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
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
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 ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, 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
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 ...
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)
* ''
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)
* ''
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