“It’s Balut by Doja Cat,” shared Angel when asked for the song that best describes her. On and off stage, even as she sits on the couch amid a bustling shoot—crew members walking in and out, equipment shifting, voices calling across the room—the DOLLA singer remains composed, brimming with self-assurance. Draped in a deconstructed dress by local designer Caro Chia and layered in Bvlgari jewellery, this is a different Angel from the one who graced our March 2025 digital cover. When she’s around her bandmates, she is the youngest of the three, bouncing off their energy. Today, she navigates the shoot in her own rhythm.
“I’d always go to karaoke with my mum,” she recalled. “That’s where the singing begins.” Songs rich with emotion, like Shila Amzah’s “Miss You Tonight”, or G.E.M.’s power ballad, “Intoxicated”, were her favourites. They are also both notoriously difficult to sing. “That’s when you get to sing freely, pour it all out, even if [the singing] is bad,” the singer chuckled. From there, her career unfolded: school performances, piano lessons, and playing the guitar. “I was always leaning towards the music side of the world.”
She was in music college, 17 or so, when a message came asking if she was interested in auditioning for a girl group. Her first thought, like any sensible young adult, was, it’s a scam. Still, she replied. But finals first, she said, then only the audition. “Next thing I knew, I became a part of DOLLA.” Over the years, the trio has risen to become one of Malaysia’s renowned pop acts: trilingual releases, high-octane performances, and a sound idiosyncratically theirs. The transition from music student to working artist was never seamless. “I wasn’t ready for the industry,” she admitted. “We went in with no expectations of the market and what people would say about us.”
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The girls were strangers, in her words, brought together by music. Somewhere along the way, the girl who dreamed of being a singer-songwriter found herself harmonising in a girl group, syncing choreography. The bond between the members grew through ups and downs, yet the thought of creating her own sound remains. “I still feel I’ll go back to being a singer-songwriter at some point,” she said. And when she does? “It’ll be extremely different,” the 25-year-old explained, citing R&B, jazz, and rap as genres she would like to work with. What DOLLA gave her, beyond what most music graduates experience, is the chance to try more things in showbiz. “I got to act in a music video and dance—I grew up on ballet, but this was different. It took a lot of training and practice. But since I’m not doing it alone, it made everything easier.”
Six years in, DOLLA has become a role model for many, standing tall in the local scene. But ask Angel about her biggest challenge, and the answer comes without hesitation. “Execution and growth,” she confessed. “Everyone in Malaysia knows we exist now, but growing from here is difficult.” For a market as diverse as Malaysia’s, the group have songs in various languages and countless remixes tailored for different occasions. “One track has 20 remixes by now,” she revealed, “but not everyone listens to our kind of music.” That, fortunately, has not dampened their willingness to explore. Their latest release, the visualiser for a rap-heavy track, is yet another new experience. “We shot with goats—first time with animals on set,” she said. It’s a genre that brings out a more powerful side of DOLLA. The song itself came from the vault, seeing daylight for the first time since 2022. “Sometimes a song feels ahead of its time. This one was that.”
Breaking into the international market came naturally for the group. At one point, Brazil streamed their music videos to number one; their appearance on the Chinese variety show, “Show It All”, also opened doors to a warmly receptive audience. “They cheered us on, listened to our songs, and made dance covers in China,” the star marvelled. It was a new experience for DOLLA—“ten or more cameras, one for each of us,” she gushed—and seeing how other artists trained gave her a glimpse into how other countries orchestrate their industry.
Then came K-Spark in Malaysia, the largest music festival she’s played, with a roaring lineup including G-Dragon, Hwasa, ITZY, and DPR IAN. As fascinating as that was, her core memory remains performing for iDOLLA. Their first concert in 2024, following a member’s departure, arrived in a whirlwind—a rearrangement, a live band, 16 dancers, and outfit changes, all in two hours. The pressure was through the roof, but the sweet cut through the bitter. “The fans screamed our lyrics for every single song. And since we wear in-ear monitors, we could hear the piercing sound all day. I’ll never forget it.” It was a feeling so precious it refused to fade. Now she dreams of a world tour. “So I can hear that every single day,” she enthused.
She admitted to being hard on herself, especially in her career. “It’s a trait I’d never change. It brings the best out of me,” she continued, reflecting that the key is finding the balance. Her guilty pleasure, she shares, is watching movies and creative videos, but even that loops back to her ambitions. “I want to direct my own music video or get into acting as well. So I watch people who act well and try to learn.”
The young pop star now sees an icon as a legend—someone admired for what they do, someone who leaves a mark on people. I asked if she would consider herself an icon, given DOLLA’s achievements. “Not yet,” she beamed. “But one day.”
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Photography: Ng Joe Ee
Creative Direction & Styling: Joseph Cheng
Art Direction: Nadia Aswardy
Hair: Cody Chua
Makeup: Susam Chan
Photography Assistant: Ered Wong
Styling Assistants: Lorraine Chai
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