When Sarah Chen came of age in the late 1970s and matured into her jade-like adult singing voice, she struggled to find quality songs. She performed many covers without success, and sang a lot of jarring songs. She bored them with a godly amount of grace and cheerfulness, leaving listeners torn between cheering for the lovely singer and cringing at the awkward tunes. As her singing career stalled, Chen took on the role of a TV show host in the early 1980s, showcasing her own songs and those of rising talents. One of these rising stars was Tsai Chin, who would become Sarah Chen's main rival for music awards in the following decade.

The 20th Golden Bell Awards was held on March 24th, 1985. Sarah Chen defeated her fierce competitors Julie Sue and Jeanette Wang to win the Best Female Singer Award. The shocking win left her tearful and nearly speechless on stage. Not long after, she had an opportunity on air to talk for 11 minutes while also playing her songs. Her broadcast was the first, rare document we could find of Chen opening up about her career and life. 

Sarah Chen’s popularity soared after winning the Golden Bell Award. From 1987 to 1989, she appeared frequently on TV, often performing live or participating in sketch comedy, sometimes both. Still graceful but now also more sophisticated, Chen’s emotive singing was enhanced by her expressive body language. She had evolved from being just a singer to an actor, storyteller, and mental health counselor. Music became her tool to express and experience the many facets of life—the beauty and sorrow of human existence.

Shortly before Christmas in 1990, Sarah Chen took to the airwaves with Liu Jie for an hour-long conversation around gender roles in relationships, the most candid interview of her career.  Both were sharp, posing challenging questions to each other. While Chen seemed to have found an intellectual equal in Liu, her views on gender roles were far ahead of his. 

As Sarah Chen's career soared, her life took a sharp downturn in the early 1990s due to a weight-loss episode that left her seriously ill. Unbearable pressure from Taiwan forced her into exile, where she spent months in physical and mental anguish, rethinking her life priorities. Her mother, who had provided unwavering support since Chen entered the music industry at age 9, stayed by her side throughout the ordeal.

The 1991 album Be Wise, Be Easy was likely recorded during Chen's illness. When she was well enough, she returned to Taiwan in November 1991 to promote the album, though she appeared noticeably subdued. Music had become a burden, no longer her refuge.

Around Christmas 1992, Sarah Chen gave the most informative interview of her career to the New York Chinese American Voice. The host, a young woman around Chen’s age, had met her earlier in New York. Their interview was conducted as a Q&A over the phone. Although the format didn’t allow for back-and-forth conversations, Chen had to answer some tough questions. The questions already hinted at the backlash Chen and her mother faced for her remaining single, but the answers she gave, including those she chose to deflect, offered clues about her eventual exit from the music industry.

In May 1995, Sarah Chen made a frenzy of media appearances to promote her album Forever, Taiwan’s first R&B album. She had spent three years working on this and a related album, Paradise Lost, though the latter wasn’t released until January 1998, creating a confusing timeline for the end of her career. 

Later that year, Chen released what was likely her final recording, Forever, Sarah. This farewell album, with its beautiful artistry, was her gift to fans, binding them to her music for decades to come, even as the singer herself seemed to have disappeared. 

Aside from two brief TV appearances, Sarah Chen withdrew from the public eye after the release of Forever, Sarah. Her cheerful demeanor in the rare appearances suggested she was content with her life's work. Following the release of Paradise Lost in 1998 and her mother's unexpected passing, Chen severed ties with the music industry. 

Rumors about Chen prompted a brief phone call with Matilda Tao in 2003, during which she categorically denied recent media reports of her. She expressed interest in returning to music but acknowledged that other pressing matters in life required her attention.

In an attempt to draw Sarah Chen back, Rock Records released the documentary A Letter to Sarah, where colleagues talked about her contributions and their experiences working with her, cementing her musical legacy. However, the documentary also highlighted problems in Chen's work environment, likely eliminating any possibilities of her ever returning.