KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian singer Jeryl Lee Pei Ling has emerged as the champion of China's reality TV singing competition show, The Next 2023.
The 23-year-old talent from Penang cried tears of joy when she was named winner of the competition on Saturday.
In an Instagram post on the same day she said: "Hello everyone, I am Lee Pei Ling from Malaysia, and I am also the overall winner of The Next 2023. I still feel like I'm dreaming, I'm really thankful for everyone around me."
She added: "It's not easy to keep singing until now. Every time I want to give up, I tell myself to hang in there for a little while more. This time, I can finally confidently say that I did it."
Lee's entry received congratulatory comments from fellow Malaysian artistes such as Vanessa Reynauld, Choo Hao Ren and Priscilla Abby.
She began singing from the age of eight and has since been trying her luck by competing in various singing competitions in China.
Lee had participated in the teen singing competition Water Cube Cup China in 2014.
In 2016, she was a finalist on the singing programme Sing! China.