Digital Cover: Cloud Wan on facing her fears and protecting her peace

Singer and actress Cloud Wan talks to David Ho about facing fears, overcoming insecurities and taking a leap for her music career

Cloud Wan is ready to take a big leap. In fact, she did so quite literally in Macau recently.

The 28-year-old singer and actress went bungee jumping at the Macau Tower. With a height of 233 meters and a freefall of 200 km/h, it counts as among the world's highest and most exhilarating bungee jumps. In an Instagram post, Wan could be seen doing the intimidating jump and bursting into tears at the end as she says repeatedly “I did it!”.

The bungee jump was done as part of a promotional campaign for her new song and upcoming concerts in August 2025. It seems to have paid off with fans leaving comments in droves praising Wan for her courage and poise while taking the leap. 

Wan, who did the stunt a few days before our chat, says she is just as nervous about the shows as she was about doing the bungee jump. “I am preparing for my first solo concerts ever in August. It means a lot to me since I’ve been in the industry for a while now and it’s my chance to showcase my songs,” she says.

A quick listen to Wan’s discography shows a penchant for tunes that would sit comfortably on adult contemporary radio in the early 2000s, recalling the likes of Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch and even Sheryl Crow. She readily agrees with the assessment, naming the aforementioned Branch and Carlton, as well as other musicians like John Mayer, Jesse McCartney and Jacob Collier, as some of her musical influences.

“For the concert, you can expect the classic me: classy, quiet and a little emo. As you might know, my songs are mainly ballads. However, we need some upbeat moments and I will showcase a new side to myself, where I will challenge myself with some dancing. There will be some proper choreography, not just TikTok-like sections. It’s a challenge that makes me nervous, but I hope people can see how I’ve evolved,” she says.

Despite her calm demeanour and beauty queen-like poise, Wan is candid and upfront about how much fear has been such a big driving force in her life. In fact, the star’s most recent release is titled “Acrophobia”, which refers to a fear of heights. Against a twinkling piano riff and soaring guitar chords, Wan sings about overcoming fear to avoid stagnation and reach for her dreams. To drive home the point, she plays a tennis player training and gearing up for an important match in the music video.

Anyone who is in entertainment would certainly know about taking big swings. Wan got her break by making it all the way to the finale of ViuTV's reality talent competition King Maker III in 2020. Half a decade later, it has been quite a whirlwind for the singer in an industry where things happen at breakneck speed. “Everything comes so fast and it’s hard to grab every opportunity. You get scared of losing the momentum or wonder when you might lose it,” says Wan.

It’s understandably easy for an artist on the rise to get caught up in a punishing schedule, as it makes sense to strike while the iron is hot. Wan has certainly been productive, having released a string of singles from three extended plays (EPs), as well as acting in the 2022 movie Life Must Go On. She has also appeared in several music videos for her musical contemporaries like Ansonbean, ILUB, Tyson Yoshi and Yan Ting.

It’s quite a treadmill, but Wan was fortunate have the chance to sit back and appreciate her blessings recently. “One of the happiest moments for me was looking back at a documentary that showed the launch of my third EP. There is footage of me smiling and laughing. But I sometimes forget those moments because I get so stressed and nervous,” she recalls. “It was almost like new findings for me. Whenever I finish something, it’s already on to the next. It’s nice to simply remember that I was happy and remind myself why I do what I do.”

It’s no secret that the entertainment industry is no walk in the park, especially for young women. “Being in this industry makes me way more insecure than I used to be. If you do a photoshoot, people are literally zooming in on your face! So it makes me self-conscious and very picky with how I look and I judge myself for the details. It’s something I need to learn to adjust mentally,” she says with disarming honesty. Fortunately, Wan is comfortable and having fun at her #legend cover shoot, having worked with the photographer before.

She credits the people around her for keeping her grounded in this difficult business. “It’s important to talk to people around you, people whose opinions that you trust and that will tell you the truth, even on your worst days,” she says, acknowledging the great team and support system she has around her.  

“Sometimes I’m on Instagram and get caught up in how good others look. But then, the people in my life remind me that these images are the results of elaborate photoshoots (with hair, makeup and lighting) and Photoshop. Even though I’ve done these shoots myself, I forget that too. It’s important to not believe everything you see on social media.”  

Disconnecting from the madness of showbiz and social media is important. So in her downtime, Wan is understandably more chill. She counts “cooking, sleeping, and listening to jazz” as her pastimes of choice, but also loves to unwind with Pixar films, citing the music heavy ones like Soul and Coco as some of her favourites.

Another favourite movie for her is The Intouchables, a 2011 French film inspired by the true story of hotel owner Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, who became a quadriplegic after a paragliding accident and his friendship with his French-Algerian carer Abdel Sellou. Though the movie received the Hollywood remake treatment in 2017 with Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart in the starring roles, Wan still prefers the French original. 

Wan counts Cantopop icons Sandy Lam and Sammi Cheng as her #legends for their “discipline, hard work, and strong mental power”. She aspires to follow in their footsteps for a long and varied career, with hopes for a tour, more acting opportunities, and to even dip her toes into a musical should the chance arise. But for now, Wan is fully focused on preparing for her first solo concerts. 

Even with the nerves for the upcoming concerts, Wan is all about facing her fears head on. This is what led to the creation of “Acrophobia” and her recent bungee jump. “We had so many challenges leading up to the bungee jump. When I was experiencing the whiplash after the jump, I started crying. People were asking me what was my first thought after it and I was just thinking “yes, I was scared but I did it!”, she recalls. “It’s the lesson I learned from doing “Acrophobia”. I may have a lot of fear in me and overthink at times, but I can still push through it.” 

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it, as Nelson Mandela famously once said. For Wan, this takes the form of tackling one performance, and one bungee jump, at a time.

CREDITS

Photographer / Buffacow 
Videographer / Jessica Chan 
Stylist / Anthony Tong
Hair / Wing Wong @ The attic
Make-up / Kineks Ho  
Manicure / Nail Me

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