Imagine a 15-year-old girl all alone in a foreign land.
To local songbird Olivia Ong, it is a no-brainer one would cry into the night often, she argued.
The singer moved to Japan at 15 to further her studies and music career after winning a singing contest. After a short stint as part of the Japanese pop trio Mirai, Olivia released her solo bossa nova album at the age of 19, one that received rave reviews.
The voice behind hit drama The Little Nyonya's theme song 'Like Swallows' told xinmsn in an exclusive interview that the journey was extremely tough and tears were aplenty.
Appearing at a Kose roadshow, the cosmetic brand's first non-Japanese spokesperson said, "I had to face many things being alone in Japan. My family wasn't around, and I felt lonely, so of course I'd cry!"
It did not help that her idea of stardom is way off the mark.
"I had always thought, one song would be enough to make a singer famous, but it's not so easy. In fact, there are so many things to face."
Comfortable in both English and Japanese, Olivia is now taking on the Taiwanese market singing in Mandarin. But what the 24-year-old soul singer is most afraid of are the infamously wacky variety shows there.
Known for her cool, classy image, she said, "My company and myself both feel such game shows are not suitable for my image, so I haven't appeared in any."
Hong Kong and China will be her next destinations for promoting her English album Olivia in April and May.
At a recent event, Taiwanese host Ah Ken waxed lyrical about her through a specially-prepared English poem. But she was quick to dismiss a budding romance.
So which male star would make her perfect man?
"I admire Jang Dong-gun a lot. He has a very attractive quality," she gushed.