It took singer-songwriters Jacky Chew and Juno Lin 13 years to finally release their debut EPs.
From students of the same music school to music buddies, the duo also collaborated on a SG50 song, using famous quotes from the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew in their lyrics.
The song, titled ‘Zhan Duo’ also features Nat Ho who lends his voice to the track. A music video has also been made, with 50 guest appearances from music professionals, celebrities and people from all walks of life. (Check out the music video below)
Chew shared that he has known Ho since their army days and have been friends since. He said: “Since this is a ‘made-in-Singapore’ and a ‘dedicated to Singapore’ song, we thought why not the three of us do a collaboration together.”
Lin, who wrote the lyrics of the song, took about a week to research on Mr Lee’s famous quotes. “When we talk about Singapore, a lot of people will think about our food or Singlish, so we felt like doing something different…. we thought about the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew because of the words he said - there is a kind of fighting spirit in it,” said Lin.
Having released his self-funded EP in 2012 and then a Mandarin album ‘Second Male Lead’ in 2014 after a year of vigorous training in Taiwan, Ho tells his ‘juniors’ that ‘it will all be worth it’.
“Releasing your first EP is just the first step. The road ahead will be tougher. But if you maintain that strong passion for music, you will find that all your hard work will be worth it."
“Throughout these few years, we’ve seen a lot of friends who decided to halt their music careers for something else. They may not have given up on chasing their dream, but it does make us wonder if what we’re doing is right,” shared Lin. “But no matter what happens, at the end of the day, we will continue to take on this challenge.”
Jacky Chew’s self-titled EP, as well as Juno Lin’s 'Juno Uno' are now available on various digital platforms such as iTunes and Spotify.