Penang songbird Lee a hit despite losing in final

PETALING JAYA: Though Penang songbird Lee Pei Ling (pic) did not clinch first place at the Sing! China finale, the terrific teen still impressed audiences worldwide with her vocal chops, and even earned an invite to share the spotlight with one of China’s top singers.

Lee was among six finalists of the reality talent show that was held at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing last night.

In a performance with her mentor Na Ying, the 15-year-old sang the top-selling artiste’s song, Loving You Equals To Loving Loneliness, in a long black dress, along with fellow contestant Wang Chenrui from Guangzhou, China.

After Lee garnered only 14,227 votes and lost her place in the top three, her mentor Na hugged her on stage and asked her to continue learning her craft in Malaysia.

“If there’s an opportunity in the future, I’d like to have a concert together with you in Beijing,” said the artiste to Lee.

The Form Three student of Chung Ling High School, who also calls herself Jeryl, sang the Disney hit Let It Go from the animated movie Frozen in a mix of English and Mandarin during the competition.

Nathan Hartono, Singapore’s first finalist in the singing competition, was another favourite to win.

However, the first prize went to Jiang Dunhao, a 21-year-old from Xinjiang, China who was mentored by singer-producer Wang Feng.