At 15, Ally Achiraya Nitibhon made her recording debut with ‘How To Love’, a collaboration with South Korean rapper and producer GRAY. Released through 411 Music in February 2020, the single introduced a young Thai performer whose reach already extended across borders. She had trained in South Korea, absorbing the rigours of singing and dancing before her name appeared on a release. Six years later, she has a catalogue of collaborations, a major television role and an international film ahead of her. Yet when she talks about her development, she sounds endearingly open.
‘I feel like I’m getting younger in a way,’ she says. The hyper-polished image she presented at her debut is still part of her, but she now wants to show a brighter side, too. Growing up has given her more freedom to play with how she presents herself.
‘I feel like my music is growing with me as a person,’ she explains. ‘I think I have a lot of sides to show to people.’
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High Jewellery: Veerasak Gems
Bag: Chan
Shoes: Sam Edelman
At Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, on the set of Friday Club’s cover shoot, Ally is 22 and more actively involved than ever in deciding what those sides might look and sound like. She is also endearingly honest about how hard it can be to make a decision when she cares so deeply about the outcome.
That duality runs through the conversation. She can be decisive about what suits her, then second-guess whether touring is feasible. She wants to release more music, while acknowledging that finishing a single can take six months. The person making these decisions is still learning what she wants; the artist already has an audience waiting to see what she does next.
‘I’m thankful that my team allows me to be hands-on with my project,’ she says, ‘because it’s the most me when I have a say in what I do.’
Ask Ally about a creative decision she is proud of, and she chooses dyeing her hair black. There had been experiments. She tried brown because other people encouraged her to, and disliked how it looked on her. Navy blue came next and fared no better. Eventually, she returned to the colour she felt suited her best.
‘I had this super strong opinion of forever having my hair black,’ she says. ‘You guys are probably going to get bored of it. But I think it’s a good colour on me.’
Her account is funny, but there is a confidence behind it. She listened to suggestions, tried them and arrived at her own conclusion. Even if her audience might welcome another change, she is comfortable standing by it.
High Jewellery: Veerasak Gems
Shoes: Sam Edelman
That carries into her styling. Fashion matters to her personally, and the images that accompany a release are part of how she communicates the music. ‘I love making visuals, visual presentations and stuff for my music, so everyone kind of gets the same idea of what I see,’ she explains. She collects references and works closely with her stylist, giving those ideas room to develop without losing sight of what she wants.
The records have given her several different settings in which to do that. ‘Make It Hot’, released in 2024 with American singer-songwriter Pink Sweat$, extended a list of international collaborations that began with her debut; this year brought ‘but you’, featuring Korean artist JHIN, in February, followed by ‘143’ in July. The latter takes its title from the numerical shorthand for ‘I love you,’ with a playful Y2K direction that suits the lighter image she describes.
She is happy to explore those differences without deciding that one of them must become her permanent identity. Being cool or sassy can be a mode of performance; neither has to account for everything she is.
High Jewellery: Veerasak Gems
Shoes: Sam Edelman
This year also brought a graduation from Berklee College of Music, where she studied music business – a formal education in an industry she has been navigating since adolescence.
For all that activity, she still wishes she could release music more often. Getting a song to the point where she is ready to share it is another matter. ‘I’m such a perfectionist,’ she says. ‘It’s kind of difficult to release songs every two to three months because, for me, it takes like six months to get a single song done.’
An EP is something she would like to make one day, and more singles are part of her plans, though she does not offer a deadline. At the moment, she is collecting inspiration and paying attention to the world around her. There is a tension here that she leaves unresolved: greater creative control allows the work to become a truer reflection of her, but it also gives her more decisions to weigh before letting it go.
High Jewellery: Veerasak Gems
Acting gives her another way to explore the range she wants in her work. Her screen career began before her recording debut: in 2018’s ‘Brother of the Year’, she played the younger version of Urassaya Sperbund’s character, Jane. Netflix’s ‘The Believers’ later took her into darker territory as Dear, a graphic designer who helps two friends turn a Buddhist temple into a business to repay their startup debts.
Her next film, ‘Perfect Girl’, takes her into the competitive world of K-pop. Directed by Hong Won-ki, the thriller follows trainees competing to debut as a series of deadly attacks disrupts their preparations. Scheduled for a Thai release in 2027, it features an international cast including Arden Cho, Adeline Rudolph and Jeon Somi.
‘I auditioned for it without even thinking that I would get to be a part of it, because the cast is insane,’ she says. She was especially excited to work with Somi, whom she had followed before becoming a trainee herself. ‘It’s just so crazy getting to work with people who I watched on my computer screen and I fangirl over.’
Next, she would like a role that lets her show a softer side. ‘There’s a lot of thrillers happening in my life right now,’ she says. ‘But I’d love to do a romantic comedy.’
High Jewellery: Veerasak Gems
Not every choice comes easily. She is learning to recognise how fear can enter decisions before anything has actually gone wrong. ‘I used to be scared of making decisions,’ she says, recalling the questions that would follow: what if a choice affected her life badly, or failed to work out at all?
This year, her thinking has shifted. A decision can be uncomfortable and still teach her something avoidance never could; its value may become apparent only much later. ‘It might be a mistake now, but in the future you might be thankful you made that decision because you get to learn from it,’ she says — speaking about her life as much as her work.
This outlook coexists with her perfectionism rather than resolving it. She still wants a firm sense of direction for what she releases. What is changing is her willingness to accept that a decision need not guarantee a good outcome before she can make it.
High Jewellery: Veerasak Gems
Bag: Chan
Shoes: Minx
Sunglasses: Linda Farrow via Puyi Optical
It is a side of herself she hopes her audience will get to know. Interviews and everyday content, she says, often reveal more of her personality. ‘I want people to enjoy my music, but I also want them to discover me as a person.’
Her description of that person is open-ended: ‘The Thai girl that can do a lot of things and can be a lot of things that she wishes to be.’
High Jewellery: Veerasak Gems
Sunglasses: Gentle Monster via Puyi Optical
When younger people tell her they want to enter the industry, her first response is encouragement. She believes their enthusiasm needs support from those around them, but urges them to be honest about what draws them to performing. Fame and financial success alone, she cautions, are unlikely to sustain the commitment it requires.
‘Do it because you actually enjoy being on stage,’ she says. She recalls occasions when relatively few people were watching, yet she came away feeling encouraged. Those performances helped her recognise how much satisfaction she could find in the work itself. ‘Even if you perform in front of ten thousand people or ten people, you should still do the best that you can.’
She would love to take that work further afield. An Asia tour appeals to her, as does a world tour, though both remain ambitions she is ‘manifesting’. When she explains why, the conversation returns to the people already listening. Fans send messages from other countries, and some have travelled to Thailand to see her perform. She wants to make the journey in return.
‘I feel like the only way I can thank them enough is to go see them as well.’
Make-up: Kwankhao Sumalee
Catherine Pun
A Hong Kong native with Filipino-Chinese roots, Catherine infuses every part of her life with zest, whether she’s belting out karaoke tunes or exploring off-the-beaten-path destinations. Her downtime often includes unwinding with Netflix and indulging in a 10-step skincare routine. As the Editorial Director of Friday Club., Catherine brings her wealth of experience from major publishing houses, where she refined her craft and even authored a book. Her sharp editorial insight makes her a dynamic force, always on the lookout for the next compelling narrative.
