HONG KONG Coco Lee's
first U.S. album failed to make her a household name,
but the Chinese-American singer says she's optimistic
she will eventually break into the lucrative American
market."It always takes time, and with the right
songs, the right single and the right marketing, I think
hopefully, we'll be able to do it," Lee said in Hong
Kong.
Lee is about to release a second English-language
album, "Exposed," later this week. Her first U.S.
release, "Just No Other Way," didn't sell as well as her
record company, Sony, had hoped.
Born in Hong Kong, Lee and her family moved to San
Francisco and she later studied at the University of
California at Irvine. But she first made her mark as a
singer in the Chinese-speaking world after winning a
singing contest in Hong Kong.
She performed "A Love Before Time," the English theme
song to the hit movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,"
at the 2001 Oscar ceremony.
Lee said her goal for her new album, which is being
released in Asia first, is to "let my people love it
first, and then hopefully bring it to somewhere else."
Lee said Hispanic singers have succeeded in America
because they are supported by a sizable Hispanic
population, but there are too few Asians in the country
to sustain an Asian star.
"Asian Americans are such a small group of people,"
she said.
Lee described "Exposed," which comprises mostly songs
that she wrote, as a "rhythmic" album infused with
Chinese and hip-hop sounds. Korean and Indian rappers
worked on the release, she said.
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