Her first break in the music world was at the age of sixteen when her parents (with mixed feelings) entered her for a singing contest in Sydney. It was organized by TVB with the winner to be offered a recording contract with one of the big music companies in Hong Kong. She won the competition and was sent back to Hong Kong and met with the TVB producers who wanted her to sign with one of the music labels. After much deliberation she finally decided that it wasn’t right for her at that time and instead returned to Australia to study at University. She pretty much just settled back into life at Uni and put aside any dreams of a music career.
After graduating from University she returned to Hong Kong in 1997 to help run her family’s accounting business and gained CPA certification. Despite her relatively settled career Susan was thinking, “is that all there is in life”. One of the students who she was teaching piano was working for a Hong Kong independent label, and she asked the boss if they wanted a singer. Susan says “I really wanted to record the English songs that I loved. We agreed to make an album and I just went into the studio feeling really relaxed with no stress or pressure and had a fun time recording my ‘Close To You’ album.” When the album came out it in 2002 it was widely acclaimed and quickly became a favourite of music stores to play and the album was soon climbing up the sales charts in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The four album release’s since, ‘Close To You’ have also enjoyed wide critical and commercial success establishing Susan as probably the No.1 selling English language female singer of her genre throughout S.E.Asia.
In early 2007 Susan Wong signed a new recording agreement with Hong Kong based Evolution Limited and pre-production is currently underway for her new album that will be recorded in the USA in May. As Susan explains her motivation behind the new album, “Musically I wanted a new challenge and new musical chemistry to give me a different lift and to move on to another stage. Not everyone has opportunity to work with such high calibre musicians and producers like those I’m working with on the new album”.
Someone Like You (2007)
In early 2007, Susan Wong signed a new recording agreement with Hong Kong based Evolution Limited and released her first album under Evolution in August 2007.
The first release under this agreement, Someone Like You, was recorded in Nashville, USA and was quick to win critical and commercial success throughout S. E. Asia. The success of the SACD version in particular bore testament to the fine production, vocal performance and mastering by Grammy award winning engineer Doug Sax. The album was domestically released in Japan in September 2008.
511 (2008)
In Summer 2008 a newly invigorated Susan, began working on fresh ideas for her follow-up album. In September 2008 Susan travelled to Geneva, Switzerland to work on demos with producer Adrien Z. As Susan explained “He brought my music ideas to life. He was able to transform the songs I want to sing into the styling which I dare tried.” The album recording was completed in February/March 2009.
In her blog Susan said of the album; “I guess I took a "more hands on" approach with this album, more than any of the previous ones, as I felt the need to voice out my persona, be more individualistic and independent for my work.” Susan’s bossa nova inspired version of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean received a lot of attention and radio play and the album sold widely across the region.
Step Into My Dreams (2009)
Inspired by the positive feedback to 511, Susan was anxious to start working on her next album and within months of the release of 511 she was forming ideas for new recordings, choosing to again work with producer Adrien Zerbini and arranger Ignacio Lamas. With songs for the albums mostly coming from the late 1960’s/early 1970’s Susan and her band worked on a relaxed, natural acoustic pop feel lead by Ignacio’s skilled guitar style. With some fine performances and some radically rearranged interpretations of well known classics the new album, Step Into My Dreams soon became Susan Wong’s bestselling title and a fan’s favorite.
‘Best Recording Yet’: My LIVE Stories (2013)
After 5 years, Susan Wong returned to Nashville in June 2012 to record her next masterpiece. This masterpiece called My LIVE Stories was recorded live over two days in the world famous Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, USA which Susan described was her ‘best recording yet’. With an ensemble of top notch session musicians and a first class recording environment inside a 100 year old converted church Susan performed a selection of her favourite songs from her previous albums along with new songs.
Highlights include the bossa nova influenced Billie Jean, the blues tinged Cry Me A River, an up tempo Perfect and a spine tingling performance of Desperado. The studio recording was filmed in full HD and released in DVD and Blu-ray formats in December 2012.
Tribute to Female Vocal: Woman In Love (2014) & SusanWongVEVO
From the time when My LIVE Stories was being recorded, the idea for Woman In Love was already in conception. 2 ½ years in the making, recorded over 8 studios in 3 continents – Woman In Love was released worldwide December 1st, 2014. Woman In Love is Susan’s tribute to great women singers before her who made their fame with sensuous and endearing love songs. The album features romantic love songs old and new from Olivia Newton-John’s I Honestly Love You, Barbra Streisand’s classic Woman in Love to Rihanna’s hit Stay and Adele’s Make You Feel My Love.
For Woman In Love, Susan crafted a rare original song Can’t You See (I’m Falling In Love) to be included in the album.
Susan took her rendition of Mary Macgregor’s Torn Between Two Lovers to the big screen where the music video was released in full HD live on SusanWongVEVO. Susan Wong’s VEVO channel now holds a dear collection of Susan Wong’s best and most popular music.
I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song
Susan Wong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hope I didn wake you
But what I got to say can wait
I know you understand
Every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I have to say I love you in a song
But every time I near you
I just run out of things to say
I know you understand
Every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I'll have to say I love you in a song
Every time the time was right
All the words just came out wrong
So I'll have to say I love you in a song
Yeah, I know it kind of late
I hope I didn't wake you
But there something that I just got to say
I hope you understand
Every time I tried to tell you
The words just came out wrong
So I'll have to say I love you in a song
The lyrics to Susan Wong's song, "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song," portray a speaker who is struggling to express their love for someone. The singer acknowledges that it is late and hopes they did not wake the listener as they attempt to convey their feelings. They explain that every time they have attempted to express their emotions, their words have come out wrong, leaving them with no choice but to say "I love you" through a song. The singer acknowledges that this may seem strange, but every time they are near the person they love, they run out of words to say.
The repetition in the lyrics emphasizes the singer's difficulty in expressing themselves and highlights their reliance on music to communicate their feelings. The repetition of the phrase "I know you understand" also suggests that the person they love is aware of their struggles.
Overall, the song is a beautiful testament to the power of music and how it can help us convey feelings that are difficult to put into words.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I know it kind of late
I am aware that it's a late time, but I have something important to say.
I hope I didn wake you
I hope I did not disturb your sleep with my message.
But what I got to say can wait
Even if it's important, I can hold off saying it until later.
I know you understand
I am confident that you will be understanding of what I want to say.
Every time I tried to tell you
Whenever I attempted to express my feelings to you.
The words just came out wrong
I couldn't find the right words to convey my emotions.
So I have to say I love you in a song
I will use music as a way to communicate my love for you.
Yeah, I know it kind of strange
I understand that it may seem odd, but it's the best way for me to express myself.
But every time I near you
Whenever I am around you.
I just run out of things to say
I find myself unable to articulate my feelings accurately.
Every time the time was right
Whenever the perfect moment arose.
All the words just came out wrong
I couldn't seem to find the right words to convey my emotions accurately.
So I'll have to say I love you in a song
I will use the lyrics and melody of a song to say what I've been trying to express.
But there something that I just got to say
There is something that I must communicate to you.
I hope you understand
It's my hope that you will be receptive to my message.
So I'll have to say I love you in a song
I'll express my love for you through the magical medium of music.
Contributed by Reagan K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anonymous
on Imagine
Imagine - Susan Wong - Lyrics
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
Musical Interlude
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
Nothing to kill or stifle
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one