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a "little country girl" from malaysia

ye liyi, whose original name was ye huizhi, was born in 1948 in an ordinary family in malaysia. her father was a small trader and her mother was a housewife. the family's financial situation was quite tight and they could barely make ends meet.

"when i was a kid, my family lived in an attic in a small town in malaysia. we were poor and couldn't even afford a tv." ye liyi recalled her childhood living environment and said, "i hung out with the kids in the neighborhood every day, playing and hanging out outside. my mother called me a 'street thug.'"

despite her poor family background, ye liyi was a lively, active and clever child. she was very sensible and would take the initiative to help her mother with housework after school every day. neighbors all praised her as a "small country girl but very well-behaved".

at the age of 14, ye liyi worked hard to get into a local english secondary school. she was quite gifted in languages ​​and was not only proficient in mandarin and english, but also in malay and cantonese. after graduation, she went to hong kong to develop her career and joined hsbc with her fluent english, becoming one of the first chinese female employees in hong kong that year.

give up the comfortable life to become a singer

although she had a stable job in a bank, ye liyi's interest in singing never faded. she has been a singing enthusiast since she was a child. she has frequently performed in art performances on campus and in the community since she was a child. she has a great singing voice and is well-known in the circle.

in 1971, frances yip resolutely quit her respectable banking job and went to japan to participate in the "japan song grand prix". with her good voice, she eventually won the championship of this competition and officially embarked on the road of becoming a singer.

in fact, frances yip had been in the entertainment industry for many years, but she had always been unknown and had only a little fame. it was not until 1979 that a song called "shanghai beach" created by composer joseph koo and lyricist james wong came out, and her life changed.

"shanghai beach" became a hit overnight

at first, "shanghai beach" was not well received by many people. joseph koo personally told frances yip that the song had a rough rhythm and a dull melody, which might be difficult for the public to accept.

however, this "ordinary" work has caused a sensation in the chinese music scene as soon as it was released. the melody of the song is full of retro feelings, and the lyrics tell the past events in shanghai at the beginning of the last century. the plot is very tense, coupled with the heart-wrenching singing voice of frances yip, almost everyone who has heard it is fascinated by it.

the single "shanghai beach" was sold out in all major chinese-speaking regions, with total sales exceeding 1 million copies. at the time, the sales record was broken almost every month. in this way, ye liyi went from a little-known singer to a household name overnight.

"at that time, i could not imagine that this song would become so popular." ye liyi said frankly that she was stunned by the popularity of the song, "it was like i had found a treasure. this song made my whole life successful."

copyrights earn millions of dollars

the biggest highlight of the famous "shanghai beach" is its 50-year copyright income, which is attributed to the foresight of emi, the record company that signed the contract.

in 1978, when emi and joseph koo's team were negotiating a song, the two sides had a disagreement on the copyright period. the koo team was confident that the song would be a hit and advocated a copyright of at least 50 years. however, emi did not think highly of this "old-fashioned" song at the time, so they hastily agreed to grant a super-long copyright of half a century.

since the official release of "shanghai beach" in 1980, ye liyi has received two six-figure royalties every year, which is an astonishing amount. these copyright fees have continuously flowed into her bank account, and accumulated over 40 years, she has earned more than 100 million yuan.

in addition to royalties, there are also numerous commercial performance invitations. the bund made frances yeh famous, and she performed in singapore, malaysia, thailand, hong kong and other places with high prices, and her nightly performance fee was as high as tens of thousands of singapore dollars. she made a lot of money.

yip lai-yee has invested heavily in properties in hong kong, malaysia, singapore, canada, the united states and other places. she owns 16 properties at the same time. each of them is a top-notch luxury home. she lives in one and rents the rest, and is jokingly called the "international landlord".

in addition, ye liyi has an obsession with famous bags, jewelry and luxury cruises. what she loves most is the enjoyment of sitting in first class when traveling around the world. now at the age of 77, ye liyi has completely achieved financial freedom and has lived a carefree life as a wealthy wife.

hard times and a test of health

to achieve her current success, the hardships and training that ye liyi has gone through are unimaginable. before "shanghai beach" became a big hit, she lived in poverty for a long time. even after the song became a big hit, she also experienced countless physical and family setbacks.

during her career rise, frances yip was a workaholic to the extreme. in order to cope with the overwhelming commercial performances and interviews, she often worked all night, and her health deteriorated. she even had frequent abdominal pains and had to undergo surgery when it was serious.

even more frightening was that at the peak of her career, ye liyi was diagnosed with breast cancer, which almost ended her career. "i was sentenced to death at the time, and the doctor said i would not live for more than a year," she said, "but i was so focused on my work that i didn't pay much attention to my illness."

in fact, ye liyi's battle against cancer was extremely difficult. she had to temporarily stop all her work and concentrate on treatment. fortunately, after a long period of surgery and radiotherapy, she finally defeated the cancer. however, this test of the disease also made her suffer from chronic illness due to overwork, and she has been suffering from chronic illness ever since.

family life was equally tormenting. ye liyi had experienced two failed marriages and failed to get pregnant after several attempts at ivf. what made her even more sad was that her only son and only grandson were diagnosed with brain cancer. she had to temporarily put her career on hold to share the care of her family.

at the age of 77, frances yip still sticks to her acting career. but she has suffered from illness and family changes, and now she cherishes her health even more. she is obsessed with yoga, cycling and other sports, and pays attention to her daily routine from morning to night, trying to maintain a good physical condition.

it has to be said that frances yeh's life was full of ups and downs, hardships and bitterness. however, it was this will and perseverance that ultimately enabled her to achieve her current legendary career and a life of wealth and freedom. and the song "shanghai beach" is a testimony to her sweat and tears along the way.

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