Coco Lee's exposé and the full story of scandals behind 'Sing! China' (The Voice)

Coco Lee's untimely death shocked her fans in July 2023. Then, after the shock, they heard through several news outlets that there was a nine-minute voice clip of the late singer circulating on the internet in which she complains about her time on 'Sing! China.' The discovery sparked a search for evidence to support Coco Lee's claims, pursued by both journalists and enraged netizens.

'Sing! China' can be considered China's equivalent of the reality talent show, 'The Voice (of)...' which became popular in several countries. Before its name change and rebrand, the show was originally called 'The Voice of China'.

Image: Zhejiang TV

Similar to how 'The Voice' became a hit in markets like the US and UK, 'Sing! China' topped viewership charts in China.

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Despite the show's focus on China, 'Sing! China' managed to attract worldwide talent. For one, Singaporean singer Nathan Hartono and South African singer Motswedi Modiba count themselves among some of 'Sing! China's notable foreign competitors, CNN reports.

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Some of the big singers that the show managed to produce and is proud to count as alumni, include Singaporean Joanna Dong, and Chinese singers Li Daimo and Wu Keyue.

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'Sing! China' is also known for its star-studded lineup of judges – having enlisted Mandopop legends such as Jay Chou, Chiyi Chin, Eason Chan, and Na Ying among its judging panel lineup.

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In 2022, a year before her passing, Coco Lee was also part of the lineup of judges for 'Sing! China.' During the 7th season of the show, she replaced judge Liao Changyong who had to return to his teaching duties.

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In her time as a judge on the show, Coco Lee had several singers under her wing, including Wang Zepeng and Figo Zhou.

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All was assumed well with the show until Coco Lee’s recording went viral in August, post-mortem. It contained several complaints about her time on 'Sing! China' and sparked cries for justice for the deceased singer and her short but miserable stint in the talent show.

On August 20, the recording of the late Coco Lee surfaced on Weibo. Many people were disturbed by its contents, as they showed Coco Lee in audible distress.

Coco Lee laid out several accusations against the producers of 'Sing! China.' For one, she said, the show, particularly its production team, had “mistreated and humiliated” the singer.

A Nextshark report notes that in the recording, Coco Lee demanded answers about the 'unfair' scoring system of the show. She suggested that two popular contestants were suspiciously ousted in favor of two others who were not as popular on the show.

Continuing from the report, Coco Lee also accused a production assistant of rough-handling her when she questioned producers about the scoring. She said that one production assistant grabbed her shirt and attempted to force her offstage.

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This accusation was in line with a video clip that had been circulating on the internet around September 2022, CNN notes. In the video, Coco Lee can be heard and seen arguing with production staff about the unfair voting system. It all corroborated with what was said in the recording.

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Nextshark reports that following the circulation of the video clip in September 2022, Coco Lee came out on her socials to mention that all had been personally resolved with the production team. Was she forced to clear the program's name?

Soon after, the singer deleted all media related to 'Sing! China' from her socials, changing the way the story was perceived. AsiaOne reported that Coco Lee had allegedly only made the statement so that her mentee could return to the competition. It was reported that his position had been threatened because of Coco’s outburst.

The last of Coco Lee's accusations in the leaked recording was that showrunners deliberately sabotaged Coco's duet with her mentee, Wang Zepeng, by giving him the instruction to abandon the original choreography of the number. The 'scheme' was detrimental to Coco Lee for several reasons.

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As AsiaOne reports, the producers' interference with the planned choreography caused Coco Lee to fall midway during the performance. Wang Zepeng didn't physically support her so she could stand throughout the performance, as Coco had instructed him.

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Coco’s fall was so severe that she had to be carried back into her hotel room after the performance. This story was corroborated by another video circulating on Weibo that showed staff helping the singer back to her room.

In March 2023, The Straits Times reported that Coco Lee had to undergo leg surgery for an injury sustained in October 2022 and to correct a leg defect. Coco Lee’s fall in 'Sing! China' may possibly have contributed to the worsening of her leg condition in October.

Other than being physically hurt from the ordeal after the interference from 'Sing! China's staff, Coco Lee was also emotionally devastated by the experience. The South China Morning Post claims the singer lamented how the experience was “humiliating” as she was constantly “mistreated” on set.

The recording has gone viral and caused an uproar in the C-entertainment industry. According to The Straits Times, many netizens and celebrities like Jenny Tseng have demanded answers from 'Sing! China's team, with some even going on a witch hunt for the 'Sing! China' staffers involved in allegedly hurting Coco Lee.

8days reports that netizens have even managed to find out the name of the alleged director behind season 7 of 'Sing! China,' Liu Li. Since identifying the woman, netizens have flooded her socials demanding answers about Coco’s treatment on the show. However, Liu Li’s response has been less than apologetic. She appeared to have "no remorse," 8days reports.

Enraged viewers launched an investigation into Liu Li's role in the show. According to the same 8days report, not only did she have significant influence over show decisions, but Liu Li also had familial ties to Star CM Media, which produces 'Sing! China.' The critics implied that nepotism was involved in Coco Lee's unfair treatment.

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Meanwhile, netizens continued their witch hunt, even accusing fellow judges of being complicit in the mistreatment of Coco Lee on the show. Yahoo News reports that one such celebrity affected was Hacken Lee, who has been accused by netizens of turning a blind eye to the abuse.

Other than going on an online witchhunt, netizens have also found proof from other seasons of 'Sing! China' to allegedly confirm Coco Lee’s claims that the show was rigged.

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For example, as AsiaOne notes, during Yomoyo Band's audition, Wilber Pan's chair had turned without the press of a button. While the chair swiveled around, his hand was clearly resting on his legs. This gave weight to Coco Lee's theory and accusations that the show was indeed rigged. It appeared to be more under the control of production than that of the show's judges and audiences.

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HK01 reports that ex-contestant Li Jiajie accused 'Sing! China' producers of an unfair system in his Weibo post. Li Jiajie also said that the top 10 positions in the show can be bought.

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Li Jiajie was prompted to make this accusation after hearing Coco Lee's leaked recording HK01 reports. However, in the end, Li Jiajie removed his original post, apologized to the 'Sing! China' team, and promptly emptied his entire Weibo account.

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Netizens were left astounded and quickly figured that the former candidate was probably silenced by the 'Sing! China' - just as Coco Lee in 2022. Of course, we should add that there was never any clear proof of that in either case.

Despite their efforts to mitigate the impact of the Coco Lee exposé and its aftermath, the uproar caused shares of Star CM Holdings, the company behind the production of 'Sing! China,' to drop to their lowest level ever, the Global Times reports.

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As 'Sing! China' was running its 8th season at the time the accusations surfaced, several fans rallied to boycott the show in protest against the injustice that had allegedly occurred, The New Paper reports.

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Now, as CNN reports, Zhejiang Media has suspended all 'Sing! China' airings to conduct an internal investigation.

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The show’s suspension seems to have more causes than just an investigation, 8days reports. It claims that current judges Wakin Chau and Joker Xue are now refusing to continue on the show “regardless of how much money they are being offered”.

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The case is becoming increasingly complicated, however, as Star CM Media has decided to sue Coco Lee's management, Warner Music China, for contract disputes. According to Malay Mail, the move has not been good for 'Sing! China's already tarnished reputation.

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