Ivana Wong interview: Music makes people happy and free, and for Ivana Wong the piano opened that world when she was 6 years old.
In a wide-ranging interview, Ivana Wong (王菀之) discussed writing her first song, “快樂的小女孩” when she was a child, the rainy-day moment that produced the hit “我真的受傷了” (I Really Hurt), and how a recent pause in her schedule during the pandemic pushed her toward a new, art-focused direction in music.
Ivana Wong interview, the rainy-day song that launched a career
Ivana recalled the day she wrote “我真的受傷了,” saying, “The phone rang, you had to speak,” and describing how she sketched the opening lines while working a summer job in a company computer section.
She said the melody and its quiet lyric became tied to her name after Jacky Cheung’s recording brought the song wide attention in 2001. “That song, to me, is like a grace,” Ivana said, explaining that it opened the first public stage opportunity that let fans really meet Ivana Wong.
Art as the lens for new music, in this Ivana Wong interview
After two decades in the industry, Ivana said she set out recently on what she calls a music and art journey, a project that uses visual art as a starting point for songwriting and performance.
She described songs that respond to artists and artworks, citing pieces that reference Vincent van Gogh and the work of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Ivana said she even traveled to Japan to see Kusama’s installations in person, and that those visits shaped her musical ideas.
Finding the missing something
Ivana said she has grown interested in what she calls #TheMissingSomething, small elements of life and experience that art can make visible again. “I want music to trigger more emotion and thought,” she said.
That shift, she added, is not about changing vocal technique or genre for its own sake, but about using art as a viewpoint to make music that feels more emotionally expansive.
How the pandemic helped, from this Ivana Wong interview
Ivana told us the pandemic forced a pause that unlocked time and thought. “If not for last year, I might have put that song aside because I was so busy with other work,” she said about revisiting the twenty-year anniversary of “我真的受傷了.”
She organized a small project inviting longtime collaborators to reinterpret the song. The singer said she had not been active on social platforms before, but the break allowed her to reach into new ways of presenting her work.
Risk and process in creating
Ivana described the creation of her single “碧玉” as an example of pushing past comfort. She said she set aside conventional music formulas, worked more than 200 hours on arrangements, and traveled to Iceland with a small crew and a real piano to film the music video.
She called that level of investment deeply satisfying. “Of course I want to keep getting better, but the satisfaction of saying, ‘I finally did it,’ is beyond what anyone else may think,” she said.
Playfulness, focus and the freedom to experiment
Ivana said playfulness is essential to her work. On set she often lightens the mood with spontaneous performance, and she described the trait as a practical tool for keeping performances alive: “When you are fully invested you find the fun, you free up limits, and the audience absorbs your energy,” she said.
She also spoke about the tension between a creator’s desire for control and the magic of capturing a single truthful moment. “If you trust the moment, whether it becomes a big production like ‘碧玉’ or a small song about home WiFi running slow, the meaning is the same,” Ivana said.
Looking ahead in the Ivana Wong interview
Ivana said she expects new work to arrive in March, the next step on her music and art journey. She described the new song as thematically distinct from her past catalogue, and said the message is something she is eager to share.
Asked whether she believes she could write another simple song like “我真的受傷了,” she answered with curiosity and expectation. “I will be very excited to see if I can write that again,” she said.
Why her work matters
Ivana has long mixed mainstream and experimental impulses. She noted that some of her albums contain sidetracks that are not pop single material but that she believes still carry warmth and emotional weight.
“I feel lucky because I can perform and release work that lets me express and let go,” she said. The interview ended with an invitation to revisit her back catalogue before the new release arrives, a chance to rediscover the artist in different moods and forms.
—
Producer: Vicky Wai
Photography: Simon C.
Videography: Andy Lee, Mandy Kan
Styling: Vicky Wai
Make Up: Janice Tao
Hair: Jo Lam@SALON TRINITY
Video Editor: Andy Lee
Editor: Carson Lin
Design: Tanna Cheng
Assistant: Mandy Kan
Wardrobe: Simone Rocha x H&M
