August 02, 2008
Spanning almost eight, relatively long years in the music industry, Stefanie Sun is still reigning as Singapore''s homegrown pride and joy. Her unique vocals have spread far and wide, earning her legions of fans across Asia who snap up her albums like hot cross buns, taking them into the sales stratosphere of millions.
Being talent spotted by Lee Wei Song himself, Singapore''s premier songwriter and composer, in 2000, Stefanie''s future career as Mando-pop Queen beckoned, and she has never looked back since. Her first album, Yan Zi, was an immediate smash success, carving her name in stone among the upper echelons of the Mandarin music scene. Despite her brief hiatus in 2003, she returned stronger than ever, and still looks set to shake the music industry with every hit record that she churns out.
MTV Asia catches a quick moment with Stefanie, and talks to the effervescent pint-sized powerhouse about her star-struck moments, her most bizarre rumors, and her biggest fetish.
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Congratulations on being nominated again for Favourite Artist of Singapore! You''ve already swept a whopping four wins out of five. What do you reckon your chances are this time?
Stef: Errr... Pretty good I must say? [Laughs] But no, I just mean that my fans are really supportive, and I think they really want to see me win, so if they go all out and vote, then yeah, there could be a high chance. It''s probably a close fight though. I know everyone''s been working really hard as well.
Tanya Chua is a fellow Mando-pop Queen like yourself. Surely there must be comparisons... How does it feel to be up against her in the running for the award?
Stef: Always? [Laughs] Well she recently won for Best Female Artist in the Taiwanese Golden Melody Award. I''m very happy for her. Comparisons are inevitable in this line. MTV VS Channel V... You know... Same old. [Laughs]
Yep, we do know indeed. Tell us about the collaboration with Electrico. Do you usually listen to their music, and was it difficult to balance the different sounds you both have?
Stef: Honestly, no. They have a more electronic sound, but I do believe in supporting local bands, getting together and creating something different. This time round, it''s interesting precisely because of our different sounds. They kind of took my song, and changed it, giving it a sort of edgy rock vibe to it.
That sounds pretty awesome. We''re certainly looking forward to it. Now, it''s been eight years since you carved out a music career. Ten albums later, what is the one album that''s still pretty close to your heart?
Stef: Wow... Hmmm, if I had to pick one, it''s probably the Leave album. It talks a lot about being in another place, and I had a lot of exciting memories of this album.
You were extremely prolific in putting out albums in your early years, before your hiatus, coming back with a much different sound later. Was the reason for the hiatus because you felt that the previous albums weren''t quite you? If so, in what ways?
Stef: Oh no, I don''t think it''s that. I just felt overwhelmed by all the work, that''s all. I also think, being an artist means sometimes saying things like, "Oh I''ve moved on, moved to another genre." But that''s not true for me. I just think I didn''t know what I was going through at that point, so I just felt like I needed to take a break to sort it out.
We see a lot of local talent having to expand overseas, most notably to Taiwan, in order to become really big. So what''s this saying about our local music market?
Stef: Yeah, it''s always been that way. I think it says that we''re not savvy enough to recognize a talent when we see one.
So what do you think is up-and-coming musically then?
Stef: I think people like Tanya Chua, who''s beginning to get a lot of international recognition now. She''s really talented and she also started out locally. The next big thing in music, is probably something indie pop. Like Electrico.
Now, you weren''t always on the fast track to becoming a Mando-pop Queen. What would you have been if this had not materialized?
Stef: Ahhh... My degree was in marketing. I was going to be someone in marketing. [Laughs] But then again, it''s still very relevant to what I''m doing. It''s all just about packaging and marketing, after all.
Who was the first person you wanted to meet, on account of being a star?
Stef: I do remember moments when I met Andy Lau, and I BRUSHED past Tony Leung, and I was like "Ooooo." I felt really excited and clammy, and like I just wanted to go up and talk to them. But there wasn''t one person. It''s actually only at that moment when you meet them, that you go, "I''ve ALWAYS wanted to meet you!!!" [Laughs] But okay, probably Andy Lau. He''s probably just some shining knight. You feel like a damsel in distress.
What''s the most bizarre thing you''ve ever read about yourself in the news?
Stef: Let''s see... It ranges from something that said I was in a three-way relationship with Jolin Tsai and Jay Chou. Oh! Or the Jordan Chan one. They said I was dating him, and only the closest friends and family know about that relationship. But I''ve only said hi to him once! [Laughs]
The things people say huh. Moving on, you once mentioned in an interview that what people didn''t know was that when you first started out, you couldn''t command good rates, and that went on for years. Now, I find that really hard to believe! Seeing as you were such a phenomenal success when you first came out.
Stef: Really?? Well I do believe that it started slowly becoming better, and it was really a gradual process, but it was still tough during the first few years.
What then, has been your biggest splurge to date?
Stef: Oh, it''s always been bags. Bags are my fetish. And shoes, of course. But more bags. [Laughs]
What do you think is the reason for your staying power?
Stef: I like to think it''s talent. And a good dose of humility.
What else can we expect of Stefanie Sun next?
Stef: Oh wow, I really don''t know! But okay, probably a new album!
Being a relative veteran in the music industry, what advice could you give, as a parting shot, to young and aspiring talent from Singapore?
Stef: Basically, it really is just to be true to yourself, and never give up no matter what. There''s no point in making music you don''t really want to be making, otherwise everything will just be done in a pretty half-hearted fashion. So yeah.
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8年时间转瞬即逝，但对于演唱界来说确很漫长，燕姿依然被誉为新加坡的骄傲和荣誉。她独特的嗓音穿越整
个亚太地区吸引了数以万计的歌迷，将她的唱片销售量推向了百万的顶峰。
在被著名音乐人李伟菘的独具慧眼的发掘后，2000年燕姿开始了 她‘MANDO-POP QUEEN’ 歌唱事业。 她的第
一张同名专辑‘孙燕姿’ 取得了巨大的成功，这将她的名字牢牢的刻印在华语音乐史上。在2003年的暂别歌坛
后，燕姿以她的最佳状态返回了她的歌唱事业，并期待着再次以她的音乐震撼乐坛。
MTV亚洲 捕捉了燕姿以往的一些小片段包括那些 星光-‘罢工’瞬间，关于她奇怪的谣言，以及她热衷的崇拜
：
MTV: 恭喜再次被提名为新加坡最受欢迎歌手！在过去5次被提名中，你已经扫光4次奖项。对于这次的提名机
会，你猜会怎样？
燕姿：呃，我只能说‘好极啦’？ （笑）我的意思是 我的歌迷真的非常的支持我，我想他们真的想看我获奖
，所以他们全部跑去投票，然后 YEAH，我就会有很高的机会获奖。但这可能是一场非常激烈的竞争，因为每
个被提名的人都很努力。
MTV:蔡健雅和你一样也是备受瞩目的‘MANDO’ 流行皇后。当然，是最具有竞争力的对手。在MTV大奖中将如何
和她竞逐？
燕姿：一直都是？ （笑） 她呢，最近刚捧走了 台湾金曲奖的最佳女歌手。我真的很为她高兴！竞争是不可
避免的。MTV和CHANNELV，大家都知道，一样残酷（笑）
MTV: 没错，我们当然都知道。来说说你和ELECTRICO 的合作吧.你经常听他们的音乐吗，在你们彼此之间都
非常特别的声音中找到平衡很困难吗？
燕姿：老实说，没有。 他们甚至有更电子的音乐，但我愿意支持本土乐团，和他们合作并创作出一些很不同
的东西。但我们不同的声音融合在一起确实是非常非常的有趣。他们非常喜欢拿我的歌然后赋予一些非常震
撼的摇滚在里面。
MTV: 听起来不可思议！我们非常的期望见到这些新作。至今为止，你已经进入乐坛8年了。10张专辑过后，
哪一张是那个最接近你内心的？
燕姿：喔，嗯。。如果非要挑一个，是 LEAVE那张。因为那张专辑里有很多歌是关于在其他的地方，给我了
很多难忘的回忆。
MTV: 在暂别歌坛之前呢，你的专辑发行率是很高的，但那之后就不同了。这是不是因为你觉得在那之前发行
的专辑都不大是真的你？
燕姿：哦，不是的。我那时只是觉得我被工作压的快窒息了，就这样。我也想，艺人就意味着有时会说‘哦，
我必须要改变，必须要转型到其他风格’。 但这不是我想要的。在那时，我只是不知道我该如何去做才能度
过那种压力，所以我觉得我需要休息一段时间，让自己喘口气。
MTV: 其实有很多新加坡当地很有才华的音乐人，远足它乡发展，比如台湾，以让自己真正的强大起来。但，
这说明我们的当地音乐市场有问题？
燕姿：没错，很多人是这样。我想这说明当我们看到一个新人的时候，我们没有很明智的看出：那将是一个
很有才华的音乐人。
MTV: 那你觉得谁将是我们本土那个即将出现的天才音乐人？
燕姿： 我想大家都喜欢蔡健雅，她赢得了很多国际上的认可。她真的非常有才华，但她也是在其他地区红起
来的。我想接下来的大件事，可能是那些INDIE 流行， 比如ELECTRICO
MTV: 谁是你以前最想遇到的人？包括明星。
燕姿： 我一直记得当我遇到刘德华，还有梁朝伟，然后我就象‘哦哦哦哦’。我觉得很兴奋又很紧张，就想跑
过去和他们讲话，但那边又一堆人。真的是当你遇到他们的时候，你就想跑过去说“我是一直渴望见到你们”
（笑）。 但好吧，可能是刘德华。他可能好像华丽的伯爵，那然后你就会觉得你是一个贫困的小女孩。
MTV: 报纸上，哪些是你读过最荒唐的事情？
燕姿：这个嘛。。。就是那个关于我和周杰伦，蔡依林的三角恋。哦！还有那个 我和陈小春的绯闻。八卦说
，我和他约会，只有我家人和最好的朋友知道我和他的关系。但我和他只说过一次HI （笑）
MTV: 这事儿大家都哼哈的笑。继续，记得有次你提到很多人都不知道 在你崭露头角的时候，你的期望并不
很高，那种状态甚至延续了一段时间。但现在，我真的不敢相信！回头看去，你从一出道就取得了很大的成
功。
燕姿： 真的吗？我是真的觉得我开始的时候发展并不快，那确实是一个成长的过程。但开始的几年，确实很
辛苦。
MTV: 目前为止，你挥霍金钱最多的东西是什么？
燕姿：哦，当然是包包。包包是我最高的崇拜。 还有鞋子，当然。 但最多是包包。（笑）
MTV: 你觉得是什么让你保持能量十足？
燕姿： 我觉得是天分和谦虚
MTV: 我们可以在燕姿这里期待些什么？在接下来？
燕姿： 哦，WOW， 我真的不知道唉！但，好吧，可能是一张新专辑！
MTV: 作为一个在音乐界有很多经验的‘老兵’， 你对新加坡的新人们有什么忠告吗？
燕姿： 一般来说，做你自己，和决不放弃：不管在任何情况下。 做那些你不想做的音乐是很没有意义的，否则，做出来的音乐只有一半的心和感觉在里面，就这样。
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