On the 19th October 2013, we crowned Jeremy Teng as the Grand Champion of 'The Ultimate Voice 2013'! Not only did he win the title, but he has also won himself his very own recording single!
"I've thought of it, dreamed of it and imagined my
voice playing on radio!" ~ Jeremy Teng, 19, full-time student
Check out the exciting highlights of "The Ultimate Voice 2013" Grand Finals in the video below!
Also, we had a short interview with him shortly after he won the title and here's what he shared...
1)
Could you share with us a little more about yourself?
I'm Jeremy Teng, currently a 19-year-old polytechnic student
working as an intern at MediaCorp 938LIVE, a local news radio station. Outside
of work I'd be singing, lingering around in bookstores, and listening to music
on long bus rides. Besides singing, some of my other pursuits include learning
Japanese, writing songs whenever I have the inspiration, doing voice-overs, and also graphic designs.
2) Can you share with us your musical dream?
I aspire to be a successful singer-songwriter in mainly the
field of Mandarin music; I also aspire to be a singer who can sing of stories that
touch the hearts of people. At times I even dream of being a
"quadrille-lingual" singer who can sing in English, Mandarin, Hokkien,
and Japanese. That would be the perfect culmination of both my interests in
languages and in music. Aside from singing, one of my other musical dreams is
to learn the guitar. If I had the chance too, I'd polish up my skills in piano
so that I could learn how to play by ear.
3) What do you think are the biggest challenges nowadays as a musician?
I think musicians around the world face the same set of
challenges. The typical ones are instability, lack of opportunities, lack of
support from parents, etc. Here in metropolitan Singapore I think it gets
much harder - fans are now more willing to support music from other countries
with booming music industries like Korea and Japan, but when it comes to music
in Singapore, the support is usually lukewarm. In addition to the generally
very low appreciation of music and the arts people have here in Singapore,
people seem to be extremely critical of our own talents here. They are always
more ready to criticise than to provide encouragement and constructive
comments. Many would say getting disparaging remarks is part and parcel of
being a musician or basically anyone out in the limelight, but I think there's
a threshold beyond which it can be really demoralising when you see even your
own people not giving you the support you want.
4)
Is there anyone or anything that inspires you the most to
continue pursuing your musical dream?
Dramatic portrayals of run-of-the-mill individuals turning
into superstars overnight like the stories of Paul Potts, Susan Boyle, Lin
Yu-chun - they make me watch and wonder if I could one day be like them.
Watching top performers perform gives me an insight into what excellence really
is. It's always very enjoyable and inspiring to see singers redefine excellence
time and time again in different ways on stage. At times I feel belittled like
a small fry when faced with splendid performances like theirs, but I guess
that's what spurs me on to work hard to achieve such excellence one day.
5) What made you decide to participate in 'The Ultimate Voice 2013'?
The decision just came on a whim, to be honest. I came
across news of the contest on Facebook while lazing around on my social
networks and I thought it'd be great to challenge myself in a singing contest.
6)
What posed the most challenging part of 'The Ultimate Voice
2013'?
I think the many rounds of the contest could be the most
challenging part. The next round would come a week or two right after the
current, and this meant reduced practice time for a workaholic like me... subsequently there was less time to ponder on selection of songs, which is a
very important process that could make or break one's chances of delivering a
good performance. I think this posed a challenge to me on how I had to juggle
my time between work and play. I guess it was pretty good training, out of the
musical realm.
7)
Did you ever think that you would emerge as the ultimate
winner of the competition and winning yourself your very own Single?
It'd be too humble of me to say that I didn't ever think of
that. The truth is yes, I've thought of it, dreamed of it, and imagined my
voice playing on radio. And that's only because it's truly my dream and a great
honour to be able to have my singing skills recognised in such a big contest,
and eventually recognised and heard on national radio. Which amateur singer
would not crave for such a golden opportunity? I do owe my winning to the
people who supported me. These include my friends, my family, and even
strangers, among whom one of them tapped my shoulder, gave me a thumbs-up after
my performance, and told me, "I believe in you."
8)
Has anyone criticised your musical dream? What would you
like to say to them?
Back when I was competing in Campus Superstar 2009 (Season
3), a national campus singing contest televised on MediaCorp Channel U, I bore
the brunt of hurtful and disparaging comments among the top contestants. While
people had many nice things to say about the other top contestants, I was
called the "ball rolling round and round on stage", "sissy with
too gentle a voice", "worst and ugliest singer of all time", etc. It took a while for me to get over these comments and tell myself that
I was worth more than the words they said to me, more than my bullies, and more
than who I think I was. But I didn't hate them, and I still don't. If I had the chance, I'd tell them that they
too deserve to live a life full of a meaningful purpose, and that they don't
have to derive their confidence from someone else. I'd say to them, "Do
what truly makes you happy at the end of the day, and do it for life."
9)
After winning 'The Ultimate Voice 2013', what else are you
doing in pursuit of realising your musical dream?
As usual I'm looking for more opportunities to get myself on
stage as often as possible so that I can acquire as much experience as I can.
This includes joining more singing contests and performing at gigs when given
the chance. Whenever I have time I also make and upload covers online on
YouTube and Tian Lai K Ge. It's a way for me to spread my voice to people
around the world, and to get constructive comments from others about my
singing.
10) What would you like to share with other music enthusiasts whom have yet to achieve their musical dreams?
Feel your own music. Sing/play it with all your heart. Aside
from having more than enough practice, it's also of paramount importance to
find what you're good at, build on your strengths, and find your own musical
character. With so many precedents in the music industry currently, it may be
easy and tempting to want to sing/play like your own idol. But a musician has
to have his/her own style to be successful and recognised. It'll take time to
find that special route for you, but keep faith and press on. Lastly, always
believe in yourself, and don't let others bring you down. You're the only one
who can make yourself fail, but you're also the only one who can make yourself
become successful. :)