Life Without Principle, which was won by Taiwan's Gwei Lun-mei at that 49th Annual ceremony. In 2013, Ho continued the tour of her play, Awakening, in Singapore and in many cities in China. She released her second Mandarin album, Coexistence, whose theme is embracing and supporting others despite differences. Ho received her second nomination for a Golden Melody Popular Music Award, as Best Mandarin Female Singer, at the 25th Annual ceremony in 2015.

Activism

When asked about the origins of her "passion for freedom of expression," Ho replied to reporter Frédéric Lelièvre of La Presse that it was probably from her being an adolescent in Montreal at the time of the 1995 Quebec referendum.[5]

LGBT issues

Ho proudly announced herself as "tongzhi" (Cantonese:tongzi), a Chinese slang term for gay, at age 35, the fourth annual Hong Kong Pride Parade on 10 November 2012.[13][14]

Sara Gates of The Huffington Post reports the various Hong Kong media outlets had indicated that Ho was the first "mainstream female singer in Hong Kong to come out of the closet."[14] Since then, Ho has been involved in the Big Love Alliance (大愛同盟), a civil rights group striving equal rights for the LGBT community,[15] and she became a columnist for Apple Daily in 2014 and was recognised for her activism for LGBT rights in Hong Kong.

Ho faced a visa refusal by Malaysia on February 2018, which forced her to cancel the concert on April, allegedly related to her stance on LGBT and her LGBT identity.

Pro-democracy activism

Denise Ho speaking during the 2014 Hong Kong protests.

Ho supported the 2014 Hong Kong protests, and a protester herself. On the subject, she stated, "I saw the students rushing in, then the tear gas... There was no option but to stand up. [...] My favourite thing about Hong Kong is this moment in time – but it's also my least favorite. The most beautiful and the ugliest sides of Hong Kong are both happening right here. The Hong Kong spirit of helping each other out is something that was lost for a long time. But that's making a return. I don't like the greed, the selfishness, and the indifference some people feel towards what's happening in society."[8]

On 5 June 2016, French cosmetics brand Lancôme cancelled a promotional concert by Denise Ho that was scheduled to be held on 19 June in Sheung Wan.[16] This action was taken in response to a boycott campaign launched by the Communist Party-controlled Global Times, which denigrated her for supposedly supporting Hong Kong and Tibet independence.[16]

Lancôme added, in a Facebook post, that Ho is not a spokesperson for the brand.[17] The Tibet allegation appeared to have stemmed from Ho's May 2016 meeting with the Dalai Lama. The cancellation drew a heavy backlash in Hong Kong.[16][17][18] Ho says that citizens' wish for self-rule ought not to be considered a crime.[5]

Shortly after the Lancôme incident, Ho announced a crowd-sponsorship campaign named "Togetherly Exclusive Sponsorship" for her Hong Kong Coliseum concert "Dear Friend,", (which was planned to be held in October of the same year), in response to being avoided by corporates.[19] The campaign amazingly drew in near to 300 individual and business sponsors priced at $15k HKD each, which headlined newspapers and generated overall support within the general public. The 4 showings of the concert, a total of 50000 tickets, sold out within two hours.[20]

In 2016 she was chosen as one of BBC's 100 Women[21]

Discography

  • 2001 – first. (EP)
  • 2002 – hocc² (EP)
  • 2002 – free {love}
  • 2003 – Roundup (Compilation)
  • 2003 – Music is Live 03 Andy Hui X Denise Ho (許志安 X 何韻詩 2人交叉組合拉闊03) (Live Album)
  • 2003 – Dress Me Up!
  • 2004 – The Best of HOCC (Compilation)
  • 2005 – Glamorous (艷光四射)
  • 2005 – Butterfly Lovers (梁祝下世傳奇)
  • 2006 – Our Time Has Come (EP)
  • 2006 – HOCC – The Greatest Hits (最愛 何韻詩) (Compilation)
  • 2007 – We Stand As One (Single)
  • 2007 – HOCC Live in Unity 2006 (HOCC Live in Unity 2006 演唱會) (Live Album)
  • 2007 – What Really Matters
  • 2008 – Goomusic Collection 2004–2008 (Compilation)
  • 2008 – Ten Days in the Madhouse
  • 2009 – Heroes
  • 2009 – HOCC Supergoo Live 2009 (HOCC Supergoo Live 2009 演唱會) (Live Album)
  • 2010 – Poem and Nonsense 詩與胡說 (Single)
  • 2010 – Unnamed.Poem 無名．詩 (Debut Mandarin Album)
  • 2011 – Green (Single)
  • 2011 – Awakening
  • 2012 – Awakening (Mandarin Version)
  • 2012 – All is Fair 無臉人 (Single with Bonus Track of English Version)
  • 2013 – Coexistence 共存 (Mandarin Album)
  • 2013 – Recollections (Cover Album)
  • 2014 – Memento Live 2013 Concert (Live Album)
  • 2015 – 十八種香港伊館站 REIMAGINE LIVE CD
  • 2017 – Dear Friend, Hocc Live 2016 CD

Songs

The following are songs which have not appeared on any of Denise Ho's albums:

VCDs

  • 2003 – Music is Live 03 Andy Hui X Denise Ho (許志安 X 何韻詩 2人交叉組合拉闊03)
  • 2005 – Good Morning! Manhattan (早安啊! 曼克頓)
  • 2005 – Butterfly Lovers – The Musical (梁祝下世傳奇 舞台劇)
  • 2007 – HOCC Live in Unity 2006 – We Stand As One 演唱會 Live Karaoke

DVDs

  • 2003 – Music is Live 03 Andy Hui X Denise Ho (許志安 X 何韻詩 2人交叉組合拉闊03)
  • 2005 – Butterfly Lovers – The Musical (梁祝下世傳奇 舞台劇)
  • 2007 – HOCC Live in Unity 2006 – We Stand As One 演唱會 Live Karaoke
  • 2007 – Small Matters
  • 2008 – The Decameron (十日談)
  • 2009 – "Happiness is Free" Live (快樂是免費的 音樂會)
  • 2009 – HOCC Supergoo Live 2009 Karaoke
  • 2010 – HOCC Homecoming Live 2010
  • 2012 – Awakening Documentary
  • 2014 – Memento Live 2013 Concert
  • 2015 – 十八種香港伊館站 REIMAGINE LIVE DVD
  • 2017 – "Dear Friend," HOCC 2016 LIVE DVD

Filmography

Film

  • 1998 – Rumble Ages (烈火青春)
  • 2000 – The Slayer of Demons (妖怪傳) – Voice only: Sakuya (聲演: 神木櫻夜)
  • 2003 – 1:99
  • 2003 – Naked Ambition (豪情)
  • 2003 – Anna in Kungfuland (安娜與武林)
  • 2003 – Hidden Track (尋找周杰倫)
  • 2006 – Superstition
  • 2007 – The Simpsons Movie (阿森一族大電影) – Hong Kong Voice only: Bart Simpson
  • 2008 – Kung Fu Panda (功夫熊貓) – Hong Kong Voice only: Tigress
  • 2009 – Look for a Star (游龍戲鳳)
  • 2010 – 72 Tenants of Prosperity
  • 2010 – Merry-Go-Round
  • 2011 – Kung Fu Panda (功夫熊貓) – Hong Kong Voice only: Tigress
  • 2011 – Life Without Principle (奪命金)
  • 2012 – I Love Hong Kong 2012 (2012我愛HK 喜上加囍)
  • 2013 – Young and Dangerous: Reloaded

TV series

  • 1999 – Anti-Crime Squad (反黑先鋒) as 單解心[22]
  • 2004 – Shanghai Legend (上海灘之俠醫傳奇)as 江雪 [22]
  • 2010 – O.L. Supreme (女王辦公室) as Music Miu 繆惜之[22]

Stage

  • 2001 – This Summer This Moment (森美小儀歌劇團 – 十九樓1/2的夏天)
  • 2003 – A Lover's Discourse (戀人論語 – 您愛我妳不愛我)
  • 2003 – Camp David (森美小儀歌劇團 – 大衛營)
  • 2003 – Music is Live 03 Andy Hui X Denise Ho (許志安 X 何韻詩 2人交叉組合拉闊03)
  • 2004 – Good Morning! Manhattan (森美小儀歌劇團 – 早安啊! 曼克頓)
  • 2005 – Butterfly Lovers – The Musical (梁祝下世傳奇 舞台劇)
  • 2005 – Chivas 903 Wyman Wong A Man & A Pen Concert (芝華士903友情夾GIG 黃偉文 A Man & A Pen 音樂會)
  • 2006 – One Living Planet Music United Live 06 (世界地球日音樂會06)
  • 2006 – Moto 903 Music Playground – Anthony Wong X Denise Ho X Pixeltoy (Moto 903 新樂潮拜音樂會 第三潮 – 黃耀明 x 何韻詩 x Pixeltoy)
  • 2006 – (新城原聚力音樂會)
  • 2006 – HOCC Neway Clour Music Live 2006 (NCM!ive 向HOCC狂呼音樂會)
  • 2006 – Music is Live Golden Ten (拉闊黃金十年音樂會)
  • 2006 – Summer Sault charity variety show 06
  • 2006 – HOCC Live in Unity 2006 (何韻詩二零零六演唱會)
  • 2006 – World Children's Day Concert (麥當勞世界兒童日2006音樂會)
  • 2006 – Our Golden Hits Concert (我們的世紀金曲演唱會)
  • 2007 – HOCC Live in Unity 2007 (何韻詩二零零七演唱會)
  • 2007 – Metro Media HOCC & special guests (新城何韻詩好友音樂會)
  • 2007 – HOCC showcase 07 MUSIC MATTERS (25–26 Aug 7)
  • 2009 – SUPERGOO 2009. SAVE THE WORLD, SAVE THE DATE. (何韻詩2009SUPERGOO演唱會光明會RETURNS. SAVE THE WORLD, SAVE THE DATE.)
  • 2009 – Man and Woman, War and Peace (男人與女人之戰爭與和平)
  • 2010 – Riverside (Taipei 2010/7/21) 《公館河岸留言》（台北）
  • 2010 – Music is Live Anthony Wong x Denise Ho x Jan Lamb (黃耀明x何韻詩x林海峰 903拉闊音樂會）
  • 2011 to 2013 – Jia Baoyu/Awakening (賈寶玉)
  • 2013 – HOCC Coexistence Concerts 2013 (何韻詩共存演唱會2013)
  • 2013 – MEMENTO Live 2013
  • 2014 – Shirley Kwan & HOCC Concert 關淑怡和何韻詩H K演唱會 (Reno, NV, USA)
  • 2015 – 十八種香港 伊館站 REIMAGINE LIVE
  • 2015 – 十八種香港 Live@Hidden Agenda
  • 2015 – 十八種香港 Macpherson Woods 2015
  • 2016 – Dear Friend, HOCC Live 2016
  • 2017 – "Dear Self, Dear World" UK Tour 2017 -London, Glasgow and Manchester

Stage (as a guest)

  • 2000 – Music is Live Eason & Friends (Eason & Friends拉闊音樂會)
  • 2001 – Elva Hsiao Concert (蕭亞軒夏日的精彩演唱會)
  • 2002 – Metro Media Eason & Girlfriends Mini Concert (新城唱好Eason & Girlfriends音樂會)
  • 2004 – 903 Edison's Live (903陳冠希香港地夠膽死音樂會)
  • 2004 – Sammi vs Sammi 2004 Concert (Sammi VS Sammi 2004 演唱會)
  • 2005 – Wilfred Lau 903 Hit 4 on Fire 0813 Concert (劉浩龍 加州紅903熱火樂團音樂會)
  • 2005 – Reflection of Joey's Live 2005 (容祖兒演唱會2005)
  • 2007 – Show Mi Sammi Concert 2007 景福Show Mi 鄭秀文2007演唱會)
  • 2007 – Lokamochi Mamiba (森美小儀歌劇團)
  • 2008 – The 27th Hong Kong Film Awards Presentation Ceremony (第二十七屆香港電影金像獎頒獎典禮)
  • 2009 – Sammi Love Mi World Tour Hong Kong (Love Mi 鄭秀文世界巡回演唱會 香港站)
  • 2012 – Concert YY (黃偉文作品展)
  • 2013 – Jam Hsiao Wish Love Live (蕭敬騰演唱會 20130831)

Commercials

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bills Committee on Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2014 Attendance List, 23 April, 2014 posting" (PDF). 23 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Denise Ho Plays to Full House at Hong Kong Coliseum". The Epoch Times. 25 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "39歲生日見達賴喇嘛！何韻詩自言被馴服". 東網 (in Chinese). 13 May 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 "HOCC personal blog". 31 July 2006.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lelièvre, Frédéric (30 October 2014). "Denise Ho, Vedette Pop: L'ex-Montréalaise qui dérange la Chine" [Denise Ho, Leading Star of Pop: The Ex-Montrealer Who Distracts China]. La Presse+. Retrieved 15 December 2016. D'où vient cette passion de Denise Ho pour la liberté d'expression? Probablement de son adolescence montréalaise à l'époque du référendum de 1995, a-t-elle confié à notre collaborateur. … Sa vie bascule l’année de ses 19 ans. Elle s’inscrit à un concours de chant hongkongais et, à sa grande surprise, raconte-t-elle dans plusieurs interviews, en sort vainqueure. Le prix lui permet d’enregistrer un disque. Surtout, le concours lui fait rencontrer Anita Mui. La diva de la cantopop deviendra son mentor et la carrière de Denise Ho, HoCC de son nom de scène, sera lancée. [Ed. transl.: Where does Denise Ho's passion for freedom of expression come from? Probably from her adolescence in Montreal at the time of the 1995 referendum, she confided to our reporter. … Her life changed in her 19th year. She enrolled in the Hong Kong Singing Contest "New Talent Singing Awards", and to her surprise—as she recounted in several interviews—she emerged victorious. The prize allowed her to record a disc. And, specially, the competition allowed her to meet Anita Mui. The diva of cantopop would become her mentor, and the career of Denise Ho, with HoCC as her stage name, was launched.
  6. 1 2 l'UQAM, Service de l'audiovisuel de. "UQAM – Université du Québec à Montréal – Accueil". uqam.ca. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Brébeuf – Collège privé Montréal – école secondaire privée et collégial (≠ Cégep)". brebeuf.qc.ca. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Lo, Andrea (30 October 2014). "Denise Ho profile". Archived from the original (list of self-made statements, sans questions) on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2016. [Quote:] After I came back to Hong Kong, I joined the New Talent Singing Awards [in 1996]. I won it by accident…. I've been a fan of Anita Mui since I was 9 years old. Her influence on me wasn't only limited to entertainment, but also my character and worldview.
  9. ↑ "Obituary: Anita Mui". The Telegraph. 22 January 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  10. ↑ "Professional Review of "Ten Days in the Madhouse (CD+DVD) (Limited Boxset)"". 12 January 2009.
  11. ↑ "Edward Lam Dance Theatre profile". 10 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Life Without Principle was chosen as Hong Kong's entry as best foreign-language film in the 85th Academy Awards. See Chu, Karen (21 September 2012). "'Life Without Principle' Chosen as Hong Kong's Foreign Oscar Entry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  13. ↑ Yiu, Derek (10 November 2012). "Pop star Denise Ho Comes Out at Hong Kong Pride". Gay Star News. Retrieved 15 December 2016. [Quote:] Cantopop singer Denise Ho 'proudly' calls herself 'tongzhi', a Chinese slang for gay people.
  14. 1 2 Gates, Sara (13 November 2012). "Queer Voices: Denise Ho, Cantonese Pop Star, Comes Out During Hong Kong's Gay Pride Parade" (article and video). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 December 2016. [Quote:] But during Hong Kong's fourth annual LGBT Pride Parade this weekend, the singer officially came out, calling herself "tongzhi," a Chinese slang word for gay./"As a celebrity, I think I have an obligation, a duty to stand forward for the sake of love and equality", the 35-year-old singer told the crowd, according to Shanghaiist./The announcement is particularly significant since Ho is the first mainstream female singer in Hong Kong to come out of the closet, according to several Hong Kong media outlets.
  15. ↑ "Singers, lawmakers launch 'Big Love' gay rights campaign". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  16. 1 2 3 Yeung, Raymond (5 June 2016). "Lancome scraps Hong Kong concert with Denise Ho: online backlash over move to distance itself from pro-democracy star". South China Morning Post.
  17. 1 2 "Lancome cancels concert after Chinese online backlash". BBC News. 6 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "Denise Ho controversy: protesters march despite Lancome closing Hong Kong stores". South China Morning Post. 8 June 2016.
  19. ↑ "Cantopop star Denise Ho successfully crowdfunds upcoming concert following mainland backlash". HKFP. 14 July 2016.
  20. ↑ "Denise Ho Plays to Full House at Hong Kong Coliseum". Epoch Times. 17 October 2016.
  21. ↑ BBC's 100 Women, BBC.com; retrieved 24 November 2016.
  22. 1 2 3 "Denise Ho profile". chinesemov.com. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
Preceded by
Eason Chan 陳奕迅		 New Talent Singing Awards winner
1996		 Succeeded by
Wilfred Lau 劉浩龍
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