1993–2004: Career beginnings and musical breakthrough While studying in London, Mok auditioned for the West End Musical
Miss Saigon. At the same time, she recorded music demo tapes together with fellow students which landed her first recording contract with
Star Records. She decided to put her theatre aspirations on hold, headed back to Hong Kong and released in 1993 her first Cantonese album
Karen. She achieved her musical breakthrough with the launch of her first Mandarin album
To Be in 1997. In 2000, she gave her debut solo concert, The Very Karen Mok Show, in Taipei in front of 20,000 spectators. The album is recorded in China with East Asian musicians and adding the
guzheng on several tracks. She showcased this album at
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London, on 30 May 2013. Mok said about the title of the album: "It's about what I do, when I feel comfortable, that's when I'm doing what I love most, that's singing, that's when I'm performing on stage, and just singing my heart out, sharing my emotions," she said. "So that's where I belong." The Age of Moknificence Tour (2014–2015) celebrated her 20th anniversary in show business.
2015–2020: Tours and world records The Regardez Tour (2015–2016) started in Taipei and led Mok to 27 cities in Asia, North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. As part of this tour, she was the first Chinese pop artist to give solo concerts in Madrid and Milan.
The Ultimate Karen Mok Show started on 23 June 2018 with the concert in the
Hongkou Football Stadium in Shanghai 23 June 2018 in front of more than 20,000 spectators and totaled 48 concerts in 40 cities in Asia, Europe and Australia. The tour was largely conducted in outdoor stadiums, with the maximum attendance of 40,000 in the
Beijing Workers' Stadium, Beijing, on 22 September 2019. On 12 October 2019, she performed in
Lhasa at an altitude of 3650m, setting the
Guinness World Record for the Highest Altitude Mass-Attended Music Concert and being the first solo stadium concert in Tibet. Her concerts in the
Taipei Arena on 7 and 8 December 2019 had the special feature that she performed entirely different song lists on each night. The European leg of the tour brought her in London to the
Palladium and in Paris to the
Folies Bergère, making her the first Chinese pop singer to perform in this venue.
2021–present: Continued success With the Ultimate tour, Mok celebrated her 25th anniversary in show business. Interrupted by the events around the global Covid pandemic, the tour finished with three concerts in Hong Kong in June 2021. Her 2021 single "Empty World" had over 3bn streams on Chinese music platforms and became an anthem during the Covid pandemic in mainland China. In 2024 and 2025, Mok ran a series of large-scale stadium concerts titled "The Big Big Show", commencing in Beijing on 15 June 2024 in front of an audience of 60,000, followed by concerts in Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Wuhan in the later part of 2024. In 2025, the series continued with concerts in Suzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xian. In the course of this concert series "The Big Big Show", she was the first female singer to perform a solo concert in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium.
Notable collaborations Mok has collaborated on stage and in the studio with numerous leading global artists. Amongst others, she performed together with
The Black Eyed Peas,
Andrea Bocelli,
Far East Movement,
Lang Lang,
John Legend,
Sergio Mendes,
Mika,
Keanu Reeves and
Pharrell Williams. == Acting career ==