Dance like no one's watching » Music

Marina Bay Countdown 2011

uptowngal — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:32:37 +0000

Went for my very first countdown event because I got wind that David Tao was going to perform 10 songs (I think he did about 12 songs in the end) and I thought this might be a good chance to meet him in person. Heh. The countdown show, in my opinion, was boring. Most of the performers were green and unpolished. Some event went off key! Here’re the photos I took of the night.

The stage before the event started.

Some saxophonist from China who’s now studying in Singapore.

The Singapore Char Siew Paus – no prizes for guessing once u’ve seen their size. They were pretty good…

This group, Voodoo, made music out of banging metal tins & stuff. They were surprisingly good.

The Dessert Rose – they were contestants in One Moment of Glory (thought I think Gory would’ve been a more accurate name). They were doing belly dancing, supposedly, though I thought it looked more like Chinese dance.

Sylvia Ratonel – I quite like her voice actually. She said she’s going to Shanghai to perform after this… though I wonder how she’s going to cope with the language barrier.

Jack & Rai. Never been a fan but they were pretty good and professional compared to some of the other acts.

And presenting the best performer of the night…

DAVID TAO!!!!!

Other members of his band include:

Our Singaporean homeboy, David Tan, on vocals & lead guitar.

His drummer from LA – Brenden Berkley

Keyboardist & music director, Goh Kheng Long (yup! Another Singaporean!)

Jingles the bassist.

On the left is Jamie Wilson, also on guitar.

Sylvester Sim and his band, Queen, also performed. His singing seems to have gotten worse since his Singapore Idol days.

Sezairi – still as mediocre as ever.

Skinny & short guys just don’t have stage presence.

Sheik Haikel. He’s a big guy and he can rap!!

One Nation Emcee. Wah lau eh… they really irritated 2010 out of me man. Especially the minah’s fake American accent that had such strong Malay tones. Argh…. couldn’t stand it.

Michelle Chia stumbled on her lines a little after we went live.. kinda strange ‘cos she was pretty natural before the show went live on TV. I really admire her drop dead gorgeous figure though!!

David wishing Sheik a Happy New Year while Sylvester looks super left out. Hahahaha.

Aiyoh Sylvester, mai so sore leh…

That’s all the pics I have – unfortunately. After the show, 2 other DT fans and I actually went to the back of the building to wait for David Tao. He came over to talk to us before boarding his van to leave for his hotel.

Glad that I finally managed to say hi to DT in person (for those who don’t know, DT’s pretty nice to his fans. He used to talk about his music on Twitter but has since moved onto Weibo.) Sadly, he said I look more matured in my current hairstyle.. (i’m going to whack my hairstylist for this!!!)

Sigh. Regret not asking DT for a picture together. I thought it might be a little weird ‘cos we were separated by those grill barriers and his assistants seemed to want to usher him away as quickly as possible. Think he only chatted with us for like 5 minutes?

Oh well. I’m glad he remembers me from Twitter. Haha. Makes the $41 ticket price worth it. WAHAHAHAHAHA.

记得 (Remember)

uptowngal — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:39:32 +0000

FM93.3 has been playing JJ Lin’s 记得 quite regularly recently. I remember the first time I heard this song was during this songwriter forum at 爱琴海. JJ Lin was still an unknown singer then and was about to relocate to to taiwan to start his singing career. The melody of the song was written by him but the original lyrics were by his then regular collaborator, also a Singaporean whose name I’ve since forgotten. When the demo was presented to A-Mei, the melody was selected but the recording company got someone to rewrite the lyrics. King of sad for the guy who wrote the lyrics. I sometimes wonder what happened to him since. Did he continue pursuing a career in song writing? Or did he go into another career after NS?

I recall the other song writers teasing JJ Lin for looking like a skinnier version of William So. JJ also wore tinted glasses that day and because the lights were dim, when JJ wanted to play and sing the original lyrics of the song, he had to remove his tinted glasses resulting in more jibes. Heh. It was a funny day.

Time has really flown since then. I’m glad JJ has made it big. He’s very talented musically and I’m always pro local artistes.

Posted from my Nokia N8

陶喆 -《首部映像作品：暗恋》超完整版

uptowngal — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:50:50 +0000

1am. Youku finally can load. Check this out!!

Or view it here: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTUxMDk4NzQw.html

The Making of 暗恋

uptowngal — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:02:35 +0000

Mio is disgustingly slow!!! Good grief… takes like 5-8 refreshes before I can load any page. What the hell is wrong with Mio?!? My nightly Internet connection is so damn freaking unstable ever since BPL started. ARGH!.

Anyway, I couldn’t find the entire Admiration MV (but that’s ‘cos I still can’t load tudou / youku and ppstream but I did find the making of the MV on youtube.

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Hope I can find the MV… eventually.

David Tao – Admiration

uptowngal — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:43:31 +0000

From what I read, David Tao directed a 1hr MV for one of his songs, Admiration. Unfortunately, I can only find the first 2 parts on Youtube.

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Wonder where I can find the rest of the story…

Sing a Song for Singapore

uptowngal — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:35:20 +0000

This year’s National Day song…

It’s a brand new day a brand new story
I remembered the way it used to be
We’ve come so far
You’re my history you’re my beginning
In all I’ve done I’ve been nurtured in your arms
And you carried me this far

Chorus:
I want to sing
Sing a song for Singapore
With every generation there’s more to be grateful for
So come and sing
Sing a song for Singapore
You’re my brother you’re my sister
I’m thankful for my Singapore
My Singapore
Singapore

Come together everybody
Fly the flag and share our story
Live our wildest dreams
Celebrate the red and white
The moon and stars in harmony unite
Let every colour every heart

Bridge:
We’ve had our ups and downs
Sometimes the best things are taken for granted
You’re my family you’re my home

Happy 45th Birthday Singapore!

uptowngal — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 05:02:52 +0000

Today marks the 45th year since Singapore gained independence. This is one of the old National Day songs that I really love.

And my all time favourite, Kit Chan’s rendition of “Home”.

I’ll be watching the parade on TV tonight. What about you?

Be Glad

uptowngal — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:40:22 +0000

Just wanted to share 3 acapella songs I like very much by the group, Glad.

You Put this Love in my Heart

[audio:Glad-UPutThisLoveInMyHeart.MP3]

Be Glad

[audio:Glad-Be-Glad.MP3]

Someone to Watch Over Me

[audio:Glad-SomeoneToWatchOverMe.MP3]

Today is the Day – Paul Baloche

uptowngal — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:52:08 +0000

I love songs with great melodies & lyrics.

Amen!

What Time Is It

uptowngal — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:37:26 +0000

Anyone remembers the old Tiger ad campaign – What Time Is It?

Well, for those who don’t remember, or perhaps just forgot… the Hokkien version was by… Cai Lizhang! Heh. This was the brainchild of the original artistic director who came up with the ad campaign, Liang Weifeng (if my sources are correct).

Here’s the English & Hokkien version of the ad for your listening. T.G.I.F.!

[audio:tiger-beer-hokkien.mp3]

Simi Diam Siah?