K-pop girl group f(x)’s Amber Liu talks about the inspirations behind her brand new solo album, Z!; keeping up with her bandmates; and what she really thinks of the scrutiny surrounding her appearance
Chinese American singer-songwriter Amber Liu—who just celebrated the launch of her third solo EP, Z!—made her name as the lead rapper of K-pop girl group f(x).
Liu relocated to the US in 2018 and continues to have a huge fanbase in South Korea, where f(x) was active from 2009 to 2016. She’s also garnered attention for her androgynous style—unusual for a female K-pop idol, whose looks tend to come out of the same mould.
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You described Z! as one of your most playful but also serious albums to date. Can you tell us why?
I’ve gotten more comfortable in the studio. I love keeping my sessions small and intimate and with the [playful] atmosphere. We have therapy sessions where we talk about everything. Some topics are really fun where we run with our imagination, but some [topics are] really heavy. In songs like Bad Decisions, I joke about myself a lot, and the track itself is “jumpy” and lighthearted. In contrast, the song Easier was just me going through all my insecurities and writing down all my internal struggles.
Where did you find inspiration for it?
I wanted to focus more on the simple moments. In the track Paradise, I was imagining being in a car with people I loved and driving to Malibu. Done Thinking was when I was drunk because I just broke up with someone and was feeling hopeless. Easier is the moment where I want to quit everything but know I can’t give up. It’s these small moments that helped me grow and understand my emotions.
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