Yankee Doodle CoCo

Remember how CoCo Lee had us scratching our heads when she came out as a blonde a few years ago? Well, she has us confused again.

The Hong Kong-born, San Francisco-raised singer will belt out the Star-Spangled Banner on November 2 to mark Chinese basketball star Yao Ming's home-game debut for the Houston Rockets.

'It's an honour for me as a Chinese to sing the US anthem. They never let Chinese people do so in the past,' said Lee (above). 'But it's nothing political. And I think that wherever I go, whatever language I speak, I'm seen as Chinese.'

Does the 26-year-old know the Chinese anthem? 'Yes, my mum taught me how to sing it when I was younger,' she said, humming the tune. Unfortunately, it sounded nothing like March Of The Volunteers. But SAR forgives Lee. She is, after all, an international star.