From a 60-square-foot room to King Maker III: Karen Kong says music is a lifelong pursuit
In a 2021 long-form interview, Bastille Post looked back on one of the hardest periods of Karen Kong’s attempt to build a career in Hong Kong. She recalled living in an approximately 60-square-foot room at a friend’s home, splitting one takeaway meal into two to save money, and developing emotional and physical distress under prolonged pressure. She also described how Be Myself became a declaration that she would stay in Hong Kong, how Chiu Tsang Hei offered a lifeline at a low point, and how King Maker III pushed her to reassess emotional communication in her singing. The interview ultimately returns to a clear conviction: regardless of age, marriage or changing circumstances, music remains work she intends to pursue for life.
From The Voice to returning to Hong Kong alone
Karen began her career in Malaysia and later spent time developing in Taiwan. The interview recalls her 2009 appearance in Hong Kong as a challenger on TVB’s The Voice, which led to an opportunity to sign and remain in the city. When the company later closed, she returned to Malaysia for a period, but eventually came back to Hong Kong with limited savings and tried again. This time she no longer had a full company structure behind her and had to handle living arrangements, work and her ability to remain in Hong Kong largely on her own.
A 60-square-foot room, one meal split in two, and Be Myself
After returning, Karen stayed at a friend’s home and spent most of her time in a room of roughly 60 square feet. Worried about disturbing the household, she avoided making too much noise even when she wanted to create music at night. The combination of confinement, uncertainty and financial pressure took a toll: she recalled becoming dizzy and nauseous in tight spaces and sometimes feeling unable to breathe in lifts. Money was so limited that she would split one takeaway meal between afternoon and evening. During this uncertain period she wrote Be Myself, treating the song as a reminder that having chosen Hong Kong, she wanted to keep going.
Chiu Tsang Hei’s help at her lowest point and office work to sustain music
After roughly two years of struggling, her savings were nearly exhausted by 2013. Karen initially approached Chiu Tsang Hei for help with a work visa so she could find other employment. Instead, he offered her a way to continue working in music. She remembers that intervention as someone reaching out when she was at her darkest point. In the years that followed she also took office work to supplement her income. The arrangement was not a simple full-time music career, but she never fully gave up singing.
Refusing to let marriage or age set limits: entering King Maker III
After becoming an independent singer, Karen entered King Maker III in 2020. By then she had years of professional experience, was married, and was older than many contestants. She said she did not want marriage or age to become reasons to abandon her goals or burdens that stopped her from challenging herself again. For her, entering the competition was itself a statement that people can continue pursuing what matters to them at different stages of life.
Learning emotional expression from Kearen Pang and refocusing after signing with Sky Team
King Maker III also made Karen confront a recurring criticism: while her vocal technique was recognised, audiences did not always feel an emotional connection. She subsequently studied performance and emotional expression with Kearen Pang and felt it made a noticeable difference to her singing. After the competition she signed with Sky Team Entertainment, where different staff could share responsibilities and she could continue taking classes. Compared with the years when she had to manage many roles herself, she described the greatest relief as being able to concentrate on creating music again. Asked whether singing was a lifelong job, her answer was unequivocal: yes. She had already sacrificed too much for music to let age become the reason to stop.