D2 life weekend | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2017 | Fighting for Van Gogh

The painter’s dedication to his art Music curveballs moved singer from Sun Stefanie Sun, who was determined to 1 make her song about LEAVE AM ALONE him the lead single Yan Zi (2000) The debut album from the gamine and fresh- faced newcomer had uplifting tracks such as Turbo Boon Chan and singalong hits including Media Correspondent the now classic Cloudy Day. But it also included Leave Me Alone, which did not fit Using SkillsFuture Credit, one can, neatly into people’s say, learn to speak Korean or pick perception of her musical up bookkeeping. DNA: positive, encouraging In the case of local singer Stefanie and girl-next-door. Sun, it helped shape her new album, Tune-wise, the mid-tempo A Dancing Van Gogh, which was re- track actually does not feel leased on Nov 9. out of place, though the lyrics And, no, it was not a masterclass can be rather emotional, with on putting out a record. Rather, it its titular plea: “What am I was a course on basic watercolour thinking, what do I want, techniques at the Nanyang Acad- don’t ask me/Can you leave emy of Fine Arts that she took in me alone.” March last year. She eventually stopped at the Advance 3 level. Her classmates took it in their 2 stride that there was a pop star in their midst. The first time the SILENT ALL THESE YEARS teacher took attendance, however, Start and came across Sun’s dialect (2002) name, she said: “Oh, I thought that American Sun Yanzi (the singer’s Chinese singer- name) was so free to come for my song- class.” writer The singer muses: “When I took Tori up watercolour painting, I didn’t Amos’ think that it would (lead to) some- lacerat- thing. It was just, okay lor, $500 (of ingly honest lyrics on Little SkillsFuture Credit), let’s go.” Earthquakes (1992) can draw Sun, 39, is speaking to The Straits blood. Sample lines: “Boy you Times at Capella Singapore after best pray that I bleed real grabbing a quick bite of pizza and soon/How’s that thought for tom yum soup following a day of you.” Sun’s cover version is photoshoots and interviews. quite faithful, down to the The classes coincided with a grow- piano accompaniment, and ing interest in art, particular that of she acquits herself well with master painter Vincent Van Gogh. this unlikely choice of song. In recent years, she has been visit- Chinese pop queen Faye ing the Netherlands “quite a bit” – Wong covered it as Cold War her entrepreneur husband Nadim in Cantonese and Mandarin van der Ros is Dutch and there is a with completely different Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. lyrics. The painter’s dedication to his art, even though he was not recog- nised for it during his lifetime, 3 moved her. She fought for A Danc- ing Van Gogh (music by Taiwanese MAGICAL band Tree Of Life’s The Little To Be Prince, lyrics by well-known lyri- Conti- cist Wu I-wei) to be the lead single, nued... despite it being neither a conven- (2003) tional ballad nor an outright dance The number. Bolly- “I remember we had a meeting wood- with my record label and they said: inspired ‘Oh, we had a test, six out of 10 lead single for her sixth hated it, the other four didn’t feel album featured traditional for it.’” Indian instruments and the While she can come across as laid- Mandopop star Stefanie Sun took up watercolour painting classes last year and developed an interest in the art of Vincent Van Gogh. PHOTO: UNIVERSAL MUSIC music video showed Sun back and easygoing in conversa- sporting henna decorations tion, there is also a determined side on her hands and even a bindi to the singer. What felt like a risky Best Female Vocalist at the presti- song (“Don’t forget falling leaves She has never revealed his name Music is also art; on her forehead. departure to some was an obvious gious Golden Melody Awards in return to the ground/We’ll gather to the public, though her face lights choice to her. 2005 for the album Stefanie. in the wheatfields, so beautiful, and up when talking about him. there’s no formula. She says of the track: “The song is But she points out: “Music is also celebrate”). She says with a laugh: “I don’t It shouldn’t be, ‘Oh 4 also about a mental state. It sounds art; there’s no formula. It shouldn’t The other lyrics were penned by know what is more difficult, doing a little dark, maybe it’s the moment be, ‘Oh yah, you need to have a popu- the likes of singer-songwriter Hush mundane things like chauffeuring yah, you need to have MY STORY, YOUR SONG just before (Van Gogh) cut his ear. I lar song, and then you do this, then (who wrote Kepler for her) and lyri- or tidying up, or asking him to sit a popular song, and To Be Continued... (2003) feel that, increasingly, a lot of us are you can push out other things.’” cist Kevin Yi (who wrote Encounter down and stop moving about.” Duets are pretty much de dealing with mental stress, there’s When it comes to music, she for her). He is protective, and perhaps a then you do this, then rigueur for a major this overload of information and knows what she wants. And she The singer has had a long and tad possessive, of her too. “He’ll be Mandopop act, but instead of this idea of where you think your wanted to end the album on a hope- fruitful working relationship with like, ‘Why are you taking pictures you can push out other a love ballad with a male life has to be.” ful note after the darker start of A the twin brothers Li Sisong and with strangers? Stop taking pic- things.’ singer, she paired up with Living up to other people’s expec- Dancing Van Gogh. Weisong. They have written some tures with strangers.’ Japanese pop and R&B star tations is not something she is par- She was recording with local song- of her best-known hits over the “And I’m like, ‘Mama cannot, Mai Kuraki here on an ticularly concerned with – although writer-producer Li Sisong when his years, from Cloudy Day to Angel’s these people listen to mama’s mu- English number. They the pressures of putting out hit al- son Tingguang, 23, dropped by. Li Fingerprints. Between them, they sic, you know, they’re very support- collaborated again on bum after hit album as a Mandopop suggested that Tingguang take a came up with half of the music for A ive.’ I have to explain these things SINGER STEFANIE SUN on making Tonight, I Feel Close To You, queen are real. stab at writing the elusive album Dancing Van Gogh, including stand- to him.” ’’A Dancing Van Gogh the lead single of her which is on the compilation recent album, despite it being neither a After all, she has reportedly sold ender. out number Windbreaker. (The His music diet includes classic conventional ballad nor an outright dance album The Moment (2003). more than 30 million records in a The result was Immense Beauty, windbreaker seen in the music rock and pop by Queen and The Bea- number hugely successful career that took a wistful, tender ballad with a beau- video was designed by Sun and her tles, courtesy of his father, and Man- off with her eponymous debut tiful melody. sister Jeanette.) dopop from his mother. 5 album in 2000. On her first listen of the tune, Sun She says simply: “They have a She adds with a touch of pride: She has also amassed a large num- said: “This is it, correct already.” very innate talent for composing “He would sing the last line of SWEET CHILD O’ MINE ber of accolades, including a win for She later wrote the lyrics for the that fits me.” Huang Yida’s Ni Ming De Bao Bei Rainbow To her, the album feels complete, (My Anonymous Babe): Ai ni zen Bot an achievement she is proud of. me hui lei? (How could I get tired (2016) And if some people do not take to loving you?)” Instead of it, that is fine. She says: “It’s a very Now that he is older and “fully American SCAN TO WATCH subjective thing. I’ve seen artwork functional” – “can tell him to eat by rock band Inspired by art that I don’t like. But I don’t think himself” – she says she is more Guns N’ that ‘don’t like’ is a bad thing. It open to the idea of having more Roses doesn’t subtract from what I’m try- kids. frontman Axl Rose’s snarl, we ing to do. Ask how she feels about turning get Sun adding a touch of “I always say an artist’s job is not 40 next year and she says: “Forty maternal warmth to lines to be liked. It’s to push, sometimes, lor, you can be whatever kind of 40 such as: “O sweet child o’ to look at things differently.” you want to be. You can be active, mine, o sweet love of mine.” Her most recent release was the you can be very inactive. Just do EP Rainbow Bot last year, which what you want to do.” captures the sense of innocence and wonder of childhood, and her [email protected] last album was Kepler in 2014. When she is away from the lime- • A Dancing Van Gogh is available in http://str.sg/vangogh light, her son, five, keeps her busy. stores.