Pop music plays the biggest role in Singapore by far. With America as the superpower post WWII, it was without doubt that its culture would have a strong influence on its musical directions. The rising of the Quest and the Thunderbirds were evidence of its spread. The Quest used a created pop music, using an infusion of ethnic music in the early 1960s, and in the 70s, the Malay pop and rock group the Thunderbirds had shown strong western influence in the music too. (Watch their videos here and here)
Till now, influences from different parts of the world continue to play a big part in the Singapore music scene. Globalisation and the easy access to the world wide web in most homes have allowed for the likes of Lady Gaga and Korean pop to gain fans from this part of the world. Lady Gaga with her numerous endorsements and interesting outfits have only helped to raise the awareness of many to her music. Korean pop music had rode on the wave for the craze of Korean dramas. These pop music groups have garnered further interest thanks to their amazing vocals, catchy tunes and great dance moves.
Singapop
In more recent times, a few talented artiste that had managed to make the headlines back home. One such person would be Dick Lee. One of his compositions is seen above.
Kit Chan was the first Singaporean to gain recognition here after making a name for herself in Taiwan. Since then, many more have come out and made careers as Mandopop artistes (Stephanie Sun, Ah Du, JJ Lin, Sun Ho). Stephanie Sun has surely made many Singaporeans proud. This singing powerhouse has won over many hearts in Asia, and has sold over 10 million copies of her albums since she first started out in the year 2000. Here's a MV for "First Day" from one of her collaborations with popular Taiwanese band, Mayday.
Singapore Idol and other music compeititions has also fuelled the rising of many other aspiring singers and bands. To add on to this new wave of interest is the rising of indie bands like Electrico and The Great Spy Experiment. They were one of the first Singaporean bands to make it into the Singaporean radio charts. Below is a piece sung by Electrico for National Day Theme Song.
Kit Chan was the first Singaporean to gain recognition here after making a name for herself in Taiwan. Since then, many more have come out and made careers as Mandopop artistes (Stephanie Sun, Ah Du, JJ Lin, Sun Ho). Stephanie Sun has surely made many Singaporeans proud. This singing powerhouse has won over many hearts in Asia, and has sold over 10 million copies of her albums since she first started out in the year 2000. Here's a MV for "First Day" from one of her collaborations with popular Taiwanese band, Mayday.