"First of all, I am a Tibetan, 100 percent," says singer Alan Dawa Zhuoma, more commonly known by her stage name alan. "I'll never forget the many Chinese teachers and friends who gave me knowledge and encouraged me while I studied in Chengdu and Beijing, but wherever I go, I am Tibetan and I always remember it."
Preparing for this month's release of her sophomore album, "my life," the 22-year-old alan says she has discovered herself after living in Tokyo for two years.
"There were many [ballads] on my debut ('Voice of Earth' released in March)," she says. "But these [new] songs are true to this life of mine — 50 percent from personal experience and 50 percent from my imagination."