Profile‘Not pretty enough’? Joey Yung became one of Hong Kong’s biggest Cantopop idols anyway

This is the 74th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades. When a young Joey Yung Cho-yee was dropped by her first record label for her supposedly ordinary looks, few would have bet she would one day stand atop Cantopop as one of its most decorated performers. Yet nearly three decades later, the 45-year-old Hong Kong singer has outlasted her critics and claimed, among other accolades, a dozen most popular female singer trophies from TVB’s Jade Solid Gold and 11 gold awards from Commercial Radio Hong Kong’s Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation. She also has more than 25 studio albums to her name. How did she do it? The pragmatic Yung, in an industry notorious for chewing up and spitting out young starlets, simply put her head down and worked harder than everyone else. Echoes from a wooden hut Yung, born in Tsuen Wan in 1980, grew up in Lai Chi Kok’s Butterfly Valley before her family relocated to Ma On Shan. Her home life was fractured after her father abandoned her, her younger brother and their mother when she was 15, but the teenager won a karaoke competition that same year, earning a contract with Go East Entertainment. Yung’s first single, the theme song for Eric Tsang Chi-wai’s 1996 film Those Were the Days, sank without a trace. Soon after, label boss Paco Wong Pak-ko showed her the door, reportedly remarking that she was “not pretty enough” for stardom. Refusing to be written off, Yung worked as an accounting clerk and helped run her mother’s clothing shop, all while honing her voice. After a stint with a label that went bust, she found a champion in Cantopop icon Roman Tam, who became her mentor. Under his guidance, in 1998, she signed with Fitto Record, which was later acquired by Emperor Group and renamed Emperor Entertainment Group, or EEG. During a 2015 appearance on mainland Chinese talk show The Jinxing Show, Yung revealed that her superstitious boss, Emperor Group founder Albert Yeung Sau-shing, consulted a fortune-teller to evaluate his new talents. “When Uncle Chan, the fortune-teller, said I was the one because I had soulful eyes, he changed Mr Yeung’s mind,” she recalled. “I felt like he changed the course of my life.” Crucially, EEG paired her with talent manager Mani Fok Man-hei, who would become the mastermind behind Yung’s rise and her most loyal protector. Yung’s 1999 debut EP, EP 1 Joey, was a phenomenon. The title track, “Unknown” – a soaring Cantonese cover of Jennifer Paige’s “Crush” – dominated radio charts, while the EP spent 23 weeks on the IFPI sales chart, an unbroken record for a newcomer. By 2003, armed with powerhouse vocal stamina, fierce dance routines and the heartbreak anthem “My Pride”, she had cemented her dominance in the industry. The heavy toll of stardom Yung’s pop pedestal, however, came with a punishing cost, and the pressures of her sudden ubiquity were compounded by relentless tabloid scrutiny. Gossip pages fixated on her rumoured affairs with her boss Yeung, and later, fellow pop singer Denise Ho Wan-see. The media frenzy turned terrifying in 2001 when two variety show hosts, Spencer Leung Sze-ho and Eric Tsang, were separately assaulted by thugs after mocking Yung’s appearance on television. Yung and Yeung were briefly arrested in August, though no charges were brought against either of them. That same year, Yung temporarily lost her voice after taking diet pills that dehydrated her throat muscles. While she was able to weather this particular storm, the problem with her vocal cords has returned periodically over the years. Yung credits her survival of scrutiny to her ability to block out vitriol. “I kind of always knew that the only people who think you’re perfect are your own family,” she told Prestige magazine in 2025. “So when I made my debut, I knew inevitably there was going to be a lot of noise. I just don’t look at the forums, I don’t engage with [them].” Instead, she poured her energy into her craft, and she expanded into television and film. She even subverted her glamorous image by playing an ugly duckling in the TVB comedy Not Just a Pretty Face (2003). Later, in the 2012 film Diva, Yung played a pop idol grappling with industry manipulation – a role widely seen as being at least partly autobiographical. Through it all, she has consistently filled the Hong Kong Coliseum – the ultimate dream stage for Cantopop stars – across multiple massive tours, culminating in her 2019 “Pretty Crazy” concert series. Pragmatism across the border Like many Hong Kong stars of her generation, Yung’s pivot towards the lucrative mainland Chinese market required her to navigate complex political sensitivities. In early November 2019, she posted a selfie of herself wearing a face mask on social media, captioned “Just want to fly~”. Some mainland internet users saw this as support for Hong Kong’s anti-government protesters, sparking a firestorm on microblogging platform Weibo, and she was dropped from a planned appearance on a televised gala event on the mainland. She quickly clarified that she had never supported “Hong Kong independence”, which Chinese state media claimed was the main aim of the protests, and issued a public apology. To many in her home city, Yung’s standing has always been clear, as she has made countless appearances at official mainland events. The entertainer even voiced her support for Xinjiang cotton after it was sanctioned by the US in 2021. This pragmatic approach allowed her to continue exploring the mainland market. Building on earlier successes, such as her run on season four of I Am a Singer in 2016, she introduced herself to a new generation on season two of Sisters Who Make Waves in 2021. Yung’s enduring box-office power was further validated by her residency at the 5,000-seat Studio City Event Centre in Macau, where she held a spectacular 30-show run between 2023 and 2025. Guarding the inner sanctuary Behind the glittering accolades and public persona, Yung’s private life has been defined by familial devotion and painful estrangements. Her fractured relationship with her father culminated in a 2014 scandal over a HK$300,000 debt. When creditors plastered posters across Hong Kong demanding money from the singer, Yung publicly severed ties with him to protect the rest of her family. Her mother, conversely, remains her absolute anchor. When the matriarch was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 – enduring several relapses in the following years – Yung adjusted her demanding workload to become her caretaker. This battle inspired Yung to elevate her philanthropic work. In 2015, with her mother’s encouragement, she established the Joey Yung Charitable Foundation. Underscoring her dedication to its cause, Yung eschewed a 45th birthday bash last year, choosing instead to take underprivileged children from her charity to Ocean Park, a theme park in Hong Kong. When it comes to romance, Yung keeps her guard up. She has not publicly confirmed another relationship since her 2019 split from singer Wilfred Lau Ho-lung. Instead, she pours her offstage energy into her six-year-old niece, Sophia, and three-year-old nephew, Sean. Reflecting on the drive that transformed a rejected teenager into a generational star, Yung attributes it all to her inability to say no to opportunities. “I feel like I can do it all,” she noted in the Jinxing interview. “I feel that I can prove myself through work. “That’s why the external feedback I’ve received has always been positive – everyone thinks I’m very easy-going because I don’t turn down any jobs. But I do wonder if that is a good thing.” Yet, three decades on, that consistent determination – through public scandals, private heartbreaks and shifting cultural tides – remains the secret to her staying power.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From rejected teen singer to Cantopop legend, Joey Yung’s grit, voice and unwavering work ethic have outlasted her critics

Echoes from a wooden hut

From rejected teen singer to Cantopop legend, Joey Yung’s grit, voice and unwavering work ethic have outlasted her critics