Recently I sat down with Elizabeth Wong ahead of the release of her latest single ‘Angeline’. For many musicians, their musical journey is a gradual one, but for Elizabeth, it has always been a clear part of her life from an early age. “I’ve always been musical,” she shared, looking back at her childhood. “I took singing and piano lessons when I was very young and I loved musical theatre, but I didn’t really discover songwriting until I started listening to artists like Taylor Swift”.
Through Swift’s storytelling in her songwriting, this sparked an inspiration for Elizabeth to start writing music. Her journey as a songwriter began around the age of 12 or 13, but while the seeds of her musical identity were planted early, it wasn’t until she was a teenager that Elizabeth truly considered embracing music as a career path. “In the back of my mind I always knew that it was my number one interest, but I didn’t know that I could actually make it happen until much later.” This decision to pursue music wasn’t just about ability, but the inspiration she found along the way. “I started seeing all these amazing up-and-coming indie artists and it just got me really inspired,” Elizabeth explained.
When asked about the musicians who have influenced her, Elizabeth knew exactly who she connects with most. “Taylor Swift of course, but recently I’ve been really inspired by Kacey Musgraves, Lizzie McAlpine, and Gracie Abrams – it happens to be mostly female artists that I gravitate to,” she shares.
For Elizabeth, songwriting is more than just writing – it’s a deeply personal form of self expression. “It sounds basic, but I really just use music to write about exactly how I feel,” she explains. “I’m the type of person who doesn’t really like confrontation, I don’t like to talk about my emotions a lot in person, so music is my place to do that, and its where I can be completely honest with myself”.
When describing her sound, she laughs and says, “In my bio I describe it as if Hannah Montana and Phoebe Bridgers had a child, I feel like that’s a good way to sum up my sound”. Elizabeth explains that while some of her songs may sound really upbeat and fun, the lyrics tend to be reflective. “I guess it’s not even sad, it’s just honest. A lot of the truth is kind of sad so sometimes it ends up being that way”.
Despite the honesty in her songwriting, Elizabeth discusses the contrast between the melodies and the lyrics, capturing the complexity of emotions. “Sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it’s fun – it really depends on my mood,” she adds.
When it comes to her favourite song she’s written so far, her answer is ever-evolving. “It changes all the time but currently my favourite that I’ve ever written is ‘Angeline’. Once I started writing, I finished it pretty quickly and I loved it”. Along with this, some other favourites are ‘Talking to Walls’, and ‘She’s Losing Control’.
The pandemic, like for many, became a period of reflection and self-discovery, but it also sparked a surge of creativity in Elizabeth. “That’s when I made my first EP. It was obviously a tough time, but a lot of good music came out of it because we all had the time to pause, be still, and create,” she explains. Elizabeth reflects on the release of ‘Folklore’ by Taylor Swift, which served as a significant influence on her own tastes. “So much good music was released, which really shaped my taste and influences and shaped me into the artist I am now. It was a bad time, but also good in so many ways.”
Elizabeth also acknowledges how platforms like TikTok have shifted the music industry, particularly for emerging artists. “I got a lot of my listeners and young fans from posting on there, it gives artists like myself a platform and it’s good for a lot of reasons,” she explains, reflecting on the potential exposure TikTok offers to artists. However Elizabeth is cautious about relying too heavily on it due to it’s temporary, fleeting nature. “It’s great because your art can be shared with wider audiences and it can be motivating to see how other artists have done, but it can be such momentary success,” she shares. “I’ve experienced it – one video can go viral and do really well, then your next release might not get the same traction. It gets very competitive, very fast, and I’m just trying not to depend on it too much”.
Her most recent EP, ‘Back to California’ released earlier in the year, encapsulates a personal journey for Elizabeth. The EP reflects her emotional transition of moving from California, where she spent twelve years of her life, back to Singapore, her home country. “The change was very hard for me”, she confesses, describing the complexity of leaving a place she once thought she’d never leave. “California is the place that every artist dreams of being in. Leaving it behind, leaving my friends and what I knew, to come and study here was very mentally challenging. The whole EP is about that move and the feelings and emotions I faced during that period of change”.
When discussing her favourite lyrics she has written, Elizabeth speaks with a clear affection for the lines that she has created. “The entirety of ‘How Do I Leave Now?’ is straight out of my journal, so that entire song is very personal to me,” she explains. Another lyric that she touched upon comes from ‘staying sober feels kinda weird’. “There’s a line at the end of the track that says “I’ll promise to love me like I’m the girl I was when I was four”, and that is one of my favourites I’ve written. I think they’re very truthful”.
When it comes to offering advice for other young girls looking to start out in the music industry, having navigated her own path, Elizabeth is quick to emphasise the importance of influence and persistence. “I think the biggest thing for me was listening to lots of music and pulling influence from it – at the end of the day, art is made out of influence. Listening to other people really gives you an idea of what resonates with you and also what you might want to explore in your own work”. Her advice to other musicians is clear: “Don’t be afraid to pull inspiration and just write and write and write. There are songs that you’re going to write that are going to suck, and that’s fine, it’s all part of the process”.
With this advice, she encourages young girls not only to dream, but to embrace the imperfect nature of growing and evolving as an artist. It’s clear that for Elizabeth, music is more than a career choice – it’s a way of navigating the world and her emotions, and here at Karma! we cant wait to see what she has in store next.
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