SPOP! Sing Mentors Nathan Hartono, Joanna Dong And Boon Hui Lu On The Local Songs That Mean Most To Them

Veteran local singer-songwriter and producer Jimmy Ye will be one of the judges, alongside Billy Koh and Lee Si Song. The trio are tasked with whittling the contestants down to the final four, who will get the chance to perform ‘live’ at the Padang in the Grand Finals. So what kind of judge does Jimmy think he would be? “I don’t want to be a Paula Abdul — just encouraging, no matter what. I’d like to be objective. I also won’t be a Simon Cowell — evil or just highlighting the negative. But I think there are points in time when the contestants really need a reality check. So when they’re not so good in certain areas, I don’t think it would be helpful to skirt around the issue. I think that sometimes, you do need to hear [the truth]. I’d be a fairly technical judge. So I wouldn’t be telling a contestant that their shoes look good or their hairstyle is wrong. I’d be listening out for more music-related things, like whether they are singing on pitch or using the right key.”

Planning to sign up for SPOP Sing!? Here’s a piece of advice from Jimmy. “Pick the music that really relates to you. I think song choice is very important when it comes to competitions,” he says. “A lot of times I think that kids, especially when they’re young, will just pick songs that are popular or they think people want to listen to. Go for the songs that makes you feel really good singing them. Even if it’s a sad song, when you’re singing it and if your soul is singing along with you, then that’s the right song for you.”

Bonnie Loo, Lee Teng and YES 933 DJ Gao Meigui are the hosts of SPOP Sing! (Fun fact: Lee Teng hosted Campus Superstar, which Bonnie won.) They will also be hosting the nationwide auditions in schools and public venues beginning May 21. SPOP Sing! is open to aspiring singers aged 13 to 25 who are currently studying in a local institution. What sets SPOP Sing! apart from past local singing competitions is that it will be putting the spotlight on local songs and compositions. Not only will the contestants be singing local songs on the show, they will also be putting a creative spin on local compositions (yes, that includes hit songs sung by Mandopop superstars like Jacky Cheung and A-Mei that are composed by Singaporean talents). In light of that, we quiz the SPOP Sing! mentors and hosts on the local songs that they hold close to their hearts.

The local song that describes me most… Stefanie Sun’s ‘I’m Not Sad’. Cos I’m not sad. (Laughs) I find the lyrics of that song to be very self-deprecating ’cos it’s facing heartbreak in a very non-self-pitying way lah. I kind of like that. It’s a nice attitude to get about.

The local song that best describes my life right now… Lion City Boy just released a new song that I find very relatable. It’s called ‘B****, I'm On An Obike’. (Laughs) It’s a very feel-good song about enjoying life in that moment. I find that to be quite descriptive of what’s going on right now in my life. The busier or the crazier it gets, the more I tend to zoom out and not be too obsessed over the details.

The local song that got me through a tough time… When I was studying in Boston, I remember going for some Singaporean gathering and someone played ‘Home’. And I had never heard that song in that kind of context before, where I was so far away from home, that I didn’t even know I missed home that much. But when I heard that song in a random house in Boston, around a bunch of other Singaporeans, something about it just felt very, very sentimental. It reminded me of all the NDPs, of all the times in school that we sang it. And then all of a sudden, it was like I was back in Singapore again — I could feel it, I could smell it, and it was in the middle of nowhere in Boston.

The local song that describes my current love life… Inch Chua’s ‘Rule The World’. It’s about taking life at the moment, but at the same time, not being too unrealistic. Like, having an optimistic but not a fantasy-like outlook on life, or being positive but at the same time, not being completely like “everything is going to be fine and great”. [My current relationship] is positively realistic. (Laughs)

The local song that describes me most… ‘Shui De Hua’ (Water Painting) by Liang Wern Fook lao shi. The whole song is a metaphor for how one is like water. It’s a very wonderful song about the water cycle from evaporation to condensation to rain. (Laughs) It sounds very 'geographical', but it’s very poetic. In a sense, I feel that I’m like water. I’m very fluid. If there’s one constant in my life, it’s change. I have changed in many, many different ways, through my personal and professional career. So I think fluidity and adaptability is something that defines me quite well.

The local song that sums up my life… ‘Xiao Ren Wu De Xin Sheng’ (The Voice of an Ordinary Person) [written and originally sung by music producer Wu Jiaming]. I’ve always struggled with this ambition. I’ve always never really had huge ambitions (laughs). Back when I was in school, I was the kind that even if they wanted to nominate me for class chairman or choir Executive Committee (EXCO) role, I’d always shy away. I enjoy the limelight as a singer, but I never really had big ambitions. But I think somewhere really deep inside of me, I always felt like I was special. And also, it took me a long, long time to see myself as someone who is extraordinary. I mean, even now, I often feel I’m just a very ordinary person who happened to have an extraordinary opportunity thrown my way. (Laughs)

The local song that changed my life… Kit Chan’s ‘Home’. When ‘Home’ was first released, I was still very young, and from the song you can infer that the person singing the song has gone on a long journey and then came back home. At that time, I had never left Singapore. And I felt like you can’t really fully appreciate home until you’ve gone out into the world. Then you can fully feel the warmth of returning. It was only in the past few years, that I started travelling a lot. And in some ways, that song somehow planted a seed of yearning in me to go out into the world and then come home.

The local song that got you through a tough time… Liang Wern Fook’s ‘Another Song, Another Heart-breaking Story’. I sang it in a musical that brought together Liang Wern Fook’s body of work. This musical ran three times. Every few years, they put it out once. And each time we ran this show, I was in a different relationship with a different person. (Laughs) So it just so happened that each time we performed this show, I was going through some kind of major relationship phase with different people. Of course, the most recent one was with my husband. That song helped me to let go [of my past relationships]. Relationships were the major source of grief in my life. I used to be the kind of person who felt like my world was ending when my relationships ended. In the second run of the show, my then-boyfriend was about to leave for studies. So I was facing the possibility of a LDR which I knew wasn’t going to work out for me. It was an amicable break-up. But I was bawling my eyes out at the airport when he left! And his mother had to come and console me and say, “It’s okay. Just find somebody else. (Laughs)”

The local song that describes me most… Stefanie Sun’s ‘A Dancing Van Gogh’. I feel that I’m just like a dancing Van Gogh. He’s an artist, and he spends a lot of time alone, but he can be dancing as well. There are times where I’m alone doing my own stuff. But sometimes, I'm out there being social, networking and partying with people.

The local song that best describes my life right now… JJ Lin’s ‘The Song Which Was Not Written For Anyone’. The meaning behind this song is that he’s not writing for anybody, which also means that he’s writing for everybody. So I feel that as a singer-songwriter, I don’t want to write songs specifically for whoever, but I want to write songs [for everyone].

The local song that changed my life… Stefanie Sun’s ‘What I Miss’. I wanted to be a singer-songwriter after listening to this song ’cos I feel that the way she sang the song is so delicate and it really brings out the emotions.

The local song that got you through a tough time… Stefanie Sun’s ‘Against The Light’. I just feel motivated after hearing the song ’cos it's just so uplifting. The song is about going against [the obstacles] for something that you seek for or that has been a dream, and about being brave and facing the unknown. So when I feel like I want to give up, when I hear that song, I just feel that passion burning in me again, and then I’d be like, “Okay! I’m ready!” (Laughs)

The local song that describes me most… JJ Lin’s ‘Bu Chao Bu Yong Hua Qian’ (Not Trendy Don't Need To Spend Money) This song resonates a lot with me ’cos I love to follow trends. One of the lyrics go, “Chasing trends require money”. Indeed, if you want to be a fashionista and buy trendy things, you really must spend a lot of money. (Laughs) There was a period of time that I spent a lot of money to buy a lot of trendy stuff, like Bearbricks or Tods. And I also bought a lot of sneakers, clothing and limited-edition items. But recently, I’m starting to feel that I should start saving ’cos I’ve spent way too much. (Laughs)

A local song that got me through a tough time… Stefanie Sun’s ‘Desired Happiness’. When the song came out, I was still a student, and studying was quite stressful. So back then, when I was really stressed out from my studies, listening to this song helped ease some of that stress.”

The local song that describes my current love life… Tanya Chua’s ‘Beautiful Love’. I’m seeing someone currently. But I’m taking things slowly, one step at a time.

The local song that changed my life… A-Do’s ‘Persevere to the End’. This song is very encouraging. When it was first released, I felt very motivated listening to it. Sometimes, whether you make it or not, all boils down to perseverance, especially when you’re in showbiz.

The local song that describes you most… Cyndi Wang’s ‘Dang Ni’ (When You). This song was written by JJ Lin. When the song was released, I was still a student. And her voice and the ‘feel’ of the whole song was very much like myself.

The local song that changed my life… A-Mei’s ‘Remember’ [written by JJ Lin]. It was my competition song at the [Campus Superstar] Finals [Bonnie was the champion for Season 4 of Campus Superstar in 2013]. It was ’cos of that that I could become an artiste, and it opened up a lot of doors of opportunities for me. So I will never forget that song. And I also hope that people can ‘Remember’ me.

The local song that got me through a tough time… JJ Lin’s ‘I’m The One’. This song is encouraging you to be yourself, no matter what you do. When I’m singing, I think the most important thing is to have confidence. This song brings out the confidence in a person. Personally, I’m someone who lacks confidence, so when I hear this song, I feel that boost of confidence to be myself.

The local song that best describes my life right now… A-Do’s ‘Persevere to the End’. I was a singer who stumbled into acting. To me, acting is something new. And now, I will be hosting [SPOP Sing!], which is also something new. So the mentality that I have when it comes to every project that I take on is that I must persevere to the end, even in the face of difficulties. I remember when I was filming [2017 Ch 8 drama] My Teacher Is A Thug, I was going through a low point. In that show, I was the lead actress, and I had a lot of pressure. I felt that my acting was not good. And my friends kept telling me, “You must continue persevering.” A lot of times, when chasing one’s dreams, you must keep persevering. If you give up halfway, you will not get good results. So I think this is a very encouraging song.

The local song that describes my current love life… Is there a song called ‘Emptiness’? (Laughs) I’ve been single all along [since I entered showbiz]. I’ve never been in a real relationship (mock sobs). But puppy love, got lah. I think I’d go with JJ Lin’s ‘Pity That There Are No Ifs’. (Chuckles) All this while, I’ve been hanging out with friends of the opposite sex. But I haven’t met someone whom I’d like to take the relationship one step further.

SPOP Sing! premieres Aug 9, at 8.30pm.

PHOTOS: CHEE YAN