The Hong Kong musician, whose new album ‘Water Comes Out Of My Eyes’ was released last month, is unafraid to embrace her emotional vulnerability through her music and hairstyles
Hong Kong singer Moon Tang makes emotional music. While her rich, smooth voice and the bedroom pop vibes of her music videos hook audiences from the get-go, it’s the lyrics she pens on love, regrets, insecurities and encounters as a young adult in her early 20s that make her music enduringly endearing.
However, for the Thai Chinese singer, music is not the only way her feelings spill out. She also projects them on to different facets of her life, from sartorial choices to changing hairstyles. We sat down with her to talk about what went into the making of her new album, Water Comes Out Of My Eyes, and why crying can be cathartic.
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Being emotionally vulnerable is an overarching theme in your latest album. Was it empowering to be openly emotional?
Yes, because I feel like there’s a misconception about crying being a negative thing. We don’t really cry in front of people that we're not familiar with, but for me, I feel like crying opens a door for strangers to get to know me [and know how I feel] inside.
Whenever I cry, it’s in those moments that I feel the most alive. Having emotions is better than not feeling anything at all. Feeling numb is very dangerous, so I try not to hide it. I cry really hard [when I feel like doing so. Having strong emotions] is a huge part of being human.
How does it feel to share these feelings with your followers?
Whenever people share their feelings with me—and write about their own experience of crying—it feels nice to know I’m not the only one. I think my listeners [are like me in a way]. I feel like they see a little bit of themselves in me, which is why they listen to my music.
Do you have a go-to singer you listen to when you want to let your tears flow?
I have one artist that I always go to whenever I’m alone at night. [American singer-songwriter] Lizzy McAlpine, and her songs just ‘hit different’. Her lyrics are so good that even if I’ve not experienced [what she’s singing about], it feels like I have.