Denise Ho

Early life and education

Denise Ho was born 10 May 1977 in Hong Kong, to two parents who were both teachers. There, she began her primary school education, at the Diocesan Girls' Junior School.

At age 11, in 1988, she moved with her parents from Hong Kong to Montreal, Canada. Ho first attended Jean de la Mennais College, an elementary and middle in La Prairie, on the Rive-Sud (the suburban South Shore of Montreal), then attended Jean-de-Brébeuf College, a Catholic college preparatory secondary school and private college. There, she received a Quebec Diploma of College Studies in Arts and Communications.

She then began studies at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), in graphic design.

1996–1999

At age 19, Ho enrolled in a song contest in Hong Kong—the 1996 New Talent Singing Awards—and to her stated surprise, won the competition (referring to it as an "accident").

This gave her the opportunity to meet Anita Mui, a diva of cantopop—"queen of Hong Kong movies and…renowned in the… world of Cantonese pop music"—of whom she had been a fan since childhood, and who would become her mentor following her win. This launched her career, and at this time she took on the stage name, "HoCC"; this gave her the opportunity to record an album, and gave her a recording contract with Capital Artists. In the intervening period between the contents win and her first album, Ho toured as a background vocalist with Mui, and hosted various television programs produced by TVB.

2000-2004

After Capital Artists closed, Ho joined EMI in 2002. Although she was only with the company for a brief 2-year period, it was during this time that her musical talents flourished. She teamed up with Ying C Foo (英師傅) for her first EMI label release, hocc². The song "Angel Blues" (天使藍), composed by Ho herself, not only reached top spots on music charts, but according to Ho, it is also her "growing up" song.

Another single in the EP, "Rosemary" (露絲瑪莉), written by Wyman Wong, created considerable controversies at the time, as it touched on the topic of lesbianism. This song also marked the beginning of Ho's series of songs containing gay themes. Following the success of "Rosemary" (露絲瑪莉), Ho continued the story of the two lovers in "Goodbye... Rosemary" (再見…露絲瑪莉) in her first full-length album, free love.

The year 2002 proved to be a successful year for Ho. The two singles "Angel Blues" (天使藍) and "Goodbye... Rosemary" (再見…露絲瑪莉) won multiple music awards in Hong Kong, including CASH Golden Sail Music Awards (CASH金帆音樂獎) – "Best Vocal Performance by a Female Artist" for the song "Angel Blues". In the same year, Ho won the renowned "Female Singer Bronze Award" in the Commercial Radio Hong Kong Annual Awards (叱吒樂壇流行榜頒獎典禮).

In 2003, Ho did a "Music is Live" concert with Andy Hui, who is also an apprentice of Anita Mui. Their performance won praise from the critics, and Ho proved to the audience her abilities to perform live as a musician. Later that year, Ho released her second full-length album Dress Me Up!. She was the credited as the producer of the album, indicating that Ho has finally gained full control over her music. In September 2003, Ho's longtime mentor, Anita Mui announced she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Shortly after the announcement, Anita lost her battle against cervical cancer and died on 30 December 2003. Between 2003 and 2004, Ho took on the role of hosting TVB's weekly live music show, Jade Solid Gold. In 2004, she appeared in Sammi Cheng's 2004 "Sammi vs. Sammi" concert as a cross-dressing cigarette-smoking admirer of Sammi Cheng. Ho's critically acclaimed performance in the short musical segment not only brought attention to the role she played, but also further established herself as a tremendous live performer. In September 2004, Ho signed a contract with East Asia Music.

2005-2009

The album Glamorous, which pays tribute to the superstars of the 80's, was released in January 2005. It also marked the start of a close collaboration between Ho and the Green Mountain Orchestra band. She was named the Orbis Student Ambassador 2005, and visited Hainan in July. In September 2005, Ho performed in the musical Butterfly Lovers (梁祝下世傳奇) as the leading actress, producer and musical director. Her album of the same name gave her three Number 1 singles – "Becoming a Butterfly" (化蝶), "Lawrence and Lewis" (勞斯．萊斯) and "Coffee in a Soda Bottle" (汽水樽裡的咖啡), which are all based on the story of the Butterfly Lovers, with possible homosexual themes. These singles helped her to receive the "Female Singer Silver Award" at the Commercial Radio Hong Kong Annual Awards 2005 (叱吒樂壇流行榜頒獎典禮).

Ho held her first Hong Kong Coliseum concert "Live in Unity 2006" on 26–28 October 2006. The concert was a great success and was positively received by the public. She decided to stage a second concert, "Live in Unity 2007", on 19–20 January 2007 following the original concert's success. Her single, We Stand As One, named after the slogan for the "Live in Unity" concerts, was released on 11 January 2007. Recordings of the concert were later released in February 2007. She went on a worldwide tour, performing in Toronto, Canada and Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The significant public attention and positive reception to her music helped her garner the "Female Singer Gold Award" at the Commercial Radio Hong Kong Annual Awards 2006 (叱吒樂壇流行榜頒獎典禮). She sang the Chinese version of Ayumi Hamasaki's song "Secret", known as "Wounded City Secret" (傷城秘密), for the 2006 movie Confession of Pain. She continued as the Orbis Student Ambassdor 2006 and visited Vietnam, and later started her own charitable fund. In 2008, a new album Ten Days in the Madhouse was released. She produced this album from the viewpoint of society's outcasts and to raise awareness of mental health issues. She encouraged people to understand and find out more about people with mental illnesses and those who formerly suffered from mental illnesses, and care about their needs and situations. Ho encouraged communication between them and the public, ultimately, to achieve social harmony. "Ten Days in the Madhouse" was Ho's most ambitious project yet with the release of a documentary by Hong Kong director Yan Yan Mak (Butterfly) and an exhibition for charity, Ho showed that a multimedia project by a musician can be about something more important than clothing tie-ins.

In 2009, she followed up her plan from the previous year and organised a free concert (a rarity in Hong Kong) called "Happiness is Free" in the outdoor courtyard in Diocesan Boys' School. She managed to book the place because her father was a teacher there. In June, she began shooting a new TVB sitcom titled O.L. Supreme with Liza Wang. In July, she released her new song "The Old Testament" (舊約) and announced that she would hold her "SUPERGOO" themed concerts would be held from 9–12 October that year. Following the concerts, Ho took on a role in the new stage comedy "Man and Woman, War and Peace" (男人與女人之戰爭與和平) directed by Edward Lam. The stage comedy was presented on 13–16 November at Kwai Tsing Theatre in Hong Kong.

2010-2015

In 2010, Ho appeared in the film Life Without Principle directed by Johnnie To.

In September 2010, her first Mandarin album Nameless Poem (無名．詩) was released in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and she held "Homecoming" concerts in Hong Kong in December 2010. In 2011, Ho received her first nomination for a Golden Melody Award, as Best Mandarin Female Singer, at the 22nd Annual ceremony for those awards.

In 2012, she was nominated for a Golden Horse Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the movie Life Without Principle, which was won by Taiwan's Gwei Lun-mei at that 49th Annual ceremony. In 2013, Ho continued the tour of her play, Awakening, in Singapore and in many cities in China. She released her second Mandarin album, Coexistence, whose theme is embracing and supporting others despite differences. Ho received her second nomination for a Golden Melody Popular Music Award, as Best Mandarin Female Singer, at the 25th Annual ceremony in 2015.

Activism

When asked about the origins of her "passion for freedom of expression," Ho replied to reporter Frédéric Lelièvre of La Presse that it was probably from her being an adolescent in Montreal at the time of the 1995 Quebec referendum.

LGBT issues

Ho proudly announced herself as "tongzhi" (Cantonese:tongzi), a Chinese slang term for gay, at age 35, the fourth annual Hong Kong Pride Parade on 10 November 2012.

Sara Gates of The Huffington Post reports the various Hong Kong media outlets had indicated that Ho was the first "mainstream female singer in Hong Kong to come out of the closet." Since then, Ho has been involved in the Big Love Alliance (大愛同盟), a civil rights group striving equal rights for the LGBT community, and she became a columnist for Apple Daily in 2014 and was recognised for her activism for LGBT rights in Hong Kong.

Pro-democracy activism

Ho supported the 2014 Hong Kong protests, and a protester herself. On the subject, she stated, "I saw the students rushing in, then the tear gas... There was no option but to stand up. [...] My favourite thing about Hong Kong is this moment in time – but it's also my least favorite. The most beautiful and the ugliest sides of Hong Kong are both happening right here. The Hong Kong spirit of helping each other out is something that was lost for a long time. But that's making a return. I don't like the greed, the selfishness, and the indifference some people feel towards what's happening in society."

On 5 June 2016, French cosmetics brand Lancôme cancelled a promotional concert by Denise Ho that was scheduled to be held on 19 June in Sheung Wan. This action was taken in response to a boycott campaign launched by the Communist Party-controlled Global Times, which denigrated her for supposedly supporting Hong Kong and Tibet independence.

Lancôme added, in a Facebook post, that Ho is not a spokesperson for the brand. The Tibet allegation appeared to have stemmed from Ho's May 2016 meeting with the Dalai Lama. The cancellation drew a heavy backlash in Hong Kong. Ho says that citizens' wish for self-rule ought not to be considered a crime.

In 2016 she was chosen as one of BBC's 100 Women

Discography

Songs

The following are songs which have not appeared on any of Denise Ho's albums:

VCDs

DVDs

Film

TV series

Stage

Stage (as a guest)

Commercials