“Alternative music gives me an open spectrum for my music, it is very freeing,” Ivana Wong tells Apple Music. From chart-topping hits to indie-classical crossovers, the ethereal singer-songwriter has refused to be pigeonholed throughout a career spanning nearly two decades. She’s opened her treasure chest of songs—from indie rockers to Hong Kong’s left-field artists—that escape the bounds of any defining genre. Her playlist spans the globe through multiple genres and eras. “If you can’t go on a trip now, then take a trip through time. I haven’t listened to these great songs in years. It’s such a joy. It would be great if everyone could share this joy,” Wong says. Songs dating back to the ’90s and ’00s left an impression on Wong in her youth. “I think it has something to do with hormones. When I heard a song that sounded good when I was young, I would try to listen to it 10,000 times, so the songs that have influenced me the most are the ones I listened to during that time.” Sheena Ringo and Björk, in particular, have had a great influence on Wong’s singing and songwriting. “Be it low whispers or a rather hysterical delivery, [their songs] have made me ‘return’ to my most comfortable or original style.” Of course, there are homegrown heroes from Hong Kong, too. “[R&B star] Gareth.T and [alt-pop mainstay] Serrini have achieved mainstream [success] but people are still loving them,” Wong says. “They are very unique sounding. With their lyrics and expressions, they’ve created a world of their own.” Her playlist includes indie bands like math rockers Chochukmo, with whom she collaborated on her heavily rock-influenced Atmosphere project. “I heard Chochukmo live at [local live house] Hidden Agenda and thought they were great. I soon became a fan. After my producer Alex [Fung] introduced us to each other, I asked if they could write a song for me.” Wong officially set foot on the path of pop songwriter with the heart-wrenching hit “我真的受傷了” (“I’m Really Hurt”), but quite a few songs that she feels are a milestone in her career defy categorisation. She hit a songwriting apex with the swingy, big-band “粒糖有毒” (“Sugarcoated Poison”): “The song captured an emotion of mine. It’s so real, so vivid. I wrote it so fast that there was not a moment I was at a loss for words. It’s not something that happened very often.” Mother-daughter collaborations gave birth to stripped-down songs like “迷失藝術” (“Lost in Art”) and “Love Has It All”. “My mom has been a great companion to my art—the kind that walks with me hand in hand,” she says. And the Sergei Rachmaninoff-inspired “我們他們” (“Us and Them”) was transformative: “It was in 2017, when I started to develop more classical or orchestral elements and the song was like a watershed.” As a frequent collaborator with The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Wong is coming full circle as a classically trained vocalist and songwriter. “I’m writing a complete orchestral piece, and I hope my work can be performed with an orchestra in concerts,” she says. “Don’t define what kind of singer you are and the world of music open to you will be so much broader. Isn’t that more interesting?” Join Ivana Wong on a journey of boundless possibilities.