Life's path is often unpredictable. What may seem promising at first glance could be the fading light before nightfall. In her debut album Time, the Taiwan-based singer-songwriter SherryZ captures her journey when everything went into darkness after she was under a restrictive 360 deal with a mainstream record label. Looking back on that period, she still feels suffocated and distorted, like one of the walking dead.

It all started from when SherryZ had just graduated from college. She had garnered a couple of first prizes from singing contests, risen to fame on the prestigious talent show Chinese Million Star, and independently released her first EP on vinyl. While it was easy to assume that countless opportunities would wait for such a rising star, things turned into a four-year-long despair. The label was not only unwilling to release any music or arrange shows for, considering her not commercially ready, but they also provided no training or support for her musical growth. To spare her parents from worry, she secretly took a job as an accountant at a musical instrument dealer to sustain her livelihood. This made her doubt her career choice even more. She didn’t have the courage to meet people and distanced herself from the constant pressure of social media presence. Meanwhile, even all her relationships turned toxic.

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At the brink of quitting music altogether, a relative helped her secure a residency at a hotel bar, which slowly revived her passion for music.

After the termination of the contract with the label, SherryZ took a long while to regain her self-confidence and to hone her craft to make her own music. She discovered that only through performing music could she feel a sense of achievement and fulfillment. If music was her destiny, she realized it was never too late to fight for it.

Having spent four years preparing, SherryZ has finally completed her debut album. It is titled ‘Time’ in the sense of packing the traumatic period into a memory box, as she yearns to archive it and move forward. Musically, the album showcases her love for classic R&B/soul music and her versatile vocal and songwriting skills. The Golden Melody Award-nominated producer Chunho has been helm the entire album production with SherryZ, and his experimental/electronic touches can be felt throughout, making the tracks distinguishable from ordinary nostalgia. The final mix was done by Yuchain Wang, known for his longtime collaboration with Sunset Rollercoaster.