Alyssa Meilin Gray is an American-Chinese pop singer and songwriter, based in Beijing, China. Meilin first appeared on Chinese national and worldwide television in 2006 with her younger sister, Suelin, winning first place on Beijing Television's 'Arts of Our Land' competition, performing a traditional Chinese 'hulusi' flute duet. BTV's Arts of Our Land competition (Wai Guo Ren Zhong Hua Cai Yi Da Sai), was China's then-premier international competition for foreigners to showcase their talents in traditional Chinese art and culture. Following success on BTV's 'Arts of Our Land', Meilin entered China Central Television's 'Xing Guang Da Dao' Star Search competition, China's foremost national talent competition, where she won first place in both the weekly and monthly competitions. In 2007, Meilin (梅琳) and Hong Kong singer and actor, Nicholas Tse, recorded the theme song and music video for the Mandarin language release of Disney's 1991 film Beauty and the Beast, which gave Meilin her first commercial success, with the song reaching No.2 on Pepsi's Chinese Billboard Pop Charts. Early life and family Meilin was born in Redwood City, California. Meilin's family has been a major influence on her interest in music. Her father is a music recording enthusiast, who commandeered the family den into service as a recording studio when Meilin was 1-year old. Later, after relocating the family to China, he built a larger recording studio and continued experimenting with creating the music that eventually became Meilin's first recordings and the backing tracks for her public performances. Her father's grandfather and grandmother, Paul Yale and Dot Davidson, had been professional child actors in vaudeville. They met in 1911 as touring members of the Marx Brothers vaudeville act and were married on tour in 1912, later performing leading theater roles on Broadway in New York City. Meilin's great uncle, Oakley Yale, was an accordionist and music teacher, who transposed and recorded classical symphonic music on accordion, touring Europe for many years with his accordion orchestra. Meilin's father's mother was also an accordionist, who performed on USO Armed Services Radio during World War II. On her mother's side of the family in China, her mother and uncle studied violin prior to the closing of school during the Cultural Revolution. Throughout her early youth, Meilin studied the performing arts; Broadway vocals, classical piano and jazz flute, as well as ballet, tap and jazz dance. Music and stage career In 1996, Meilin began her