i love.

my taste in music is very focused.
i'm by far for R&B/hip-hop, or swinging the other extreme,
a fan of acoustic pop-jazz chillout sounds,
or generally Lush FM playlists.

i was never a fan of the raw, organic, live band sound.
but there are treasures.

my all time favourites include
very chill tracks like Walking After You by the Foo Fighers,




or Handbags and Gladrags by Stereophonics



all the pores in my skin dilate when he sings the first line.
the scratchiness in his voice... i love best in the first two lines.





i am recently haunted by David Cook's overnight success of Always Be My Baby,
which I played over and over on my little tape when I was 12 years old.



I loved that song, and to have it covered so well definitely adds 10 points to Cook.
I've never heard any other song he performed on Idol, and can't be bothered to find out.
I'll just stick to this for the meantime.






i was never a fan of Jason Mraz either.
but this clip -
its simplicity, cleanliness, the preciseness of the backing vocals and phrasing of lyrics to melody, the eerily still audience,
it is definitive for me.
it has made me fall in love.



i do think he has found his perfect partner.

别松开手 meet & greet :)

Most involved in the 别松开手 charity single will be present for a
Meet&Greet / autograph session tomorrow :)

Date: 31 May 08, Saturday
Venue: Book Fair @ Suntec Convention Centre
Time: 12pm - 1pm

Come by and get a copy of your single! :)

别松开手 single out now!

support!


the press conference was held the past weekend at Whitebait and Kale,
(i couldn't keep my hands off their smoked salmon, or that's what i think it is)
and representatives from Singapore Red Cross, Singapore Chamber of Commerce & Industry in China, and Sembawang Music were present.

The Chairman of SingCham was a Singaporean based in China for 12 years,
and she spoke of how the Singaporean business people were the 1st foreign organisation to rally donations and to initiate a helping hand,
and she nearly broke down while giving her speech.

Hearing her relate her 1st hand experiences really brought
a very real perspective to the tragedy,
and the climbing casualty figures became a monstrosity of pain,
than just jaded statistics.








with Peter laoshi and Green Swallow!


with Emma Yong


caught Jo Dong in the toilet :)


with Meixin!


we caught the 1st screening of the MV.
(of course not on this mini DV player!)
PS. I don't have a solo line in this song though,
I was singing as a chorus with several ex-Project Superstars.


玖建老师 had toiled endlessly on this project,
finding sponsors, partners,
recording, mixing and editing the song,
editing the MV...
all within a few days.

the least we could do for him was to sing a few lines,
and appear at the publicity shows.


i sincerely hope that with this little blog, or through facebook, etc,
that i can help in my little way to encourage more donations of love.

you can buy this CD from all Sembawang Music outlets,
$10 for the CD, $8 goes to the Red Cross, $2 for administrative fees.
Thank you :)

jaded

the daily news feed of earthquake victims always make me cry.
i am getting a little jaded of these armageddon images,
but at the same time inspired by all the acts of warmth and human kindness.

i was happy to be part of a charity drive spearheaded by 玖建,
he wrote a song and through word of mouth gathered several artistes/celebrities/singers/actors/dancers etc for an audio-visual recording.


this is but 1/10th of those present for the recording :)

Media is a tool we can use to relay images of painful reality, or hopeful ideals.

We faced the camera and said,
买CD, 送爱心.
众志成城, 帮助四川的灾民!


Buy the CD (it should be out soon), or find an organisation,
donate some love. <3

archuleta

i never watch TV in my home,
but this boy, i saw on cable TV in china;

i vividly recall being in a room with my bosco kheng long,
it was only the two of us having a foot massage,
while the rest were having full body massages.

and we were talking, flipping channels and
happened to come across American Idol.

Right at the end of the hour's massage,
David Archuleta, as the finale, sang Imagine.
And we were getting ready to leave,
but both of us just sat there, watching.



I love his tone, his style, and
he is so pleasant to look at!

Was supposed to learn songs for 3 upcoming weddings,
but ended up youtubing Archuleta...

110508 David Tao 王者归来 Encore Concert in Shanghai

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I'm lucky I know
But I wanna go home...

- Home, by Michael Buble


Yes, learning new songs - it's a never-ending process in my life.
Home was something I ought to know, but never got down to learning.
Printed the lyrics, youtubed it, and started transcribing the melody,
and this phrase struck me.

i love it.


Shanghai was unexpectedly cold, everyone was unprepared.
Right before going onstage,
I told David Tan,
"I'm already looking forward to the flight back home already, something is very wrong."
and he said,
"Yes, something is very wrong."


Yes I was shimmying up to DT in this little dress freezing my ass off.

Of course courtesy of my almost upskirt pic of aforementioned frozen butt,
this pic HAD TO appear in most papers in his concert review.
"... 陶喆与对唱的和声女歌手在演绎该曲唱到情深处，竟将穿着火辣的对方揽腰贴身抱起...引发台下女歌迷一片心碎的惊叫声。"
LOL





Oh, check out DT's multifarious new coat :)
He changed his outfits for this encore concert.


Giraffe and floral print spectacular!

We were in Shanghai last July
for the opening act of his 123 We Are All Wooden Men Tour,
and it was a huge success, so were were back again!







it had been awhile since we performed in an outdoor venue,
and just the number of people X the passion/screaming they exhibited
really drove me from wanting-to-go-home to a mad adrenaline rush :)




opening curtain


i took refuge in backstage (or downstage) from the cold whenever I could.
this staircase leads up to the fire and glory that is ONSTAGE :)


live editing of concert





during rehearsal,
the band plays 大风吹!


it started from this.
jamie and casey exchanging instruments.


(pix from my sony ericcson.
i lost my camera charger :( )


band leader eggs everybody on


david tan is liberace.


ujang takes on a different beat

elisa and i just laugh and take pix LOL


all this happened during the Marry Me Today opening segment,
while DT was whirling around with the dancer babes,
oblivious to the changes, but hearing very obviously that SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

and.... Jamie and Casey just had to pull this again during the concert itself.
POWER to spontaneity! :D





some randomness:

a very coincidental contrast:
i'm literally the 合音天使 with my full-on white outfit
complete with silver shoes and grey bag,
while elisa is fully decked in black.


hawking earrings by the roadside with an umbrella


Green Massage, next to Bellagio Cafe (our fav supper place) near 新天地
awfully posh and zen.


how about an origami lantern the size of 2 cows,
floating peacefully above a sandpit, i mean, a zen sand garden,
while you get your feet kneaded?


a mysterious buddha hand lighting my way to the toilet


i love the city area


i love the airport :)




till next time, shanghai!

Indochine, Bar Opiume @ Empress Place

It's always a mouthful to update people about my new joint.


"Yeah, I'm singing at Indochine, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday."

"Oh it's the one at Empress Place."

"You know, at the Asian Civilisations Museum? Next to Victoria Theatre, Victoria Concert Hall? Opposite Boat Quay? Across the bridge from Fullerton Hotel?"

"Yup, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 930pm till past midnight."




So there you go.
It is absolutely awesome.
Alfresco dining and drinks, next to the Singapore riverscape,
I can't wait to start tomorrow!

With ma boyz Jonathan Ang on keys,
Daniel Purnomo on guitar :D




PS. I am officially gigging every weekday night now,
honestly, it scares me... there is a certain dread.
Putting up a good 3 sets every night needs an emotional energy...
which isn't easy to churn out on a daily basis.

BUT I will give it a shot and see how it goes!

the "unsung" heroine

I'm on My Paper 我报!
remember? I'm an OMY blogger hehe



thanks xiujuan and jason! :D


The full interview from Jason here:

1. Let’s start out by telling us how old you are, what are you doing right now (schooling? working?) and your current activities? :)

24 this year, occupation singer/erhu player/businesswoman. :)
For live performances,
I sing mainly as backing vocalist for Asian pop/R&B artist
es in their world concert tours (David Tao, Amei, JJ Lin)
also a pop-jazz set at various places in Singapore
(currently Indochine, Harry’s, Wala Wala).
also for weddings and functions under Yours Truly (a company I co-founded).
I also play the erhu, currently with a fusion band for performances.
For recordings,
I do voice-overs, jingle writing and recording,
sing backing vocals and also recently tried my hand at movie soundtracks!


2. How did you manage to get into your first singing gig?

My first singing stint was in university, I joined a mandarin songwriting club -
a friend had asked me to help sing her original song for a performance :)

3. Who made the most lasting impression on you on your path as a backup singer, and why?

My music director Mr Goh Kheng Long.
He is most talented, has an amazing number of creations and credits under his belt, but never cares to flaunt them.
He is humble, and so affable, definitely my role model.

4. How do you split up timing between rehearsing and living your life?

I lead an absolutely boring life -
I spend all my time on music, and whatever is related to music.
An acquaintance once asked - so what do you do besides singing?
And I tried to quickly scan through my life (to no avail),
only to try and divert the question in order to sound like a less boring person.

5. How is the process of getting a gig to rehearsing like?

This is dependent on too many variable factors for a cohesive answer.
It’s just zero to many phonecalls, zero to many emails,
100% stress in dealing with artsy fartsy musicians (including myself)
to coordinate a rehearsal schedule.

6. What are some of your most memorable performances and why?

My first solo set at the Esplanade Waterfront (now gone for good) was interesting -
I was always more of a singer than an entertainer,
so I didn’t really speak much in between songs,
desperately hoping instead to touch people with my beautiful voice.
Definitely some concerts were mind-blowing,
for instance Amei’s first Star concert at the Shanghai stadium
(with a venue capacity of 80,000) was when I saw my biggest stage production ever.

7. What are some stars like backstage? Any ugly stories to tell? (you don’t have to name names of course :))

I have the greatest fortune to work with the most talented and accomplished artistes, but of course I’ve heard the usual gossip about other artistes who can’t sing,
who have diva attitudes, etc.

8. Is it true that a lot of stars lip-synch their songs on stage? Are there some singers who ironically just cannot sing? If so how do the backup singers come in?

Of course there are many singers who can’t sing.
Popstars nowadays are a celebrity package with singing thrown in for good measure. I’m not sure about the frequency of lip-synching in these days,
but it usually happens when they sing to a CD, not with a live band :)

9. We know you are now prepping for the David Tao concert on the 19th. How is it like working with David?

David is a godsend to my career. In fact, he kickstarted my career in singing.
I was still in my last year in university when I started touring with him -
which was sometimes a schedule nightmare.
I never knew ANY Asian singer who would share the stage/limelight with his band/backing vocalists, but he did just that -
and from a nobody, I was prancing on a stage alongside David
in his concerts all over the world.
He is charming, funny, a great guy to hang out with at parties.

10. Is there ever a time you felt a low in your singing path, what then made you feel this way?

When I wasn’t sure I was going to be involved in another upcoming tour -
I would panic and shop myself broke. Kidding…
In fact I was so money-minded I would panic and start thinking of ways to earn a living - which was when I came up with Yours Truly, a company which provides live bands, musicians, emcees, etc to weddings, functions and events.

11. Any advice you would give to aspiring backup singers?

I don’t think anyone would aspire to be a backup singer -
they all aim to be a singer first and foremost :)
My advice is - be as beautiful as you can, write as many songs,
learn as many instruments, sing as well as you can,
and then pray very very hard.

12. If a star or a label comes along and offers you a chance at the big time as a recording artiste, would you give it a whirl?

If all conditions are reasonable, yes please :)

13. What do you engage in your free time, do you play an instrument?

I play the erhu professionally, but also play the keyboard, guitar and violin occasionally.

14. If Kewei is not a backup singer, she will be______?

walking in the footsteps of other NTU Communications graduates,
probably in PR or something :p

the stars are filming us for no one

... my favourite line from carol ann duffy's poem :)







it was an awesome experience.



we played thru the sunset...


Kewei and Friends, ie.
my buddy Daniel Purnomo on guitar,
the doctor Benedict on keys (1st time working together!)
Rahman on percussion (we used to play together as a fusion trio in Sentosa!)
Mr Nice Guy Jonathan Lim on sax/flute
and newfound friend Dennis "Leehom" Lau on the electric violin (all the way from KL!)


Loving You :)



erhu and violin duet :)


a very spontaneous duet jamming - Besame Mucho


i took a picture of my audience!
"hold up your drinks, cheeeeerss!"








dennis took most of the pix, so he is in most of them. HA!


with dennis and tat tong, arranger-producer-studio-freakkkmaster ;P

the truth is, somewhere up there in the heavens,
our stars were aligned,
and fate brought the 3 of us together last week
and we spent most days hanging out,
united by the love for music,
and admiration for each other.
(ok, maybe just my admiration for them...)

expect something from this trio very soon :D
collaboration in the making!






and dennis... he came all the way from KL,
to record his very own song...



with me!



His self-penned pop-soul-funk "Walk With You",
solo turned duet :)



we cooped up in the studio for 2 afternoons,
with our sound engineer Desmond from Loop System
and my shifu/big brother David Tan as producer!



Loop System is the coooooooolest studio. Ever.
It is chock full with equipment, well-organised,
neat, impressively detailed, and complete
with a stunning display of starwars/godzilla/ultraman/etc collectibles
and 4 cats.


the boyz.





post-recording celebration dinner!
on the rightmost is eric from taiwan,
whose stars collided with ours as well :)


eric is joanna wong 王若琳's guitarist,
who was here in town for some publicity/live shows.

he joined us in a week of outings to Oosh, BluJaz Cafe,
Harry's @ Holland V, Sentosa, what not...

i had a terribly fulfilling week, absolutely maxed out on great music-making!