In tune with herself

Right after Li won in the Super Girl contest, Gao was teamed up with songwriter and music producer Zhang Yadong to write a song for Li, which was Li's first single as a singer then.

"There were lots of people, thousands, waiting outside Li's hotel to get a glimpse of her. I had to wait for two hours in the car to talk to her about the song. After she was escorted by the guards to meet me in the car, I asked her 17 questions about the idea behind the song," Gao said. "She was not very talkative, but willing to answer my questions. She looked tired and I later found out that she had undertaken a hectic schedule that day, attending four events without a break."

As a pioneer, Li was one of the first Chinese singer-songwriters to release digital albums. Her last album, Liuxing (Pop), released in 2017 via QQ Music, has raked in 16 million yuan in sales. Her 2016 album, Growing Wild, grossed over 32.8 million yuan, China's highest digital music sales figure since the platform released the nation's first digital album, Aiyo, Not Bad, by Taiwan pop icon Jay Chou, in December 2014.

While her last album explored how people deal with information shaped by social media networks, this new album talks about individuality.

"This new album is about me, my change, and my observation about people. I tried to expand my vision and unlock my full potential, so, despite my reluctance, I participate in reality shows and I act in movies," says Li, who has starred in big-budget movies, such as Hong Kong director Tsui Hark's The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, which also features Jet Li and Zhou Xun.

She was one of the three coaches on the talent show, The Coming One, which was released last year on the streaming platform, Tencent Video. The 15-episode series, targeting 12-to 24-year-olds, featured young, male Chinese singer-songwriters.