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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孙燕姿：太阳永远升起
August 5, 2008
，跟这位娇小玲珑的巨星谈及她的追星时刻，她最奇异的谣言和她最大的狂热。
在音乐圈风靡了漫长的八年，孙燕姿人是新加坡的骄傲和喜悦。她独特的嗓音风靡各地，为她在亚洲赢得了无数歌迷。他们疯狂地收集她的专辑，将她的唱片销售量推向了百万的顶峰。
被新加坡金牌歌曲创作者和作曲家李伟菘独具慧眼发掘后，孙燕姿作为华语流行歌坛天后生涯从此开始。自此，她从未回头，她的第一张专辑《孙燕姿》让在她华语歌坛一举成名。尽管在2003年她暂别歌坛，但她的重新出击势不可挡。她发行的每一张专辑依然震憾乐坛。
MTV亚洲和孙燕姿短暂地交谈，跟这位娇小玲珑的巨星谈及她的追星时刻，她最奇异的谣言和她最大的狂热。
***
恭喜你再度获得“新加坡最受欢迎歌手”的提名。在过去五次提名中，你有四次大获全胜。你认为这次的获奖机会有多大？
Stef: 嗯……我想说，获奖机会还是很大的。[笑]不，我的意思是，我的歌迷们还是很支持我。我想，他们真的很希望我赢。如果他们全力以赴投票，获胜的机会应该很大。不过这是一场势均力敌的比赛。我知道，其他人也相当努力。
跟你一样，蔡健雅也是华语流行歌坛天后。肯定会有人拿你们做比较。跟她一起角逐这个奖项有什么感受？
Stef:一直都是？[笑]她最近刚刚捧走了“台湾金曲奖”的“最佳女歌手”。我很替她感到高兴。在这个行业，比较是不可避免的。MTV对Channel V……总是这样。[笑]
对，我们知道。谈谈和Electrico 的合作。你常听他们的音乐吗？平衡你们之间不同的音乐风格很困难吗？
Stef:老实说，不。他们的音乐风格更具电子感。但是我很支持本地乐队，和他们合作、创作出不同的东西。由于我们不同的音乐风格，这次的合作确很有意思。他们把我的歌改动了一些，让它有了一点尖锐的摇滚风格。
那听上去很棒。我们很期望听到它。你步入乐坛已经八年了，出了10张专辑。你觉得哪张专辑最靠近你的心？
Stef:哇……嗯。如果我必须选一张的话，可能是《离开》。它讲述了很多有关在另外一个地方的感受。对于这张专辑，我有很多令人激动的回忆。
在早期，在你暂别歌坛之前，你出了很多专辑，相当多产。复出后，你的音乐风格完全不同了。你觉得以往的专辑不能表现你的风格是你暂别歌坛的原因吗？如果是这样，有哪些方面？
Stef:噢，天哪。我不这么认为。我只是感觉，这么多的工作让我不知所措。我也认为，作为一名艺人，有的时候应该说：“我开始了新的挑战，转向另一种风格。”但是我不是这样。我只是想，我不知道在那个时候我在经历什么。我感觉自己需要歇一段时间，想清楚。
我们看见很多当地有才华的人为了成名，都去海外发展，特别是台湾。关于本地音乐市场的这种说法，你有什么看法？
Stef:对，一直是那样。我认为，它的意思是，当看到人才时，我们不够精明，不能慧眼识天才。
你认为在乐坛，什么很有前途？
Stef:我认为是像蔡健雅这类人，他们已经拥有了国际声望。她很有才华，她也是从本地开始红起来的。接下来的乐坛大事件，很又可能是独立流行乐，比如Electrico。
在成为华语歌坛天后这条路上，你并不是一直都一帆风顺。如果这个目标没有实现，你会成为什么样的人？
Stef:啊……我的专业是市场。我打算成为一个做市场的人。[笑]但是这个和我现在所做的事情还是很挂钩。说去说来，一切都是关于包装和市场。
你最想见到的明星是哪一位？
Stef:我记得我见到刘德华，我经过梁朝伟的时候脸红了，我感觉“哇”！我很兴奋、很紧张。我想走过去跟他们说话。但是不止一个人。当你遇到他们的时候，应该走过去说：“我一直很想见你！” [笑]但是没关系。可能是刘德华。他也许是我心目中神采飞扬的骑士。你感觉自己像个痛苦的少女。
你读过的关于你自己最奇怪的新闻是什么？
Stef:我想想……说我和蔡依林、周杰伦之间是三角苦恋。噢，还有陈小春。他们说，我和他约会，这段关系只有好朋友和家人知道。其实，我只跟他打过一次招呼！[笑]
这些是大家都随便谈谈的事情。在一次采访中，你提到，人们不知道你最初开始时，在你崭露头角的时候，你的期望值并不很高。那种状态甚至延续了好几年。但现在，我真的不敢相信！你从一出道就取得了很大的成功。
Stef: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。
目前为止，你挥霍金钱最多的东西是什么？
Stef:哦，当然是包。包是我超级嗜好。 还有鞋子，当然。但最多是包。
是什么让你保持自己的乐坛地位？
Stef:我认为是才华，还有谦虚。
接下来，我们可以在燕姿这里期待些什么？
Stef:我真的不知道！可能是一张新专辑吧。
作为音乐界的一员老将， 你对新加坡的新人们有什么忠告吗？
Stef:一般来说，就是保持自我，在任何情况下都永不放弃。 做自己不想做的音乐毫无意义。否则，做出来的东西会缺乏热情。
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本帖最后由 Sandy899 于 2008-8-8 21:21 编辑 ]
