Drawing power from her German and Chinese heritage, singer-songwriter and visual artist LIA LIA, is here to teach us how to be our authentic selves.
"Two years ago, I wouldn't be able to imagine doing what I'm doing now," Lia Wang, otherwise known as LIA LIA, reveals during our chat in an airy office space in the heart of Shoreditch. She is referring to the debilitating spell of Long Covid she contracted after the global pandemic that shut down the world. For the singer, even taking a shower was out of reach until she got a call from German artist Anne Imhof that changed everything.
Joining the cast of DOOM in New York City back in 2025 — a three-hour immersive performance art spectacle — LIA LIA's career enjoyed a comeback, which culminated in the writing and readying of her debut album, Armor. Set for release this October, the record (teased in tracks ‘Audacity’ and ‘Adore You’) marks the German-Chinese artist’s return after a break from releasing music following her 2024 single ‘say yes’. Encapsulating the feeling of donning external helpers like clothing, or in her case a signature uniform, the self-produced Armor echoes what it's like to move through life as a woman wearing a coat of arms.
Living life on a public stage, in an era ruled by internet trolls and magazine critics, the singer isn’t letting negative feedback interrupt her momentum. When I ask LIA LIA about this, she explains that clapping back is her only reaction to nay-sayers as she embarks on her journey of self-discovery and steps into genuine, human authenticity. But beyond that, the artist wants to be a soundtrack to others’ lives and is on a mission to encourage her listeners to live with a little more audacity.
How are you feeling about the release of your album, and what is the record inspired by?
I'm super excited. The new album is bare and real; it's more mature. It's called Armor because if you take off everything, that's what's left. The album is stripping away all the layers. Being an artist is just being yourself, but finding your true self is the hardest thing because it means you have to accept yourself fully. When I started, I had this blonde wig — fashion and clothes are armour — and I think that's why I [now] stick to [my] uniform because it's just so blank, but even [that] is protection. If you really want to reach people, you have to be vulnerable and that's what I tried to do. There are no vocal effects; all the breaths are in, the slides on the guitars are still there, real drums, no auto-tune or perfection. The album's drive is more about humanness.
Why is now the perfect time to reveal your authentic self?
The stars for this album aligned in a really interesting way because I was sick for a long time in the midst of Covid. I got Long Covid. I couldn't even take a shower or go to the grocery store, so my body was feeling like a prison of flesh. When the world started moving again, I felt so left behind. I slowly recovered and then Anne Imhof asked me to be in DOOM in New York, and I almost didn't do it because each time I got sick, I would get Long Covid again. But I went, and it was such a life-changing experience. The cast she put together was incredible. It felt like going to the high school I always dreamed of because school was not such a great experience. [DOOM] was beautiful. The editor of The New York Times roasted me so badly, though. They said the singer of the baby punk band would be booed off the stage of a bar mitzvah. After the article, it sold out every night. I love a bit of hate.
You take criticism very well. Is that something that you've always been able to do?
When people hate on the internet, and then they say you have to take the high road, I'm not taking the high road. If someone says something mean, I will clap back, but in a stupid way. I will say, ‘Your breath smells. Your mom never loved you’. I only leave one comment. I won't engage in conversation but I won't keep it in. If you insult me, I'll insult you back.
What role did your heritage play in shaping who you are as an artist?
It was one of the biggest drivers for me. Being Wasian is trendy now. I feel like it was discovered in 2025 with the ice skater Alysa Liu. I was like, ‘Uniforms are trending now! I'm literally all the buzzwords’. As a human being, you always want to fit in. My dad is from Chengdu, my mum is from a small city in Germany, and I went to school in Germany. In China, I was idolised, and then in Germany I was never chosen because the beauty standard was blonde hair, blue eyes; there wasn't much representation in the Western media of Asian women. From a young age, I felt the urge to create this world, find the place I belong, but in recent years I realised that it's not the place, but the people. Making music helped me find people who feel the same way I do.
You identify strongly with the concept of girlhood. What does it mean to you?
I'm LIA LIA, and I'm reporting from the frontlines of girlhood! It's interesting to be a woman in the public eye because there are just so many archetypes; you get put in boxes. It's funny because growing up, I've never felt like I wanted to be sexy. In Asia, K-pop idols have this thing of being cute, and I think I had [that]; but instead of it being a positive [thing], it was something I got bullied for. If you're cute, people think you're dumb, especially if you like girly, feminine stuff. I love to play with tropes and stereotypes and then break them. Femininity and being a woman is a different experience for everyone, and for me, it just means I get to like skincare and do cute things with my girls, but then I'm also a boss at work, and don't let anyone tell me what to do. Girlhood is embracing all the sides of it. You don't have to put a mask on to be taken seriously. I can be a princess sometimes, but then I will go to a meeting, and I will be dominating the room. I just want to prove that you can be yourself.
Which song on the album matches how you feel right now?
My brain is so scrambled eggs right now, so I think I would choose ‘Boogiepop’ because it's just fun and not trying to make sense. Most of the album is quite deep. It's like a cycle: to love yourself, you have to set boundaries and let go of people who don't match your energy. You force yourself to see the beauty in the mundane because the world is already so messed up.
What would you love people to take away from your album?
It makes me happier when other people can just relate, so if I can be the soundtrack to something good and make you remember certain things — I feel music can be a time capsule — that would make me happy.
Writer Lucy Norris
