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8/2 YiDA'S news-
The Straits Times: Behind the Sun

Behind the Sun
Huang Yida left school in Secondary 2 to head for singing school in Taiwan. He has finally emerged from the shadow of Stefanie Sun to become the new homegrown singing sensation, reports KAREN TEE

ON PUBLICITY posters and in his music videos, Singapore's latest singing sensation Huang Yida is normally depicted as cool and reserved. Yet, at a press conference held last week at the Mezza9 restaurant at the Grand Hyatt, it was an exceptionally animated Huang on show.

What a surprise for the roomful of Singapore journalists as he regaled all and sundry with an anecdote about an experience that reduced him to tears.


Huang does not care anymore when people say he looks like Stefanie Sun (below) as he is finally tasting some of her glory in Taiwan and Singapore with his album.
And as the 24-year-old said, he has his devoted fans in Taiwan to thank for this change of personality.

At an outdoors gig two months ago to promote his smash debut album Indefinable, he had noticed some fervent fans carrying a huge bunch of balloons.

He decided to go down the stage to greet them. To his surprise, the fans launched into a passionate chorus of sorts.

Alluding to his hit single, Blue Sky, they chimed: 'Yida, you are the cloud, we are the sky and we will always support you.'

The balloons were then released into the sky.

'I was so touched by their gesture, I could not help but cry,' he said, his voice softening.

Who would begrudge this newcomer's occasional lapse of coolness?

Although Indefinable was unleashed on the public only slightly more than three months ago, the singer-songwriter had actually spent more than two years working on the record.


This triumphant return to Singapore was especially sweet - it coincided with the announcement of the Singapore Hit Awards nomination list.

He was named in three of the most coveted categories, namely Best Local Music Composition, Best Local Artist and Best New Artist.

On the commercial front, he is doing well, too. Indefinable has shifted a decent 80,000 copies in Taiwan and 7,500 copies in Singapore so far.

His single, Blue Sky, has made it to the top of the charts on radio stations Yes 93.3 and UFM 100.3.

But it's the triple nominations which he is particularly proud of.

Having heard the good news just before the press conference, he was beaming, decked out in a casual ensemble of an oversized white shirt thrown over a white T-shirt and artfully ripped blue jeans.

Sitting down, he announced: 'Finally, I have good news for my teachers. I learnt song composition in school and this is my way of thanking them.'

Indeed, he owes much of his success to the music teachers at the Lee Wei Song School of Music, also the alma mater of Stefanie Sun.

In the mid-1990s, he was just another regular Secondary 2 student at Presbyterian High School when he decided to 'have a change in environment'.

For a year, he was learning to play the guitar from his sister's then-boyfriend.

But the turn in his fortunes came when he saw a TV commercial for the singing school. He enrolled in 1996 and soon discovered that he had a flair for songwriting - and the rest is history.


ANDROGYNOUS LOOKS

WITHOUT a doubt, songwriting remains closest to his heart.

When asked which of the three Hit Awards he would like to win the most, he did not hesitate: 'The music composition award. I have been working on that area for nine years so it would be great to get recognition for it.'

Make no mistake, he is serious about making music his career - and it shows.

Having worked in Taiwan for the past two years, he now speaks in crisp, Taiwanese-accented Mandarin and fields questions with ease.

He had also undergone daily, intensive training in the art of conversing with fans and the media. 'For example, I will normally just say a piece of bread is 'nice'.

'But my tutor taught me how to elaborate. So, instead of just 'nice', I can also say the bread is tasty, soft and fresh,' he explained.

So well versed is he in maintaining his composure that he did not even falter when the inevitable question about his androgynous looks popped up.

Shrugging, he said: 'It doesn't matter to me that people say I look like Stefanie Sun.

'When we first saw each other years back, I did think there was a resemblance but now, I do not think so anymore. However, people like to say our smiles are similar.'

After years of waiting in the wings while Sun's popularity took off throughout the region, Huang is finally making waves too.

Not unexpectedly, he is also experiencing fame's little setbacks - such as fans approaching him when he is not working.

'I cannot brush them away or they will say that I am proud. But if I strike up a conversation with them, they will just keep asking me more and more questions,' he said.

He has a pet peeve - people interrupting him while he is having a meal in a restaurant.

'Eating is a pleasure and people should be allowed to enjoy their food in peace.'

So, how does he deal with persistent but well-meaning fans?

With a sheepish smile, he said: 'I make sure I am always eating with someone from my company so that that person can turn down my fans on my behalf.'

But there's something he misses more than the loss of personal freedom - Singapore food.

He tucks into spicy hawker food whenever he comes home, not least of all the laksa cooked by his mother, who is a hawker.

With mock relief, Huang quipped: 'In fact, I told myself I would help my mother sell laksa if I could not break into the music industry after 10 years.

'It has been nine years so I've made it just in time,' he added, laughing.


Indefinable is out in stores.