Mimi Lo Man-chong, is a cantopop singer, actress, and radio DJ, having released 11 studio albums and appearing in numerous films, television dramas and stage productions, currently affiliated with TVB in Hong Kong.
Biography
Early singing career
Lo was signed to Warner Music Hong Kong in 1995 and released her debut EP and studio album, which brought her immediate attention in the music industry with her breakthrough hit and signature song, "挑戰者 The Challenger". She won the silver award for Most Promising Newcomer at the 1995 Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation. However, with personnel issues at Warner Music in 1996, her second album was delayed indefinitely. It was finally released in 1997 with little promotion and was a commercial failure. She was then dropped by Warner Music Hong Kong. Subsequently, Lo asked to be released from her management contract at Music Sense. However, a clause in the contract restricted her from appearing in any public performances for three years and forced her into hiatus. At this time, her radio DJ friends invited her to work at Radio Television Hong Kongbehind the scenes as a receptionist and secretary until her contract restriction was over. During this 3-year hiatus, Lo admitted to suffering from depression as a result of the turmoil.
Post hiatus
In 2002, Lo signed with Hong Kong television station TVB and began her full-time acting career. She also became a radio DJ at Radio Television Hong Kong's RTHK 2 station. In 2003, she signed with local independent record label, Rock in Records and began recording cover versions of Cantonese, Mandarin and English songs to be released as cover albums in Super Audio format for audiophiles. Due to the Hong Kong audiophile market being a relatively niche market plus the fact that Lo had turned into a full-time actress, her singer status was slowly forgotten by the Hong Kong public.
Career resurgence
In 2010, Lo appeared in an episode of the singing competition The Voice when contestant Penny Chan asked her to perform a duet with him during a round of competition. He chose her power ballad signature song, "挑戰者 The Challenger". Her flawless rendition of the song garnered universal praise. Judge Anthony Lun mentioned during his critique, "I wish there are more singers in Hong Kong like Mimi." Upon hearing this, Lo broke into tears. Lo then went on to thank the contestant for choosing her and her song as no one has sung her songs in 15 years. Host Sammy Leung then asked the audience to go pick Lo's songs to sing at karaoke. Her performance on the show sparked public interest in her past singing career on Hong Kong's media forums. Upon airing of the episode, "挑戰者 The Challenger" hit number six on popular Hong Kong karaoke chain KKBox's song chart on 1 July 2010. Lo suddenly found herself in the spotlight once again with media attention and newfound fans to her music. She was asked by TVB to co-host its long-time running music program, Jade Solid Gold with MC Jin starting 23 July 2010. She also released her compilation album, Very Meaningful with songs from her days at Warner Music in August 2010. Included is a re-recording of "挑戰者 The Challenger" as a bonus single. The album hit number 3 on YesAsia's sales chart on 30 August 2010.
Personal life
Lo married actor Power Chan in December 2009 after dating for seven years. In an interview, Lo stated that her husband did not know her as a singer when he first met her, only as an actress.
