SARAH Cheng-De Winne
portrait — of a — singer Songwriter
➂ ➃ ➄ ➆ Brand New perspectives, What They Say The Sound of Movies About Sarah Brand New Music
Photo by Jovian Lim
www.sarahchengdewinne.com • Brand New Perspectives
Photo by Jovian Lim Brand New Music
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« The accident prompted me to reflect on m y purpose in life. It made me realize just how fragile we are, but also how strong we can be. »
Singapore, 1st October 2012 — What would you do dramatic canvas of audial landscapes — from the after having miraculously escaped a horrific car energetic and pulsating beats of “Past Midnight accident? Within 2 months after her near-death (Remix)” and the lyrical hooks of “Parallel experience, singer-songwriter Sarah Cheng-De Lives”, to the dark and woeful cries of “Diagonal Winne completed and launched her debut full- Rain” and catchy strains “Happy Ever After”. length album, Brand New, at a ticketed showcase Drawing from diverse influences including The at the Esplanade Recital Studio on 28 Sep 2012. Carpenters,Stevie Wonder, Bread, John Legend, Sade, Corrine Bailey Rae, Anita Baker and Fittingly, Sarah delves into the lyrical themes Simply Red, Sarah joins the new wave of female of love, redemption and self-empowerment singer-songwriters like Adele, Leona Lewis and in Brand New. Featuring anthemic melodies P!nk in creating a distinctive sound that crosses delivered in her distinctively soulful voice, Brand the genres of Pop, Soul and R&B. New embodies Sarah’s renewed philosophies on life, relationships and music-making, especially Co-produced with Los Angeles-based music influenced by life events that occurred within producer Kavin Hoo (Corrinne May, Tanya Chua) its two-year incubation period. Her powerful and mixed by Bob Horn (Ne-Yo, Usher, Ashanti), anthem, “Just Me”, was written in response to Brand New continues to embody her signature style her miraculous escape from the accident with of expressive vocal performance while featuring a only minor injuries. “The accident prompted radio-friendly approach to songwriting. “Sarah’s me to reflect on my purpose in life. It made me chocolate velvet vocals are delightfully soulful,” realize just how fragile we are, but also how remarks platinum-certified singer-songwriter strong we can be.” Corrinne May. Sarah performed backing vocals for Corrinne’s concert to a 7000-strong crowd at The 13-track album features 8 original songs, the Gardens by the Bay. 2 covers and 3 bonus tracks including 延续到 永远, a Chinese version of “Make Me Love You To promote her latest release, Sarah is planning Less”. Delivering lyrical hooks and foot-tapping a tour in the coming months (please contact Evelyn grooves in a significant progression from her for confirmed show details). Through Warner Music first EP, Let’s Pretend, Brand New highlights the Singapore’s distribution channels, her album rising songbird’s talent for creating evocative will be available at all good music stores and for melodies and emotional atmospheres. Sarah’s digital download at iTunes from 26 October 2012. rich, powerful and expressive vocals create a
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« Sarah’s theatrical training « Sarah stretches her versatility enhances her interpretation, muscle...as she tackles R&B, in that she understands the pop and urban rhythms...Plus, subtext of her songs and gives she’s got an emotive voice that’s them nuance. » engaging. »
— — Dr. KK Seet, Christopher Toh, ST Life! Theatre Awards Judge TODAY
Photo by Pino Gomes
« A gifted vocalist with « Versatile and elegant. Sarah extraordinary range, sings in a polished manner unique tone and strong with thoughtful arrangements expressiveness. » and textured melodies. »
— — Iskandar Ismail, Rani Singam, Music Producer & Jazz Vocalist Cultural Medallion Recipient
➍ • The Sound of Movies
13th February 2013 – The Sound of Movies - MediaCorp’s telemovie, Love…And Other Bad Habits, features singer-songwriter & Warner Music Singapore Artist Sarah Cheng-De Winne’s songs “Happy Ever After” and “Love-Shape Void”
Fresh out of releasing her debut album Brand New, Warner Music Singapore Artist Sarah Cheng-De Winne’s songs “Happy Ever After” and “Love-Shape Void” have been included on the soundtrack of telemovie Love…And Other Bad Habits, produced by MediaCorp’s Toggle and starring Zoe Tay, Chen Hanwei, Kym Ng & George Young.
“Happy Ever After” was written by the singer-songwriter in response to her personal loss of a close friendship. “I wrote this song about new beginnings, because I believe there is hope for redemption despite the mistakes we’ve made in our relationships,” says Cheng-De Winne. Indeed, one of the sub-plots in Love…And Other Bad Habits, which features Zoe Tay and Chen Hanwei as a divorced couple, explores how the two ex-lovers move from their past into reconciliation.
The producers of the film liked “Happy Ever After” so much, that they licensed a Mandarin version of the song, “通往幸福的路” (Tong Wang Xing Fu De Lu) to promote the telemovie across MediaCorp’s Chinese-language broadcast platforms. “I’m grateful to be given the opportunity to share this message of hope and redemption with more audiences. It also affirms the relevance of my music to Chinese audiences,” quips the bilingual songstress, who worked with Funkie Monkie producer Jim Lim and lyricists Alex Chua and Lynn Lee to produce the Chinese version.
The other song featured prominently in the film, “Love-Shape Void”, explores a very personal and deep need for love. The song relates to a poignant part of the telemovie where the various characters are facing crises in their relationships. Cheng-De Winne wrote this song for a friend who was in a depression some years back. “She had broken up with her boyfriend, and was on the verge of completely breaking down. Despite having all that she could need or want materially, what she really needed was to have someone love her unconditionally. I think there are many people like her, who I hope will be moved by my song.”
Love…And Other Bad Habits opens at Cathay Cinemas on 14th February 2013.
Brand New, which features the songs “Happy Ever After” and “Love-Shape Void”, is available at HMV, Gramophone, That CD Shop and on iTunes.
mediacorp’s telemovie Love…And Other Bad Habits ➎ •
— About Sarah —
Photo by Jovian Lim
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lthough Brand New is her debut full-length album, Sarah is no stranger to the scene. Sarah is a multifaceted singer-songwriter, creative entrepreneur and ex-Radio DJ with more than a decade of vocal, musical and theatre training.
Following her 2010 debut EP, Let's Pretend, her songs “I Just Like You” and “Maybe Forever” entered LUSH99.5 and GOLD90.5FM’s playlists, while her year-long stint as a radio DJ at MediaCorp’s 938LIVE brought her voice to mass consciousness through a daily exposure on national radio.A In October 2012, Sarah performed the theme song of The Apartment Style Edition, where her voice has been heard in 18 countries worldwide. Sarah’s songs “Happy Ever After” and “Love-Shape Void” have also been featured on the soundtrack of MediaCorp Toggle’s telemovie, Love…And Other Bad Habits, with the former being the telemovie’s thematic promotional song.
Best known for her “delightfully soulful” voice, dynamic performances and signature blend of pop, soul and jazz, Sarah was the opening act for HK diva Frances Yip’s one-night only showcase in December 2012. She has featured on local and international platforms such as LIVE! Singapore 2010, Mosaic Music Festival 2011, Singapore Wine & Jazz Festival 2010, Esplanade’s Celebrate December (2009 & 2010) and Timbre’s LIVE (2010). She also performed backing vocals for singer-songwriter Corrinne May’s local concerts – including a 7000-strong crowd at Corrinne’s Rhythm in Nature show at Gardens by the Bay in June 2012. Regionally, Sarah has performed as a guest vocalist at venues such as The Living Room (Bangkok, Thailand) and Once Upon A Blue Moon (Seoul, Korea).
But Sarah’s musical roots run deeper. Her innate musicality was developed through an early and wide exposure to world, jazz and classic hit music by her parents, themselves zealous music collectors. With staunch family support, Sarah involved herself from age 6 in numerous school musicals, choir performances, church services and a jazz ensemble throughout her most formative years.
Trained in classical piano up to Grade 5 and having studied voice under Amanda Colliver (Moulin Rouge), Sarah’s theatre background — she holds a double major degree in Psychology (Hons) and Theatre Studies — also informs her ability to engage and connect with audiences.
One of her earliest breaks was being selected from over 300 youths to be one of main cast members in the hit teen musical, It’s My Life! (2008). Over a year-long incubation process,she honed her musical theatre skills under the tutelage of theatre, music and movement veterans Tan Kheng Hua, Lim Yu-Beng, Bang Wenfu and Ricky Sim. Following this, she was selected to be part of young & W!LD (2009-2010), W!LD Rice’s youth division, where she trained intensively for 12 months under theatre director Jonathan Lim — culminating in the showcase performance Family (2010).
But music remains Sarah’s first love. “Winning my first solo singing competition at the age of 14 was a defining moment for me,” Sarah reflects. “It made me think — I could do this for the rest of my life.” Now armed with a distribution deal under Warner Music Singapore, Sarah’s dreams have become a reality for the 25-year old chanteuse, as she reaches out to local and international audiences with a Brand New sound. www.sarahchengdewinne.com
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« Sarah’s chocolate velvet vocals are delightfully soulful. » — Corrinne May, Singer-songwriter
Brand New track listing WARNER MUSIC SINGAPORE
1. Parallel Lives Warner Music Singapore (WMS) is the Singapore division of 2. Just Me Warner Music Group (WMG), one of the largest music record 3. Happy Ever After labels in the world. 4. Somewhere Only We Know 5. Make Me Love You Less WMG is home to a collection of the best-known record labels 6. Even in the Small Things in the music industry including Atlantic, Elektra, Maverick, 7. Dreams Rhino and Roadrunner. Managing a broad roster of new up- 8. Diagonal Rain and-coming stars and legendary recording artistes, Warner 9. Past Midnight Music International operates through numerous international 10. Love Shape Void affiliates and licensees in more than 50 countries. Warner 11. Past Midnight (Remix) Music Group also includes Warner/Chappell Music, one of the 12. 延续到永远 Yan Xu Dao Yong Yuan world's leading music publishers. 13. Love Shape Void (Radio Edit) WMS was established in 1978. Being one of the market leaders in Singapore, we are always looking to trend-set new business Brand New was launched with a ticketed live concert, Brand New ideas and strongly develop our budding local talents. In with Sarah Cheng-De Winne, where Sarah was accompanied by a support of the local music scene, WMS has distributed for a 5-piece band at the Esplanade Recital Studio on Friday, 28th few successful local artists including Corrinne May, X’Ho, September 2012. Mark Bonafide, Derrick Hoh, Jocie Guo, Joi Chua, Kelvin Tan, Video and photos from the launch concert are available for Electrico, Fire Fight, West Grand Boulevard and Nat Ho. press use upon request. In this new digital era, WMS aims to strategize, innovate and Brand New is available in Singapore at HMV, Gramophone grow with partners to continue promoting good music and & That CD Shop, and internationally from iTunes and artistes in a very competitive and challenging environment. CDBaby.com. www.facebook.com/warnermusicsingapore
« Her deep, Cher-esque tone works well with R&B-tinged numbers.. » — Victoria Barker, myPaper
design Mark De Winne, Relay Room www.relayroom.com
pr enquires & interviews Evelyn Woo Tel: +65 6212 0895 · +65 9274 4773 Email: [email protected]
performance enquires
Email: [email protected]
links
www.sarahchengdewinne.com www.soundcloud.com/sarahchengdewinne www.facebook.com/sarahchengdewinne www.youtube.com/sarahdewinne
Sarah Cheng-De Winne is a GC Watches Smart Luxury Personality. Official Hair Sponsor: Kim Robinson
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