As one third of the Taiwanese super girl group S.H.E for the past 10 years, Hebe Tien is definitely a familiar household name around Asia. Born on March 30, 1983, Hebe first came to fame when she joined the “Universal 2000 Talent and Beauty Girl Contest” organized by HIM International Music. Despite some technical vocals difficulties, Hebe was able to stand out from the crowd with her personality and powerful vocals. Together with Selina Jen and Ella Chen, Hebe formed S.H.E. and gained massive popularity in the years to come, with 12 albums under their belts and over 15 millions records sold. Together with the help of her record company, Hebe decided to forge a solo career and released her debut solo album titled To Hebe in 2010.

We caught up with Hebe for a quick chat via email. Read on to find out what she has to say about her solo ventures and more!

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You’ve recently released your debut album, To Hebe, and mentioned that the album is a result of your love for music, and at the same time, you were trying something different as compared to as you were in S.H.E. What do you think is the biggest difference musically?

This album contains songs that I would love to sing to myself and it’s also a gift to myself. As a group, S.H.E tends to have denser song arrangements and vocal harmonies. Some styles like folk rock, jazz and all those, they are not really suitable for S.H.E. For my solo album, I could explore a lot more on those styles, which are something I love to listen to personally.

Was it hard pursing a solo career? Afterall, you have been with S.H.E for the past decade.

It’s definitely busier and more tiring! In S.H.E, we would share the workload. Now, I have to do everything myself. But it’s a learning process too!

Tell us about your inspirations for the songs “Love” and “Lonely Lonely”.

“Love” is like a conversation between people who are keen observers of love in modern time. There are so many different kind of love. We all love so intensely but we are still unhappy most of the time. I wish that everyone would start to love themselves more before trying to shower their love upon others. As for “Lonely Lonely,” it’s actually a song about how I fell out of love! I feel that sometimes, you need to be alone and get some personal space to be able to pick yourself up.

Anything interesting anecdotes to share when you were the filming of the music video, “Lonely Lonely”?

There’s this particular scene whereby the director wanted me to space out and fall off my chair. It has to look natural and I couldn’t look like I was bracing myself for the fall. I had to do that scene a lot of times before we got it right!

What’s your favorite songs on the album and why?

It has to be “Love” because the theme is universal and it has a great melody.

You seem to have a penchant of covering songs by Faye Wong in your live concerts. What’s the biggest influence that Faye Wong has on you?

She’s shown me that as long as you stick to your ideas, there will be people who would support you, no matter how radical your ideas are.

You’ve worked with people like Fahrenheit, Sandee Chan, Jay Chou and Power Station. Who would you like to collaborate with next?

At the moment, I don’t have a particular artist that I would like to work with. We will see how it goes, I guess!

Apart from your singing career, you’ve dabbled in other artistic pursuits such as composing, hosting, acting, etc. What would you like to venture in next?

I would love to be in a movie. It would be great if I could release a photography coffee table book too!

What’s your biggest achievement in 2010?

Releasing my own album!

Your favorite song or music video of 2010?

“Love”!

Your favorite songs to belt out for Karaoke?

Any song by Faye Wong.

If we were to visit Taiwan for a day, where would you bring us?

Night markets! Taiwan’s night markets are great!

What would you like to say to your fans in Asia?

I can’t believe I actually have fans in Asia. Thank you for your support! I will work hard!

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Hebe will also be in town for her “[Love! To Hebe] Music Showcase” in Singapore come this January 15, 2011 at Festive Grand™, Resorts World™ Sentosa. Showcase details as follows:

[Love! To Hebe] Music Showcase Live in Singapore 2011
Date: Saturday, 15 January 2011
Time: 8pm
Venue: Festive Grand™, Resorts World™ Sentosa.
Ticket Prices: S$138*, S$88* (excluding $3 SISTIC fee)
SISTIC Booking Hotline: +65 6348 5555