‘You are not alone’: Hong Kong singer-songwriter Sabrina Cheung offers support for DSE candidates with new song

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So she called her friends, and together they discussed their nerves and fears about their results, sharing what they would do in the best and worst case scenarios.

It meant a lot to have her friends’ support, and it helped her realise what a difference it can make to know someone is cheering you on.

“You need people to share your panic. You need your friends to share your feelings,” she said.

So when an invitation came from GO!GingerOnion, a youth social media channel sponsored by Hang Seng Bank, to collaborate on a song for this year’s students, Cheung did not think twice before saying yes. Her new song “最firm應援”, which translates in English to “The Best Support”, was released on Thursday. It is a heartwarming, upbeat message of encouragement for students nervous about their future.

Growing up in Hong Kong, Cheung was very active in school and participated in many activities and clubs, such as the debate team, Red Cross and choir. Scenes of her secondary school life came flooding back during the writing and recording process, and she used these memories to put herself in students’ shoes and express the melancholy she felt while waiting for her results after the exam.

Initially, she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. Although she was a member of the school choir and frequently participated in singing contests, the idea of becoming a singer felt far-fetched.

“I thought [about] many jobs … but there’s no job that I was really committed to. I wasn’t too clear about myself.”

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Not long after earning an English degree from Polytechnic University, Cheung broke into the entertainment industry, modelling and acting in ViuTV dramas and the films Big Brother and The Secret Diary of a Mom to Be before signing to music label One Cool Music last year. Her twin sister Gigi is also a singer, signed to Warner Music Hong Kong.

The last few years have shown Cheung that you don’t always know where life will lead you.

“Looking back after all these years, … there are a lot of ways to achieve what you want to achieve,” she said.

Cheung recalled her classmates’ support in the lead-up to the DSE, remembering how they shared notes and past papers and motivated each other.

This encouragement didn’t stop with the exam: “My friend’s mum gave me a handmade gift after we got our grades,” Cheung said. She herself helped classmates who did not do well on the exam apply for other associate degrees.

In keeping with the spirit, Cheung tries to do something for DSE students every year. In the days before the results are released, she normally shares photos from her secondary school days on social media, along with words of motivation for anxious students.

She knows her fans are nervous about receiving their results: many send her messages and confide in her, detailing the jittery feeling of deciding on a career and the stress they feel in school and life. They tell her how they found comfort and energy in her songs. One fan even asked Cheung to autograph her mock exam paper.

She’s grateful for a chance to be a source of comfort, she said, adding: “I love using music to connect with people”.

In a recent meeting with fans, the singer shared a few encouraging words for the Form Six students and offered a sneak peek of her DSE-related song.

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“I felt like my song can really reach them. That’s my passion: to spread positivity to teenagers,” she said. “When I’m singing the song, [I’m trying] to be their friend.”

In the lyrics, she compares students feeling lost and nervous to a troupe on a voyage in the ocean, unsure where to head. But she reassures them they don’t have to navigate this uncertainty by themselves, singing: “pick up your phone, you’re not alone”.

“We might think that if our results are bad, it is the end of the world, and there is no way out,” she said. “[But] even though you feel lost, there will be people walking with you.”