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"facebook dialogPinterest\n\n &amp;quot;It was so clich\u00E9 with the separation of cliques during lunch,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;I was that girl in the corner sinking my face into a SARTRE book and hating everyone.&amp;quot; Despite a push from her parents to pursue a traditional career like law, Zee gravitated toward the arts. After graduation, she moved to London to study fashion design at American InterContinental University. Between classes and working two part-time jobs (one as a pattern cutter and another in retail at TOPSHOP on Oord Street), she would practice singing and playing guitar.\n\n When she finished school, Zee returned to Kuala Lumpur and continued to pursue music. She turned her poetry into confessional lyrics and posted videos of herself performing (think BILLIE HOLIDAY with a mandolin) on YouTube. &amp;quot;I didn\u2019t tell anyone about it at first,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;Basically, it was my diary.&amp;quot;\n\n Within a few weeks, though, strangers were tuning in to Zee\u2019s plucky, sweet songs. Before she knew it, her music had gone viral. The day before her 22nd birthday, she got an e-mail from industry giant Ian Montone, whose company, Monotone, manages artists like the WHITE STRIPES, M.I.A., and VAMPIRE WEEKEND. Montone encouraged Zee to move to Los Angeles, where she promptly recorded her eponymous debut album, which hit stores last summer on the Monotone and Brushfire Records labels (the latter of which is owned by singer JACK JOHNSON). Since the release, the self-described hobo-chic singer has toured the world with Pete Yorn, had her music used as the sound track in AUTUMN DE WILDE\u2019s short film for Oliver Peoples, and started writing her upcoming second album. She\u2019s also trying to make sense of the past two whirlwind years. &amp;quot;Jack White was just at my 23rd birthday dinner in L.A.,&amp;quot; Zee says. &amp;quot;I pinched myself under the table a few times to see if I was dreaming.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/zee-avi>