Forgiveness takes time: Karen Kong on music, setbacks and starting again
In her 7 September 2025 Vancouver interview with Mary 盧玉鳳 on 961 Music Station, Karen traced her journey from Sabah and university in Kuala Lumpur to recording, promotion in Taiwan and the setbacks she faced in Hong Kong. Across two parts, she discussed forgiveness, turning experience into songs, making 人設崩壞 and 原諒有用, and a six-song project with NFC music keyrings.
From Sabah to Kuala Lumpur: a competition opens a door
Reference position · Part 1 00:00:48Karen said she began singing at four. Growing up on an island in Sabah, she had limited access to formal training and learned mainly through practice and school competitions. At university in Kuala Lumpur, a competition in which she sang in Malay brought her to the attention of musician 李志清, who was a judge. An invitation to sing demos eventually led to a conversation about becoming a recording artist.
She initially doubted her appearance and vocal ability, but continued practising and entered the industry after graduation, releasing Malay and then Mandarin recordings. She also described a multilingual upbringing: Mandarin at home, Malay and English in education, and Cantonese learned later for her career.
A year in Taiwan: learning a familiar language again
Reference position · Part 1 00:03:45Her company arranged a move into Taiwan with the Mandarin album I'm Karen. Karen recalled living there for about a year while travelling back to Malaysia for recording and promotion. Working in a place she had known through television since childhood was both exciting and intimidating.
Promotion meant more than singing: variety shows required games and conversation. She felt inexperienced as a speaker and worried that her Malaysian accent was difficult for others to understand. Adapting her Mandarin while keeping up with a busy schedule made the experience demanding.
Hong Kong opportunities and an unreleased Cantonese record
Reference position · Part 1 00:05:46Karen had not planned to settle in Hong Kong. Her challenger appearance on 超級巨聲 brought praise, including from 趙增熹, and an opportunity for Hong Kong and Malaysian companies to collaborate on a Cantonese record. She worked on the language through newspaper reading, pronunciation practice and Jyutping.
The recording plan was later stopped and she was asked to return to Malaysia. Disappointed after unsuccessful discussions, she bought a one-way ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong, hoping to complete a Cantonese record herself. Staying independently exposed the practical difficulties of funding music and building a life in a new city.
Setbacks, resentment and space to be understood
Reference position · Part 1 00:08:00Karen described feeling angry with her former company while doubting her ability to make music independently. Adapting to the city's pace, work and relationships added pressure, and she became irritable and resentful. She recalled a difficult adjustment lasting several years.
A contract with 趙增熹 gave her work and opportunities to learn music production, and she spoke of him with gratitude. Work alone did not resolve the hurt. As she sought change and turned to prayer, a friend acknowledged how difficult forgiveness was rather than rushing to offer solutions. Being heard gave her room to reflect.
Finding purpose and writing 人設崩壞
Reference position · Part 1 00:12:24Karen associated her participation in King Maker III in 2020 with regaining the strength to pursue music. She wanted to share difficult experiences so that people in similar situations might feel understood and find hope.
人設崩壞 grew from that period. She described co-writing with JNYBeatz and involving lyricist 林寶. On a day when she was already upset, an encounter while parking left her crying in her car. When she arrived, she was encouraged to put those feelings into a song. Sharing her history with 林寶 helped connect the lyrics to her experience. Part 1 ends by playing the song.
Forgiveness does not erase the past or follow a deadline
Reference position · Part 2 00:00:24Returning to the question of forgiveness, Karen likened letting go of resentment to removing rubbish from a heavy backpack: less weight leaves more strength to move forward. Forgiveness, in her account, does not erase another person's wrongdoing; it changes how she carries the hurt.
She also used the image of a ball in a cup. The ball may remain, but a larger cup changes its proportion. Someone who cannot yet forgive is not necessarily petty or bad and may simply need more time. Karen said she still becomes angry at new hurts. Rather than suppressing feelings, she now tries to acknowledge sadness, anxiety and tension through expression and prayer.
原諒有用: choosing a song people can sing along to
Reference position · Part 2 00:04:10With forgiveness as the theme, Karen approached 徐浩, a producer she had long wanted to work with. They had known each other for years, but an earlier opportunity had not materialised. This time she wanted a memorable, accessible karaoke-style song. She joked that people often gave her difficult material because of her vocal ability, although she loved singing karaoke.
林寶 then wrote the lyrics. Karen said he had been involved since Don't Wanna Move and understood her story, helping the songs share a consistent narrative. At the time of the interview, she described a six-song project: he had contributed to the four discussed so far, while other lyricists were involved in the remaining songs.
NFC keyrings: carrying songs and sheet music
Reference position · Part 2 00:06:33The copy of 原諒有用 in the host's hand was an NFC tag the size of a keyring rather than a conventional CD. Karen explained that touching it with a phone opens a link to the song and related information. Listeners can use their phones or transfer the music to another storage device. She said each edition also includes sheet music for the song.
The format responds to listeners who no longer own CD players while retaining a physical object. Karen said the keyring itself was cheaper to produce than a CD, but making the music remained expensive. She hoped income from performances and the project could support her next recording, rather than simply becoming personal earnings.
Music as companionship: acknowledging shadows and facing light
Reference position · Part 2 00:10:31Karen wanted the project to reveal more than an endlessly positive image. She acknowledged darker feelings and said she wanted to offer companionship rather than lessons. Hearing an experience similar to one's own can make a listener feel understood, and that recognition itself can be supportive.
She used light and shadow to describe the approach: shadows remain where there is light, but one can acknowledge them while moving towards the light. Two songs were still unreleased at the time. She described them as more emotional and said the next was her own composition. These were plans expressed during the interview, not completed releases announced in it.
From tension to feeling: recording and performing the song
Reference position · Part 2 00:12:43Karen said she became tense in the studio because she wanted so badly to do the song well. With a direct melody, the challenge was to express feeling naturally rather than display technique. She recalled a light-hearted studio incident involving a magnetic prop: shifting her attention helped her relax and concentrate on emotion.
Performing the song in North America brought a different response. She thought about the valuable moments with people she might have missed without taking a step towards forgiveness, and sometimes felt close to tears. She said these recordings were among the few she actively enjoyed revisiting. Working towards her own Cantonese record also answered the wish that had first brought her to Hong Kong. The programme closes by playing 原諒有用.