Gin Lee’s Struggle With Depression
Recognized for her vocal range and talent, Gin Lee (李幸倪), 36, confessed she had once felt hopeless and struggled with depression. She was afraid to leave her home and face the uncertainty of her future.
Similar to many artistes, Gin suffered depression while navigating the uncertainties of her career. Her financial difficulties added to daily struggles. “At the time, I had this inexplicable fear and anxiety. I felt like a small boat drifting in the vast sea and unable to reach land. I wasn’t signed by any labels, didn’t have work, and therefore, didn’t have any income. I even had trouble supporting my day-to-day needs. I didn’t go out during that time because I didn’t want to have to spend money. I ate whatever I could scavenge at home. Sometimes, my friend would pretend to come visit me, but their true intent was to bring me food.”
On whether she sought professional help, Gin explained, “I didn’t have any money. I didn’t even have the courage to leave my house. Physically, I felt drained and without energy. I only wanted to lay there the entire day. I wasn’t diagnosed, so I don’t really know what kind of emotional disorder I had.”
With the backing of EEG’s resources, Gin released her third single this year, which exceeded 1 million views on various streaming platforms. “Everyone at my company has high hopes for me. They worked really hard to organize everything for me. I’m also trying my best so I can achieve results to thank them. I haven’t stopped working all year,” Gin said.
Gin is expected to dominate end-of-year singing awards, especially in the absence of main competitors Joyce Cheng (鄭欣宜) and AGA (江海迦) due to personal issues. Allegedly, Joyce has been on hiatus due to her struggles with depression. Gin had reached out to Joyce, but did not receive a response. “Perhaps too many people have been contacting Joyce to see if she is okay, so she did not see my message. There has also been a lot of news reports [regarding her situation] lately. I want to give her some space.”
Gin tactfully added, “I think it is best when everyone does well. The most important thing in the music industry is to have choices. As singers, we impact each other.”
Source: [1]
This article is written by Huynh for JayneStars.com.
The singing industry is very competitive….there are lots of strong singers who struggle to earn bread and butter. In my country, I know many many talented artists who work very part time in many job to continue doing what they love. they are extremely practical. I personally employed many when i run travel food shows.
I have great chats with the artistes, afew are even common stars on popular dramas… But their work do not bring in enough for a comfortable living. So they work part time. But they are not upset at all….they are very happy still being about to do what they enjoy. They did not sing, dance or act to be famous. They do that because they love it. They love their stage. Regardless how hard work it is…they are happy doing this till for their passion.
There are really alot of artist that struggle getting work full time… I feel everyone entering this industry must be ready for this truth. No matter how good you are, there will still be a group of newbies who are equally as good or better. One need to be ready to save on good days and find other work on bad days. It is about having strong mental state and humble scarified one need to make before entering this industry. This could be a journey for life.
I will never forget just how hard all my temping staff works to earn their bread and butter whilst waiting for their next gig. These goes on for years and years… That is the true life of many artiste. only a small % make it big and rich…
I am not belittling Gin’s state of mind. But I do hope many artiste will learn to strengthen their mental state and manage their expectations when they become artistes… Gin is one of many who feel disappointed as their expectations are not met. They do not understand why with their talent they fall behind. There are no reasons to why, it is just how ruthless this industry is. The industry do not owe anyone their rice bowl. That is a fact one needs to know.
Lost in translation or what?
Gin’s predicament happened way back in 2014 after BMA artiste contract ended before Universal music comes knocking at her doors. She only debuted in HK in 2011 where she has little friends and supports. She has no such problems after not renewing her contract with Universal Music.
Hello Jaynestars,
You might want to double check and re-edit this article. It looks to me Gin Lee referred to her depression at the time when she ended her contract with BMA in 2014 and before she signed with Universal Music some time later. The original article even indicated Eric Kwok, who’s still with Universal Music, was the one that helped her.
@terry123 Article correction has been made. Thanks for pointing it out.
Jaynestars,
It’s still the same old, out of context.
Read no further, the 1st paragraph is dead wrong, it does not reconcile with what was explained to you in the comments, but it’s not my problem..