Cover Xtie (Photo: courtesy of Xtie)
Xtie (Photo: courtesy of Xtie)
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From working with K-pop groups, Janice Vidal, Alfred Hui and Joey Yung to launching her own album, Xtie is breaking barriers in a male-dominated music industry
Hong Kong musician Cristie Lam, 28, who performs under the name Xtie, has written hit Canto-pop songs for Janice Vidal and Alfred Hui, as well as the theme song for ViuTV’s talent show The Good Night Show (2021).
She is also producing and performing her own pop songs and is preparing for the launch of her debut album Apollo-23 in September, which conveys the messages of body positivity and optimism. In May, she became the first Hongkonger to be featured in the Grammy’s Press Play series—a platform for rising international artists—as part of its celebration of Asian Pacific American (AAPI) artists.
Ahead of her concerts in September in Vancouver, Tatler catches up with Xtie on her music-making experience.
Above A visual from her song “Skin” (Photo: courtesy of Xtie)
A visual from her song “Skin” (Photo: courtesy of Xtie)
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What inspired your latest album, Apollo-23?
During the pandemic, I wanted to bring warmth and happiness to the youth, especially Gen Z and people in their 20s. I [try to infuse] my music with a bright and hopeful tone. When young people listen to my songs, I want them to find beauty within themselves. I want my audience to hop on to my “spaceship” and [embark on] a journey of self-love and self-discovery together—hence the name Apollo-23.
How do your personal experiences inform your creative process?
I want to promote body positivity through my album. One of the tracks is called Skin. I grew up having eczema. I studied at Holy Family Canossian College, which is a girls’ school. [Topics like] wearing contact lenses and putting on make-up [were very common among my peers]. But, meanwhile, I was taking a lot of Chinese medicine and looking for a cure. I wasn’t confident about my body image.
Music helped a lot. Back then, I listened to Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, who talked about body positivity. Their songs helped me channel all my emotions and inspired me to be a musician.
Above Xtie (Photo: courtesy of Xtie)
Xtie (Photo: courtesy of Xtie)
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Stylistically, how are your album’s tracks different from the songs you write for Canto-pop singers?
I like to describe my music as cosmo-pop. I like using visuals of [the cosmos and] nature for my music videos. When I’m making music, I like incorporating everyday sounds into pop music. For example, I’ll randomly record the sound of toilet flushing, and then chop it into [sections to make it sound like] a hi-hat [a kind of cymbal] to create a unique texture.
As a young woman in the music industry, how inclusive do you find it?
Female music producers and songwriters are so underrepresented. When I attend songwriting camps in Sweden, Finland, the US and the UK, I’m always the only Asian female music producer in the room. I recently did some research for a panel about diversity in music. Among the Billboard Hot 100 songs [in 2022], only 3.4 per cent are by female music producers and less than 15 per cent by female songwriters.
As for Hong Kong, I counted the number of female-identifying producers, songwriters and lyricists that ranked top 10 on [local] radio [channels] in 2022. It turned out to be less than 10 per cent of writers and producers.
[For this reason,] I changed my stage name from Cristie to Xtie. Besides being a nod to [American singer] Christina Aguilera’s alter ego Xtina, it’s also a more gender-neutral name. I want people to listen to my music not because I’m a woman, but because of [the quality of] my songs.
Above Xtie (Photo: courtesy of Xtie)
Xtie (Photo: courtesy of Xtie)
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How does the lack of gender diversity impact the music industry?
It’s about [getting] perspectives from women—and the LGBTQ+ community—in shaping our culture, talking about relationships and a lot of things in our daily lives. For instance, I didn’t even know that the Christmas song Baby, It’s Cold Outside [was about date rape] until some feminist friends told me about it. More women producing songs means better balanced views in the world.
As a Hongkonger, what does it mean to be featured on Grammy’s Press Play series?
My fellow Hong Kong musicians always underestimate their talent. They once told me how we would never be able to compete with international artists. But with this recognition, I hope [they will be encouraged to] be more outspoken about their art and present their work out there.
What barriers would you like to break in the industry in the future?
Three years into the industry, having produced a lot of music for female Canto-pop singers, I finally got the chance to produce music for [local singer] Alfred Hui last year. I felt happy that I can help artists tell their stories regardless of their gender.
I’m also breaking into the international scene. I’m currently working with several K-pop groups for some projects to be released next year.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
