Yao Beina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yao Beina
Born	(1981-09-26)September 26, 1981 Wuhan, Hubei, China
Died	January 16, 2015(2015-01-16) (aged 33) Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Alma mater	China Conservatory of Music
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2005–2015
Parent(s)	Yao Feng Li Xinmin
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	姚貝娜
Simplified Chinese	姚贝娜
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yáo Bèinà
Musical career
Genres	Mandapop, folk music, Rock, R&B, Jazz
Instruments	Piano
Labels	Yuechao Yinshang (2010-2012) Huayi Brothers Music (2012-2015)

Yao Beina (simplified Chinese: 姚贝娜; traditional Chinese: 姚貝娜; pinyin: Yáo Bèinà; September 26, 1981 – January 16, 2015), also known as Bella Yao, was a talented Chinese singer and songwriter. She started her career in a musical called Jin Sha in 2005. After graduating from the China Conservatory of Music that same year, she joined a singing group with the People's Liberation Army Navy. In 2006, she sang at a concert in Washington D.C.

Yao won a big singing contest called the CCTV National Young Singer Contest in 2008. She was the first and only person to get a perfect score in the history of the contest. She also performed at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Her first music collection, Too Late, came out in 2009.

Yao was most famous for singing theme songs for movies and TV shows. These included Empresses in the Palace, Painted Skin: The Resurrection, and Back to 1942. She also sang the Mandarin version of "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen. In 2013, she became very popular after appearing on the TV show The Voice of China.

Growing Up

Yao Beina was born on September 26, 1981, in Wuhan, China. Her family loved music. Her father, Yao Feng, is a music professor and a leader of musicians in Shenzhen. Her mother, Li Xinmin, was also a singer.

Yao started learning piano when she was four years old. Her father said she could tell piano notes correctly by age six. She first sang on TV when she was nine. She often appeared in shows and singing contests as a child star.

From 1993 to 1997, Yao went to Wuhan No. 45 Middle School. She decided then that she wanted to be a singer. In 1997, she joined the Affiliated High School of Wuhan Conservatory of Music. She was the top student in Popular Music. Her father, who started that music program, became her teacher. She began to learn music in a more organized way. In 1998, her father moved to Shenzhen for work. Because of this, she switched to studying Folk Music.

In 2000, Yao finished high school. She was accepted into the China Conservatory of Music. She continued to study Folk Music there.

Music Career

After graduating in 2005, Yao worked for four years with the People's Liberation Army's Naval Song and Dance Troupe. During this time, she won the Chinese Young Singer Championship.

She became very well known after winning the Chinese Young Singer TV competition in 2008. She earned the first perfect score in the show's history. She also performed at the Beijing Olympic Games Closing Ceremony.

In 2009, she left the Troupe and signed with a music company. She held her first concert in Shenzhen in 2010. Then, she released her first album, Yao Beina. She wrote most of the songs herself, and people loved them. The famous musician Liu Huan was impressed by her. He gave her the chance to sing the theme song for the TV series Empresses in the Palace. Yao became widely known after singing many songs for this popular show in 2012.

In the same year, director Feng Xiaogang asked Yao to sing "The River of The Life" for his film Back to 1942. She also sang "Love in the Painting" for Painted Skin: The Resurrection. This was a very successful Chinese movie. By 2012, she had sung for 60 TV shows and films. She also performed twice at the CCTV New Year's Gala in 2007 and 2010.

In 2013, Yao returned to the CCTV Young Singer TV Competition as a judge. She was the youngest judge ever. That year, she released her new album, Half of Me. All the songs from this album became very popular online. This made her the top female Mandopop singer on Baidu Music. Because of her album's success, she won the "best female vocalist" award at the MusicRadio China TOP Charts Awards. She was also the first pop singer to perform the final song at the CCTV New Year's Gala.

Yao became more famous for singing theme songs for Empresses in the Palace, Painted Skin: The Resurrection, and Back to 1942. She was chosen to sing the Mandarin version of "Let It Go" for the Disney movie Frozen. She also competed on the TV show The Voice of China. Her performances on the show made her incredibly popular online. She became the most searched pop star on Baidu and Sina Weibo.

Here are some of her performances on The Voice of China:

Health Challenges and Passing

Yao was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2011.

In September 2013, Yao became an ambassador for the China Pink Ribbon Campaign. This campaign helps people learn about breast cancer. As someone who had survived breast cancer, she was a great choice for this role.

In December of that year, Yao released the song "Fire of the Heart". This song described her struggles when she was diagnosed with cancer at age 30. She wrote in the lyrics, "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."

Yao bravely fought her illness. She had surgery and went through eight rounds of chemotherapy. During this time, she recorded songs for the Empresses in the Palace TV series. She hoped her story and songs would give hope to others with breast cancer. She said, "I hope I can bring strength to people and boost their confidence with my songs."

After recovering, Yao joined the Pink Ribbon campaign. She wanted to help raise awareness about preventing and treating breast cancer. In September 2013, she visited patients at Beijing Cancer Hospital. She also spoke with a group that helps cancer patients. Yao wanted everyone to know that "When facing cancer, you have no other choice than to defeat it." She encouraged people to follow their doctor's advice for treatment.

In December 2014, her cancer returned. Her health worsened on January 15, 2015. She passed away the next day in Shenzhen, Guangdong, at the age of 33.

Memorial services were held on January 20. Her first album released after her passing, "Eternal", was produced by Liu Chia-chang.

Her ashes were buried on September 4 in Wuhan. Her second album, "Born Proud", was released on what would have been her 34th birthday, September 26, 2015. This album was very popular and sold well.

Her song, "Glory", was released on January 16, 2016, one year after her passing. It reached No.2 on the QQ Music New Single Chart.

On April 12, 2019, coach Liu Huan sang a mix of three songs dedicated to Yao. This was during the finals of I'm a Singer. His performance was highly praised, and he won the competition.

Helping Others

In 2008, Yao was part of the People's Liberation Army. She was sent to help in the earthquake zones in Sichuan province. More than 80,000 people had died there. She and her friends performed for the survivors and the soldiers. She personally gave 30,000 RMB (about US$5,000). This was a lot, as her yearly salary was less than 15,000 RMB.

She was going through a difficult time herself during the earthquake. Because of this, she later left the Troupe in 2009.

Besides her work for cancer awareness, Yao also helped children. In 2014, she became an "Ambassador of Love" for an event helping kids.

After her passing, her parents sold her personal items online. They raised 2,510,000 RMB (about US$400,000). This money was given to a high school in the Xinjiang province. Yao and her father had been inspired there to write a song. The donation helped fix up the school and create a music scholarship. Her father said helping local children was a wish Yao had shared with him for a long time.

Legacy

On April 9, 2015, NASA announced that an asteroid was named after Yao Beina. The asteroid, "41981", was found by an amateur astronomer from Hong Kong in 2000. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) named it "Yaobeina" to remember the singer. NASA describes Yao Beina as "a talented and courageous Chinese singer." They noted that one of her songs, "Fire of the Heart", was about her fight with breast cancer.

Awards

See also

In Spanish: Yao Beina para niños