Autumn Chen on Becoming Insta-famous

With close to half a million followers on Instagram, Autumn Chen knows a thing or two about growing on social media. She tells That’s that the main two things are finding something special about yourself—the biggest and best one—and then a smaller one. Work on the smaller one, and “people will find you the best at where you’re the most special,” she tells us over the phone. She says this is her number one advice for growing on social media.

Her Instagram started to take off in 2019 as she accepted more and more modeling jobs. Her first order of business was to pose as a fitness model, as it has always been a hot topic. She tells us that she is blessed to have a body that confuses people. Growing up in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, she was called fat her entire teenage life. She tells us that she didn’t realize until her American friends told her that people would be interested in hearing and seeing more from her. With internet fame comes fun interactions.

“My followers told me they got scammed by people pretending to be me,” is a now-classic story that most internet celebrities have to contend with. And in person? She tells us of an embarrassing story where a male fan recognized her in Hong Kong while the fan was with his partner/date. The other girl didn’t look happy. Autumn says to resolve the situation, she proposed a group photo and stood next to the girl. Now, what’s next for her?

Autumn has begun a transition from social media personality to aspiring singer. With a genre ranging from pop in the style of Taylor Swift to Latin-reggaeton styled music, she sings in English and Spanish, looking to add her mother tongue, Cantonese, to the list. She suggests to us that while she wouldn’t initially pick the reggaeton style and would rather make romantic, relatable love songs, she still enjoys making them.

The Latin songs she features include guests like Ralph Martinezz and RJR, helping her gain experience in the studio and making her more comfortable expressing herself in different ways. ‘Punami,’ ‘Santo Domingo,’ and ‘Fuego’ are her three songs that would count as club tracks. While her personal favorites, ‘First Day I Met You’ and ‘Anniversary,’ serve as a journal as a way of pouring her heart into a song.

She tells us that ‘First Day I Met You’ was written relatively fast, between 1am and 5am, to capture what felt like the perfect moment—from a writing perspective. “I can’t describe the kind of strong emotions I had when writing it because I never had it before and doubt I’d ever have it again… but it’s all in the past now,” she tells us over the phone. An enigmatic answer to a question about a song about a past romance. It is no wonder that her intention to write relatable lyrics is at the forefront of her musical intentions.

She tells us to expect many more songs in 2024, but unfortunately doesn’t have plans to return to the stage. “I remember how nervous I got before the performance… God, that was torture. I think I’m too shy for the stage; I’d rather just hide in a room and write music.” She goes on to elaborate that if her music career ever takes off, then she wouldn’t mind getting back on stage. We guess that will be up to the demands of her fans. Follow her on Instagram to get more updates about her latest songs and collaborations.

[Cover image via Autumn Chen]