tnppostwoman.com archives

Chang May Choon Says: Would you quit school to be a pop star?

Two Singaporean twin sisters did just that. At 15, they both dropped out of Secondary 3 to pursue showbiz dreams. Barely a year later, Miko and Yumi Bai have become stars in cyberspace with their blogs attracting tens of thousands of hits. The two 16-year-olds are now based in Taipei, preparing to release their debut album in Taiwan.

Conservatives would frown, arguing that quitting school so early is madness, that studying is more important at such a young age. But, when asked, the girls, who call themselves By2, said education can wait because some opportunities only knock once.

After all, it was their late father’s last wish to see them succeed in showbiz, and they feel they are now doing and learning things that their own peers can only dream of, like jetsetting the region for vocal and dance lessons and experiencing different cultures.

Tell Us: Would you drop your books to pursue showbiz dreams? Or do you think education is more important?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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Getting back to the topic,I would say I am very proud of By2 and i’m definitely supporting them.(Other Asian singers too of course).

Although I’m not a fan of Chinese songs(I love Japanese Songs),I’ll still give them my support and I wish them all the best in their career.Make Singapore proud.

Julius Cher

I feel that you should grab a chance when you see it. After all, everyone is young only once and this is really a golden opportunity for the gals to make a name for themselves overseas. Albeit they do not succeed, they could always fall back on their studies and pursue their dreams again. If they give this a miss, they will definitely end up with regrets. I wish them all the best and certainly hope they would tread carefully as the entertainment business is known to be full of ups and downs.

Tay Chin Meng

A pair of Singaporean twin sisters actually dropped out of secondary school last year to chase their dream of becoming pop stars.

I do agree on them that this opportunity will only comes once, therefore, i too agree on them going on to pursue their dream provided they:

- they are ready for all the unforeseen circumstances; they might not be able to become famous, having to come back to singapore to start all over again

- If they succeed, be prepare to face the real world, because in the entertainment business (whatever you call that), is feel with darkness, hope you know what i am talking about - being rich and famous may sound really cool but you never know how much this people suffer behind the scene…

- lastly, they are just 16 and still very pure… don’t want to see them end up like those people in Hong Kong…

Jack Liaw

I think that the twins have made a right decision in pursuing their dreams instead of staying to complete their studies. If i were in their shoes, i would have done the same. Singapore is a place where education is always placed as a first priority, however, some of us might have dreams which we would want to pursue or fulfil, and this chance to fulfilling it might only come once in a lifetime.

The twins are now still considered young, and the chance to make it big in the industry doesn’t always come by that easily in Singapore compared to Taiwan. With so much youth and energy in them, it is only right to make full use of it and fulfil their father’s last wish instead of waiting till they are much older. Even if they are to meet with a setback, they still have a lot of time in their hands to correct it out or to continue with their studies.

I have seen their blog and the videos they posted up after reading the TNP and i have to say that such talent of theirs shouldn’t be wasted. All the best to them!
Candy Chye

Avis Says: Shocking lyrics involving sex, vulgarities and violence have often gotten into the vocabulary of modern-day singers. But perhaps nothing beats the jaw-dropping new song from Taiwanese indie singer Waa Wei Ru-hsuan.

Waa is probably the first artiste around to sing about a bloody topic - menstruation - and it’s not even subtly penned.

She boldly grumbles about how menstruation “makes girls feel like dying from the pain” even though it “doesn’t quite feel like shi**ing”. She also complains about spending money on “damn sanitary napkins” and disses “irritating guys”.

Too graphic and crude?

The song’s audacious lyrics has led to a crimson tide of outcry from netizens who slammed the song as tasteless. Most felt it was socially inappropriate to publicly talk about such private matters and turning the topic into a song will only “pollute people’s ears”. But there are those who felt the lyrics were acceptable as it relates closely to real life.

Tell us: Do you think menstruation is a taboo topic? Is it appropriate to sing about it in a song? Would you listen to such songs? What topics do you think should be avoided by singers in their songs?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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LETTERS VIA E-MAIL

To say that menstruation is a tasteless matter best avoided in media is equivalent to saying that the pain, discomfort and agony suffered by the fairer sex is something contemptuous, best hidden and never discussed. That is an extremely narrow-minded point of view because it’s an innate body function and is as normal and required as the likes of sweating.

A woman who experiences menstruation is perfectly healthy and capable of getting pregnant, ultimately delivering a child after ten months of hardship. When they are suffering from such monthly blues, they should be given peer and family support to tide them over. Inherently they will get emotional and human emotion is very much an element that can humanize singers who can appear to be aloof behind their shades and million-dollar houses. If an actress chooses to use this bloody rite as the subject of her song, it’s her prerogative. The likes of ”As i physically bleed a crimson stream, emotionally, I’m a bloody mess” may seem crude but it goes well with the ‘red’ theme. Nothing wrong with that. I can see the correlation.

We all have mums and female associates, even if we don’t experience it physically, such songs can give us further insights to that aspects of their lives and foster communications and stronger relationships. That is a great thing which can trigger when seen in a positive light. I would be more than happy to listen to songs with such themes to learn more about them. As the saying goes, knowledge is power.

As for what kind of topics are true taboos, it has to depend on the genre of the song and the context which the singer finds himself in. A singer has his followings and has to be socially responsible about the kind of feelings he can ignite and inspire. In the local context, any songs about racial disharmony would naturally be a potential time bomb. Now, that’s the kind of red tide we need to avoid. Not some healthy loss of blood from every lady out there.

Peng Tie Lun

Avis Says: Celebrities are always so cautious when it comes to being caught by the paparrazzi flirting with or kissing their real-life romantic interests. But when it comes to flirting with and kissing their guest stars on stage at their concerts, they have no qualms doing so.

With the regional concert scene heating up, singers are hard-pressed to inject elements of surprise into their shows to draw concert-goers. And the oldest trick in the book? To engage in sexy banter with their guest stars.

From goody-two-shoes Gigi Leung shocking fans with a sexy dance with Vanness Wu (you can see it here at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIcZsKkXOS8) at recent charity concert, to Miriam Yeung and Louis Koo fanning further speculation that they are a pair by kissing passionately at her October concert, to JJ Lin making our jaws drop when he kissed A-Do at his concert a year ago, celebrities are certainly trying hard to sex up their concerts.

For sure, concerts are no longer simple song-and-dance affairs.

Tell us: Do you think singers sexing up their concerts make the shows more exciting? What is appropriate and what is too much? Are the singers trying too hard to outdo one another? What kind of singers can pull such antics off and what kind should just stick to singing?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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LETTERS VIA E-MAIL

The man in the streets like you and me seem to be living in a different world from the celebrities. Intimate behavior between friends and colleagues is often seen as unbecoming,unprofessional and getting out of the line but the celebrities make out like there’s no tomorrow, all in the name of a performance.

As we get increasingly westernized, art’s angles rotate accordingly,lots of traditional Asian values are evaporating. Can we really complain about youngsters getting touchy feely in public if they are constantly exposed to liberal and open minded performances?

Adults are mature enough to discern between right and wrong but the young may not be. Too conservative a performance and it may be labeled a downer, too ”colorful” a performance and it may be labeled inappropriate. Maybe the celebrities are not that different from us after all. We merely tread on a different kind of tight rope!

Peng Tie Lun

I pay good money for a concert to see my favourite singers in action singing not sexing it up. Gyrating like no one’s business, barely there costumes, touchy feely with dancers (just look at the recent Eason Chan concert in Hong Kong which traumatised his own young daughter) and other horsing around, I rather watch a titillating DVD (which is so much cheaper and sometimes free!).

Although a concert can get pretty boring when the singer is rooted in the same spot, in the same position singing for hours straight and a little bit of dancing and tearing off shirts is at times welcomed; there is a limit to everything. And sexing up a concert till it’s like a raunchy party between the host and his/her dancers and guest performer is a big turn off for me.

My ears want to get turned on. Give me a concert filled with powerhouse singing and heartfelt music to tug the heartstrings please.

Seah Sye Kuim