Spotlight: Actress-Songwriter Christina Chong Heals Her Trauma in “TWIN FLAMES”
FROM STAR TREK TO “TWIN FLAMES” — Christina Chong really has done it all. The British actress began her career in musical theater, starring in her high school production of West Side Story, before picking up roles in Netflix’s Black Mirror, BBC’s Doctor Who, and Warner Bros.’ Tom and Jerry: The Movie. Most recently, she graced viewers’ screens as La'an Noonien-Singh in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Now, Chong prepares to release her first EP, Twin Flames, in August, with a pre-release single of the same name dropping today.
The artist got her start in the performing arts at three years old, studying dance at theater school Italia Conti. “[Dancing] was my first love as a kid,” she said. “And then I got into a musical theater school when I was 14, and that's when the singing and the acting came in.”
Later on, she booked a theater gig in Germany, but a chance meeting with an entertainment representative urged her to quit the job and pursue music. “I was discovered by this A&R [artists and repertoire[ guy who worked with Amy Winehouse, Lucy Sylvers, and different artists, and he was like, ‘Look, if you want to do this pop thing you need to do it now. Because you'll be too old if you go off and do the musical,’ and I was like, ‘I can't say no to this job in exchange for a dream that may or may not happen,’ so I then went off to Germany and said to myself, ‘One day I would release a single when the time is right for me.’”
Luckily for Chong, the right time did come. “It was kind of the whole Star Trek energy … the funding, the means, and the opportunities came in for me to go, ‘Actually, now might be the right time to do this music thing after last season,’” she explained.
She found her chance, unexpectedly, after a chance meeting with a stylist. “A stylist called Olga accidentally tagged me on Instagram so we started working together,” she described. “And it turns out that her friend was the fiance of Jake Gosling, who is Ed Sheeran’s producer.”
After Chong’s stylist connected her with Gosling, the two started working on the beginnings of her EP. “It was all like a very serendipitous beginning and trusting the universe to kind of bring it all together,” the singer said.
As she began writing music, Chong shared a valuable piece of advice she adheres to. “When you go in, don't have any preconceived ideas of what you're going to do,” she said. “Let it happen in the room. Don't try to control it. Right when you try to control it, it can't breathe. Just let it be and it will come out in the room.”
As the first drafts of her lyrics came together, Chong worked with Gosling’s team to develop melodies and finish production. “It was a complete collaboration from all those four of us mostly writing together,” the singer noted.
For Chong, the inspiration behind Twin Flames comes from a very personal space. After the end of a passionate relationship, she channeled her grief and heartache into personal growth. “I think [if] we hadn't broken up, I wouldn't have [done this],” she said. “I don't even know if I'd have gone down the singing route. I think this was the material I needed to create material needed for the EP.”
Chong explained that she found the EP as an opportunity to explore her roots. “I Get to Choose” is the empowering side of coming out of a relationship and the healing of that,” she said. “And I was really emotional when I sang it because I was at a point in my life where I feel like I've had more choices than I've ever had before.”
She added that the freedom she found herself with had given her agency to create music. “When you come from that place of love, that's when you have power,” she said. “The most power to create.”
Knowing that neither her nor her relationship were perfect, Chong learns from her past mistakes. “It's knowing where trauma comes [from],” she described. “Why I couldn't be the best person I wanted to be in a relationship ultimately comes down to my childhood trauma.”
Early on, the artist’s biracial identity made it difficult to understand herself. “Am I Caucasian English? Am I Chinese? I didn't know,” she said. “It takes a long time to understand that.”
Reconciling with her family history helped Chong unpack the guilt and shame she felt in her young years. “‘Can't Show Love’ is about healing and going back into my roots to unpick that, and that kind of speeds up that healing,” she said.
As the lines between her professional and personal lives blur, the singer emphasizes the importance of self-care and mental wellbeing. “It's very important as a performer to keep [the] mind, body, and soul clear so that you can then take on new roles and in an authentic way,” she explained.
Chong revealed that her nightly routine includes a bath with Epsom salts, herbal tea, and daily meditation. “My favorite part of the day is going to bed,” remarked the singer. “I need a good amount of time to wind down before I can actually turn the lights off.”
Down the road, Chong expressed her desire to further explore and better understand her musical style. “I've probably got about 10 more tracks lined up, ready to come out,” she said. “And what I'm doing now is experimenting because I have many different sides of me. So I'm gonna be releasing stuff probably in the fall, [and] I just want to keep exploring and doing different [styles], as long as it's fun.”
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