Sounds like teen spirit

Later on, she joined a junior art troupe organized by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, with which she often toured abroad.

Due to this overseas experience, the Hubei native has developed an open-mindedness and inclusiveness from listening to various music genres.

It has also made her more adept at coming up with beautiful lyrics in both Chinese and English.

Nevertheless, she admits that she still has a long way to go to write high-quality Chinese songs.

"I have to form a well-rounded world-view and enrich my knowledge of Chinese culture before I am able to produce a good Chinese song that will resonate with people from different countries," says Zhang. "I hope one day I will write Chinese songs that can cross borders and overcome language barriers.

"But I never set these kinds of goals, such as writing hundreds of songs in the future," adds Zhang.

"My desire to express myself through music is actually the main motivation for me to write songs."

A calm mindset can help songwriters to create sincere works in a natural way, according to Zhang.

Many contestants took the show as a starting point for them to break into Chinese entertainment circles, while Zhang did not disguise her aversion to joining the media circus.

"I don't care much about entertaining others, as I just want to perform my beloved musical work on stage," she says.