Nice to Jocie you again

After battling an illness and getting her name dragged through the mud, local singer jocie guo mei mei is now stronger than ever.

- Cheryl Ong

Once upon a time, there was a girl groomed for stardom. Or, to be exact, to be the next Stefanie Sun. But alas, Jocie Guo’s fast-rising career after singing cutesy pop ditties like ‘Mouse Loves Rice’ was stopped in its tracks by a double whammy back in 2011. The then-28-year-old was diagnosed with endometriosis, a medical condition that affected her uterus, which was mistakenly reported by some media as ovarian cancer. In the same year, she was embroiled in an unfortunate case of mistaken identity when people confused her for infamous Chinese blogger Guo Mei Mei, who shares the same Mandarin name as Jocie. The socialite became one of China’s most despised women after flaunting her extravagant lifestyle and her status as a mistress, all while falsely claiming to work for the government-backed Red Cross organisation. Not only did Jocie suffer the brickbats of misguided netizens, she was also blacklisted in China and saw her album sales fall faster than you can say “tough luck”. And so, she dropped off the radar. But now Jocie, 35, is back with a fresh new album, My Name, and an even fresher look on life.

8 DAYS: It’s been six years since you’ve been in the public eye. What made you want to make a comeback?

JOCIE GUO: I haven’t given up on my dreams. I still had hopes of releasing another album. After my illness and that case of mistaken identity, I became more aware of what I want, which is to sing.

You initially thought you had cancer.