Imagine a 15-year-old girl all alone in a foreign land.
To local songbird Olivia Ong, it is a no-brainer one would cry
into the night often, she argued.
The singer moved to Japan at 15 to further her studies and music
career after winning a singing contest. After a short stint as part
of the Japanese pop trio Mirai, Olivia released her solo bossa nova
album at the age of 19, one that received rave reviews.
The voice behind hit drama The Little Nyonya's theme song 'Like
Swallows' told xinmsn in an exclusive interview that the journey
was extremely tough and tears were aplenty.
Appearing at a Kose roadshow, the cosmetic brand's first
non-Japanese spokesperson said, "I had to face many things being
alone in Japan. My family wasn't around, and I felt lonely, so of
course I'd cry!"
It did not help that her idea of stardom is way off the
mark.
"I had always thought, one song would be enough to make a singer
famous, but it's not so easy. In fact, there are so many things to
face."
Comfortable in both English and Japanese, Olivia is now taking
on the Taiwanese market singing in Mandarin. But what the
24-year-old soul singer is most afraid of are the infamously wacky
variety shows there.
Known for her cool, classy image, she said, "My company and
myself both feel such game shows are not suitable for my image, so
I haven't appeared in any."
Hong Kong and China will be her next destinations for promoting
her English album Olivia in April and May.
At a recent event, Taiwanese host Ah Ken waxed lyrical about her
through a specially-prepared English poem. But she was quick to
dismiss a budding romance.
So which male star would make her perfect man?
"I admire Jang Dong-gun a lot. He has a very attractive
quality," she gushed.