THIS week, Time out met up with singer Athen Cho Swe at the press conference for the release of her new album ‘Pauk Tae O’ (The Pot with a Hole).

Athen is only sixteen but she has tried very hard to create her debut pop and R&B inspired album with a great amount of help from famous hip hop stars and composers. The album will be released on January 25.

Timeout: Your album title is strange, Athen. What made you choose it?
Athen: It’s like a slang expression that my dad doesn’t like. But I love it. It is the title of the song written by Jauk Jack for me. It has strong lyrics like ‘don’t fill up water in the pot with a hole, and you can’t make me hurt again’.

What sort of songs are on your album?
Most of the songs on the album are R&B and pop songs. I even rap in some songs. But I think I’m better at pop and pop rock.

You are good at R&B as well.
Yeah, I’m a fan of Rihanna and Britney Spears. I practice singing at home mimicking their styles. And I always try to find out how I should sing beautifully. But I still have lots to learn.

Is it true that you stopped your education to make this album?
Yeah, I think I was born to be a singer. I started writing lyrics for some foreign songs when I was in grade eight.

Don’t you think education is important for you?
I’m not interested in education as strongly as I am in music, I’m really sorry to lose my school time at grade 10 but I’m satisfied that I have been able to do what I want to do. I’ll continue my education in the next academic year.

How much support have you received from your parents in releasing the album?
So much. My mother is the producer of the album and both of my parents cared and helped me a lot from beginning to end. I think there is no one as lucky as I am because I’ve had the opportunity to show my talent and my parents are always there to support me in following my pursuits. They encourage me both physically and mentally.

In recent years we’ve seen more and more teenage singers on the music scene. Do you have any idea why the numbers have increased?
It’s due to the booming music genres, most of which are matched with young peoples’ taste like hip hop, R&B, etc…

Have you ever thought that you are too young to be a singer?
Never! If I had the chance to do as I wished in the past, I would have tried to release an album before grade eight.

What do you think of the album?
It means a lot to me. It’s my first one and I have high hopes for it. Through making this album, I learnt many things from each composer and the ways they trained me.

How do you rate your experiences in the hip hop scene?
It’s full of excitement. Sometimes, I get great support from people but other times I have to deal with people who want to compete against me. But I never feel nervous about these people because I believe that the one who has real talent will certainly achieve success.