Fish Leong Ching Yu (, born Leong Chui Peng on 16 June 1978) is a Malaysian singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 20 million records to date, she has achieved popularity and success in

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Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

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, and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Early life and breakthrough

Leong was born in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. R&B singer Z-Chen is her older cousin. She debuted her singing career in

and signed to

Rock Records The Rock Records Co., Ltd. () commonly known as Rock Records (), is a record label based in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in the 1980s as the Rock Music Publishing (滾石有聲出版社; ) by Tuan Chung-tan and Tuan Chung-i, It is the largest record ...

in October 1997. She then adopted the English name "Fish", because the last character of her Chinese name "茹" sounds the same as "魚" (fish) in Cantonese. She was discovered by Jonathan Lee, who later also became her godfather. She received Mandarin training upon arriving in Taiwan as her mother tongue is Cantonese. Her debut album, '' Grown Up Overnight'', was released in September 1999, but had many promotions cancelled due to the 1999 Taiwan earthquake. Her singing career managed to take off after the release of her second album, ''

Courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

'' (2000).

Personal life

In February 2010, Leong married Taiwanese wine merchant Tony Chao in

Boracay Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay, Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of thre ...

, Philippines, and their child Anderson Chao was born in April 2014. On September 8, 2019, Leong announced their divorce at a press conference for her new album in Taipei. She declined further comments on alleged cheating by Chao. Shortly after her divorce, Leong briefly dated Taiwanese entrepreneur Darwin Lin, but that relationship concluded by early 2020. Leong collaborated with singer Eve Ai on a remake of the song “Piao Yang Guo Hai Lai Kan Ni” (“Sea You Soon”), which was used in a campaign advocating the legalization of same-sex marriages for transnational couples in Taiwan. In an October 2021 mental health forum hosted by a Malaysian NGO, Leong spoke candidly about the mental health challenges she faced during the pandemic and shared the coping strategies she adopted. One method was establishing a daily routine with her young son: she would have them wake up at 8 A.M. to “sit in the sunshine” by the window to draw or read, joking that they would behave like plants basking in sunlight.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Grown Up Overnight'' (1999) * ''

'' (2000) * '' Shining Star'' (2001) * '' Sunrise'' (2002) * '' Beautiful'' (2003) * '' Wings of Love'' (2004) * '' Silkroad of Love'' (2005) * '' Kissing the Future of Love'' (2006) * '' J'Adore'' (2007) * '' Fall in Love & Songs'' (2009) * '' What Love Songs Didn't Tell You'' (2010) * '' Love in Heart'' (2012) * ''The Sun Also Rises'' (2019) * ''The Wonder of Wandering Life'' (2023)

Filmography

Film

Television series

Variety and reality show

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leong, Fish 1978 births Living people 21st-century Malaysian women singers Malaysian people of Cantonese descent Malaysian Mandopop singers People from Negeri Sembilan Universal Music Group artists Malaysian expatriates in Taiwan 20th-century Malaysian women singers