Celebrity Travel: Go Away With Amber Liu
As part of the group f(x), Amber Liu has grown used to performing worldwide. But this winter marks her first ever solo tour, to promote her mixtape "Rogue Rouge." Her Gone Rogue tour kicks off December 5 in Chicago. Born and raised in Los Angeles, the singer-songwriter splits her time between L.A. and Seoul. The Taiwanese American artist recently signed deals to be an ambassador with both L'Oréal and Nike. Liu, 26, did this interview while on a break from shooting with Nike in New York City.
Q. Why did you choose this point in your career to do your tour?
A. I wanted to tour the United States because I feel I owe it to the community that I grew up in. When I was growing up, the only people I saw on TV were Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu and Jet Li. Our representation as Asians wasn't big, but I wanted to be like Lucy Liu and then Maggie Q. Now we have "Crazy Rich Asians" and other Asian-American artists and actors out there. (Rapper/actress) Awkwafina being out there doing the monologue and hosting "Saturday Night Live" was huge. I'm not trying to be the next big thing, but being part of this movement and showing that we exist and that we're here is important to me.
Q. Has living abroad given you a taste of what immigrants go through in the U.S.?
A. Yes. People don't know what it's like being the foreigner until they are one. The song was basically about my mom and this really long conversation we had a couple years ago when I was having a lot of trouble adjusting to living outside of the U.S. She talked to me about what it was like for her when she was new to the States. (She said) don't be afraid and just keep going.
Q. Where have you been to where you thought, "Wow, why aren't I living here?"
A. I recently went to Portland. I wouldn't live there now, but if I wanted to run away, I would move there.
Q. How have your travels affected your sense of style?
A. I'm from Los Angeles and we have 24/7 sun pretty much all year round. At home, all I would do is walk out in basketball shorts and T-shirts. All my model friends are trying to teach me and tell me I need to dress better, and I'm like, "True." But when I'm in countries or states that have four seasons, it's a whole different game. In London and New York, people just naturally seem to dress really well and that makes me want to do the same. In Seoul, too; in L.A., I'm just like, "Eh."
Q. If scheduling wasn't a consideration, who would you travel to see in concert?
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