Malaysian singer-actress Elizabeth Tan began her career in the entertainment industry by posting stripped-down song covers on her YouTube channel while she was studying abroad. After going viral, she signed with Faithful Music and released her single “Knock Knock” from her debut album of the same name.
Since then, she has established herself as a recording artist. However, on the latest episode of the Studio Sembang podcast hosted by actress Amelia Henderson, the “Sheriff: Narko Integriti” star revealed that she had little to no creative control over her music when she first started out. Here’s her story:
Elizabeth Tan, fondly known as Lizzy, confessed that she didn’t like the demo for her single “Knock Knock” when she first heard it. “I didn’t like pop songs back then; I was more into indie. But they told me I needed to make music that could sell, so that’s how I ended up singing ‘Knock Knock’ actually,” she explained. She noted that had she stood her ground in making indie music, she probably wouldn’t have had a career in the industry.
Unfortunately, to this day, the celebrity is still uncomfortable performing pop songs. Surprisingly, she also does not enjoy being on stage. When asked about the musical projects she has been involved in since the release of her debut album, the 30-year-old stated that she still lacked much creative control over collaborations or the genres she wants to explore. “I basically accepted the opportunities that came my way. I didn’t mind not having any creative control at the time because I trust my team. They know the market better than I do, so I just did what I was told,” she elaborated.
Thankfully, Lizzy had full creative control for her 2016 song “Tabah”, the third Malay song she’s ever written. She did not disclose whether she has gained more creative freedom in her work in recent years, but at one point during the conversation, the singer expressed her hope to produce and release an album for herself one day. “Maybe I’ll release it on Spotify and I won’t care if no one likes it. It would just be for me one day,” she told Amelia. At the moment, Lizzy is busy preparing to release her upcoming English song hopefully later this year.
Watch the full episode below or skip to 17:45 and 34:45 to hear her story:
Source: YouTube
