Local gal Zoe Tan hits the right notes in New York

Zoe Tan expresses how she truly feels through her songs. (Andrea Rhiannon Edmonds @ FMT Lifestyle)

PETALING JAYA: Like many seven-year-old girls, Zoe Tan was hooked on Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana. She dreamed of standing on stage, belting out bangers, and winning hearts – just like her pop idol.

“I remember standing up on the sofa, pretending to sing like her, and realising this is something that I really wanted to do one day,” Tan shared with FMT Lifestyle. “But I just didn’t have the confidence that I would be performing my own songs.”

Today the 24-year-old from Petaling Jaya, who is completing her degree in recorded music at New York University, is a budding singer-songwriter in the American city, with the singles “Distance” and “Walk Out The Door” already under her belt.

“I’ve had a hard time communicating how I feel straight up in person sometimes. But when I’m songwriting, it’s the total opposite. I’m completely fearless and I have so much courage within myself,” Tan mentioned.

The second of three siblings described her sound as “cinematic folk music”, a genre she’s carving out with her own flair in the Big Apple.

Tan is slowly establishing herself as a self-made singer-songwriter in New York. (Izzul Ahiaks)

“I wouldn’t be where I am without growing up in Malaysia. That’s where I found my voice,” she said, naming Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes, and Ed Sheeran as key influences.

“What I bring to New York is my community and culture. My music is about creating connections through shared emotion.”

Back in Kuala Lumpur for a short break, Tan is set to perform at Jao Tim on July 11. She’ll also be releasing her debut EP next month, titled “I Will Never Go Back to the Way Things Were Before”.

“Cinematic folk music is music that you can see, hear, touch, and feel with every fibre of your being. There’s a certain perception of folk music that we have in mainstream media that I want to alter,” Tan explained.

“I want to bring elements from pop, soul, and R&B into my music … it’s about capturing that feeling in the same way a movie does.”

Tan hopes to tour the world with her brand of cinematic folk music someday. (Andrea Rhiannon Edmonds @ FMT Lifestyle)

But music wasn’t always centre stage. Tan once danced to a different beat – literally. Ballet, tap, modern dance, and figure skating filled her early years, thanks to her parents’ encouragement.

“My school was putting up a Little Red Riding Hood musical and that’s how I was introduced to musical theatre. I was so enamoured by the idea of music and performing. Of course, after trying out I realised I didn’t like it and I went back to figure skating.”

As fate would have it, music found its way into Tan’s life through Ed Sheeran. She remembered falling in love with Sheeran’s ability to “tell stories that wasn’t like a stage performance … he was just a guy with a guitar and I wanted to do something similar”.

Her first song that really hit the right note? “I’m At A Party And I Don’t Want To Be Here” – an anthem about social anxiety.

“I was so proud of how I captured everything I was feeling. My parents loved it, too. It meant a lot because songwriting comes from such a personal place,” she added.

Tan was inspired to stand on stage and sing just like her inspiration, TV’s ‘Hannah Montana’. (Hellen Madeitt pic)

She recalled her very first public performance in New York at Pink Frog Cafe “being scary” as it was away from the safety of her university. But soon, Tan found her voice through the kindness and support of the public.

A high note in her journey so far? Performing at The Bitter End, a legendary music venue in Greenwich Village.

“Singers like Joni Mitchell and Taylor Swift have performed here. I remembered genuinely feeling the magic and the energy of all the artistes who have performed there before when I was up on stage. It was just a powerful feeling. It reaffirmed what I was doing,” Tan recounted.

Ultimately, Tan hopes her music makes Malaysia proud – and one day, she dreams of taking it on tour around the world.

“I’m not in this dream for the money. It’s just the feeling that it brings me every time that I do it. My ultimate dream is to just be able to live off of what I do comfortably, and to be able to share that and to grow my community,” Tan concluded.