SingFest, 2-3 Aug 2008

Wish I had gone to SingFest '08... but family comes first... my sis was having her future in-laws come over to our place to discuss wedding plans and so on... so yeah, that was definitely more important than SingFest.

Actually, my sis and I both really wanted to go for SingFest, 'cos the line-up was pretty awesome!

The title of the festival guide really says it all... O.M.F.G. (or Official Music Festival Guide)... I kid you not!

20 acts performing on 2 stages over the 2 days at Fort Canning Park! Complete with food & refreshments area, and exclusive merchandise stands!

Among the artists performing on the first day were Simple Plan and Travis... and the first day line-up was already pretty good, but if you ask me, the 2nd day had an even better line-up.

Stage 1 on the second day featured Stacie Orrico, Panic At The Disco, Jason Mraz, Rick Astley, Alicia Keys, and of course, Jamie Scott, Pussycat Dolls and OneRepublic... what I would have given to hear them sing "Apologize" LIVE and LOUD!!!

OK, here are a bunch of SingFest '08 performances that I found on Youtube, bear in mind that these video clips are not shot by professionals, but by laypeople who attended the shows over the weekend, so just bear with the sound and video quality, and just enjoy it for what it's worth.

"Addicted" by Simple Plan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebAr2Q8h9N8

"Buttons" by Pussycat Dolls at SingFest '08:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03iwB4NNss4

"Apologize" by OneRepublic at SingFest '08:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTg5APwV5y4

"Geek In The Pink" by Jason Mraz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3JAVLvZ4qo

"A Woman's Worth" by Alicia Keys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0lqYhgCRaM

Stage 2 on the 2nd day featured some of the best Singaporean artists, like Firebrands, West Grand Boulevard, Flybar, Vertical Rush and Allura... some of these bands were nominees for the Singapore Music Awards this year, some of them have played concerts overseas, including venues like Viper Room in LA (yup, are u surprised??) and various other music festivals... please keep in mind that the music scene in Singapore isn't quite as developed as in some other countries, so these bands are still looking out for whatever opportunities may come their way.

If you're curious as to what these Singaporean bands sound like, you can check them out at Myspace:

**Firebrands (Song suggestion: "Scarecrow And The Fire")
http://www.myspace.com/firebrandsrock

**West Grand Boulevard (Song suggestion: "DKNY")
http://www.myspace.com/westgrandboulevard

**Flybar (Song suggestion: "Heaven Sent")
http://www.myspace.com/flybartheband

**Vertical Rush (Song suggestion: "The Simple Plan")
http://www.myspace.com/verticalrush

**Allura (Song suggestion: "Limbo")
http://www.myspace.com/allurarock

If you're wondering why I put up video clips of the International artists and only provided internet links for the Singaporean artists... it's very simple... I couldn't find any video clips of the Singaporean artists on Youtube at all!!

Perhaps the audience was just more excited about such big International artists performing in Singapore together in the same event, or perhaps it is a fact that such International artists don't come to Singapore very often, which explains why there were probably more video clips of these International artists available online.

But then again, perhaps that's just putting things nicely, since there isn't even a single clip available of any of our Singaporean artists!!! Nada, zip, zilch, zero! Yeah, horror of horrors!!

The sad truth of this matter is something that I personally cannot deny... and the very sad fact is that this says something about the music scene in Singapore and why it has remained relatively under-developed, with a lot of our own musical talents being forced to earn a living in music in other parts of the world... there is a sheer lack of public support from their very own Singaporean audiences, who still prefer International artists to Singaporean artists... sigh.

If we don't support our own, then who will?? Do we always have to wait until they go overseas to eke out a living and make a big name for themselves, before we are able to welcome them back home again with open arms?

Then again, in all fairness to the Singaporean audiences, on the flip side, the Singaporean bands themselves are probably as much to blame for this, as they don't seem to be taking the initiative and they don't seem to be making effective enough use of today's technologies to enhance their own marketing and promotions efforts.

To the Singaporean bands, I ask this question, how many of you had someone actually planted there in the crowd, deliberately recording your performances during SingFest?? Even if no one else in the audience wants to record your performance and upload it to YouTube, you could do it yourselves, so how come this doesn't seem to be done?? And if you had someone recording your performance, then why aren't those video clips uploaded yet??

To end this blog entry on a higher note though... I must say that SingFest ROCKS!!! At the very least, it does give Singaporean artists a chance to share the stage with International artists, and provides them with the exposure that they so badly need.

So until SingFest '09... I can only say, I wonder what they will come up with next year.