lianzi

San Francisco–based artist, songwriter, and producer LIANZI crafts melancholic art-pop shaped by her multidisciplinary roots, weaving sound, image, and myth into a singular creative universe.

Raised in a home filled with traditional Chinese music, with both parents acclaimed performers in China's national orchestra, she developed an early sense of sound as storytelling and inherited a deep emotional lexicon that now threads through her work. Before turning fully toward music, LIANZI earned awards in fashion design and saw her visual work and select published poetry featured across niche platforms. These influences converge in her distinctive aesthetic: dream-like textures, personal mythmaking, and a cinematic, fashion-inflected visual world.

LIANZI's songwriting has earned recognition across prominent contests: in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, "Big Gulp" earned a trifecta of honors — Grand Prize Winner in Electronic, Lennon Award, and SONG OF THE YEAR, the contest's top overall honor across every genre — while "Happy Fucking Birthday" was a 2023 finalist, and "Rain" was named a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition. This early recognition reflects her ability to sculpt emotion with precision. Her home-studio productions blend shimmer-pop textures and quiet longing, creating songs that feel intimate yet otherworldly.

Press

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest's official announcement confirms "Big Gulp" by LIANZI as the 2025 "$20,000 Song of the Year," selected by a judging panel including Ringo Starr, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Natasha Bedingfield, RZA, Flea, and Art Alexakis.

Earmilk

EarMilk praised "I Want What They Have" for merging dark electro-pop with club-ready house production, calling it a sharp, satirical look at comparison culture wrapped in a sleek, high-energy sound.

KaltBlut

LIANZI was named one of Kaltblut's 2026 breakthrough talents, earning recognition from the Berlin-based culture and music publication for artists shaping the year ahead. The feature places her melancholic art-pop alongside a wider conversation on emerging voices to watch.

Visual Atelier 8

Interview with Visual Atelier 8 exploring the creative process and influences behind LIANZI's work.