Today, we have the immense privilege of sitting
down with a true powerhouse of the Singapore
music scene. For years, her voice has captivated
audiences across languages, cultures and continents,
earning her a reputation as a genuine musical
icon. She started a career in the English music
scene before making a bold and strategic leap
to the canto scene in 1999. This led to a legendary
five -year residency at the St. James Power Station's
Dragonfly Club, where her then -boss, Dennis
Foo, bestowed upon her the nickname the Zoe Tay
of St. James Power Station. But she was more
than just a performer. She was a creative force,
writing, producing, and directing shows for the
venue. Her influence extends far beyond the club
stage. She has represented Singapore at national
events. Even recording the original demo for
Dick Lee's iconic National Day song, We Will
Get There. Her voice has also travelled abroad,
wowing crowds at the Coventry Youth Festival
in the UK and her first ever Singapore Day in
New York's Central Park. Her musical skill is
a testament to her mastery of her craft. A vocal
powerhouse with a full repertoire of techniques,
she is fluent in multiple languages including
Mandarin, Cantonese, English. Korean, and even
Japanese. The technical quality of her audiophile
albums is so high that they were recorded with
absolutely no compression, a testament to her
flawless vocal control. She has performed Whitney
Houston covers such as I Wanna Dance to Somebody
to great acclaim. Today, she continues to perform
for private events and is set to pay tribute
to Mandarin classics from the 1940s to the 1960s
in her upcoming concert romance of the past.
Number three heard the song and then was like
somehow... Number three is you. I'm number three.
Yeah, okay. So number three harmonized to Amazing
Grace. And I think there was like, hey, number
three can sing. Okay, singer dreams. So then
I think my mom was like living her dreams through
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start the show. Ooh. And how do I look? No, most
important thing is how do I look? You look good.
You look good. You look great as usual. Because
Hjalmar. Hiel must be like, how do I look? I've
even got a mirror on my... Oh my gosh. You're
kidding me. Yeah. No, it's so convenient, no?
Because I'm the kind, right? I'll put on makeup
and I'll totally forget about my makeup. And
then at the end of the day, when I go back and
remove... It's like after behaving like, wow,
glamorously, right? I go back and then I look
in the mirror and I realize that I've got smudges
here. My lipstick got one hole because I was
holding a mic and kissing it. And I was using
this makeup that was like method or something
like really red. It's like really bright, dark,
very dark kind of red. So, which means that when
there's a hole there, it's very, it's very obvious,
super obvious. And I went there like, my God.
And I was talking and flirting and the whole
night. It's like, wow. Talking and flirting the
whole night. Yeah. Yes. And as much, as much
makeup. And I'm like, my God, kill me. What's
her character? Batman's, not Batman, the Joker's
girlfriend. What's her name? Harley Quinn. Yes,
Harley Quinn. Yes, my God. Oh, wait. Her makeup
is half half, my dear boy. I don't know. I don't
know. Yeah. I should know because I'm like, what
the hell? I should, because I'm a geek when it
comes to this kind of thing. You're a geek when
it comes to what? Like superheroes. So you actually
enjoy those? You actually follow these things?
DC or Marvel, which one? Both. As long as they're
superheroes. Okay, then you're not a geek. My
wish is to become a superhero, but that has never
happened. But you are what? You're a superhero
behind a microphone. Well, you know, the COVID
times, right? It did make me think of that cartoon,
The Incredibles. The Incredibles, yeah. Okay,
so the Incredibles, right? The story is that
they used to be superheroes and going around
saving lives and whatever, right? And then, sekali,
something happened and then they all had to go
underground and live like normal people, right?
So that's what happened to us during COVID time,
right? Because we were like, oh, our glamorous
and everything and we were performing and all
that. And then suddenly, sekali. Like, oh, COVID
come, all cannot go out and perform. Then the
hair, all growing out. Then down here, black
color. Down there, don't know what. Yellow, green,
or the green fading, totally faded green. Which
was my, I mean, for me, it was like my red hair
faded to brown. Yeah, man. I saw your pictures
with the red hair. My goodness. Well, of course,
I was called McDonald's sister. Remy Ronald McDonald's
sister. I think I'm Rhonda. Wait, I would never
have thought of that until now that you've mentioned
it. Yeah, I'm Rhonda. I'm actually a friend.
Rhonda? No, I just thought, because you said
Rhonda. Rhonda McDonald. I should be like Rhonda
McDonald or something. Because, yeah, one of
my friends, he was like, uh, McDonald's sister.
I'm like, oh yeah, true. I should go and pose
next to this guy. Kai, Kai, how's her audibility?
Are we picking her up right? Picking up, yes.
Okay, okay. And I'll check, check, yeah. Because
she's leaning back so comfortably, so I just
want to make sure she's being picked up. I'm
like super lazy, no backbone. No, it's cool.
I got no backbone. Everybody's relaxed in my
studio. Everyone that comes on my show. As a
matter of fact, if you don't realize, if you
haven't realized, or maybe you probably don't
realize, we've been recording all the while.
Well, I... I kind of guessed that they probably
were. Okay. Yeah. Okay. I mean, the testing levels,
obviously, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's one
thing. But then, normally, they would, like,
just start recording. Yeah, I mean, which competencies
would have it that a studio should always be
recording regardless because we need good stuff
we don't know, right? I know, right? Exactly.
We should do, like, we should pretend to retain
and you go, like, oh, actually, we're recording,
right? And then, suddenly, hi, it's back. Nice
to meet you all. And then suddenly become like
really. Yeah, but the good thing about this show
is that you don't have to do shit like that.
You know what I'm saying? But it's funny to do
things like that. You know, like on purpose.
Yeah, well, yeah. On purpose, like suddenly,
oh, hi, I'm Sky. And then, oh, never mind. Hi,
I'm Sky. And you heard her name, everybody. Welcome
back to the Chris Hansen conversation. And we've
been yakking away. And I think you've been observing
us yakking away. What's important to know, ladies
and gentlemen, is that in studio with me today
in CCB TV on a Chris Hansen conversation is a
siren. And she, my goodness gracious me, she
scares the bejesus out of me because the first
time I watched her sing and heard her sing, I
tell you, I tell you, it was insane. And that's
the reason why I just had, I just had to invite
her to the studio. It wasn't that sad. Well,
I thought I wanted to look more glamorous. And
I have to pay her tribute because honest to goodness,
my goodness, the voice, that voice is just to
die for. And I have with me Sky Serena. Welcome
to the studio. hi good morning everyone yeah
no matter what time of the day it is it's good
morning yeah and you and you're not well and
then hence i got my my little maui head with
uh with tissue sticking out of his nose just
for you because our dear friend here is sick
yeah uh and and she got the flu and you know
i dodged a bullet because of that I dodged a
bullet because the plan was I'm supposed to sing
a duet. And thank goodness I dodged that bullet.
You don't know how nervous I've been. I've been
so nervous. But you prepared for it. I did. Despite
that, I'm still nervous. I mean, now I'm not
because I dodged a bullet. I don't have to sing.
But frankly, man, first of all, I asked myself
when I decided, I think I'll do a duet with Sky.
When I was planning this production today, I
was trying to think, I do a duet with Sky. Then
after that, I said, you know, since I was, since
Whitney Houston, since Whitney Houston became
famous, my first debut album, right? And I heard
that duet with Titty Pendergrass. And I went,
oh, I want to sing that song. And I was in school.
I had my first girlfriend. I was dating my very
first girlfriend then. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Memory?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Over the decades, man, since
then, I've never found someone that I could sing
that song with. So I said, I think I'll sing
this to Sky. Because you're Whitney Houston.
Whoa, killer. So anyway. And then I told you
about it. And I got a backing track. And I sent
you the lyrics and stuff. And then after I done
that, bloody regretted it. Aw. Let me tell you,
let me tell you, when Aaliyah was on my show,
and I love her to bits. Me too. And I worked
with her for several years as well. And, you
know, when she was on the show, I did a duet
with her. I sang a duet with her. Bloody hell,
I was sweating under my cap, man, I can tell
you. Yeah, man, because like... Yeah, and then
today, this morning, before you told me, you
know, Chris, I'm not so well. I was, oh God,
what am I going to do? What am I going to do?
What am I going to do? I know we could always
jam a little bit. I'm scared. I don't want to.
I didn't hear my flu voice. I'm not going to
put any pressure on you as well. Am I sounding
extra sexy today? You're already like singing
every night. So I'm not going to put that pressure
on you because you're not well. So there's no
way I'm going to make you do that. That's not
nice. That's not nice. And, you know, I want
to ask the very first question, which is actually
not on my screen, but I think I should. Something
is prompting me to ask this question. Is it scary?
No, it's not scary. If you were to describe yourself,
not just as a singer, anything that comes to
mind, okay? Dig deep, dig deep down to answer
this question. Who is Sky Serena? Oh dear, who
is? What's that thing? Extra introvert or is
it the other way around? Intro extrovert. Okay,
you mean introverted extrovert, extroverted introvert.
Yeah, either, either, either, either. Well, I
don't know. I'm kind of a confused person. I
mean, yeah, I think so. Right. She should be
my idol. Totally. Right. Because I mean, I'm
confused because like, I don't know, like when
I'm like quiet hermit, I'm really hermit and
really quiet. Although, yeah, a lot of people
be like, Oh my God, I don't have that. It's kind
of true. Yeah, when I'm alone and I'm very quiet
or I'm out with strangers and all that, I can
be really quiet. Or I can be really supermarket
auntie. So it depends on how I'm feeling. Circumstances.
Yeah, circumstances, I suppose. Or how I'm feeling.
Yeah, something like that. That sounds like an
introverted extrovert. And guess what? I'm like
that. Really? Yeah. And I tell people that they
go like, shut up. There's no freaking way. But
I am. They don't believe, right? When you're
alone and you're in your, when we're alone, I
suppose we'd like to have that alone time. A
little quiet, right? And totally like, just don't
want to talk. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I can completely
relate. Especially in a public place, right?
Like a bus or MRT, right? You just don't want
to look at people. You just don't want to like.
eye contact because you're just like I don't
know maybe you should look out the window if
you're on the bus and just look at things look
at look at your surroundings rather than and
keep your mind to yourself right well you're
good you can still look out the window normally
I'd be like okay I gotta close my eyes I don't
know I'm not taking the bus in a long time I'm
just recalling back my school years yeah well
the thing about me is I have terrible motion
sickness What? Terrible. But you drive. That's
why I drive. Okay, okay. Because if other people
drove me, right, I'll be like, oh, wait, oh,
that bend, slow down. I'm going to puke. Yeah,
you know, that kind of thing. Very irritating.
So taking planes when I'm overseas, I'm like.
you know i have to make sure that my stomach
is not empty because strangely a lot of people
right when their stomachs are empty they are
it's better for them to travel if they have motion
sickness. But for me, it's the other way around.
Likewise. Two of us quite alike. It's summer,
summer. I have to eat. Long lost siblings. Yeah,
I have to eat, you know. My summer has to have
something. I know what you mean. Weird, right?
Actually, it's worse when you're at summer 70,
then you get motion sickness. Yeah, I get really
dizzy. Horrible. Oh my goodness gracious me.
This is a female version, kind of. of me. Hi,
I'm Chris Hansen. No, no, no. As I said to Reggie
Dio, the last episode, there can only be one.
Okay, fine. I'll be Krista. You'll be Krista.
Well, at least I'm not coming close to being
Rhonda McDonald. Thank you. Okay, so you are
basically telling me that you are this, probably
this introverted extrovert. And that's your answer
to my question. Who is Sky? Or is there more?
The thing about me, right, is that I'm like,
okay, I'm like a kind of a hoarder kind of person
also. Huh? Why are you telling me you're OCD?
Yeah. Yeah, a lot of people will tell you I am.
A lot of people will tell you I am. They'll complain.
Water lah, got problem. Allergic to dogs, the
one I discovered earlier on. Yeah, scratch my
face off. And then after that, introverted, extroverted.
And then motion sickness. And then now? Okay,
well, the harder thing is like... I don't know.
I hoard things like songs. Hoarder. I try to
hoard songs because I just feel like, you know.
This is a hoarding lah. My fridge has to have
like a lot of things kind of thing. Oh, fridge.
Okay, okay. Example. It must be full. Well, yeah,
kind of. And then my tool drawer has to have
this and that and that. And I was like, wow,
I got this tool. I don't know. I got tool fetish
lah maybe. What fetish? Tools. You know, like.
hammers, screwdrivers, kind of things. Ooh, this
is cool. Because I feel like I need to... When
I want to do something, right, I want to make
sure that I have the right tools to do it. And
then... Yeah, I know. Okay, the OCD part, right?
You don't know what's running through my head?
Oh, my gosh. Oh, I got a toast fetish. Are we
going to go there? Really? Screw driver. Oh,
damn. Adoy. Okay, so your OCD, anything else?
OCD, ADHD, I think. Oh, ADHD too, huh? It's clock,
huh? Your clock is like, oh, yeah. Yeah, it's
a test pattern. Wow, I love it. Okay, so. I'm
like a crow, right? Suddenly, I see something
shiny. I'm like, hey. I'm talking halfway. I'm
like, hey. You're just easily distracted. Okay,
ADHD confirmed. Yeah, ADHD confirmed. Let's talk
about your foundation. Which brand is it? The
other thing about me, I'm lame. I'm very lame.
It's okay. You're probably close to your dad.
Yeah. No wonder. Lame jokes, dad jokes, yeah.
Oh, I love to watch those dad jokes on TikTok
and all that. It's like really, it's so lame
and so funny. It's so annoying. That's why my
family says I'm lame. They say it's cool because
I'm a dad. That's why. Exactly. Your two elder
sisters, were they a big musical influence in
you? There were some. I mean, growing up, right?
When you're the youngest. You're the youngest?
Of course. And the cute. Okay, that's annoying.
So, let's see. I've got my sister and my second
sister. So, well, sister used to take piano lessons.
What happened to that though? I'll ask her. So,
obviously, we got a piano at home, right? Yeah,
okay. I think mom was like pinching and saving
and trying to get like a piano. Like, let's get
a not too expensive, like as, you know, as cheap
as possible. A usable piano. Yeah, usable piano.
Because at a time, you know, it's not easy to
earn money. And then someone, we are like, we
are like average, kind of normal, very normal
family. So, we got a piano. Then my sister, she
would be playing on it. And I think, I tried
to take piano lessons or so, but I couldn't concentrate.
ADHD. Couldn't concentrate. My head was like
always going to somewhere like where I'm the
heroine. Heroine? Heroine? Which one? You're
talking about the... You're talking about the...
Okay. I don't know. Heroine. I mean, heroine
is a... But then again, I thought I heard people
pronouncing... It's not heroine. It's heroine.
Heroine, right? Yeah. It's the same... Oh, heroine
is... Oh my gosh. See, my brain... Heroine is
a... So it's the term heroine for a female hero.
I'm having brain fog, by the way. And I'm getting
so confused, right? Speaking between like proper
English and Singlish. And then, you know, like,
for example, I like to make lame jokes by mispronouncing
words like, example, lingerie. I like to say
lingerie. Yeah. chandelier like chandelier uh
-huh yeah just i'm bored you're very confused
you're right i'm very confused and i like to
entertain self -entertain yeah which is cool
i'm just sitting back enjoying being entertained
so anyway back to piano right so i think i took
lessons i think yeah i did a little bit i was
i did pick some like theory thingy when i was
in choir people's association children's choir
have you ever heard of this no you mean there's
such a thing there is okay there is also like
later when you get to a certain age you need
to move on to junior choir oh wow I mean it's
a long time don't have already you know you mean
it doesn't exist now no I've never heard of it
before as well Yeah, right. It's not that famous
in Singapore. So you enrolled yourself or your
folks enrolled you in the PA choir? My mom. My
mom did. Because I think that she... I think
there was a story about a long time ago when
she was younger. She liked singing a lot. So
somebody actually offered to write her a song.
Your mom sings, basically. And sings well. well
she has she has a nice voice but I think she's
never really like trained before she mostly sings
in like falsetto kind of like let me see to imitate
her right she'll go like wait my key too low
testing okay let me try my falsetto okay my falsetto
is terrible now sorry something like that so
that's the way she sings right I like a lot of
falsettos nice nice kind of rich thingy so rich
voice tone thingy so I think that but the problem
is I think she freaked out when she was offered
To have a song original for her. Yeah. And then
she freaked out. She backed out. And then she
regretted, you know. After that, I think when
she got married to my dad, right, she kind of,
I don't know, I heard something about her singing
at friends' wedding dinners and then my dad getting
free beers for it. I don't know how true that
is. Because my memory is a little bit like warped
today, especially today, right? So, yeah, she
kind of regretted it. So, when she had three
of us and then she wanted like maybe, I don't
know, I think she wanted like a musical family
or something. Wow. Well, number one, learn piano.
Number two, she bought a, I don't know, her or
my dad bought a guitar. It's like some, I don't
know, secondhand guitar or something. I remember
the guitar looked quite sad. Like, yeah, I remember
it quite sad, but it was like the first guitar,
right? Okay. So it was from my sister, my number
two sister, right? So I'm number three. So number
three was discovered that she could sing at a
very young age when I think my number one came
home from a school and she was singing Amazing
Grace. She said, hey, today I learned one song,
Amazing Grace or something. And then somehow
or other, number three heard. the song and then
was like somehow number three is you i'm number
three yeah okay yeah right so number three harmonized
to um amazing amazing grace and i was like i
think there was like number three can sing yeah
okay singer dreams so that i think my mom was
like living her dreams through me wow so did
it happen did a family come together and do a
singing thing together performed together nope
never ever so it didn't it didn't materialize
yeah because like I said I have no idea what
number one did with her piano lessons she learned
a little bit and then that's that's when I itchy
hand also I play play a little bit but I cannot
play just a little bit today can you play I can
play Mary Had a Little Lamb with Two Hands. So
there are no instruments that you play? No, I
play guitar. Ah, okay. Yeah. And number two,
I think number two never picked up guitar. Never.
The guitar was there, so I picked it up instead.
But, okay, I picked it up a long time ago, but
half past six. Really half past six now. Very
half past six. I can play chords, you know. Okay.
I can sing and play, but my chords are very basic.
I'm very honest. I'm very honest. But I always
like to joke to like my musicians, whoever it
is, like example is a guitar player. I'll say,
hey, I play guitar better than you. Then they
will start laughing because they know. Okay.
Really? So the influence basically is not just
your sisters then? Your mom seems to be quite
a massive influence. Yeah, I think so. She was
like taking a lot of time to send me to auditions.
for competitions, I think. And then, well, every
Saturday, I remember my, the family had to take
turns to bring me down to People's Association.
Where is it? Is it Kalang? Kalang. Kalang, yeah.
Yeah, a small kid bring me there. I remember
taking a bus every Saturday going there, sometimes
crying, throwing a tantrum because... My tongue
is twisted. Yeah, but, you know, like throwing
a tantrum, because I didn't want to go. I was
like... But why didn't you want to go? Would
you say... Yes, I want to play much, keep my...
Okay. But is it safe to say that at that stage
in life, your discovery of music, did you discover
your love for music at that time? I think the
problem is me being like kind of ADHD. You're
like confirming it, no? Yeah, I know. It's like,
now I want to do this, I want to do this. Then,
but suddenly I'll lose interest and then I will
move to something else. And then it's like, that's
why it's like, I probably was not in the mood
to go to choir that day. I wanted to play. I
wanted to go have fun somewhere. Whether it's
you being a kid, but did you... Do you think
that your love for music actually started from
that very infancy of your life? I think it was
there inside. But I never admitted to it. Because,
well, there's also a rebellious streak in me.
Because the more my mum wanted it, right? The
more I was like, the one, the one. It's just
like people. When you tell a pair of lovers,
no, you cannot be together. The more they want
to be together. I don't know whether that's the
right analogy to use, but fine. I get it. Example.
But yeah, so I think that, but I think I've always
loved it deep down inside. It was only later
on when I'm like, older and then more mature.
Not that I'm mature now. I'm still very childish.
I think it was probably later on that I kind
of start. I started self -analyzing. I started
analyzing myself. Sorry, my brain fog. Yeah.
So then I started realizing, hey, actually, I
do love music, you know. It's only when I'm very
tired. How old were you then when you started
to have that realization, self -realization?
That was the word you were looking for. Damn,
I actually don't know. Basically, I'm already
out working and everything. Before that, I was
just... Like working, you know, to... Okay, because...
So wait. So your realization that you love music,
you enjoy it, came very much later if you sort
of already started work. Yeah, because I was
rebelling against my mom all the time. Uh -huh.
We're very rebellious kids. Very. So, yeah, you
know... Rebel to the extent that you actually
stymied music? No, I mean, I still liked it.
I mean... I didn't hate it. I still liked it.
But sometimes when my mom is forcing me to do
it, then I'll start resisting. So when she's
not forcing me, then I'm like, actually, I enjoy
it. Then I'll go to the piano and start messing
around. I think my sister was trying to compose
something. And then I was like, yeah, I heard
that. So I learned what she composed. And then
I kind of twisted it to my own version of it.
And then, I mean, so I actually did. i did like
i mean i i liked it but i didn't know i love
it until later on when you know i'm like why
should i keep rebelling against something that
you know uh i probably i think i love and then
i start I started like analyzing. I'm like, yeah,
actually I do love, I do enjoy it. I enjoy the
way I feel my throat feels, my body feels when
I'm singing and hitting like whichever note.
I'm like, eh, shook. So what steps did you take
after you realized that you love it? this one
a hard question i know quite hard right because
i mean i didn't really take any steps i guess
because for me it's like i've always got this
thing where i try to do as much as possible because
i feel like life is short yeah life is so short
that uh if i can sing this or i can sing that
i try my best to do it like i said i'm a hoarder
you know so um Like if there's a recording to
be done, I'm like, okay, I'll just go for it.
And then there's a performance. But at that stage
of life, when you started to realize that, hey,
I love this. What steps did you take? Did you
get a mentor? Did you go under instruction? Did
you take lessons? What did you do? Did you ever
take lessons, by the way? Well, in choir, people's
association. Okay, I wouldn't really call it
a choir. I mean, even if it's choir, even though
it's just a choir, right? I shouldn't say just
a choir because choir is actually a lot of work,
right? Like, quite a lot. But I mean, they do
teach you how to diaphragm everything, how to
push your voice out. Projection, diaphragm. Yeah,
all that, right? But you had no formal training
dedicated to you one -to -one, one -on -one to
get you to be even better. Because your singing
prowess is absolutely out of this fucking planet.
It's really, yeah. We get to swear? Yeah, you
do. Of course, on my show, fun that, yeah. Nice,
okay. Yeah. I was just cursing and swearing like
on Monday when I was doing a recording. No, it's
fine here. Don't worry. I did have like a few
teachers on and off, but they all didn't last
long because like I said, I have a problem with
like paying attention. It's a huge problem, you
know, like because when I was a kid, a lot of
times people talking to me, I listened for like
the first one, two seconds. And then after that,
my mind would drift off to somewhere. It's really
a huge problem. I'll start stoning. I'll be like.
I'm already imagining things. So you did get,
you did get formal instruction. You did get formal
lessons. I did, but it didn't stick in my head.
That's the problem. So all this while, up to,
up to date, I know you teach now. Yeah. So, okay.
Okay. I think when you, when you said, like,
what steps did I take, right? Maybe I, I think
it's more about like, how, how much more I discovered
of how to sing better and how to project better,
how to, like use different places of my uh body
your physiology your physiology yeah right to
to sing a song and how how do you engage your
your your own physiology to get to certain to
sing in a certain way yeah i think yeah i started
analyzing more also and um Working and singing
every night actually does help because, for example,
when I'm in this kind of state, right, I'm flu
and sick and everything. This was, I think my
voice kind of improved better when I started
working in St. James, Dragonfly. That wasn't
long ago, you know. That was 2006, 22nd of September.
See, I remember the date. You mean it was 21
years ago? Yeah, 2006, my Mets field. Why the
hell do I think that was kind of recent? Because
time flies, brother. Time flies and we all freaking
go. Dennis, I remember the data. How many times
have I repeated that? Anyway, so in the beginning
when we started at Dragonfly, we had four singers.
So it was me, William Scorpion. William Scorpion?
William Scorpion, yes. Sorry, somebody kept saying
Scorpio until I got confused. And then there
was Celeste, and then there was Sylvester Sin.
So there's only four of us. So every night, I
think there was like six sets. Six sets. So first
two sets, it's just me alone, right? Me alone
with my band. So my band does sing. The guitarists
and the bass players, they used to sing. These
are all Chinese songs. Mandarin, Cantonese, English,
sometimes Japanese, sometimes Korean. English
in Dragonfly? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I used to sing
a lot of Whitney's over there as well. I don't
know. To me, I never walked into Dragonfly because
to me, it was a Chinese joint. That's why I never
met you. Exactly. I wasted it. I'm going to stop
you there because I'm getting a little confused
because you're making me confused. You started
improving. When you were singing in Dragonfly.
Yes. But you didn't start your professional career
in Dragonfly, did you? No, I didn't. You started
before that. Way before. Ah, let's go back to
way before. Yeah, let's go back to way before.
Oh, damn. Digging up the history. Before you,
yeah, of course, I want to know history. Because
you're phenomenal. I want to understand how...
how people someone like you have reached this
stage this marvelous stage this fabulous singing
prowess of yours how did you get there i mean
i mean i i told reggie the same thing i'm gonna
say it one more time i am not a singer. I am
an MC that sings. That's about the size of it.
I heard you sing. You're fine. I will never call
myself a singer. Compared to the likes of you,
you know, and Aaliyah, you guys are fabulous.
I mean, there's so many more, like even Stephen
Francis. There's no way that I can say, oh, I'm
a singer. I think I'll be disrespecting you guys.
and the profession. No lah. You're a singer lah.
You're confirmed a singer lah. Really, really,
really. You're just, you're so humble. No, no,
it's not. I really do believe that I'm not. I'm
more of an MC, but I just happen to sing. You
do have a very sexy MC voice. Oh, thank you.
But anyway, I'm trying to understand how that
happened. When you, before you became, before
you went professional, did you work elsewhere?
Actually, I started singing since I was in school.
As in, I was doing D &D. I was moonlighting.
Moonlighting, yeah. Can you call that moonlighting
if I was schooling and not working? Actually,
I mean, moonlighting is a generic term, but it
was not a bad thing because it's not as if you're
not allowed to work unless it's before 16. Yeah.
Well, kind of. I can't remember how old I was.
Which school is this? Let's not go there. Anderson
Secondary School. Okay. Yeah. I'm actually going
back for a school show next week. Wow. I'm like,
hey, my school. Yeah. So anyway, yeah, I started
doing dinner and dance, but very, very little
during that time because I was still schooling.
And obviously people didn't know who I was also.
So anyway, you were younger than 16. yeah probably
I think actually I can't remember holy crap so
you became you went you actually easily it can
be said you went professional before 16 years
old yeah but well also but with the choir when
that was in primary school that's not professional
being paid you know what I'm saying you were
paid for those D &D's right we were free for
the choirs yeah choir free so don't count that
but count I can't even remember whether I was
paid or not can't be we were not how can you
do a D &D and not be paid I don't know. I was
a kid. Bloody hell. You know, I was a kid. But
I can't remember. I'm terrible with numbers.
I started at 16 in school. A lot of people will
tell you, right? Yeah. But I mean, I was like
performing here and there and then joining competitions
and all that. Oh, I remember. What did I join?
There was this... I tried to join Asia Bagus.
Like Aaliyah. Aaliyah was in Asia Bagus. Oh,
she was. Oh my gosh. And then, I don't know.
I didn't get to, you know, I think I did like
one moment in time or something. But at that
time, I just didn't have the technique, you know,
so I just wasn't good. And I was like, kind of,
I guess the high parts were struggling. It's
a struggle for me to sing the high parts at that
time because I didn't know how to use my this
and that and that, you know. And then... You
struggled with high parts? Yeah, I was struggling
because when you don't use... You see, a lot
of... times right people think that when you're
singing high part you need to like really belt
it out but actually i discovered that actually
you don't need to belt no the more you belt sometimes
the more the harder it is to hit the high notes
yeah so don't belt it yeah don't really belt
it yeah i discovered like that easier i discovered
this when i was a kid Yeah, I mean, why I brought
up Dragonfly was because, and why I brought up
there's only four singers in the beginning was
because we didn't take any off in the beginning
because we just started. So I was falling sick
like crazy. That's when I had to start changing
a technique of singing and realizing that actually
I don't have to belt. to achieve the high notes.
And I managed to, which is nowadays, because
I'm sick, so I'm using the same technique. So
how do you, what technique is this? Basically,
you have to simplify it so that everyone can
understand. Use your ribcage a lot. And then,
well, using... how to simplify it? Diaphragmatic.
Kind of like head voice. Head voice, yeah. I
mean, it's head voice as well, but you just don't
have to, because I mean, when you are like, not
really talking loudly, right? You can actually
hear. Yeah, you can. Yeah, yeah. I realize that
too. So that is actually the key to it, you know?
Yeah, even keep your articulators, your lips
closer together. Oh, closer. Okay. Yeah, this
is what I kind of realized. I think it works
differently. I mean, it works differently for
people also. You know, I mean, for me, it's like,
it's kind of okay for me to pronounce like whatever
way I don't, to. hit the high notes for when
i'm in this state right yeah okay so i don't
really push push much but i'm pushing over here
here and then depending on which note it is uh
some notes i don't even really need to push much
at all because it's it's just there like like
like i said when you don't really belt out, right?
You can hit it. And when you do try to push it
out really loudly, sometimes it's struggling.
You see, this is what I've always been saying.
It's mostly about physiology, because it's got
to do with physiology, right? Your body is mostly
about understanding how it works for you. And
some people say, for example, if you lie down
flat, on the ground, just lie flat, you can actually,
you actually sound better. That's how I, it's
muscle memory. That's how I do recordings at
home. No shit, really? Yes, because, okay, so,
okay, if I'm outside recording, I'm always sitting
down. Yeah. Because if I stand up, a lot of people
need to stand up. Yeah. I cannot stand up. I
stand up, my energy drains off so quickly. Then
I'll start singing flat. I'll be like, eh. Yeah,
I'm very lazy also. You haven't noticed yet.
See, I come here only I straight away slack.
No, you're not slack. You're just a very relaxed
person. That's all there is. Obviously, your
name, Sky Serena, with Serena spelled as S -I
-R -E -N -A, is probably a play on the word siren.
Right? Yeah. And a siren is a mermaid singing
in the ocean, allure boats and sailors. To crash
and devour them. Yeah. But why did you pick?
Is that the reason? What's the reason for you
picking Serena and playing with it? Okay. So
initially I had Sky. Well, way before when I
started singing professionally, I was using another
name, my middle name. I've got a middle name,
but yeah, it's called Andrea. But I had trouble
with that. People were pronouncing it Angela,
Audrey, because Andrea can be pronounced as Andrea
as well. Yeah, not really. Andrea is Andrea.
Right. Well, it's pronounced as Andrea somewhere.
No. Really? No, it's Andrea. It's not Andrea.
I don't know. Some people are pronouncing Andrea.
Those people ought to be shot because it's not
true. Oops. Yeah, it's Andrea. There's no other
way. There's no other way. There's no other way
to say it. Yeah. So you were Sky and Andrea,
didn't you? After I decided that, it was an awful.
No, no, no. I don't use Sky with Andrea at all.
Right, okay. Andrea is Andrea by itself. No,
that time I didn't have Sky at all. I didn't
have Sky. I would have Andrea, right? Right.
And then people would pronounce it. So Sky was
not a real name too. It is now. But anyways,
so the story is, Andrea first, right? Okay, so,
and this came about because my sister, number
one, she does numerology and she calculates names
and everything. Right, right. So she gave me
Andrea. And then, but the thing is, that time,
a lot of people didn't know how to pronounce,
like I said, they even called me Laundrie, you
know, because of the Andrea thingy, Andrea, Andrea.
So, Laundrie, Audrey, Angela, and Andree. There's
even Andree. I'm like, what? Who allows you to
meet? So, one day, I was working at this place,
this hotel that a lot of youngster will be like,
huh? Never heard of this hotel before. Cockpit
hotel. Wow, you were seen in Cockpit. Don't go
there. Don't say it. No, no, no. I mean, Cockpit
used to be across the road from the office I
used to be in. Yeah. I mean, by the time when
I was working there, it was like kind of a little
bit like... Cockpit Hotel, which means you were
what? Tornado? Huh? In tornado? Singing in tornado?
No, no. In the hotel, hotel itself. The hotel,
the hotel itself. Right, right, right. Was there
tornado there? Tornado was downstairs, yeah.
I was in Victoria Bar. Before Dennis took over.
Really? A cockpit hotel? Really? Yeah, yeah.
The bar and cockpit hotel. It was Victoria Bar.
Oh, wait, wait. Salah Hotel. You're talking about
Phoenix Hotel. Phoenix, that's Phoenix. Sorry,
yeah, yeah. Phoenix and a cockpit, much different.
I wonder how... Okay, yeah, anyway. I don't know
how my brain moved. It's okay. Cockpit hotel,
okay. So, at the time I was working with... Actually,
I know the owner of the cockpit hotel. No way.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've never seen him. But anyway,
I was working with Evans Barnabas on guitar and
Benson Goh on keys. And then Yem Osman on bass.
So Yem, this guy that looks like Lionel Richie,
sounds like Lionel Richie. And then one day he
just came in and then this guy, he's very easygoing,
joking, joking every time, right? So he's like,
Sky, Sky. He started calling me Sky. I'm like,
eh? see me leh why you calling me Sky just now
ah I was watching don't know some thing I was
like what I think it was a Barney the purple
dinosaur right right Barney and he said got one
character name Sky you know it look like you
leh very ugly looking then I was like he was
joking lah you know he's always been very very
nice to me okay so but he likes to joke lah and
I like to joke back so joking joking then then
I was like I was like haha very funny Then after
that, I thought about it. I was like, eh? Because
he kept calling, eh, Sky, Sky. I was like, eh?
Actually, yeah, this name might be easier for
people to call. Right? So at that time, you were
still Andrea? I was still Andrea. Right? So now,
only close friends call me that. Very old, old
close friends. Everybody else calls me Sky, right?
So, then I started looking into name, you know,
those name books and everything. I'm like, eh,
there is a Sky, but I didn't want to be just
SKY because I like to be different, different,
you know, different. So, I saw that there's actually
SKYE as in the Isle of Sky. Right. And it means
water giver. See, your joke just now about me
bringing the rain, right? Yeah. I was going to
tell you like, eh. The rain? when Skye arrived.
That's what Skye kind of means. It was so true.
It was so fucking appropriate. I was waiting
downstairs and the rain really came when Skye
arrived. Skye brought the rain. She did. Okay,
yeah. So... So you picked the name Skye, you
added an E to it because you hiao then after
that? Yeah, right. Okay, and then after that
for years I was using Skye alone by itself. I
was sky and dragonfly only for a few years. Then,
I mean, internet started getting to become a
thing. Everybody was like, hey, Googling. That
was Yahoo or something like that, I remember.
Then, probably Yahoo, yeah. Right. Then, but
I tried to like, find myself, like sky, wow,
got this sky, that sky, this sky, I don't know
what, there's a lot of skies. Then I'm like,
how are people going to find me? You know, like,
because sometimes some people like to follow
or something. Well, at that time, don't have
the following thing yet. So then I went to my
sister again and I asked her, like, okay, I think
I need something behind Sky, but Andrea doesn't
cut it. Yeah, to make sure that the search engines
will be friendlier for you. Yeah. And also, but
I also, I'm very OCD about like a perfectionist
thing. I need to have like something like really
nice. it's got to be the perfect name. So, and
it's got to be numeric, numerologically correct
as well. Numerologically correct? because, I
mean, my whole family like that, we all grew
up like, like, Buddhist, praying, and then, like,
having all those customs where, like, you have
to, in order to break some kind of spell, you
need to smash a bowl behind your door. Check
number, check number first. Okay. Yeah, and then
my sisters and my mom, they are like, to buy
4D, my mom actually mainly, they buy 4D, then
they'll be like, you know, it's very typical
Chinese family kind of thing. So then my sister
did some calculations and then she gave me some
names with exploring and everything. I'm like,
hey, this name is interesting. I mean, I think
it's pronounced, the actual pronunciation is
Sirena or something like that. Actual pronunciation
because it's not English. Okay, Sirena. Okay,
that makes sense. Supposedly, right. And it does
mean, I mean, it actually did come from the sirens
la you know and I was like eh I sing ah ma ok
ma siren siren ah wew And I'm kind of noisy sometimes.
You know, I make a lot of noise. So I'm like,
that kind of works as well. And Sky, but I won't
pronounce it Sirena because this is Singapore.
See, there's a hazard of being in Singapore.
Yeah. Sirena, Sirena, or whatever. I know. Fucking
tell me about it, man. So I'm like, okay, never
mind. Let's just go with Sirena. But it sounds
nice. It sounds like serene as well. But you
officially actually decided that it should be
enunciated as Sirena, right? Yeah, I did. So,
I mean... Because I introduced you as that. I
want to make sure I got it right. Theo, you are
absolutely correct. But I mean, if somebody from
another country where this name is from calls
me Sky Sirena, I wouldn't call Peo Zola. I remember
I did a Razor Pop interview years ago for my
concert, my solo concert at St. James, I remember
the lady that was doing... Is she a journalist
or something? Wait, what do you call her? Well,
anyway, she was doing the... Journalist, right?
Journalist, right. Yeah. So, I think she did
call me Sky Sirena. And I didn't correct her
because it's... I mean, it's the actual pronunciation
anyway. So, I'm like, can I leave it? Am I? It's
okay, you're right. You're absolutely right.
So, yeah. But basically, I mean, you just need
a name that's friendly. People are easy to remember.
People are easy to pronounce. Okay. You made
a strategic move, right? From the English scene
to the Canton scene. Why? Like I said, I'm a
hoarder. I like not only English songs. I like
Mandarin songs as well. I like Cantonese songs.
Don't ask me to do Hokkien song. Hokkien cannot
make it fail. I don't dare to sing Hokkien song.
But you do sing Hawkins song. No, I don't. I
don't at all. You don't at all. Yeah. Because
I freak out. It sounds too much like Teochew.
I speak Teochew since I was a kid. Right. And
I'm Cantonese. You know, but my mother tongue.
So I spoke Teochew since I was a kid. And it
sounds too much, too close to Hawkins. So if
I were to sing a Hawkins song, it might have
Teochew X. And I'll be like, perfectionist. I'll
be like, yeah. I don't think anyone can tell
the difference between Teochew and Hawkins. so
close together, the language. There's difference.
Is there? Yeah, there is. I'm Eurasian, I've
got a fucking excuse. Yeah, not to know. Yeah,
I mean, there's the tone thing, you know, and
some words are similar, some are not. Right,
okay. And so, the move wasn't a strategic move,
then it was just because you wanted to do as
many, you know, songs as you can sing. I think
I was already singing. In different languages.
I mean, I was from the English side. Yeah, yeah.
But I mean, English side also sometimes once
in a while we sing some novelty songs. That's
fine. I mean, I do some novelties too. Right.
But the thing is that you made, seems like that
was a concerted effort to move from English over
to the canto scene back in 1999. I think what
happened was that People came, I mean, what was
I going to say? Sorry, brain fog, brain fog,
brain fog. People came, yes? No. Oh, my gosh.
Is it because there was a market? There's a bigger
market for it. A Chinese market. Why did I say
people came? I don't know. I also don't know.
I'm trying to guess. That's why I'm volunteering
this. No, I think, okay, I started from the English
side and then I think, oh, things just come.
And then when they come, I just try to ride it.
I try to go with the flow. But the funny thing
was, At that time, right, I actually went for
a Victor Koo Productions audition. Wow. Where
I sang a Mandarin song. They recorded it. And
then I somehow, I mean, they offered me something,
but I just felt like it doesn't make sense because
of what I'm having now. So then they let me hear
the recording. And I listened to the recording.
I was like, oh, my. God, for the first time in
my life, I realized that I sang Mandarin song
like an ang moh. Surprise, right? I said ang
moh, I was like, what the hell? I never realized
it until I have to hear it being played back.
When I'm singing it, I don't realize it, you
know. And that's when I started practicing with,
okay, that time I had a little guitar amp, so
I plugged into the amp with my microphone. And
I used a microphone and I sang and I could hear
myself singing back. And then I also like studied,
I mean, kind of listened to Mandarin songs more
carefully. Cantonese songs as well. To get the
intonation right. Right. And the way to slur
and what, how does it make it, how to make it
sound more Mandarin, how to make it sound more
Cantonese. And yeah, I guess that's where I got
better. That's a lot of bloody work behind that
one. Yeah, but I mean, that's the thing about
being a singer or musician. A lot of people,
right, when they tell me, your job's so easy,
sing only. Then I'm like, I'll be too late. Yeah.
No, say it, don't worry. I also too late when
people say shit like that to me. Right, because
I feel like... That's not fair, you know. I mean,
especially like, okay, I know that my musician
friends, they spend years and years. Honing their
craft. Exactly. And then, like my godfather,
Benson, the aforementioned keyboardist, he told
me like, when he was playing, last time, I don't
know, was it in the 60s or something, he was
playing piano, when his band leader would take
a ruler. knock his head when he plays wrongly.
But well, those times, it's like that. Yeah,
I know. So, yeah, a lot of them, I mean, we had
to go through like a lot of things to practice
to get where we are. And of course, we had like
failures as well. And there were times when I'm
sitting there pulling out my hair like, why can't
I get this right? You know, this year, started
this year, started this year, a couple of shows
ago. That when I get on stage, right, and I have
performers playing, bands, especially bands are
performing. And I make it a point now to tell
audiences, I would like to just make an appeal
to everyone to please. I know your dinner is
in front of you. But if you can, show some appreciation
and enjoy the music. Because these guys spend
hours and hours rehearsing. the least you could
do is accord them that appreciation. Right? I'm
not asking you to stop eating. I'm just saying
that just show some appreciation because what
do we rehearse for? We rehearse to see you being
happy. Yeah, kind of. I always feel like we are
all like vessels. We are born to like, some people
born to sing, some people born to play, can play.
But why? If not to? share the music and the love
the music with people yeah right yeah and i i
have seen like quite a number of people they're
very nice they they're eating You know, singing,
everything. But they actually, like, the moment
we finished, right, they actually, like, hurriedly
put down their things, their utensils, and they
clapped for us. Yeah, yeah. That's great. That's
sweet. Yeah. I love people who do stuff like
that. Yeah. And, well, I've been saying it so
often, and I will continue to say it. I lament
the fact that... Our music is kind of lost now,
you know, generally amongst the general population
that people don't really bother, don't really
appreciate, don't really see music as being an
integral part of life, you know, and respecting
those that bring music to them. And it's sad.
And I really, the reason why I have this series,
to pay tribute to guys like you. And those that
came before us as well. And those that's going
to be the future. And those who support the music
industry. Even the nightlife scene supports the
music industry. Not so much so these days. Not
that you can blame them sometimes. And, you know,
the reason why I have this is because we cannot
allow Singapore and Singaporeans to forget. The
music is important in life. You don't have to
be a musician, but at least appreciate music
and appreciate the muso. And appreciate people
who go out there and perform, whether they're
magicians or a fire eater or whatever. People
put a lot on the line to bring joy to you. And
this is my fight. It's always been my fight for
the last two plus years. to try to do my best
in my own way to make sure people understand
that, hey, come on, man. You can't lose your
soul. If you lose music, you've lost your soul.
I'm a big believer in that. And yeah, so I invite
people like you. I pay tribute. I don't take
the show lightly. I don't invite people willy
-nilly. They've got to be, to me, in my own eyes
and ears, to be of... Hey, phenomenal standard.
All those who have contributed. You are phenomenal.
You know what happened that night? The first
and last time I heard you sing was at our Don't
Ride Us All concert, right? And I was deeply
involved in that, I'm sure you know. And for
two nights, I was there doing my job, hosting
it. And the second night when you were singing,
you performing, the Flying Dutchman was there.
And FD and I are close friends. We've been friends,
long time friends. And we, this chemistry, the
two of us. So though he was there as a guest,
part of the audience and all that, and I was
with him because you guys are performing what
I do. And you came up and you sang I Have Nothing,
Whitney Houston's. And FD was going, who's she?
And I went, and honestly i said this if i know
man all i know is she's coming on to sing but
i don't know her then you started and above our
jaws dropped and he looked at me and i looked
at him and this is the thing we've always done
the two of us every day and i okay she's gonna
deserve what we're gonna do right you know that
right she's gonna deserve this so yeah i think
bro We got to do this. Let's do this. The two
of us ran up to the foot of the stage. I don't
know if you noticed, but we went like this to
you. I think I've got a recollection of that.
So FD and I came to the foot of the stage and
the both of us are going like this. I think,
yeah. Now that you mention it. Yeah, I think
there's a memory. Even that, doing that, the
two of us don't do it lightly. So cute. Sometimes
we go out, right? We do shit like that, you know?
That's really fun, really. Yeah, yeah. Two of
us are like a bunch of boys. Two old cocks behave
like a bunch of boys. Can I join? So, and we
were blown away. I was like, what the f... fuck
did I just see? You know? And it was, wow, you
were absolutely marvelous. And then, okay, Dennis,
your former boss, Dennis Foo. He was on my show,
by the way. He was our season premiere for this
season. That guy, his mind is wow. I know, amazing.
Amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally amazing. He
calls you the Zoe Tay of St. James' Power Station.
Huge compliment. It is. I was like, wow. You
wore a lot of hats, right, when you were there?
Sorry? You wore a lot of hats when you were there.
You were singer, director, arranger. Yeah, my
other... Arranger? Wait, was I? Hmm. What do
you call arranging, though? Splicing up songs?
You know what? If you say that you didn't do
that, like the Hawkins thing, let me tell you
something. In the online world, in the digital
sphere, when I research you, this is what it
says, you know. Weird. I've never, ever done
a Hawkins song. uh songs with the front like
a little bit of how can it's okay still manageable
like Maybe they thought, a lot of people thought
that this is a Hokkien song, but it's not. It's
a Mandarin song. Right. And the words, it's just
the title only. Okay. That's it, right? Okay.
Yeah, maybe that's how they got confused. All
these things I have in my content asking you,
it's everything I can find online. It's 100 %
everything. Really? Wow. I know more about you
than you know about you. Oh, dang. But people
out there, my audience doesn't know. So that's
the reason why I'm asking you stuff. for them?
Well, I mean, at Dragonfly, I did a lot of things.
I mean, we did a lot of things. I mean, like,
for example, Christmas shows, there's Chinese
New Year show, New Year show. Normally, the Christmas
one, I will pack it because I'm more gay, right?
Then, my colleague, Celeste, she will take the
Chinese New Year one because I'm always having
trouble with... CNY songs. I'm like, hey, can
I remember? Hey, you do, you do. Wow, I'm impressed
with you. That sounded like a song. It sounded
like a song, thank you. It sounded like a song,
thank you, thank you. You see? This is why I
said I dodged a bullet. Lucky I'm not singing
you today. I think when you say arranging, yeah,
sometimes I did arrange schedules sometimes.
And then I did do like the song, the program
of this, like tonight's program, I'll check through
with our coordinators. Stop it. You know what
I meant by arranger? Did you arrange the music?
If you call splicing... Splicing? Yeah, splicing,
like the example of Matt Lee, right? You splice
the songs and then you kind of... But I don't
know. I've never called myself an arranger before.
Okay, fine, actually. That's arranging. That's
arranging, huh? Okay, kind of. It is kind of
arranging. If it's like backing vocalists, backing
vocalist parts, right? Yeah, I do do those as
well. Yeah, it's arranging. Okay, can consider.
That's why I have to ask you, right, which is
correct. I'm terrible with terms, you know. I'm
really terrible. Until now, right, I'm horrible
with genres. I sometimes ask my colleagues, like,
what genre is this? I just sang this song, what
genre? Last time was, okay, people asking me,
hey Sky, can you sing jazz songs? Oh, can you?
Then I went back and asked my musician, hey,
I got jazz songs or not? Can you? Can you sing
jazz songs? I do commercial jazz songs. Okay.
Like... me to them those kind la the one Steve
Steven and Rob hate that song I know right because
I mean normally like for those like really really
jazz jazz jazz kind la as they do this song they'll
be like why you look down on me leh you know
so that's why I say I'm like a commercial jazz
singer yeah not the jazz standard stuff singer
I don't know like the popular ones, the more
commercial ones. So how was it like when you're
working in Dragonfly? You know, a particular
night in Dragonfly, hectic? Blood, sweat, tears,
fun, joy, gatherings, pranks. Yeah, all this
really happened, like literally got blood. But
Dragonfly was jumping, right? I mean, the crowd
was always there. yeah it was and because our
two our two or three middle sets are like the
show sets so we had like feathers we had dancers
we had weird all kinds of funny costumes we had
funny sketches so I mean because I I like so
it's very theatrical it's kind of theatrical
it's a real show show kind of thing yeah except
that sometimes You know, like, I'm a very lastminute
.com person as well. Lastminute .com? Yeah, I
will suddenly get this whim, like, to do something.
Like, for example, you know the song, Long bun,
tung tung tung, right? Short bun. Oh, there we
go. Long bun, short bun. Which one do you want?
Who started this? I don't know. It's so funny,
you know, really. Oh my god. Yeah, I heard this
as well. This is so funny. Later on, we can have
one bakchan. I don't want to be hungry. I'm a
glutton. So you know about this. I don't know
who started that shit, but I've been using it
anyway. I don't know. It could be Gino. Yeah,
it could be Gino. It could be Gino, right? Yeah,
it could have been Gino. Yeah, because the guy
is so... He would think about shit like this,
you know? And he's so good. Yeah, Gino Sunga,
man. Hey, dude. Come back to Singapore every
now and then. Lai leh. Yeah, so, okay, for example,
I would get this whim to suddenly I get this
idea. I'm like, hey, they put me put Siong Hoi
Tan this song. Then I'm like, suddenly I got
a storyline in my head. So I actually have a
YouTube video on that. So I would come out as
a singer dressed in Cheongsam. I'll be singing
one corner. And as I start singing, one couple
will be coming out together. I've got this dancer
friend, right? She was actually a dance captain
last time. She's now Sylvester Sim's wife. That
is Sissy. So Sissy is like damn good at acting.
And the way she acts is always very comedic.
It's very funny, right? She and this guy would
come out. Her boyfriend, Guy A. Let's call him
Guy A. Come out, like shopping, shopping. Then
Guy A packs up his luggage. All this in a very
short span. Then Guy A packs up his luggage and
has to go off. And she's like, bye. And then
suddenly when the moment guy A walks off, guy
B comes like acting all sexy and everything,
you know, like a jacket and everything with hat.
And she's like, and she starts acting like really
coy and hiao la. Then they got, they got together
and then they go gai gai and then suddenly guy
A returns. And guy A is like, no, then guy B
and guy A gets into this battle. One guy is holding
a gun. The other guy is holding a knife. He's
like, how? It was a knife or a sword. And it's
like, how do you get into a battle with that?
Bringing a knife to a gunfight. Right. And then,
okay, so the story would be the guy with a gun,
I think probably guy B, he will accidentally
shoot CC. And then CC will take a long time to
die. She'll spin here, spin there, spin there.
She will lie down there and then haven't died
yet. Then that's already towards the end of the
song. Then I will pause the song. And then I'll
walk towards... And then I'll put my leg up,
on the speaker. And then I'll tell the guy A
and guy B like, look at me. I'm so sexy, something
like that. Why don't you guys come with me instead?
And I say, look at that. That thing, I'll point
at Sissy. I'm like, forget about her. Then Sissy
like, really sad. And then the guys were like,
looking at my legs. And then let's go all together.
Then I'll sing the last part. And then we'll
go all together. And then Sissy still haven't
died yet. She's still like, still dying. Something
like that. This reminds me of a D &D game we
used to play. Really? Yeah. We get the people,
the guests in the room. to act these parts out.
Oh my God. That's so fun. We will narrate the
story and then we have to act it out. Oh. Yeah.
The acting game. I think I did that before when
doing like drama classes. Yeah. It's so fun.
We try everything, man. I love that. Just make
sure the people have a good time. I'm sure they
do. Yeah, totally. So all that kind of thing
happens in Dragonfly. You guys plan all these
sort of stuff. There are those pre -planned ones
and then there are those last minute ones. I'll
just tell them the idea like, how about you do
this, do this, do this. And then it was like,
everybody like, okay, like. That's fun, man.
That's so fun. Every day is like fun, man, working
like that. You should hear the pranks, man. Really,
tell me one. Well, for example, let me see. Oh,
okay. So happy hour, I drag Sly to sing with
me. And then during break time, we would like
be eating. So we bring our own like lunchbox
kind of thing, like very poor thing. So we are
like, suddenly like, eh, Celeste's table is here.
Celeste's table, her dressing table is there.
Both of us climbed onto it, squat on her table
and then like, eat that very poor thing like
beggars and then Steven would take a picture
and then we posted it and then we're like, hey,
guess whose table this is? And then Celeste would
be like, 你们两个坏蛋! You know, complaining. Yeah,
stuff like that. She's very family, you guys.
Yeah, and it's a zoo up there. That's cool, man.
Did Rob tell you it's a zoo? Not in so many words.
No, when we say zoo, right, it's literal. It's
a zoo. There's a lot of animals upstairs. My
dog, right? My dog will run out of my dressing
room, the female one, go to the male room and
then she'll come back, right, with pearls, dripped
in pearls and, I don't know, some funny thing.
I'm like... who dressed you up? And she's like,
really happy. You know, it's like, oh my God.
Yeah, there were weird, the animals, there's
like gerbil, there's a bird flying around inside
as well. Is it gerbil? Yes, it's gerbil. And
then I think there was a hedgehog at one point.
Oh my, you know lah. That really is an albino
hedgehog. Yeah. What? And then there was a bunny
hopping around also. Dogs, we had more dogs.
Like my dogs, there were three of them also.
My dog's kids as well, they came. And then this
is all cool to that. Yeah, it's like, they are
so, used to seeing animals running around the
place. Well, that sounds like a fun joint, man.
Yeah, it was. Really, really. It was so fun.
Let's talk about your album, Never Say Goodbye.
Kai, can we flash that one, please? Was that
your debut album? No, that's my third album,
actually. Your third album, right? Yeah, actually.
Funny, man, because I... Found this one only.
Can't find the other two, right? Yeah. It's a
bit hard to find. So I found this one. Tell us
about the production. Because you know why? It's
an audiophile album, right? My second album was
also an audiophile by the same guy, Ying. So
audiophile means recorded no compression. I think
so. I'm terrible at this. I'm not a very technical
person. But you know no compression is nerve
-wracking, right? I think... It's all you, you
know. It's all raw you. Well, I mean, I guess
I wasn't that scared of that because it's being
a live singer. I sing live every night, dear
boy. Yeah, but this is... Recording is a different
animal. There must be some amount of perfection,
you know. Well, I guess... Okay, for this third
album, I was kind of worried because it was during
COVID time and... Strangely, when COVID came
around, I kind of lost my voice, something about
it. It was very hard. I could still sing, but
it was so hard to sing. I'm guessing, could it
be that I didn't get to sing often? I didn't
get to sing often. So it made my voice kind of
close up or something. Out of practice. Yeah,
but yet. It felt like there was something there.
And I still haven't caught COVID yet at that
point in time. It's kind of weird, right? So
I was recording the album with this voice and
I struggled a lot. I struggled. I really had
to, like, my whole body engage everything. But
there's no compression. I mean, it's a real struggle,
even worse. Yeah, it was kind of. And the strange
thing was after that, right, I caught COVID.
After I recovered from COVID, my voice came back.
I was like, huh? See me, normally it's the other
way around. A lot of people complaining to me
that they lost their voices because of, they
lost their voice because of COVID. They got COVID
already. Might be the other way around. I'm like,
yeah, thank you COVID. I mean, for my case, only
for my case. Yeah. So yeah, it was quite a struggle.
But I mean, I'm, I'm more happier with my, my
second audio file album, which is my third album.
My second, my, First audiophile one, that one
was, I don't think I did very well at all. Can
I just ask you, what the hell is an audiophile
album? To me, an audiophile album is like you
sit there, then you record. You record, then
you can't auto -tune at all. Because you can't
do anything like... much to it maybe maybe add
a little bit of like reverb or something i don't
know you know that kind of thing i would have
thought an audiophile album will be for the audiophile
for the guy that has got this expensive sound
system at home yeah yeah that's that that's what
i know about it as well like i heard that some
people got some floating room i don't know what
see me how how to make the it's like they have
floating room as in below got nothing or something
and then like the speakers are not touching the
floor is that I don't know something very confusing
basically it's for the guy who spends thousands
and thousands of dollars to have that beautiful
music and sound coming out of the system and
to have it sound as though I'm sitting next to
him correct right so it sounds as if there's
a live performance happening right in front of
him and apparently if like at some point of time
while I'm singing if I did some kind of they
keep it in because they feel that it's like real
it's real yeah and apparently I heard that guys
that they're like they have this community or
something that you know they are all crazy about
this so they will compare notes with each other
like hey you know at 2 .01 I heard this Yeah.
Yeah. This is what I thought an audiophile album
would be about. And hence the reason when I heard
I was listening to your cover on this album of
Keller's Whisper. And I listened to the orchestration,
then I recognized, ah, maybe that's why they
orchestrated it this way. Can we play the excerpt
of that, please? I'm so lost I had fun with messing
about. No, I'm listening. You see, there you
go. The guitar is here. The bass line replaces
the saxophone in the original. And your voice,
oh my gosh. You see? So it's the bass line. Nice,
man. Now that I'm listening into my cans because
I've been doing work on my studio monitors, right?
So on my cans, wow, now I understand. It's everywhere.
It's all over. It's so nice and special. My arranger
took a lot of time with this album. He really
put in a lot of effort and we went to and fro
because this is like such an important project
for us, right? We went to and fro a lot. So,
yeah. So, this arranger is a friend of mine called
Sebastian. I think you saw him the other day.
Who's Sebastian? Who? Seb? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Seb arranged this? He arranged it. Hey, Seb!
Whoa, Seb! Yeah. So, he put in a lot of effort.
So, the thing is, right, I think... Was it Seb's
guitar? Yeah, of course. oh yeah why do you think
why do you think i every time like you know i
got guitar gigs i grabbed this guy this guy is
amazing really so we we went to and fro a lot
like discussing how we wanted and this is a song
where he said okay how about making a bass shine
for this song like a bass bass guitar thing right
and then um also I think the reason why I got
Sepp to arrange this album is also because like
he's he's got a fresh ouch he's got a fresh take
and fresh look on songs and all that right being
I think because he's like not trained as what
do you call that, to do like this kind of things
properly. I think, is it? Or he doesn't really
have much experience yet at that point of time
to do all this arranging. But I think he could.
He had the goods. He had the stuff. So, and I
wanted it to be like something different, you
know. Different perspective. Someone fresh. Right.
Someone fresh. Okay. No, Seb's great. I mean,
I know that. Exactly. And then we've got, we
had Mei. Mei was playing keys. Mei Shu. Mei Shu.
Yeah. Colin Yong. Oh, Colin. Bassist. He's the
only alumni. That was Colin Young's bass. Yes.
He's the only alumni. Hey, Colin. Can I try that?
Hey, Colin. Hey. It can only be one Sky and it
can only be one Chris. Thank you. Thank you.
Right. Yeah. And the drummer was Rizal. Rizal
Sanik. Oh, Rizal. Yes. All friends, right? Yeah.
Hi, Rizal. All the friends. Yeah. Oh, my goodness.
Yeah. And this was like the, it was during COVID
that we recorded this when the moment they allow
only, they allow recording, right? And before
that, all the preparations were done. We went
through the list. lyrics, uh, practiced it. Like
we, we were, we were sending files. So Seth would,
uh, do like the song kind of, he's like, wait,
how about this? And he sends it to me and I'll
record from my home. And then we'll, we'll be
like, uh, like talking about, uh, where, which
part should do what. And then I was like having
fun with it. So all this was not recorded in
the studio. This recording, the initial recording
was just demo. Then after that, you guys went
into the studio to get the final product. For
producer to hear. At least he gets an idea. Before
that was a song choosing and everything. You
said somewhere, I don't know which interview
that you said this, a siren never change her
scales. Really? I said that? Yeah. I picked it
up somewhere. And I wanted to ask you, what do
you mean by a siren never changes scales? It
was so cool. It's actually quite a cool saying.
I probably got it from a leopard never changes
spot. Oh, wow. But are you sure that was me?
It was you. I think I always find things. It
was you. And I think it was such a cool statement
to make. A siren never changes scales, just much
like a leopard doesn't change its spots. Zero.
recollection of that yeah I don't remember okay
but you see guys like me ought to do deep research
on my guests and you did say it somewhere but
I just wanted to tell you I just really love
that statement I think that statement's amazing
oh the siren never changes the scales wow so
freaking cool damn you're a cool mama man I can
tell you I'm sorry are you a mama my doggy mama
I mean, she passed away already, but I was her
doggie mama. Hey, did you know my dog went on
stage in Dragonfly as well? She's a performer
sometimes. What dog was this? A Blenheim Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel. Okay. Blenheim is a colour.
Then, by the way, don't get confused. It's actually
two different breeds, right? Cavalier King Charles
Spaniel and King Charles Spaniel. Two different
breeds. Right, because a lot of people are like...
hey, is that a King Charles? I'm like, eh, no,
it's a Cavalier King Charles. I'm aware, I'm
aware of the difference. I'm a big dog lover,
sorry. Yeah, your hero is so cute. Thank you.
There's a hero. Yeah, what a nice surprise it
was. Is Whitney Houston your, your go -to favorite?
Ah, see, I told you before, I'm a hoarder, right?
Yeah, I know. I just have to ask that question
because not many people, not many singers, would
really even attempt. But you just, my gosh, you
just go for it, man. That's what I have to ask
you. I think for me, I usually go for the songs.
If you ask me which artist or which band's songs
that I'm very well versed in, it would not be
Whitney. It would be Guns N' Roses. No shit,
really. You rock and chigger. Yeah. Yeah. Basically,
I love... That's how I got into my first band
in school. We had a band when we were in school.
We were only playing Guns N' Roses songs. Wow.
Nothing else. So, songs from Lies, Appetite for
Destruction, Illusion 1, Illusion 2. Wow. It's
so fun, you know. I love singing their songs.
It just so happens then that you are good at
Whitney songs. I guess, I mean, I think for me,
I like to sing different types of songs as well.
Again, the hoarder thingy. I mean, when I knew
I could sing Whitney songs, I could sing Mariah
Carey songs, I could sing Celine songs, I'm like,
hey, Laila, just do. Just do and see where I
can go with that. You are freaking scary, man.
Well, like, matter of fact, you know, Mariah
Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine, wow. Oh, but
you know whose songs I struggled with initially?
Anita Mui. Because I've got this... No way! I
love to sing low songs, right? I'm like, oh my
gosh. I love to hear her. I love to hear the
low, low voice who are so sexy, so shook, right?
So at that time, my voice wasn't that low as
well. So I would say that my range was probably
like that last time, like that means low to high.
But somehow time later on, you know, with practice
and everything, it did grow. Is it a fact that
your range can grow with practice? I think so,
you know. Isn't there a limitation to it? I mean,
well, there's definitely like at some point there's
definitely got to stop, you know. But I think
that with the right use of techniques and discovering
which part of your body to use to hit notes and
all that will help you to widen your range. Like
I said, before that, years ago, when I didn't
know how to use the higher techniques, I was
struggling with the high notes for Whitney songs,
Mariah Carey songs. I was like, hey, I cannot
reach. I was struggling. But now, it's easier
because of the techniques. Right. Okay. Singapore
Day. Singapore Day. In New York. The very first
Singapore Day in New York. Yeah. How was that
like for you? How did it start? I'm trying to
remember. Dennis brought you there. No, actually
it was Jonathan Lim. Chestnuts. Jonathan Lim,
right? I think he's passed away, right? Yeah.
He was with us for a few episodes in one of our
other podcasts a couple of years back. Brilliant
guy. So anyway, I'm trying to remember. Oh wait,
was it him? Or was it Kevin Matthews? No, no,
no. Sorry, sorry. I got confused, right? Okay,
so Kevin Matthews, I think he was performing
as well and he needed a female singer or something
like that. And so I followed him to, I mean,
to there, but... When John Lim knew that I was
in this also, I think some other... Because I
was in Forbidden City before. Right. Forbidden
City, Magic of Love. Yeah. So basically, I did
musicals before. So they had a musical segment
during Singapore Day. And they just need to like
another person, I guess. And since I was already
going, might as well just use me. Okay. And which
turned out to be quite fun for me as well. In
Central Park, right? Yeah, Central Park. And
there were other places as well. I remember there
was a library. That one is just like me and a
band or something performing there. Oh, my memory
is so vague now. Because I was actually feeling
very unwell during that trip. I was having a
female problem. Okay. And the weather was cold.
And my back was aching. Okay. See, I'm honest
about it. You're very honest. Okay. I'm not even
going to say TMI because I'm okay with it. What
was the reception like for you? I mean, from
the audience when you went up to perform. Did
people start to realize that, wow, Singapore
has got this product, man. I think that I was
like doing songs that were not like Whitney type
of styles. So it was more like a group. thingy
going on with Kevin Matthews and the band is
also like me and him singing together on and
off and with the musical one is like just like
group singing the whole like a chorus thingy
and then we were just dancing along you know
but I think I remember the audience was really
enthusiastic they were happy and this was actually
a very memorable trip for me because Okay, so
I don't know. At some point, sometimes I talk,
where I can't hear myself, I talk nonsense, basically.
And somehow or other, I accidentally, I went,
I think I said something about, we are in New
York and I'm so happy to be in New York bringing
Singapore Day together or something. And I'm
like, oh, two countries together. I mean, obviously,
I meant like USA. Not the state. Not the state.
But then I had a friend in the crowd. Right,
Mark. It's Mark Christopher Cole. So it's so
funny. He texted me like, New York is not a country.
I'm like, yes, I know that. I know that. I didn't
mean that. But that trip was very special to
me also because I visited Mark and Melissa's
home. They're a couple, husband and wife. They're
from Singapore, both lawyers. working in New
York. And I spent some lovely time together with
Mark. Just him and me hanging out. We were good
friends. We were good friends, right? So then
after that, quite a... I mean, a few years later,
he got brain tumor and then he has passed on.
Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. Well, it's... I still think
of him. I still miss him a lot. But I hang out
with his wife now, Melissa. So... I was glad
that that trip enabled me to see him. Made it
more meaningful. Yeah. And I got to hang out
with him because he was in New York all the time.
And then I was in Singapore. So we barely got
to see each other. And the entire Singapore Day
concept was my wife's idea. Oh. I'm not going
to go more than that. Wow. She's amazing. I'm
not going to go further than that because I don't
want to get too much trouble. Yeah, but it was
her. It's her brainchild. Really cool. You know,
but bringing, I mean, if I were overseas, I would
love to see like this kind of thing, like eat
Singapore food because that was brought over
to them as well. This was the very first one.
Even the Ji Kueh uncle, auntie from Feng Chuan
Market was flown there. Oh my God. Yeah. Sure.
I mean, well, we didn't, the performers didn't
get to eat. I think, right? Yeah, I didn't. But
then, okay lah. I mean, we're happy to have brought
it to our fellow Singaporeans over there. Your
upcoming show, Romance of the Past, pays tribute
to Mandarin classics from the 1940s and 1960s.
Yeah. Why? Believe it or not, I actually do listen
to those music, those songs, you know. They're
so lovely. Especially this one, right? Okay,
my latest favorite from that era, right? Okay,
wait, did I get that title right? Okay, but Zhou
Xuan, Zhou Xuan, right? She's known as a golden
voice of that era. So, like... I like to listen
to this song when it's like dark at night, quiet
with like a media. It's really old, you know.
1940s, 1950s is like old. But it's so beautiful.
I don't even have any exposure to music of Chinese
music of that era. I mean, like maybe Teng Lee
Chin, yeah, but she's not like this. She's more
1970s, right? Yeah. He's like, I never forget
you. You forget me. Who came up with this? This
is funny also. My name you also say wrong. Yeah.
This is so funny. Yeah. I always want to know
who came up with all these things. Must credit
them. Pay tribute to them. So your concert's
coming up. How are you excited about it? Sorry?
Are you excited about it? We just flashed a concert
promo, by the way. Oh, you did? Yeah. Thank you.
Actually, I'm quite excited, looking forward
to it. Hopefully, I won't be in this state. Touch
wood, touch wood, touch wood. People, you can
use the Culture Pass, the SG Culture Pass for
this concert. As a matter of fact, you know,
I didn't find out about it online. I mean, later
on, I did. But initially, because I went for
the Mel and Joe Ferdinand's, the 55th anniversary
concert, right? So, we were there. And I was
leaving, after the concert, leaving the Esplanade,
on the way down, and I saw this familiar face.
Eh, auntie! Eh, wait a second! That's guy! Eh,
this travel! Eh, this travel gonna be singing
here, hor! Supermarket auntie, hor! Watch me
fight my way through the supermarket aisles,
yeah. The sea of aunties, yeah. And that's when
I realized, oh, she's got a concert that's coming
up. Yeah, so anyway, did you the favor of fleshing
it up there? Thank you so much. Yeah, you know,
and all the best for that one. One more last
question because we've been at it for about an
hour and a half, I think. See, I told you I don't
non -stop read it. But we've always been fun.
Last final question, Skye. What's the one piece
of advice you'd give to a young singer studying
out in Singapore's live music scene today? I
think I remember giving out this advice before
as well. Several actually. First thing is, can
you, do you have it? That's one thing. You can
be raw, you know, you can be like raw and, but
still have talent to do it. But you can also
be like, maybe your singing is like not so, okay,
we're just talking about singer, right? Okay.
So let's just say if your singing is like, not
there, but you're like great at bringing up the
crowd, rah -rah -ing and everything. That's also
a talent, you know. So singing can be improved.
So if you improve on your singing and then you
have the X factor of rah -rah -ing with people
or somehow other entertaining people, because
I feel like entertaining, yeah, it's great that,
you know, able to sing. Yes, that's important,
of course, but... you need to have like certain
factors as well to appeal to the crowd. Because
if... There's the X factor, right? Yeah, the
X factor, I suppose, you know. And you wouldn't
know, would you be able to... I started, you
wouldn't know. There's a reason why I come to
that. Would you be able to define X factor? What
is it? What exactly is it? Because Kuopo was
here. Kuopo. Oh, yes. KP said that it's very
hard to put a finger to it. I'm not so into words.
I'm not quoting her, but somewhat. And I agree.
Yeah, I mean, it's very hard to come to a clear
definition of what X -Factor would mean. I think
this one, I would throw it to the audience because,
well, not really throw it to the audience, more
like see the audience, right? Let's just say
if I was an audience. Yeah. then somebody comes
on stage. Will I listen to the person? Will I
watch the person? Is that person watchable? If
somehow or other that person has something that
is attractive to me, I'll be watching definitely.
Maybe the singing can be like, I think maybe
I'm talking about all -rounder, entertainer kind
of person. Or maybe if the person does nothing
but stands there, and sing and the singing somehow
is like so good yeah wow it's captivating enough
captivating and the person doesn't even have
to be like super wow perfect you know if the
person like let's just say maybe sometimes it's
the voice tone right sometimes it's the way the
person uh carries the song yeah or what the person
is expressing out what i can feel right then
I think that, I would say that, yeah, the person
should continue in a career in that. But if the
person just doesn't, you know, have it, then
I would really think that, you know, like, spending
the rest of too much time on it, it's, it doesn't,
you know, it doesn't really work lah, you know.
Should do something else. Find, find what you
were born to do. So basically, don't be deluded
lah. Yeah, that's one thing also. And then if
you... My head got caught in the chair, sorry.
And then if you... And then, okay, that's the
first thing. See whether you have it. The second
thing is, how hungry are you? Right? If you're
not hungry, like, okay, I'll be honest. Just
I remember when I was younger, actually, I wasn't
that hungry because being a Singaporean and being
like... like okay i i guess we have a pretty
good life here right we we live with our parents
and our parents like provide for us so we we
don't really need to fight that much for something
yeah and that made me very like yeah anything
more complacent you know so um i wasn't hungry
enough in the beginning and that's why maybe
i i was wasting quite a bit of time like on being
ADHD and getting attracted by this and that,
you know, all that kind of stuff. But Skye, that's
part and parcel of who you are. I suppose it's
like a part of me growing up as well. It is,
not just growing up, even now. Oh, come on. I'm
not, who says I'm grown up? I'm not. Yeah, so
that's the second thing. You know, whether you're
hungry enough or not. And then if you have these
two things, then just go for it and keep at it.
And don't just keep yourself in one, what do
you call it? Stuck in one bubble. Yeah, right?
You need to explore because let's just say, I
mean, because music, music is not dead. It's
alive. It's flexible. You can do this and you
can do that. It's whether it makes or break,
how you do it. I wouldn't say, I mean, even like
the most famous composers or whatever, I'm sure
that they, sure got Chuan Arum, Thieu Bo, like,
some parts like they do this song like this song
can make it right then of course then there's
like then they still came up with like really
good stuff yeah so y 'all just keep at it fall
down get up again fall down get up again keep
at it and explore everything like well as much
as you can unless you don't like that thing then
okay then don't explore it don't waste your time
on you like it just go for it Okay. Thank you
so very much for being with us, man. Thank you
for having me. It's really been fun for me. And
I really didn't have to do that much work because
you're so fun. Because I'm like nonstop talking
to ADHD. And of course, it caught me in a very
glamorous state. Nah, it's fine, man. I mean,
this show is all about us being who we are. No
need for any fucking pretentiousness. Yeah. Anyway,
okay, people. Don't stick around. You can switch
to my camera. Thank you very much. Okay, everybody.
Stick around. Don't go away yet. Don't close
this episode at this time because right after
I say goodbye, there's a small excerpt that Kai,
as a matter of fact, during the concert that
we just were very much involved in, the Don't
Write Us Off concert. And we have an excerpt
of Sky performing Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing.
And again with me in studio, Sky Serena. This
is a siren for the ages, man. And our tribute
to her. This is Chris Hansen. I'll see you again
very soon. See you next Friday. Same time, same
place. Stay safe. Bye -bye. Ladies and gentlemen,
we've over three decades of performances that's
captivating. She's not just a performer. She's
a celebrated recording artist. And at the same
time, she was known as a Zoe Tales in James'
conversation. Fluent in multiple languages, she
effortlessly commands the stage. Please welcome,
there can only be one, Skye Serena. and just
all that The Chris Hansen Conversation. Real
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here from Singapore.