Annabelle Louie

Annabelle Louie On Na or Annabelle Lui On Na (Chinese: 雷安娜; born 4 July 1959), originally known as Lui Wai-Mei (Chinese: 雷蕙薇), is a Hong Kong singer, actress and host. She debuted in the early 1980s with the song "When People Are Tears on the Road" (人在旅途灑淚時, sung with Michael Kwan), and then became famous with "Don't Remember the Old Dreams" (舊夢不須記). She was selected into the Top Ten Chinese Golden Songs of 1981, and her album Don't Remember the Old Dreams won the Platinum Record.

Annabelle Louie
Born	(1959-07-04) 4 July 1959 (age 66) British Hong Kong
Origin	Hong Kong
Genres	Cantopop
Occupation(s)	singer, actress and host
Years active	1980 - present
Spouse	Jimmy Lau (m. 1983)

Biography

Early life

Lui Wai-Mei (Chinese: 雷蕙薇) was born and raised in Hong Kong and has five brothers and sisters. In the late 1970s, she worked as a teller at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation for a year before moving to Sun Hung Kai Securities and Barclays Bank. Like many young people back then, her hobby during her spare time was singing, and she often participated in singing competitions after work, competing against others who would themselves be famous later on, such as Cheung Ming Man, Agnes Chiang, and Kinko Cheung.^[1]

In a competition, Louie was spotted by Chan Dik-Man of Hong Kong PolyGram.^[2]She auditioned for the theme song "When People Are Tears on the Road" (人在旅途灑淚時) with Hong Kong singer Michael Kwan for the Rediffusion Television drama Blowing in the Wind. The female vocal part of this song was originally sung by Candice Yu, but was later replaced by Louie due to contractual issues.^[3]The stage name "Lui On Na"(Chinese: 雷安娜) was also given by Ricky Fung, a senior executive of PolyGram at the time.^[4]

Career

Lui found significant success in the Hong Kong entertainment industry from 1981 to 1984. From 1981 to 1983, Lui released four solo albums with Polydor Records.^{[citation needed]}: "Old Dreams Don’t Need to Be Remembered" (舊夢不須記) was released in 1981, followed by "Song of Colorful Clouds" (彩雲曲) and "Love in Disbelief" (癡情劫) in 1982, and "Warmth Collection" (温馨集) the year after. The single "Old Dreams Don't Need to Be Remembered" (舊夢不須記) topped the Commercial Radio chart for nine consecutive weeks and was selected as one of the Hong Kong Radio's top ten of the year),^[5][6] Other songs, including "My Heart Is in a Trouble" (無奈我心亂如麻), "Colorful Clouds Song" (彩雲曲), "Farewell" (暫別), "Love Tribulation" (痴情劫), "Ask Why" (問為何), "Far Away from Home" (遠方天外), "Warm and Clear Currents in Turbid Times" (濁世暖流清), "Unending Love" (停不了的愛) and "The Sun Keeps Me" (太陽留住我), found moderate popularity upon release.

Upon emigrating to Canada, Lui left the Hong Kong music industry, though she remained in the music industry itself. Lui re-established herself as a singing teacher, occasionally hosting the New Age Television program in Vancouver, and serving as a behind-the-scenes training mentor for contestants of the New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition.^[7] Lui has also maintained singing engagements in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.^[8] She also worked as a fashion store owner, travel agency owner, and tour guide.^[9]

Personal life

In 1983, despite the opposition of her record company, she married her then-boyfriend and former colleague at Barclays Bank, Jimmy Lau, in a low-key wedding.^[10] In 1987, Louie and her husband applied for immigration to Canada, ultimately moving to Vancouver in 1988.