Aspiring singer addresses racial identity

It’s hard to imagine industrial systems engineering major and singer-songwriter Leo Xia ever feeling like an outsider. He’s a conscientious conversationalist who smiles easily, listens closely and appears to be friends with everyone. Xia’s lyrics, however, speak to a sense of alienation, which he says comes from his background as an Asian American who was born in the U.S. but grew up as an expatriate in Beijing. Though Xia has settled in the Asian-American community at USC, he said he often feels like a “perpetual foreigner.”

Born in Walnut Creek, California, Xia’s father moved his family to China when he took a job in Beijing. As a result, Xia attended the International School of Beijing from first grade until he graduated high school and came to USC. As a freshman, he took first place at the International Student Assembly iVoice Competition 2013, which was judged by YouTube stars Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider. Since then, Xia went on to win second place at the Asian Pacific American Student Assembly’s Got Talent 2015 and won the Hong Kong Student Assembly U852 External Singing Contest 2015. He also performed at Springfest in 2014 and InspirAsian, hosted by the USC Student Coalition for Asian Pacific Empowerment.

Xia’s musical journey started when he joined a band in middle school. One of his friends was the band’s lead vocalist and convinced Xia to play the keyboard. Soon after, his friend got him to join choir as well. When asked about his first foray into songwriting, however, Xia is reticent, waving it off as a cheesy love song for his first girlfriend.

Xia’s current admirers know him as someone who writes and sings about his Asian-American identity and social justice. Xia said he was inspired by a program of Asian Pacific American Student Services called “Critical Issues in Race, Class and Leadership Education” — a leadership seminar featuring discussions on race, class, gender and other issues — to start writing more about social justice. A recent song of his addresses the intersectionality of being Asian American and LGBT. Xia is a straight cisgender male, so the song is about the importance of being an ally.

“It’s hard to be [a part of the LGBT community], but it’s even harder to be Asian LGBT because you know how conservative Asian parents are,” Xia said. “That can often create a lot of friction with the family. People get thrown out of their homes.”

Xia has graduated from romantic love songs to songs about other kinds of love. He said his influences coming from many areas of his life.

“My more recent stuff has been less writing about relationship love; it’s been more like, love for friends, love for family, love for social justice, love for my own identity, love for myself,” Xia said. “Self-love is very important. I care a lot about that.”

The romantic parts of Xia’s style are still apparent as he crooned to his audience at the 626 Night Market in Arcadia, California on Sept. 4. This was Xia’s second performance at the 626 Night Market this year, where he got to stand on the same stage as his favorite YouTube artists. Initially, a friend told him to sign up in the summer, when he first performed a set that he described as “calculated to impress.” This time, Xia performed mostly new material.

“[The purpose was to] play an honest set,” Xia said. “A set where people will walk away feeling like they got to know me, and my values, how I see the world and my experiences.”

Each song had personal meaning to Xia, and regardless of the reception he gets, he is happy to share a piece of himself.

Xia started out with a rendition of “Omen” by Disclosure ft. Sam Smith then launched into his first original song of the night, “Artist.” Guitar in hand, mirroring the style of his idol Jason Mraz, Xia performed in a style that felt intimate and emotional.

“I’m a vulnerable person, especially because as a singer-songwriter, I put my feelings out there when I perform my own songs,” Xia said. “I feel very lucky that there’s a specific stage for people that look like me. There’s a lot pressure and pride that comes with representing the Asian-American experience in the incredibly established Asian-American community at USC. I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.”

For his third song, he sang an old favorite, “Split Down the Middle,” an original song about being Asian-American. The song is full of shout-outs to famous Asians, such as Jeremy Lin. The vehemence behind the chorus “I don’t give a sh*t / What your passport is” is indicative of an anger that people have been tempted to give into, especially younger people of Xia’s background.

“There’s very few people that are super comfortable [with their identity],” Xia said. “All Asians are at a different place along the spectrum of being comfortable in their Asian-American-ness. You have to learn things but teach your parents at the same time.”

Xia ended his set with a cover of “Brother” by Matt Corby and a final original song, “Crystal Clear.”

Though almost at the end of his USC career, Xia is still experimenting with his passion in music. He is as unsure about his future as any other college student might be, and is struggling with the choice between a more traditionally stable career in engineering or a riskier one in music. For now, Xia said he will keep exploring music.

“I want to create a space in the moment of my music where no one feels marginalized,” Xia said.