SINGAPORE — Make no mistake, Anggun is immensely proud of her Asian heritage and her success in cracking the notoriously tough music industry in the West. It’s just that through being a judge on Asia’s Got Talent, which premiered its first season in March, she is also more aware of the immense talent from this region struggling to find themselves on the world stage.

“We are three billion people living in Asia. Out of these three billion people are so many super-talented people who definitely can make it,” she declared. “(But) I know there are not many in Asia who have been able to develop a career outside Asia.”

It even makes her “quite sad” to be labelled “Asia’s best-selling recording artist outside Asia” as she would love to see more fellow Asian acts getting a break. “Some of them are very gifted and I’m sure they could reach a Western audience,” she said.

In the meantime, Anggun is extremely enthusiastic about supporting Asian shows and talent. She is taking time out from working on the English version of her latest French album Toujours un Ailleurs, released two weeks ago, to be in Singapore as a guest performer for the 20th Asian Television Awards held last night.

Anggun, who is also an ambassador for skincare brand SK-II, shared that she is always happy to be back in Asia as her travels are mainly for work these days. She was most recently in Havana to film a music video. “Cuba is slowly opening up to the world and I’m very lucky to have been there to shoot the video before the country becomes something else. I do hope that there won’t be a huge change,” she said. “I love the way Havana looks — it’s so beautiful, very poetic. We also went to shoot in Vinales, which is three hours away from Havana and the scenery is simply breathtaking.”

And as a naturalised French citizen, having lived there since she moved to Paris in 1996 to advance her singing career, she hopes travellers will return to the city once again in the wake of the attacks. “Please do not cancel your trip to Paris. What happened in Paris is absolutely devastating. I was in the French capital when it happened. But we have to show that we, citizens of this world who celebrate love and happiness, will never surrender. Our best response is to continue to live normal lives, happy lives, loving lives,” she said. “There is unfortunately no ‘safe’ place anymore in this crazy world, but we cannot live in bunkers. We have to fight with our own weapons: Our love for life.”