SINGAPORE – In this weekly column, The Straits Times curates the most buzz-worthy music you need to know about now.
Stream This Song: Jay Chou (featuring Gary Yang) – Christmas Star
Christmas may be over, but the Yuletide spirit is still very much alive among the Jay Chou fans cheering the Taiwanese superstar’s single Christmas Star, which was released on Dec 22.
His first music release since the album Greatest Works Of Art in July 2022, its music video quickly became the top trending video for music on YouTube. Although the song features Chou’s long-time friend and collaborator Gary Yang, the latter sings only one verse.
Rather unusual for a Christmas song, Christmas Star is, first, R&B-influenced, with a melody composed by Chou, compared with the many pop ditties that flood the airwaves around this time of year.
Second, its lyrics by Taiwanese lyricist Vincent Fang are about breaking up with a partner just before Christmas Day.
Some lines, such as “By the fireplace window/Christmas stocking wishes are waiting to be fulfilled”, convey a sense of unfulfilled longing during the holiday season, and might speak to people who did not have the best time over the weekend.
Festive tracks, it seems, do not all have to be sugary and cheery. Christmas Star shows they can also reflect melancholy and loneliness. – Benson Ang
Chart Champ: Seven by Jungkook (featuring Latto) and Cupid (Twin Version) by Fifty Fifty
It is the end of the year and the verdict is in.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift may be the most streamed artiste of the year, but K-pop reigned supreme in Singapore in 2023.
The most streamed song in Singapore according to Spotify is BTS golden boy Jungkook’s solo debut song Seven (featuring American rapper Latto).
The song, released in July, was a tremendous success right out of the gate with close to 16 million Spotify streams on its first day and debuting atop the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
The catchy and sexy track also made history as the fastest song to reach one billion streams in Spotify history. It achieved the feat in 108 days, overtaking American pop star Miley Cyrus’ Flowers, which took 112 days.
Over at Apple Music, another K-pop act ruled this year’s charts. The most streamed song in Singapore on the platform was Cupid (Twin Version) by rookie four-piece girl group Fifty Fifty.
The youthful bubblegum-pop number has both a Korean version, titled Cupid, and an English version termed the Twin Version sung by members Sio and Aran.
The song, which was first released in February, did not catch fire initially. But after a dance challenge and a user-generated sped-up cut of the English version went viral on TikTok, Cupid took flight.
By May, it had been used in eight million TikTok videos and garnered 12 billion views on the short video platform.
Despite being one of the most promising young girl groups of 2023, Fifty Fifty are currently inactive due to an ongoing contractual dispute with their management label Attrakt. – Jan Lee
Singapore Scene: Josh Makazo – ST Music Lab
The latest episode of ST’s Music Lab podcast features an interview with Singaporean Josh Makazo.
He rose from obscurity to become one of the most popular home-grown artistes on TikTok in 2023, thanks to his song Half Of My Heart, which went viral and has clocked more than 5.3 million views so far.
In his first podcast interview, the 20-year-old full-time musician revealed that he released the song while still serving national service in July.
The song was an instant hit on TikTok, garnering 500,000 views within a day.
Inspired by his first love, the electronic pop/R&B song is found on his debut album Gradient, released in November. Makazo, who learnt how to make music through YouTube videos, produced all 15 tracks.
Gradient is a diverse and emotional collection that showcases his abilities as a singer, rapper and songwriter, with songs that traverse hip-hop, R&B and electronic pop.
Makazo also spoke about his early days in musical theatre. He was one of the local kids who was cast in the 2014 run of popular musical The Sound Of Music.
Listen to the Music Lab podcast, as well as Makazo’s live rendition of Half Of My Heart, at str.sg/w9TX. – Eddino Abdul Hadi
Ace Album: Neil Young – Before And After
In his 45th album Before And After, veteran Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young dug into the vaults and gave new life to some lesser-known songs from his much vaunted oeuvre.
It is an intimate performance, stripped down to just his distinct tenor and accompanying guitar, piano or organ. Meant to be listened to as a whole and not as individual tracks, the experience feels like the 78-year-old is playing a private show for the listener.
His weathered voice is tender and warm, and the songs often flow into each other.
The oldest song in the 13-track release is Burned from 1966 – and the eponymous debut album of his former folk rock band Buffalo Springfield.
Before And After also includes recent fare such as the sanguine, heartfelt Don’t Forget Love from 2021 album Barn, as well as tracks from some of his more memorable releases. These include Birds from After The Gold Rush (the acclaimed 1970 album that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014) and I’m The Ocean (from 1995’s Mirror Ball, the collaboration with American alternative rock stalwarts Pearl Jam).
When I Hold You In My Arms – from Are You Passionate?, the 2002 soul album that strays from his rock and folk roots – reflects his wide-ranging repertoire.
There is one previously unreleased song, If You Got Love, a meditation on his always restless demeanour (“People my age, they don’t do the things I do”). – Eddino Abdul Hadi
Must-see MV: Alan Walker, Yuqi of (G)I-dle and JVKE – Fire!
Norwegian electronic dance music star Alan Walker’s single Fire! features two guest stars – Yuqi from K-pop girl group (G)I-dle and TikTok breakout star, American singer-songwriter JVKE.
And if you have wondered what the three would look like as characters in a video game, check out the animated music video where the trio appear as CGI avatars.
The music video takes place in Walkerworld, Walker’s neon-lit fantasy theme park created in popular online game Fortnite.
He takes centre stage behind his DJ console, while JVKE goes all acrobatic, dancing around on a giant Ferris wheel.
Dressed in a science fiction-inspired outfit, Yuqi sings on the main stage and later activates a device that opens up the gates to the theme park, letting in multiple characters wearing hoodies emblazoned with Walker’s logo.
The club-friendly dance song is catchy, with a chorus that is an immediate earworm.
JVKE and Yuqi perform a verse each, and later sing in harmony on the pre-chorus, chorus and bridge.
Fire! is included in Walker’s November-released album, also named Walkerworld. – Eddino Abdul Hadi
