[Mint.Music.Event] First #MigupSG at the headquarters of Migme

Just like you, I have absolutely no idea about Migme until I attended the first #MigupSG session at the Mig Headquarters 2 weeks back.

photo credit: Migme

Over 30 bloggers in Singapore attended this mingling session. We talked about Hot Korean chicks, balls squeezing and breast groping all evening over pizza!

#GetTheBallRolling

Photo credit: Migme

Photo credit: Migme

NO LAH!

I'm just kidding. 

*so cheesy*

On a side note, the sexy korean dance group Waveya is really on Migme and live chatting with their Migme fans HERE.

We got to know more about Migme, A LOT A LOT more about the vice president of Corporate development Gene Yu and got to mingle around with the new Singapore users of Migme.

I'd had thought that Gene is a fitness instructor at first glance. 

Little did we know that when he live such an outstanding life story, it sounded so much like a Hollywood blockbuster movie but it's all true and happening in real life! I felt my jaws dropped lower and lower with every story, picture and video he shared; Gene is incredible!

Photo credit: Migme

Gene Yu was from the US Army Special Forces. Raised in California, he was an Asian-American who joined West Point at 17. Unlike any other teens, he wanted to make a difference despite his tender age. It was an eye opener for me as he shared insights of his 12-year army life. 

I discover, after doing more research online, that this iron man is also a book author, owner of a martial arts apparel company and more. One of the most amazing and heroic incidents that he's done was to rescue a Taiwanese hostage by the name of Evelyn Chang in The Philippines in 2013!  

Gene Yu is on Migme -- @ScorpioJing

Photo credit: Migme

The mingling session officially began with Yongwei munching on slices of pizza that he was too shy to take from the pantry area.  #ComeItakeForYou 

It feels like I'm back to my old blogging days where I would meet/bump into Yongwei at blog events.  Welcome back after your ORD, brother.

Nice to meet you @Evilbeany !

EvilBeany is the eye-candy standing next to me in red.

Photo credit: Migme

The mingling session hits a new high when I realised I was surrounded by more talented local musicians! 

We're on Migme too so join us there.

#SupportLocalTalent

Photo credit: Migme

Left to right: @vickiho - Victoria from Tricks And Cider

@MinutemanSG aka Colin Chang

Goh Yong Wei

@Musxzart - Mus the Music enthusiast

@Marcelp - Marcel from The Glad Stones

Try - Pink (Tricks & Cider Live cover)

Crazy (Original Song) by Goh Yong Wei

The Yellow Room (Original song) By Marcel Lee Pereira

Migme is a social app/social entertainment platform where you can post/receive bite size updates and follow people whom you want to on this platform. Migme fans come from all over the world like Nepal, Indonesia, The Philippines, Saudi Arabic and more.

Fun fact: The Mig HQ is based in Singapore for 7 years now.
Oo 
You don't know right!
Me too. 

Send/receive gifts, dress up your avatar and fill your wall with photos, videos, status and images you like to level up your profile. Once you're at, Level 10 you can start creating chat rooms and more! Keep up with your levels to 'unlock' more achievements.

You can link your posts up to your twitter and facebook accounts so you don't have to double post.
Yay!

Allan Wu already has 1.4 million fans on Migme, madness!

I like the interesting finds on Migme like getting to know this 17-year-old beatboxer from Nepal.
The difference in culture, background but music is indeed universal...



Join us on Migme and here's my Migme profile:
http://mig.me/u/mintLeongSG

LOVE these adorable #migmascots!

The brown mascot looked particularly like my Toy poodle, Bubble Leong.

I TOLD YOU SO~

Bubble can be the next Migme mascot for their events!

Eh Bubble Leong, what are you doing with my stickers?

Those are not cooling pads you know. 

Okies, See you on Migme!

Photo credit: Migme

[Mint.Music.Event] Tay Kewei Launched Her Latest Mandarin CD Album titled Turn Back and smile (郑可为首张个人华语专辑- 转身微笑)

I recently posted a Facebook status to share how inspired I am being able to witness many of my friends becoming more successful and recognized for their hard work to pursue their dreams in life.

It's mind blowing and I'm even more driven by these dream chasers to work towards my own goals and succeed. Thank you for SHOWING me how believing and perseverance bring individuals closer to their dreams. 

One by one, slowly by surely moving towards growing their businesses, opening restaurants, creating successful apps, getting their dream jobs and here, I met another inspiring woman who's on her way to releasing her FIRST mandarin song album - Tay Kewei.

It's creating a big rave because it's true, how long has it been since a local singer-songwriter released a FULL Mandarin song album?

Remember how common it was in the 90s and early 2000, where local singers like JJ Lin, Steohenie Sun, Kit Chan, Tanya Chua and many more would release full CD albums of their own, hold concerts and even held autographs sessions in the heartlands.

Fans would queue for hours to get their CDs signed- their prize possession.

*must get her autograph later* 

I first got to know about Kewei when Nave introduced me to her YouTube videos singing cover songs with EinEin. The videos caught my interest. Not only could both of them sing really well, they could use different instruments and harmonise too! The videos were sincere and one of the better recorded ones produced by locals. 

I would listen to their covers all day!

>>>>>  fast forward >>>>> 

Tay Kewei has now finally realized her dream of releasing her first solo original mandarin album!

She will be promoting the album in Singapore (从'新'出发) before holding her solo concert in late October. Then moving in to Taiwan and Hong Kong to continue with her new album promotions. 

TAIWAN!

HONGKONG!

wheee~

Hosted by Kun Hua from Yes933, the light-hearted Media Launch of Kewei's latest Mandarin Album was held at Nuvo. 

台上一分钟，台下十年功。

WOOOO KEWEI! 

Witnessing Kewei performing her originals from the CD on stage at the launch, I can't help but shed tears of joy for her. From the song selection phase, image, designs to production and events, the preparations took 2 years to complete.

First of all, almost all of Kewei's original demos were rejected. As time passed along, more of her demos were continuously rejected. Troubled by the delay and difficulties, the production team even considered to change their plans to release an EP instead of a full length album. 

I particularly like this song titled Hopeless (无药可救). Interestingly written with a mix of both english and mandarin lyrics, the melody is really unique and romantic on its own. It caught my full attention when Kewei was performing it LIVE! 

Catch the tune if you can, notice the subtle twists in the melody.

Here's the official lyrics video. 

The setting of this music video will be in Thailand where Kewei will be starring in it with a Thailand male idol. 

She's also invited Taiwan's budding star, Allen Chen, to act in her other of her music video, song title Heart Shaped Void (心型空洞).

The story is about a girl who is in an abusive relationship. 

Beaten, shouted at and being pushed to the floor. 

Allen was so dedicated to the extent that Kewei was too afraid to look at him!

For this album, S2S also roped in top-notch producers such as Goh Kheng Long, Martin Teng, Kenn C and Jonathan Koh, Singaporeans who have produced albums for superstars such as Stefanie Sun, Amei and Lee Hom. 

Hey, I saw Tat Tong's name too!

He is a song producer/arranger who's done many impressive works for reowned artistes including 

Kelly Poon with her latest song hit titled Lover and for Kewei's 2nd english album.

The other artistes and musicians including MIcapella, Bonnie and Chriz Tong were also present at the media launch to show their encouragement and support for the beautiful Kewei.

Once again, congratulations to releasing your first SOLO mandarin album, Kewei!

What's a media launch without group pictures?!

Love the down-to-earth and talented Chriz Tong who didn't mind posing for pictures with me and accompanied me for a stage picture with the grand backdrop because too many people were watching. :p

*muacks*

*Chants: MUST GET AUTOGRAPH from Tay Kewei*

And I did, wohooo!

Thank you for signing my CD for me!

Tay Kewei's debut full SOLO mandarin album titled Turn Back and Smile is now selling hot like pancakes on the shelves. I tuned in to Yes933 and the station is already playing her songs too. 

#SupportLocalTalent

GET HER ALBUM!

[Mint.Music.Event] The Art Of Sound Presented By Razer & Razer Adaro Audio Series

Friends have been telling me about Charlie Lim and his music: soothing to the ears, beautiful, well-mixed and when I received this invitation from Razer and saw his name written big and bold on it, I literally screamed into MinutemanSG's ears.

CHARLIE LIM IN THE HOUSE!

I'm going to watch him live?!

The Art of Sound event was Razer’s premiere music bash that features a line-up of phenomenal local acts across music genres. Featuring Charlie Lim, this music extravaganza will also be supported by Gentle Bones, Gareth Fernandez, Stopgap and .gif. 

 The Art of Sound was held at Lowercase on the 30th of April, Wednesday from 7pm to late.

Thank you Razer for also extending the invitation to my roomiesTV team so that we could catch the live performances together. I really hope roomiesTv can have the honour to invite Charlie Lim onto our roomiesTV show. *thinking about this makes my heart beats faster and faster*

Left to right:  MinutemanSG, Me, Evan Liao, Fif Phan

It's a FULL HOUSE at Lowercase!

Filled with music-lovers listening and singing along to their favourite local originals. 

I was amazed by the performance of Joel from Gentle Bones that day.

Grabbed from Gentle Bones' facebook page:

"At a young age, Joel Tan a.k.a. Gentle Bones has already been making waves in the local music industry with his style of folk-pop music. His debut single, Until We Die, hit the #1 spot on the local iTunes charts a day after its release in December last year. 

Gentle Bones is at the forefront of the musical movement among the younger generation in Singapore. 

Having played for the Noise Festival in 2011, the Mosaic Music Festival in 2012, penned, recorded and performed a song for the 2015 SEA Games, Joel's future in music is looking extremely promising. Let his blend of acoustic, folk and pop enlighten your ears and show you what the new generation has to offer."

Local music talents constantly surprises me with their quality, lyrics, passion and the determination to keep growing. Kudos to Gentle Bones and all the local musicians!

On stage, you'll notice the performers using the brand new Razer Adaro Audio Series Headphones.

I decided to try them out myself!

Headphones on left:  Razer Adaro Stereo Headphones

On Right: Razer Adaro Stereo DJ headphones

I like the Adaro Stereo Headphones for its comfortable cushion padding and portability. 

It's time for Charlie Lim's LIVE performance!

The stage looks so comfortable with that grassy patch.

*melts*

Super indulged in Charlie's performance and I can't wait to listen to more of his songs with the Razer Adaro headphones.

The event ended with super fangirls (I'm referring more to me) rushing to take pictures with the awesome Charlie Lim and Gentle Bones.

#SupportLocalTalents

[Mint.Music.Event] Eco Music Challenge 2013 Grand Finale - Champion Announced!

Organised by the National Environment Agency (NEA) for the fourth year, the Eco Music Challenge is a national songwriting competition that encourages music talents of all ages to submit original music compositions with the aim of inspiring more people to cherish the environment and conserve resources.

Original songs refers to songs which are written and composed by the band/musicians themselves and not sung anywhere else.



This year, the competition garnered 163 submissions during the call for entry phase which lasted for a month. 12 finalists were shortlisted from the entries and the finalists attended two weeks of mentorship with new mentors including well-known vocal coach John Lee, renowned composer Dick Lee, veteran songwriter Clement Chow, popular local performer Jack Ho, singer-songwriter Shimona Kee and Timbre co-founder Danny Loong. The finalists received training and guidance on their lyrics, music arrangement, instrumentation, vocals and showmanship from these industry veterans.

The winning song of the Eco Music Challenge will become the official theme song for Clean and Green Singapore (CGS) 2014. A music video depicting the aspiration for a Clean and Green Singapore was launched on 26 October 2013 at the CGS 2014 launch carnival. The year-long CGS programme aims to inspire Singaporeans to make a conscious decision and effort to care for and protect the environment by adopting eco-friendly practices as an integral part of their daily lives.




Let's start Eco Music Challenge Grand Finale rolling with a performance by our very own JACK AND RAI!



Our emcees of the day from Yes933 and 987fm:


If you've been listening to the songs of the finalists and like them, you can also get the albums: compilations of songs sung at previous Eco Music Challenge contests.

Each CD cost S$11.90 nett.





*Hurray, Jack's looking my way into my camera!*




The judges and audience are ready!





Here are some highlights of all 12 finalists during their performance~

First group up were my WDA classmates!
Friends playing music together are friends to keep for life.
Congratulations~









I like how when the finalists were performing, the lyrics of their songs were flashed on the plasma TVs located at both sides of the stage.  In this way, we could even sing along!











Wait.
Doesn't this guy in grey and a cap look familiar?!
Isn't he Tzire, the Singaporean rapper!

Check out his raps and especially this rap he did about SMRT!





The only mandarin original song of the night:




Not only that, this is the one and only Guzheng performance of the day, performed by none other than Deborah Tan. Remember her?

Debbie's one of the Singapore Blog Award 2013 Best Music blog finalists!
She was also invited to do a Guzheng performance for Karen Mok's Fan and Greet Session in Singapore perviously.







Great to meet you again Debbie!
Thank you for bringing great music to me over and over~





Another finalist, Christiane Mikaela, performing her song titled Lady Earth.
She sang it with her very own vintage mic but it's a pity there wasn't any special effects added to portray the speciality of the mic. Still, her song won the 3rd prize for this challenge.





That's all for the highlights!
It's time to vote for your favourite song and enjoy special performances by 53A as well as Diya Tan while the votes are being tabulated.



Cast your votes into these blue boxes:





My vote, of course, goes to BOX 1 to support my talented classmates!!!



Sara from 53A sings beautifully!
If you haven't heard of 53A, LISTEN NOW and remember 53A!!!







Diya hyping up the crowd as we sang along with her that night.




I'm so proud of Yiyang (the keyboardist whom I've been performing with for the longest time) because together with Hui Shan, they won the Most popular song award!







For the first time, NEA also presented a ‘Special Mention Award’, to S. Gunasegaran and Pichinikkadu Elango for their Tamil submission entitled ‘Nature In You’, due to its lyrics regarded to possess high artistic value.

And you know what, Guna is also one of my WDA classmates!
My class is full of beautiful people (and some weird ones but I love every single one all the same).

Congratulations, Guna!



The Top 3 finalists waiting for their winning titles to be announced:


3rd prize: 'Lady Earth' by Christiane Mikaela


2nd Prize: 'Make This Dream Alive' by Ariane Goh and Tzire.


Our champion: 'Mother's Nature Cry' by Charles Basa, Samuel Simpson & Nur Ashriqin


Here's the full version of their Music Video:




I realise both the 1st and 2nd prized song comprises of raps.
Raps is very popular this year, no?



A group photo with my teachers and WDA classmates is a MUST!!!



Spent the rest of the night with myDreamGuy admiring the beautiful sights of Singapore at the top of Marina Barrage.



Till next year, Eco Music Challenge 2014~
Meanwhile, let's do our part to keep our home clean and green!