Heidi Li interview: SuperGirls alum Heidi (李靜儀) says going solo has forced her to rethink who she is, and to build a career around a new personal creed, Be True To Yourself.
Most people prefer being liked to being alone or disliked. We chase looks, talent, charm, and perfect presentation to feel safer, to win approval, and to boost self esteem. In entertainment that pressure often becomes literal, as image and persona help performers survive.
But piling on those expectations can become heavy, and then they stop people from moving forward.
In the Cantopop girl group SuperGirls, Heidi relied on her bandmates for many tasks. After the group reduced from five members to one and she relaunched her solo career, Heidi found herself cautious and deliberate. She said she believes in the motto Be True To Yourself, and she is using it as the guiding theme for her new personal work.
“Doing a group makes it easy to rely on others.”
Heidi said the hardest change after the SuperGirls split was losing the ability to complement others on and off stage. In the group, members divided roles: lead vocalist, lead dancer, the member who lightens the mood, and the one who coordinates the team. Off stage, Heidi said she often let other members lead interviews and public communication because she felt less comfortable speaking for the group.
Stepping out on her own meant Heidi has to decide, oversee, and carry more of the burden herself. She described herself as sensitive and direct, someone who prefers a small, private world. That reserve, she said, can come across as distant, and she has learned to treat it as a form of self protection, a way to avoid mistakes by speaking less.
That caution developed into a weighty habit, she said, one that made it harder to see her true self. Learning to accept loneliness and to sit with it became part of her growth as a solo artist.
Heidi adopted Be True To Yourself, abbreviated B T T Y, as the starting point for her individual work. She said the project is meant to emphasize authenticity, and to prompt both fans and peers to rethink how they approach identity and presentation.
“B T T Y is a small summary of my time in the industry.”
Known online as the goddesslike “Heidi BB,” she said she wanted the emphasis to be on the person rather than the career. Her aim is to let people meet the real Heidi, and to recover parts of herself that the group life had hidden.
Her first solo single, “Be True,” follows the B T T Y theme. The lyrics repeat the message to be authentic, with lines urging listeners to “be true, be true, keep your style,” and to trust that being yourself will grow confidence.
Behind that idea are many hard lessons. Heidi said she once forced herself to fit in by agreeing to things that made her unhappy, simply to be accepted. Over time she realized that no matter how hard you try to please others, they may not treat your effort as meaningful.
Heidi said those experiences were necessary. Without them she would not have learned why authenticity matters. Finding ways of relating to others that suit her temperament, she said, has brightened her outlook and produced real growth.
Still, she acknowledged, being true to yourself is not simple.
“I have heard people say I am so real that people do not like it.”
Heidi said her quiet face often reads as cool or unfriendly. She does not deny that impression, and she said it often reflects an honest reluctance to speak. That blunt authenticity, she said, can be both a strength and a liability.
She understands the entertainment industry is not a typical workplace. No matter your status, you cannot make the world revolve around you. “It is really difficult to practice authenticity in this field,” she said.
Viewed another way, personality traits are neutral, she said, and their value depends on how you use them. “Being too real” can mean centering yourself in ways that hurt teamwork, yet authenticity can also free you from wearing a mask.
She added that the key is balance, not extremism. To practice authenticity in public, she said she will remind herself to speak more and to smile more often.
To learn how to be true to yourself, she said, you first have to feel what it means to be untrue to yourself.
She said that honesty with oneself is hard work. Admitting flaws, showing anxiety and vulnerability in public, and risking judgment are rare acts for most people. For Heidi, the bumpy solo journey gave B T T Y its meaning, because the confusion and loneliness that come with going solo make the project more relevant and interesting.
These solo days, she said, will be the real start of her growth in the industry. Growth comes with uncertainty and a lack of safety. She hopes that with time she can explore the question of what it means to be true to herself, and to write new chapters for B T T Y.
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Producer: Vicky Wai
Photography: @issaclam_
Videography: @wootwootvisual
Styling: Vicky Wai
Make Up: Melody Chiu
Hair: Terrance Chan @HAiR Salon
Video Editor: @wootwootvisual
Editor: Carson Lin
Design: Tanna Cheng
Assistant: Mandy Kan
Wardrobe: @ysl
