16-Year-Old Malaysian Singing Phenomenon Could Be ‘Sing! China’s’ First Champion

A young Malaysian singer may be the first ever grand champion winner of “Sing! China”, the country’s unofficial version of “The Voice”.

Lee Pei Ling, the 16-year-old singing sensation from Penang, Malaysia, has been wowing audiences and judges since the competition kicked off in July of this year.

The humble teenager with a powerful voice has constantly received praise not only from the judges, but also from netizens with her every performance.

The student from Chung Ling Private High School has indeed become a certified star in a matter of months. Lee Pei Ling currently enjoys more than 55,000 followers on Facebook and her performances on YouTube have been widely shared and circulated on social media.

She was, however, not an overnight star. The talented teen of mixed Chinese-Indian parentage was reportedly already joining international competitions at a very young age, according to Star Online. When she was just 12 years old, she joined one of Taiwan’s popular singing contests, Chinese Million Star.

At age 14, Lee Pei Ling was able to defeat 54 contestants from all over the world after winning the Watercube Singing Contest For Overseas Chinese Teenagers in Beijing.

After the competition, she further honed her singing in hopes of developing a career singing Chinese songs.

Picked by accomplished Chinese singer Na Ying after her impressive debut, Lee got off to a great start, especially with a bona-fide star as a coach.

According to Lee, being on the team coached by Na Ying helped improve her confidence. “I am thankful for the guidance and care she has given me,” she told the Sun in an interview.

Her amazing, heartfelt rendition of “Fight Song” by Rachael Platten last week brought her to the finals. Now, it seems she’s ready for her biggest performance yet at the competition final on Oct 7.

“I am going to do my best and will let nothing distract me,” she said.

The young lass from Penang also shared that she gets inspiration from the support of her family and friends.

Lee Pei Ling will be competing against Singaporean Nathan Hartono, 25, and Chinese nationals Wang Chenrui, 25, Xu Geyang, 20, Jiang Dunhao, 21, and Yang Meina, 27.

While it will be “Sing! China’s” first season, the program is actually a continuation of “The Voice of China” which had to be relaunched with the new name following legal disputes.