Simone Louie

“When I hear kids at church humming my songs, I feel a sense of responsibility. There are people, there are kids, who are listening to my music. I have to be mindful of that.”

Born in New York City, Simone Louie found herself living in Hong Kong for the beginning years of her childhood, followed by a brief period in Scotland, and then back to China. “It wasn’t that hard,” she admits. “I adapted pretty well. I grew up with both English and Cantonese around me, so language was never really an issue.”

Though her dad has always had a heart for teaching and pastoring the people of China, Simone felt called to a more creative field—not just for her college studies, but for her personal pursuits. As far as she was concerned, there was no better place to stretch herself than the place she was born.

“I had roots in New York, even if I didn’t feel it at the time,” she says. “I’ve always looked forward to experiencing the diversity here every single day. These are my roots.”

Simone’s creativity has thrived in New York. After studying English Creative Writing and Music Composition at State University of New York at Geneseo, she planted herself in Flushing, Queens. “I like how crazy it is. I know it’s not for everyone,” Simone confesses, “but I feel like I’m always challenged to see different things, different people, and to experience things you can’t experience anywhere else.”

Though her music has flourished since calling Flushing home, she’s been working on her craft for years. She started writing music and playing guitar at 15, but her first instrument was the piano at age six. “At first, my parents made me play piano,” she recalls. “I didn’t mind it. I did choir when I was young, both in Scotland and in Hong Kong. But choir always felt too cliquey, so that’s when I started writing my own music.”

The first song she wrote was actually assigned to her in school. She was supposed to write a 16-measure melody, but ended up writing an entire song about her relationship with her sister. When contemplating the first song she actually liked, though, her mind drifts elsewhere. “It’s called “Your Arms Alone.” I was just playing around on the piano and first came up with the riff, then started singing along to it. It turned into something I liked, and so I shared it with a friend and they had really positive feedback.”

Influenced by her own faith as well as the musicianship, lyrical prowess, and honesty of bands like Flyleaf, Paramore, All Time Low, and Simple Plan, Simone dreams of one day not worrying about money, having a lot of people in her life, and seeing all of her youth kids fall in love with Jesus.

“I guess it’d be nice to win a Grammy or tour the world, too,” she says with a laugh, “but that isn’t what drives me. When I hear people tell me how they’re impacted by my music, even if it’s just one person, that’s what drives me. That’s when I’m reminded of why I love music.”