Local talent Chen Wei Qian launches her debut album Love Caught at NTUC Downtown East.
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| PHOTO: Joseph Oo | |
“It is a dream come true,” said Chen Wei Qian, a budding local singer who has worked alongside big names such as Aaron Kwok, Jolin Tsai and Stefanie Sun as an assistant music producer. Chen released her debut single on April 24 at NTUC Downtown East, Pasir Ris.
Chen is no stranger to the local music industry. At the age of 17, she was the first student of the prominent music producers, Lee Si Song and Lee Wei Song. Since then, her foray into contemporary music has been intermittent largely due to commitments at her day job. However, things took a turn when she was crowned winner at the Chinatown Showdown finale, a singing competition jointly organized by Singapore Press Holdings and UFM 100.3 in December 2008.
Fresh from her win, 32-year-old Chen was taken under the wings of The Sonic Studio to work on the release of her six-track debut album, including two sing-along karaoke tracks arranged and produced by renowned local music producer, Kenn Wu.
Throughout her hour-long performance, Chen recounted her journey as a singer and threw in little personal nuggets about the emotional highs and lows of having her dreams realized in this set of musical collaborations.
The highlight of the showcase was a duet Chen performed with Campus Superstar judge, Peter Chen. Besides the familiar tune previously performed by Stefanie Sun, it was her original self-penned tracks titled “You” and “Escape” that stood out in the five-song set performance. The skillfully crafted songs kept the crowd of 50 entertained. Overwhelmed by the love and support of her family, friends and co-workers, the petite singer burst into tears. To Chen, it was a moment to behold, as the sight of newfound fans that had gathered at the event square was a clear validation of her hard work as a recording artiste. Knowing that she could not have achieved all this alone, she tearfully said, “Thank you for the beautiful memories.”
Among those present at the launch were Christopher and Xiao Wei, both in their 30s and representatives of MStudio Singapore. The pair told City News that they were long-time friends and collaborators-at-work with the singer, adding that Chen “has what it takes” and that they were “definitely behind her.” Their actions spoke louder than words when they were one of the first in line to have their albums signed during the autograph session that followed.
Chen ended her heartfelt performance with a few parting words of advice: “Keep pursuing your dreams and never give up, as the day will come when you will finally be recognized for all your hard work.”
Chen Wei Qian’s debut album Love Caught will be sold at CD-Rama for S$8.90 from mid-May.
