[COVERAGE] Oh My Ghost M&G Media Conference (4 Sept 2015)

The media conference for Oh My Ghost! 我的鬼神君 > started off with a mini photo-time as the main cast, Park Bo Young and Cho Jong Seok came on stage and smiled brightly for the medias.

The first question to all foreign celebrities who come to Singapore for the first time –

“How do you feel about the country?”

Cho Jung Seok: When we arrived last night, on the way to the hotel from the airport, I thought that Singapore is very clean. As we haven’t met a lot of people yet, I think we need to experience a little more in order to really know how we feel about Singapore.

Park Bo Young: I feel the same way. Singapore seems very clean, serene and peaceful. Although I also haven’t met a lot of people, the people I have already met are very kind towards me and I’m very thankful for that!

When asked about the food in Singapore, the actress said that they had tried the famous Chili Crab the previous night, and has heard that Kaya Toast is really delicious, but they haven’t get to try it yet so they hope to try it soon.

The actor added that the crab dish was very unique, interesting and fascinating as they seemed to have used tomato sauce, and he had also actually gave thought about how the recipe to the dish would be like.

Q&A

1)    To Cho Jung Seok – How was your chemistry with Park Bo Young with scenes when she was possessed?

To Park Bo Young - How close were you to your character when you were acting as the possessed Na Bong Sun?

Cho Jung Seok: When we were filing, we really focused on how to make the scenes more fun and interesting. I think our chemistry comes naturally depending on the situation.

And as for being possessed, it was actually more fun acting with the possessed Na Bong Sun because when I’m acting with the original Na Bong Sun, I was just screaming at her all the time. But when she was possessed, there was more action, more back-and-forth interactions like a game of Ping-Pong.

Park Bo Young: Before the drama started, I was hoping that everyone would be affable towards us as a couple, and I was glad that more people than expected said that we have really good chemistry which helped in the filming.

When acting as the possessed, my actual personality is similar, just that I’m not that hyper all the time.

2)    How is this drama different from other dramas/movies you’ve acted in?

Park Bo Young: I think the difference is that this concept is about being possessed, it is usually associated to being dark, but this drama let me play it out as a fun and happy concept.

Cho Jung Seok: If you put this drama into one sentence, it would be quirky, and being possessed. But when I heard about this drama, I thought it would be very interesting and fun. And then I heard about the story about the assistant being possessed by a ghost, the situation itself sounded very interesting.

Park Bo Young also added, that usually in dramas it’s the guy that seeks for love but in this drama, it is the girl that is more aggressive.

3)    How did you feel about the aggressiveness you’ve just talked about?

Park Bo Young: It was a little difficult. At first there were a lot of embarrassing lines in the script, but as time goes by, I loosen up and told myself that it’s going to be fun, so I slowly get to act them out naturally.

Cho Jung Seok: (In English) I actually don’t like aggressive girls. I don’t like.

But then, it is Park Bo Young being aggressive, so I don’t mind.

4)    Did you have to rehearse a lot for the kissing scenes?

Cho Jung Seok: As it was Bo Young’s first kiss scene, I felt a slight pressure and I tend to get nervous. I also wanted to show my best since its first. It was quite obvious that I was very nervous.

Not much rehearsal was needed and it just came naturally.

Park Bo Young: When we were filming, I got more and more nervous as I film. But I found out that Oppa was even more nervous than me. Later on, everyone made the atmosphere less tense and the kiss just came naturally.

5)    Since there were a lot of kitchen scenes, did you have any difficulties in the training?

Cho Jung Seok: The director doesn’t want any doubles, so we practised a lot in the kitchen and tried to improve our skills.

Park Bo Young: There was a chef who thought us the positioning and posture, and we practised a lot. Now, I’m better in the kitchen and I also learned to make pasta.

 

6)    Do you have any ghostly encounters before?

Park Bo Young: I haven’t experienced anything yet so far. But I hard oppa has.

Cho Jung Seok: Back in 2005, I had been working on a Musical called “Grease”.  I was about to take a rest in the backstage when a cleaner lady came over and told me to go to the dressing room to rest instead because it is cold here. But I said “It’s okay”.

After I woke up, I realise that it was weird since the area I was resting at was very narrow and no one could go in and out of. I went to ask the others if they saw a cleaner lady, but they said that there was only a cleaning man.

Also, I heard that there had been a fire in the theatre a few years ago and two cleaning ladies passed away because of the fire.

I’m not sure if a really saw a ghost, but I will take it as the lady was just trying to take care of me.

[ BONUS! ]

7)    There’s a very popular aegyo in Korea now called “I had a dream, and I dreamt of a ghost”. Can you please show it to us?

[EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] Kenny Khoo Reveals 单人套房 Was A Rock’n Roll Song?!

Hello to all The Hidden Gems’ readers!

I have recently gotten an exclusive chance to interview Kenny Khoo 邱锋泽,

our very own Singaporean singer-songwriter!

Read on to find out more about Kenny, his belief, and his story.

中文版 请按这里！

Hello Kenny! Please introduce yourself and your album!

Hi, I'm Kenny Khoo and I'm 25 years old and a singer-songwriter from Singapore.

I have recently launched my debut Mandarin album “Ten Storeys” featuring ten tracks (that has ten stories in it) with various musical styles and heartfelt lyrics, based on my personal observations and experiences.

But in a nutshell, I would say it’s a pop/rock album :)

Who are your mentors and how did they groom you to become who you are today?

I have many mentors but the 2 mentors that I worked most closely with, are Eric (黃韻仁 ) and Xiaohan (小寒). I started from nothing in terms of songwriting and lyrics writing.

They were gracious enough to teach me the craft and consistently check on my progress.

In the whole process of producing the album “Ten Storeys”, we constantly discuss and strategize on how to produce a great album that listeners can relate to.

What are some sources of inspirations when write songs?

Past experiences, observing the surroundings, conversations with friends, reading the news, watching a movie, and many more. All these can aid in the songwriting process.

However, I feel that it’s not enough to rely solely on inspirations to write songs, because inspirations will run dry one day.

Hence, the best way is to just enjoy the process of writing songs. Think of it as playing a game of jigsaw puzzle, joining the bits and pieces (the melody) together.

It’s also important to have the willpower to set writing goals. For example, I will tell myself, '' today I'm going to write a rock song. '' And I will leave the studio only when I have completed the song.

This is a good way to activate the music muscles in the brain.

Are all 10 songs in “Ten Storeys” based on personal experiences?
(If not which ones are?)

Huge portions are based on my personal experiences.

That includes 伤者, 菲尼克斯, 单人套房, 无关勇敢不勇敢, 再不然, 关于我们, and灵魂.

(Which means  经典对白, 你还好吗天, and 亮就分开 are not!)

Do you personally prefer bright songs like "关于我们" or emotional songs like "伤者"?

I'm a greedy person, I love variety.

Therefore I can’t really pick a side. One of my main goals in the album is for every song to have a different vibe, so that when listeners hear each track, they will feel that it is refreshing and not a replicate of the previous song.

Please describe your voice!

Vocal range wise, I'm slightly nearer to being a tenor. There is a certain airiness in my voice that is pretty effective in terms of expressing my emotions.

People tell me that they feel my pain when I sing sad songs.

If you aren't a singer-songwriter now, what would you like to do?

Probably try out acting as a career, because acting was actually my childhood dream as well.

I enjoy acting a lot, just that I sort of put that on hold at the moment as I want to concentrate on pursuing my music career first.

Have you participated in any past competitions/ auditions?

I have participated in just a couple of small-scaled singing competitions when I was a lot younger, but I was still finding my voice at that time. 

What do you think will be different if you were to have gone through a singing competition instead of going the traditional way into the industry?

Assuming I came through a competition and emerged as a winner, releasing a self-penned album after would definitely be a huge plus-point because people would have already recognized me as they have seen me on the television.

It’s easier to gain acceptance in the initial phase. However, with so many singing competitions being held year after year, it is essential for the past winners to continue striving hard in the industry.

Long term wise, the requirements for both methods would work out to be just about the same:

Hard work and dedication.

What are some hard and good times you've been through before you made your debut?

The only hard time I had was when I fell sick with a very high fever to the extent that I had to be taken to the hospital.

That happened halfway through the album production period.

I was so afraid it would be dengue which can be fatal.

Luckily, it was just a minor virus infection.

So, after a week or so, I could get back to work and finish up the album.

It was a huge relief for me as producing this album is really a dream came true.

As for good times, it would be whenever Eric says that the song I had finish writing has potential.

It gives me a great deal of satisfaction because I then know that I’m on the right track.

Also, before I made my debut, I was singing in pubs with my band. After every night of performance, I would feel very happy because I know I brought joy to the audiences.

[Exclusive!]

Is there an untold story you can exclusively share with The Hidden Gems' readers?

Sure!

My song 单人套房 went through a restructuring phase.

The very first version of the song was a rock’n roll, upbeat song with different lyrics.

Towards the end of the album production, we felt that it didn’t blend in with the rest of the songs because it doesn't match with my personality.

Hence, we finally changed the arrangement as well as the lyrics into the单人套房 you hear now :)

Was there a time you ever felt like giving up on everything you're working on?

Honestly, there isn't any, because I feel that I had put in so much effort in my future career it’s too late to give up.

To me, it’s all or nothing.

I have set a direction in my life and I will do my best to succeed.

What motivates you to keep going?

There are two main factors.

Firstly, it is the love I have for music.

Hearing a good song on the radio gives me a great deal of satisfaction and motivation, hoping one day I can write a song that can reaches out to many people and leaves a positive impact.

Secondly, having a vision is pretty important.

I would constantly dream of having my concert, touring different countries. That seems like a great deal of fun! :)

Some words to say to the younger people in Singapore who dreams to be like you?

I don’t quite believe in talent, I believe in hard work.

I wasn’t born a singer, neither was I born as a songwriter. To be a recording artist today, didn’t happen by an accident, nor by luck.

It was a conscious decision-making process that I made when I was a teenager, finding a direction and purpose in life.  

One thing I would say to younger people is to have an open mind. Try out as many things as you can and see which direction gives you the greatest happiness.

Subsequently, dream big,  but make practical small goals along the way to help yourself achieve it. 

One reason to support Kenny?

Hearing my music is a good way to distress! Hahah!

Some words to your future (Not present!) fans? 

Hi future fans!!

Glad to have you onboard!!!

Stick on this ride with me and I will guarantee you are in for a wonderful time :)

Another big thanks to Lj, and Kenny for taking the time to take this interview!

-Jiayi

[独家专访] 肯尼 邱锋泽 的 “单人套房” 原版是 摇滚?!

The Hidden Gems 的读者们 你们好！

我最近独家专访到了一位 新加坡本地创作歌手，肯尼-邱锋泽！

他是谁？请继续读下去吧！

英文版 请按这里！

你好 肯尼，请简单的自我介绍！

你好 ，我今年25岁， 是来自新加坡的创作歌手 肯尼-邱锋泽。

我最近出了我的第一张华语专辑，”Ten Storeys”。专辑里头包含了10首 不同音乐风格的歌曲 （10个爱情故事），歌词也都是凭着我个人经验和观察写出来的。

简单来说，”Ten Storeys” 是个摇滚及流行音乐 专辑。

你的导师们有谁？他们又是如何栽培了今天的你呢？

我有很多导师们，但和我一起工作最亲密的两位是 黃韻仁老师 和小寒老师。

词曲创作方面，我都是从零开始的。

两位很殷勤地教导了我，也时常检查我的进度。

在制备这张专辑的整个过程中，我们经常会一起讨论 如何创造一个好专辑的策略。

写歌时，灵感都从那儿来的呢？

个人经验、周围的观察、和朋友们的谈话、看新闻、看电影…等等。这些都是能帮助我写歌的过程。

但是，我觉得单靠灵感是不够的。因为灵感总会有失去的一天。

所以呢，最好的就是要享受整个写歌的过程。

把写歌当成是在玩拼图，一块一块 （旋律）的拼在一起。

定下目标也很重要，我会告诉自己 “今天我要写一首摇滚歌” ，直到写完歌后才会离开工作室。

这也会帮助大脑刺激一下音乐细胞。

“Ten Storeys” 里的10首歌都是个人经验吗？（哪些不是呢？）

大多数都是。

包括像“ 伤者”、“菲尼克斯” 、“单人套房” 、“无关勇敢不勇敢“、“再不然” 、“关于我们”还有 “灵魂”。

而“经典对白” 、“你还好吗”、和  “天亮就分开”则不是。

你个人比较喜欢像“关于我们”一样开心的风格，还是像“伤者”一样情感沉重的风格呢？

我很贪心，我喜欢各种风格。

所以很难挑一种。

我在创作这专辑的主要目标是要把每一首歌写的不一样，每一首歌都要有不同的节奏和感觉。

听我专辑的人才会觉得有新鲜感，而不是一直再听像别首一样重复的歌。

请形容一下你自己的歌声！

我的音域呢 偏向男高音。我的嗓子有点空，在表达情绪时还蛮有效的。

有人说 在听我唱伤心歌的时候 能感受到我的悲伤。

如果你现在不是在做音乐，你会是在做什么呢？

我应该会在试着从事演戏，因为演戏也是我的童年梦想。

我很喜欢演戏 但为了要先完成我的音乐创作歌手事业，所以暂时把演戏放在一边。

你以前有参加过歌唱比赛 或试音活动吗？

在我还很年轻的时候 参加过一些小型歌唱比赛，但我当时还在寻找我的方向。

如果你不是走着这“传统”的路线 出道，而是经过了一场歌唱比赛胜出 出道的话，和现在会有什么差别呢？

如果我经过了一场歌唱比赛胜出了，自创出一张专辑当然会是一种加分。因为大家会透过观看电视节目而认识了我。刚开始获得认可这方面会比较容易。

但是，歌唱比赛一场接一场，比赛胜出而出道的人 在这音乐圈子内 要很努力地继续奋斗。

在长期方面，比赛出道和传统出道所需要的都差不多：辛勤和奉献。

出道前，你有过什么样好和不好的时光呢？

不好的时光只有一次，是我在专辑筹备的半途中 发高烧病倒了，还被送去了医院。

当时我很怕是得了致命的骨痛热症。

幸好只是一场轻微的病毒感染。

病倒后大约一个星期，我康复了，也能够把专辑给完成了。

对我来说 那真的让我感到很庆幸，因为完成这张专辑让梦想成真。

好时光呢，就是每当我写完一首歌后，黃韻仁老师说我的歌有潜能。

那给我帶來了很大的满足感，因为那代表着我走向了对的方向。

还有，在我出道前，我和我的乐团在酒吧里的每一场演出后，我都会感到很开心，因為我知道 我把欢乐带给了观众们。

[独家！]

你有没有一个能独家和The Hidden Gems 的读者们分享的故事呢？

当然有！

我的歌“单人套房”经过了一个重整过程。

这首歌的原版歌词完全不同，也是一首快节奏的摇滚歌曲。

专辑筹备的最后阶段时，大家都觉得这首歌和专辑里的其他歌曲不搭，也不适合我的个性。

因此，我们最终把整首歌的编曲和歌词改成了今天你们所听到的“单人套房”。

 你有没有想过要把手上的一切给抛下、放弃呢？

说真的，没有。因为我觉得我为了这事业付出 了那么多，要放弃已经太迟了。

我呢，是全有或全无。

我已定下了人生目标，就会尽全力成功。

你要继续走下去的推动力是什么？

主要原因有两个。

第一，我对音乐的热诚。

在收音机里听到一首好歌会让我感到很满足，也会希望我有一天也能写出给人留下好印象的歌。

第二，拥有自己要往的方向很重要。

我会常想像环游世界办演唱会。那听起来还蛮好玩的！

对于那些想成为像你一样的新加坡年轻一代朋友们，你有什么话想对他们说吗？

我不太相信才华，只相信苦劳。

我不是歌手出生，也不是作曲出生的。

现在词曲创作歌手的我，并不是意外或因为幸运而得来的。

这是当时寻找人生方向年少的我， 小心翼翼做出的选择。

我会对年轻一代朋友们说：有一个开放的心态。

尽量做你能做的事，看看什么能带给你自己最大的幸福。

慢慢的，要望向远方，但不要忘了在路途中设定一些小小的目标来帮助你。

支持肯尼的一个理由？

听我的音乐是让你解除压力的好方法！ 哈哈！

对未来的粉丝们说几句话吧！

未来的粉丝们 你们好！！

很高兴你加入！！！

陪我一起走这道音乐旅程，我保证你会玩得很愉快！

很谢谢Lj 和 肯尼 抽空接受访问！

也要谢谢筱蓉帮忙修改！^^

如果你还有想问肯尼的，请把问题电邮到 Jiayi_300@yahoo.com ! 

- 佳仪

[COVERAGE] Storey Telling with Kenny Khoo 『唱所欲言』(8 Aug 2014)

Introduction to Kenny邱锋泽

25-year-old home-grown singer-songwriter Kenny Khoo under FUNKIE MONKIES PRODUCTIONS (lead by music veterans Eric Ng黃韻仁, Xiaohan 小寒 and Jim Lim 林倛玉 with a mission to push local music talents to a higher level) has invited his fans to a recording studio for an exclusive live performance with his band. Presented by Super and AMPed, “Storey Telling with Kenny Khoo”, was recorded live and made available online at http://www.ampedmusic.com/kennykhoo. 

Who is Kenny Khoo?

Better known as 肯尼 邱锋泽 (Qiu Feng Ze) in the Chinese music industry, he is a singer/songwriter/actor who made his debut on April 28 2014 with his first Mandarin album "Ten Storeys" in Taiwan. His title track “伤者” (Wounded) topped charts in Taiwan and even won over top artists like Eason Chan, doing Singapore proud!

His entry into acting last year, landing a prominent role in local music movie "Girl in Pinafore", showed off his spontaneous, humorous persona which worked well in the Taiwan pop scene, leading to him being invited repeatedly to various highly rated Taiwan variety programs hosted by entertainment heavyweights Show Luo, Alien Huang, Harry Zhang etc.

“At that time he was very interested in singing and came by our school to explore being an artist, just like many other people who walk through our doors. He did a small audition for us. Though he did have some looks and some potential in his singing, I didn’t think he was ready. I advised him to continue practicing singing and start to try writing songs just like what our other artists have done. I didn’t think too much about it as I’ve met so many before whom will just nod their heads, walk out and I’ll never see or hear from them ever again.

Eventually he did take our advice and started to explore where he could learn songwriting. One day he heard a Jam Hsiao song named 复制人, loved it and went to check out the credits. Viola! he found out that the song was written by Xiaohan and me, and decided to signed up to learn songwriting with us.

Since then he’s experienced many things, being my production assistant, performing in pubs/clubs, taking part in “Guinness Live!” where I saw him ‘opening up’ his stage presence and acting in local music movie ‘Girl in Pinafore’. Witnessing his improvement and with his relentless enthusiasm towards performing and songwriting , we decided to take Kenny under our wings in FM.

 think what we are most proud about for Kenny is that he really started from scratch (in terms of songwriting), from his initial conception of writing hit songs being unattainable, to writing a whole album of great stuff by himself, both music and lyrics, In which through his songs, he started to find his own voice and music identity. His improvement dramatically improved during last year’s MDA-WDA with FM’s “Career in Hit Songwriting” course, with most of the songs for his album written during that period. And ultimately being very hands on with me on the production process, throwing me song ideas/references and exploring arrangements ideas with me. It helps that we have a quite a similar taste and hunger for all kinds of music.

A week before his promo trip for his album release in Taiwan, I had a talk with Kenny to go thru last minute stuff and mental preparation. When asked, ‘You ready?’ He replied. “I’m ready, I’ve been waiting my whole life for this”.

Said Eric Ng (http://blog.omy.sg/hyr/2014/05/03/who-is-kenny-khoo-%E9%82%B1%E9%8B%92%E6%BE%A4/)

Read more about Kenny at the FM Pop Music website!

Kenny’s Local Debut Showcase – This Is Home, Truly.

During the sound-check / rehearsals, Kenny and his band diligently tested and ran through all the equipment required for his big night, making sure there wouldn’t be any glitches.

His vocals already sounded great even when he sang casually into the mic~

Held in Beep Studios, the show venue was filled with Kenny’s most familiar faces ; Friends, family, his mentors, and his fans.

Before the venue doors opened, Kenny’s Singapore and Taiwan fanclub representatives were distributing lightstick supports  with words “KENNY KHOO” on them, what good efforts!

As soon as Kenny stepped up on stage in a very smart and handsome suit with a hint of rock, he began introducing himself (even including his height and weight!) to the nearly 300 audiences.

Kenny sang 8 songs that night, 6 from his album and 2 cover songs, alongside with his live band.

Songs from his album “Ten Storeys” included 伤者 (Wounded)， 关于我们 (About Us)， 你还好吗 (How Are You)， 单人套房 (Single Bedroom)， 灵魂(Soul)，and  菲尼克斯 (Phoenix).

Kenny’s  live vocals were stable and outstanding, which is not an easy task! His live band worked hand-in-hand with Kenny like friends for life as they brought impressive performances to the audiences.

As someone who attend quite a lot of live band shows, I personally think Kenny and his band is one of the most well performed groups!

Kenny also covered Taiwanese singer Zhang Zheng Yue’s自由 (Freedom) and sweetly serenade the song to his fan Xiao Rong who flew here from Taiwan to support him! They took a photo together as a souvenir to remember the night.

Halfway through the show, he dedicated a song to his homeland, Singapore, with one of our national song “Home” by Kit Chan as it was National Day’s eve! The audience originally requested him to sing the national anthem and he playfully sang a few lines as a joke!

In-between songs, Kenny explains where his inspirations of some of the songs he sang came from and it’s story behind them.

He mentioned that the idea of单人套房 (Single Bedroom) was to cherish and pay attention to the people and things around us in our everyday lives because as Kenny went to Taiwan for a few months for album promotions, he misses his friends and family in his single-roomed dormitory there, felling slightly lonely and scared.

Nearing the end of the showcase, Kenny hyped up the studio audiences by jamming and jumping  to his rock-like track, 菲尼克斯 (Phoenix). He took off his blazer and threw it aside, causing the crowd atmosphere to heat up!

Not forgetting the most important value, Kenny thanked everyone who has came to support him, his friends, family, fans and mentors one by one with great gratitude in heart.

I had a great experience at this showcase as it was pretty unique, having held in a very spacious studio, and also my first local artiste showcase! Expanding my knowledge in the local music scene, I had well spent my night at “Storey Telling With Kenny Khoo” !

I also believe Kenny had a great time singing for the people he values most, in his very own homeland.

A big thanks to Lj and Funkie Monkies for inviting me to the event ( and the sound-check as well!) , and Kenny for posing in the exclusive rehearsal photos!