When Ms Fann returned to her home country to pursue her music career, she realised she had to write and sing in Mandarin. Ms Fann persevered and eventually started writing music in Mandarin. “It was through a lot of recording myself speaking and singing in Chinese. I would replay it to listen if it's fluent and ask myself, ‘Why does that sound weird?’” she says. This inspired her debut album, Can you or Can You Not Understand My Mandarin which was nominated for a Golden Melody Award (GMA) in 2018 for Best Vocal Recording Album (Technical Category).  

“I was over the moon when the album was nominated! The nomination is for the engineers who worked on my album and I was thrilled because the whole team was super professional,” Ms Fann says, adding that her Mandarin had improved tremendously by then. 

Andy Wong, 38, Ms Fann’s husband, started out as a fan of hers. 

Mr Wong attended one of Ms Fann’s concerts in Taiwan as an audience member. “I was so entranced and intrigued by her voice, songs and charisma,” he says. One thing led to another and now they are happily married. 

Mr Wong never fails to show up at every event Fann holds, be it in Taiwan or Singapore. Mr Wong recalls selling Ms Fann’s debut album CDs to the audience at a music festival in Taiwan as she performed. “I’m always trying to help her do whatever she doesn't have time for as she is very occupied,” he says. 

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Ms Fann’s music often discusses underrepresented and niche topics, such as the dark side of social media and our modern technological advancements which her fans find unique. “You could verbally say ‘I love you’ to someone or you could sing them a love song,” she continued, “their reaction would be different”.  

Jocelle Koh, 26, music journalist, first came across Ms Fann’s music while researching on the 2018 GMAs for an article. “I think Anie’s music is very introspective, it's very introverted, and I think that's something that we don't see enough of,” Ms Koh says. According to Ms Koh, other artists tend to focus on romance and sadness. On the other hand, Ms Fann is often inspired by a variety of unconventional topics ranging from deep fakes and artificial intelligence, evident in her latest album, Artemis 1889. 

Ms Koh became a fan of Ms Fann’s music when she found herself relating to one of the songs from the debut album, ‘I’m Sorry Dad I Fell In Love With A Job That Makes No Money’. The song discusses expectations parents have for their child and mainly focuses on the negative reaction given when one chooses to pursue an arts related career. Although the song discusses a serious topic, it is an upbeat song with a comedic touch to it. 

The song, ‘I’m Sorry Dad I Fell In Love With A Job That Makes No Money’ impacted Ms Fann’s listeners, especially fellow musicians the most. “People really hear their own stories in the song. Even though it's supposed to be funny, it really sends the message across,” Ms Fann says.  

“I trust that Anie’s artistry is so special as she always comes up with something that you wouldn't be able to think of,” Koh says, “it makes you experience music in a new way and will always give you food for thought.” 

Ms Fann often counts on the support of her fans, family and friends in mind when she loses motivation in her work. “As an indie artist, my final reward is not monetary. My final reward is music. It’s when my audience enjoys, relates and gets something out of my music which warms my heart,” she says.