Ella's songs that I've listed mostly have the theme of allowing oneself to acknowledge how life has been tough lately, offers comfort and asks one to allow themselves to accept the comfort, and be brave, and keep moving forward, remembering who you are. She's a singer who is mindful of her audience and wants to comfort and encourage through her singing.
1. Goodnight Song
This song was written as she reflected on becoming a mother, and later, for everyone who spends each day trying hard to live in general. It asks of the listener to thank themselves at the end of the day for making it this far and to keep moving forward no matter how small their steps are, because life is tough and we have no choice but to be brave.
2. How old are you
This song is about not allowing people who say you should do something, or give up on something because of your age to control your actions; we all have our own paces. It's also about it being okay to feel hurt when these comments break through one's barriers, and to not worry about being strong all the time, taking the time to cry it out without self-blame.
3. The Real Me
This song narrates the feelings of a person who puts on a show of confidence and capability all day long but at the end of the day in the comfort of their own home, feels lost, hurt, unconfident and tired. At night and in the morning, the narrator tells themselves different things. At night, they say: You've worked hard all these years, let me embrace the real me, it's okay to feel lost because you are not alone in facing this contradiction of selves. In the morning, they say: just keep moving forward, as long as you know what you're working for, everything will work out, don't let yourself give up, it doesn't matter as long as you've been responsible to yourself. At the end, the narrator asks themselves: which is the real me?
4. Be Yourself
This song is about growing up. The narrator chases their dreams in a big city, forcing themselves to fight for their dreams and feels hurt in the process, starting to feel like their personality is changing and they are losing core values to survive. They miss the naive and pure self they used to be, and hope the day will come when they can fight for those parts of themselves again. Ella sings it's okay to miss that self, who thought the world was different, and comfort the you who is scared of how you're changing, and to cry for the person you've lost, with this song to accompany you.
5. Age of 30
This song is a bit different. Ella reflects on turning 30, having lost enjoyment in some of the things she used to enjoy, the path ahead seeming unclear. She asks herself to remember to hold her loved ones closer and find her passions, and her initial burning ambitions again.
6. Qiang Qiang
This song is quite different. It's about Qiang Qiang, a dog she adopted in the mid-00s, who had many health problems arising from its having too much testosterone for a female dog. Because of this, Ella changed its name to sound like the word "Strong" in hopes that it would eventually be better. Eventually they decided to operate on the dog, but unfortunately Qiang Qiang turned out to be allergic to the anaesthetic and passed away. Ella wrote this song for Qiang Qiang, telling it that it's been a good dog for accompanying for as long as it has, asking Qiang Qiang to remember her and Qiang Qiang's other caretakers and friends. The song further remembers Qiang Qiang's characteristics.
In the song, Ella also includes an ending speech supporting adoption. She used this song to raise funds for animal shelters as well; all proceeds from the song aside from covering costs of production went to the animal shelter she chose to support. To keep the costs of production low, she wrote the lyrics, used one of her old demos for the earlier version of an s.h.e song and made the MV herself.
7. After (Cover)
This song is not a song of hers, and thematically it is also different. It's about missing a chance at lasting love, because the singer did not know love. Only once they learnt how to love, did they realise what they lost.
However, I find it moving that Ella sang this at the competition S.H.E entered to earn the chance to debut as singers, and then sang it again on the last S.H.E concert tour they planned before deciding to focus on their solo careers. I felt that this really showed how she truly doesn't forget her beginnings, and the improvement over the years is frankly incredible, speaking of the long years of effort she's put in as a singer. It also shows how she did not change herself for the industry; during the competition, she was criticised for bringing the pitch too low. However, she hasn't her changed her voice, only improved her control of it and found a way to tell stories through highlighting the emotions of a song.
1. Goodnight Song
This song was written as she reflected on becoming a mother, and later, for everyone who spends each day trying hard to live in general. It asks of the listener to thank themselves at the end of the day for making it this far and to keep moving forward no matter how small their steps are, because life is tough and we have no choice but to be brave.
2. How old are you
This song is about not allowing people who say you should do something, or give up on something because of your age to control your actions; we all have our own paces. It's also about it being okay to feel hurt when these comments break through one's barriers, and to not worry about being strong all the time, taking the time to cry it out without self-blame.
3. The Real Me
This song narrates the feelings of a person who puts on a show of confidence and capability all day long but at the end of the day in the comfort of their own home, feels lost, hurt, unconfident and tired. At night and in the morning, the narrator tells themselves different things. At night, they say: You've worked hard all these years, let me embrace the real me, it's okay to feel lost because you are not alone in facing this contradiction of selves. In the morning, they say: just keep moving forward, as long as you know what you're working for, everything will work out, don't let yourself give up, it doesn't matter as long as you've been responsible to yourself. At the end, the narrator asks themselves: which is the real me?
4. Be Yourself
This song is about growing up. The narrator chases their dreams in a big city, forcing themselves to fight for their dreams and feels hurt in the process, starting to feel like their personality is changing and they are losing core values to survive. They miss the naive and pure self they used to be, and hope the day will come when they can fight for those parts of themselves again. Ella sings it's okay to miss that self, who thought the world was different, and comfort the you who is scared of how you're changing, and to cry for the person you've lost, with this song to accompany you.
5. Age of 30
This song is a bit different. Ella reflects on turning 30, having lost enjoyment in some of the things she used to enjoy, the path ahead seeming unclear. She asks herself to remember to hold her loved ones closer and find her passions, and her initial burning ambitions again.
6. Qiang Qiang
This song is quite different. It's about Qiang Qiang, a dog she adopted in the mid-00s, who had many health problems arising from its having too much testosterone for a female dog. Because of this, Ella changed its name to sound like the word "Strong" in hopes that it would eventually be better. Eventually they decided to operate on the dog, but unfortunately Qiang Qiang turned out to be allergic to the anaesthetic and passed away. Ella wrote this song for Qiang Qiang, telling it that it's been a good dog for accompanying for as long as it has, asking Qiang Qiang to remember her and Qiang Qiang's other caretakers and friends. The song further remembers Qiang Qiang's characteristics.
In the song, Ella also includes an ending speech supporting adoption. She used this song to raise funds for animal shelters as well; all proceeds from the song aside from covering costs of production went to the animal shelter she chose to support. To keep the costs of production low, she wrote the lyrics, used one of her old demos for the earlier version of an s.h.e song and made the MV herself.
7. After (Cover)
This song is not a song of hers, and thematically it is also different. It's about missing a chance at lasting love, because the singer did not know love. Only once they learnt how to love, did they realise what they lost.
However, I find it moving that Ella sang this at the competition S.H.E entered to earn the chance to debut as singers, and then sang it again on the last S.H.E concert tour they planned before deciding to focus on their solo careers. I felt that this really showed how she truly doesn't forget her beginnings, and the improvement over the years is frankly incredible, speaking of the long years of effort she's put in as a singer. It also shows how she did not change herself for the industry; during the competition, she was criticised for bringing the pitch too low. However, she hasn't her changed her voice, only improved her control of it and found a way to tell stories through highlighting the emotions of a song.
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