Actress Shavvon Lin On Her Recent Short Film And Upcoming Single ‘Enough For Love’

An actress and a singer!

You may recognize Shavvon from her amazing role in the short film ‘Apart, Together’. Now, she’s making a statement in her music career with her new single ‘Enough for Love’ releasing September 9th.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Shavvon about her upcoming EP, dream acting role, and more!

What first inspired you to embark on a career in the entertainment industry?

S: “Ever since I was a kid, my parents fought a lot with each other. I often felt scared and hopeless when they got loud and angry at each other. I would start singing in my little bedroom, and that brought me to another world. In that world, I felt so safe and free. I think this was when I first built a deep connection to singing. Then I started writing my own melodies and lyrics around 15 so I could tell my own story too. 

My first acting gig came from a quite random invitation when I was having lunch at the De Neve Dining Hall of UCLA, during my sophomore year there. An MFA student from our film school approached me and asked if I would play the female lead in his short film. I read the script and thought it might be fun, so I went. It was a similar, or even more magical experience as singing — When I got into the character and completely forgot about the surroundings. It also made me realize that “wow, there is actually a job fitted for hyper-sensitive people in the world.” I’m someone whose emotions are often easily triggered by what I see and hear, and sometimes I wished I was not built like this. Handling and managing high sensitivity can be very challenging in day-to-day life. However, such sensitivity when lent to the craft of acting, it is so beautiful to see. And this helps me accept myself more too. I don’t feel as weird and unfit in this world as I did before!“

You recently starred in the critically acclaimed short film ‘Apart, Together’. What was your experience like on that project?

S: “I fell in love with the script right away. It was so beautifully written. I was also able to resonate with Yiru’s experience, feelings and the need to seek validation from my mother. Being an only child and a daughter in a family with Son Preference, I was able to understand Yiru’s feelings on a personal level. I pulled out some of my past memories and feelings during my preparation for the role. I also worked very closely with Olivia Hang Zhou, our director. We had lengthy conversations about the story before we started filming. We’ve become really good friends too. Hang is amazing and very talented. I love our crew so much too. I did not expect to have such a close relationship with everyone on set but I did still feel very attached to almost everyone after we wrapped.”

From your incredible acting you have already received numerous awards. Is there an award that you would love to especially receive one day?

S: “Winning a SAG award one day might be the most rewarding thing that I can imagine. I love the actors’ community and being recognized by our own community is the best!”

Tell us more about your amazing upcoming single ‘Enough For Love’. What is its meaning?

S: “Enough for Love tells the story of two people in love with each other but were never together because neither one was brave enough to be the one to confess their love for each other. Was it because of their pride, fear, or bad timing? I don’t even know. Somehow this love story just went incomplete, or say, never started. It is very personal for me. Still, I don’t understand what happened, or how it happened. What’s left in me when I think of that person and that memory, is a dream-like, foggy, sweet yet slightly bitter taste/vision/sensation. I tried to capture that sensation with the production, melody, and vocals in this song.”

How do you think you’ve grown as a music artist since your initial music debut in 2020?

S: “I remember that for the longest time, I was told what to sing and how I should sing by other people. One day I was told that my vocal and image fit EDM and another day I was told that I should sing big ballads. It has been a very confusing journey for me. I almost completely gave up my own, authentic self to different forces of “authority.” I was told that I should always just listen and learn from the more experienced, elder “Qian-Bei (前辈),” which means senior in Chinese. I was told that I shouldn’t just sing what I want and that I shouldn’t make the kind of music that I like. Now, I want to abandon these “should”s and “don’t”s, and just be the singer and musician that I want to be. I want to be able to vibe with my own music. I want to have the freedom to be the one to craft my own sound and style. This is a big step for me and I have a long way to go still, in this journey of setting free.”

Is there a type of character you would love to play for an upcoming acting project?

S: “Recently, I really want to play an introvert, romanticist and eccentric female lead in a romcom haha.”

Can you tease anything about your upcoming debut EP?

S: “This is a very personal project. Every single song tells a personal story of mine or is a social observation/critique piece of mine. I talked about my struggle with depression as well as the “Forced-Drinking Culture” in China. It’s a mix of things and thoughts that I care about in the past 2 years. It has 6 songs and 2 bonus tracks that I worked on earlier but were never released. Musically, I would describe songs in this EP to be chilled R&B. Oh, and half of the songs have at least a couple of lines or phrases of Chinese lyrics in them haha. I love how kpop is able to smoothly incorporate Korean into English or English into Korean, and I’ve been experimenting the same thing with Chinese and English.”

Where can we follow your amazing journey?

S: “I’m not that into social media and I don’t seem to post often. But I’ll try to share more as the EP comes along in the next few weeks!”

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene. When not helping her team and working on the monthly issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral Tasty recipe.