Charmaine Fong concert fans know this: when you are heartbroken, avoid love songs, but when you are feeling low, try Charmaine Fong’s music. From “You Are Your Own Legend” to her recent single “How Are You”, she has used songs to record feelings, to comfort, and to cheer on people who live on this same patch of land. Her lyrics often read like a friend reaching out, providing solace to wounded hearts and offering a quiet, steady empathy.
As one of Hong Kong’s best known singer songwriters, Charmaine Fong writes her own melodies and lyrics. Recent albums and singles including “If the World Is Not as You Expected”, “Finally Good Weather”, “Wish”, “Human Words”, and “All We Have Is Now” show her focus on honest emotion. Her latest single “How Are You” speaks plainly of concern and self care, asking listeners to take care of themselves and to keep living. Beyond comforting ballads, many of her songs speak to social themes and current events, transforming what she sees and feels in the city into music.
She comes across as candid and authentic, unafraid of outside judgment, determined to be herself.
After more than 20 years in the music industry, this August she will finally stage her first solo run at the Hong Kong Coliseum. The shows were originally scheduled for last year but were postponed because of the pandemic; organizers later rebranded the program from “The Spring of Hope” to “LOST n FOUND” as they prepared to meet audiences again. For Charmaine, the roller coaster of delay and return has deepened the meaning of the concerts. Without major label support, she has kept her creative mission intact, proving that carefully made songs can still find an audience.
“Just do not go with the flow.”
“I think you have to choose what to do and what not to do,” she said.
The name Charmaine Fong has long been linked with the idea of being “out of the mainstream.” That label is at once a self deprecating joke in her songs and a description of a group that resists mainstream tastes. Popular culture often follows the crowd and overlooks those who insist on being themselves. Charmaine is among the few who keep that resolve. In one lyric she writes that even if she must go hungry, there is a fire in her heart, meaning her creative spark has not gone out. Many people fall into a rhythm of work for work’s sake, but Charmaine refuses to sell a mainstream image. She writes what she wants and shares her own subjects.
We should be grateful Hong Kong still has people who create and sing without chasing fame.
Outwardly cool and inwardly warm, Charmaine said people often fixate on just a few of her songs. Her catalog covers many topics, and she hopes to keep writing without a constraining format, to explore different subjects. “If you want to know what I am thinking, listen to my songs,” she said. “They tell you what state I was in at the time.”
She does not separate a singer from a regular life. “Everything is about choices and decisions. Every day has many small choices and decisions. They build up into your personality,” she said. For Charmaine, knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do. Her measure of success is not fame but whether a song such as “You Are Your Own Legend” offers listeners something meaningful, or whether “If the World Is Not as You Expected” captures what she intended.
She does not view herself as extraordinary. “I do not distinguish the ordinary from the extraordinary. The key is to live the life you want and to treat people with respect. As a public figure, your words and music can influence others. If people ask what responsibility a singer has, I think it is to use life to affect life. That is the best state,” she said.
Some interpret being out of the mainstream as a kind of sacrifice, giving up catchy arrangements or easy hooks. But when you look closely at Charmaine’s output across 34 albums and more than 130 lyric credits, you find a single soul that insists on living honestly and treating others with respect. Her work evolves with life experiences and, in that evolution, builds a resilient core.
Perhaps that is the truest meaning of being out of the mainstream for Charmaine.
“Once you understand what you have lost, you will be strong enough to move forward.”
“You never know if after a setback the next step might lead to a brighter path,” she said.
Holding a concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum is a dream for many singers. Charmaine’s first solo Coliseum dates were postponed by the pandemic, but that did not make her give up.
“No,” she said flatly when asked if the delays felt like destiny.
Charmaine explained the show was originally titled “Spring of Hope,” borrowing the famous line from Charles Dickens that suggests light follows darkness. After cancellation, postponement, and then a successful rescheduling, she felt the program needed a new name, and it became “LOST n FOUND.” The title reflects the experience of losing and finding. She said the “LOST” side points to the losses people have felt in recent years, while the “FOUND” side is a message to learn to cope with adversity and to remind yourself to keep living well.
When the concert was rescheduled, the theme sharpened. The official poster shows fractured stone heads floating on a dark sea, an image of loneliness and loss. A small line on the poster reads, Not until we are lost, do we begin to understand ourselves. Charmaine said that obstacles reveal limits and weak points, and facing them allows you to grow stronger. “When you know your weaknesses, do not treat setbacks as failure, because you do not know if the next step will lead to a brighter road,” she said.
Life has highs and lows, pain and disappointment, but darkness passes. We cannot control every external event, but we can adjust our mindset. Charmaine hopes that after darkness, everyone can find dawn. That is the message she wants to share.
Has the theme of loss and finding appeared in her work and life over the years?
“Absolutely,” she answered without hesitation.
She said being lost, unhappy, or struggling often sparks creative inspiration that can be turned into work that helps others and herself. Conversely, when creativity stalls, returning to life and listening to others and society produces new ideas. “Both are closely related,” she said.
Does the process of moving from LOST to FOUND require unflagging optimism? “No one is purely optimistic or purely pessimistic,” she said. “They overlap. The important thing is to live in the present. All we have is now.” What she says is simple, familiar encouragement, but coming from her voice those lines carry a quiet power. That unsentimental atmosphere is part of the reason Charmaine Fong has a steady, unusual appeal, and why listeners expect to feel strength from a “LOST n FOUND” show.
LOST n FOUND asks audiences to reconnect with their original intentions, to fill the heart and cherish small beauties nearby.
“A singer’s duty is to use life to affect life.”
Outside the concert, Charmaine released two new songs, “How Are You” and “Fragments.” Interestingly, neither was written specifically to promote the show. For the new tracks she worked with lyricist Sze Yip and composer Alan Tam King Chung. “I enjoyed collaborating with musicians I admire. I missed singing other people’s songs, so this was a challenge and a lot of fun,” she said.
“Fragments” is also the theme for a 13 minute Hong Kong animated short called “Polar Night.” The film was created over a year by Polytechnic University new media tutor Cheung Siu Ta. Lyricist Xiaoke and Charmaine performed the song. The story follows girls with pieces missing from their bodies as they search, remember, and are chased by a giant beast to a cliff edge. The animator titled the film “Polar Night” because the night leads to a harsh ending. He wanted a song to accompany viewers through a painful moment and to remind them that even the darkest phase will end.
In turbulent times, small people must still face weakness and suffering at different life stages. The animator liked Charmaine’s voice and invited her to sing. She accepted without hesitation, because she wants to use her role as a singer to affect others.
Charmaine said inspiration comes naturally from life. “The key to creation is life itself. You must really live, pay attention to others, and observe the world. That is where topics come from,” she said.
Her connection to life is sometimes intense, sometimes detached, to keep her sensitivity. “Sometimes I view the world from a third person perspective, notice other people’s stories, and pay attention to what is happening in society. When you respond to these things, you gradually write material that resonates with others,” she said.
She described her songs as life. “Charmaine Fong is her life, so many of her songs relate closely to everyday experience. Maybe that is why people say my music comforts them, because I live the same life they do,” she said. That ability to move people is the creative mission she keeps coming back to.
“Live the life you want and you will be faithful to yourself,” she said.
Living outside the mainstream means more risk of being overlooked, but that distance can also create space for imagination. Her music offers comfort, but that does not mean she is immune to pain. She still cries and feels loss, but she keeps a pen, a piano, and a staff to shape what comes next, and of course the upcoming nights of LOST n FOUND. Choosing to stage the concerts now was not easy, she said, but living authentically in a chaotic world is even harder.
“Of course it is not easy. The world has its rules, and living by your own rules is the hard part,” she said. “You must trust your ability and keep trying to move forward.”
Life is a series of choices. Small actions can make or break you. Charmaine said when she sees something wrong, she will point it out and keep making the music she believes in. She cannot control how others view her, but she can choose to be true to herself. “When you have that freedom and do what you want, you create your own sky,” she said.
Music is an art and a form of cultivation. More than a decade into her career, with a Most Popular Female Singer award and now her first Coliseum solo shows approaching, Charmaine said she feels she has always worked on what she loves, uncompromising and true to her beliefs.
Staying true to yourself is not simple. “You do not need to try too hard. Live the life you want, and that is enough. The important thing is to live with an attitude and a way of life you like,” she said.
“I am really looking forward to this concert”
Life moves quickly, and it is a series of losses and recoveries. Loss is not only fear; what you gain through struggle can be meaningful. “The important thing is that the process yields something meaningful. If it is found, you transform to another stage and become stronger and learn to work every day,” she said. “This is the best of times, this is the worst of times.” These years have been unsettled, and bringing comfort in times of collapse is a significant mission and, perhaps by fate, fits Charmaine’s stubborn but delicate sensibility.
Charmaine described herself as not a person who talks a lot. She prefers to observe and put what she sees into music. She is grateful to be here, to keep faith in herself, and to offer listeners a voice that steadies and sustains them.
At the end of our shoot she spoke again about her excitement for the shows, saying rehearsals have left little time with family but she wants to appear in the best state for fans who support and love her. “Ah, I really look forward to this concert. I want to have a joyful, memorable evening with everyone. I have not been able to connect with fans for a long time, so I hope this feels like a union, a time to come together and enjoy the night. I hope people can set aside life pressures and enjoy this performance. For me, doing a show that feels good and is well done is the best,” she said.
We are grateful to Charmaine for opening hearts with her voice. The storms will end, and now it is our turn to cheer her on and send our best wishes. The concert runs Aug. 26 to 29 at the Hong Kong Coliseum, and tickets go on sale July 29 through the Cityline ticketing website, concert promoters Angus Mok and Vicky Wai said.
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Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Producer: Vicky Wai
Photography: Simon C
Videography: Anson Chan, Andy Lee
Styling: Vicky Wai
Make up: Nataliesoo @ ndnco
Hair: Don Don @ D.A.K Hair
Video Editor: Anson Chan, Andy Lee
Editor: Carson Lin
Designer: Tanna Cheng
Wardrobe: Lane Crawford, Piaget, Ambush, Christian Louboutin
