Charlene Choi once considered retiring from singing after losing her voice.
The 43-year-old Hong Kong singer-actress was the latest guest on Chinese singer Tiger Hu’s podcast Hu Lai Jiu Guan released on April 14, where she recounted the challenging period in her life.
“I was ill at that time and had to go for injections to open my vocal cords,” she shared.
Charlene, who had asked Tiger to recommend a vocal coach for her then, said she consulted a few reputable doctors about her condition and remembered a conversation she had with one of them.
She recounted: “One of the doctors told me something that scared me to death. He asked if I had a stroke before, and I told him I didn’t think so.
“He told me I might have had a minor stroke before. I replied a stroke is a big issue, and I would know if I had it. He said there could be a possibility.”
Charlene, who is a member of pop duo Twins with Gillian Chung, said she felt terrible then because of her situation.
“I would cry after every performance when I returned to the hotel, because I felt the audience had spent their money to watch our show but I didn’t give them my best,” she recalled.
“In addition, for the parts that I couldn’t sing, Gillian had to help me, and that added responsibility for her.”
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She said while the situation happened over a decade ago and she is feeling better now, she was left traumatised by the experience and didn’t know how to share her condition with others.
According to reports in 2019, Charlene said she had to stop singing because of issues with her vocal cords, which was a consequence of acute pharyngitis which she had suffered earlier. She added then the best way for her to recover was to rest for a few months.
She told Tiger in the recent podcast: “I had thought perhaps I should stop singing and just focus on acting, but I have a responsibility towards my teammate.
“I felt lucky that I persisted; although my condition is not the same as before, at least I managed to step out of it and persisted.”
During the period, she wondered when she could step on stage again and felt lucky to be able to join Chinese idol group reality show Sisters Who Makes Waves season three in 2022, where she achieved seventh place in the finale.
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