Lookback on the Year 2012...

YEAR 2012 has been a year of surprises,

of dreams fulfilled 

and of hopes refueled. 

I'm so grateful just being able to do what i love everyday of my life, 

and what i achieved this year went above and beyond this expectation. 

It was a year of many memorable first-s, 

i worked hard; did about 200 shows, ran Sparkle Live Music from scratch since Mar, 

but i played as well; i travelled 7 times, all with different loved ones in my life (: 

Some picks from Performances of 2012 

Travelogue 2012

A Year Of Many First-s

Started Sparkle Live Music, 

a company that provides live bands with 2 of my dearest musician friends Kewei & Ein ein, 

www.sparkle-music.com 

Some picks among the hundreds of shows i did with Sparkle..

Had a biography feature for the first time, 

thanks to Toshiba :)

Took the role of programme host for first time - 

Interviewed the Wanted 

and even went on to travel host in Bangkok with resident host Joanne, 

thanks to SingTel, especially Leonard, Pris & Leya!!

Hosted my first very own ticketed showcase at Crazyworld Cafe, 

thanks to 2 very passionate cafe bosses who believe and fight for music to be appreciated (:

It was my first heart-to-heart showcase with the audience,

many of whom had followed me since my beginning as a singer.

Thank you all who came and supported, 

i will never forget singing to a full house of appreciative audience that afternoon (: 

My trusty musicians - Matt on keys, melvin on bass, daniel on percussions
Watch the full concert video here 

Had my first album photoshoot with a fab stylist - Chin. 

Here's us on the bed while shooting for my album cover (:

More on the behind-the-scenes shoot in my blog entry.. next year!

On top of Pearl centre carpark..

if you flip open my album you'll see a very sullen-face me, 

and this was where it was taken!

Launched my first album/EP, "Get Set 就走", 

the place where i grew as a singer over the past year, 

on 20.12.2012. (:

I took a year to write songs, work with producers like Tat Tong, Jim Lim & James 

who made my songs sound better than i've ever imagined them to be. 

There i stood, one year later, with songs to call my own (:

More grabs from the kind friends/fans/supporters who came, 

i'm truly sorry if i didn't have a chance to thank you in person, 

but really a huge shoutout to all who showered me with your presence and love <3

Will consolidate and upload the launch pics... next year (: 

Tat tong, my producer came to the launch :)

He produced both my mandarin songs, 

and he was the one that helped kick-start my writing process..

Thank you Tat.  

So grateful that many important people in my life came to support (:

Love you all from the bottom of my heart!

Fatt my musician/friend/busking partner/mentor, My papa mama, 

my sister, my dearie friends since JC - Kong Chew & Gigi

Spotted my cd on the shelves for the first time, 

it's now out on all CD Rama stores (: 

Went on Radio YES 933 for the first time 

and really enjoyed myself chatting with Ivy (: 

It wasn't as scary as i thought! 

Auditioned for busking license, got through,  

then busked on the streets for the first time, and felt a kind of joy i've never experienced before 

when i saw people stop to listen and groove to the tunes (: 

Check out my video here on XINMSN - Tay Kexin 'Prove Myself' MV 郑可欣《勇敢证明》MV

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD

My first Java Jazz experience was with fellow musicians, 

we flew to Jakarta for a 3 days filled with nothing but great music :D

In all-singaporean/kiasu-fashion, we queued 2 hours earlier for the legend Stevie Wonder's show, 

and stood first row right in the middle!!!

I took up diving in the far-flung beaches of Perhentian..

What a great year (:

2013, i'm going to WORK HARDER and PLAY HARDER!!

Street-Busking "Get Set 就走！"

Yes, it's official,
i'm hitting the streets with Fatt to busk!

I've done so many different kinds of gigs; weddings, corporate Dnds, car/watch/fashion launches,
but i've never sung on the streets before!
So fatt and I decided to reach out to a wider audience this Christmas,
and what better way than busking???

Of course, we had to apply for the busking license, mind you we are the "fine" city,
so several months back, we auditioned with the National Arts Council at the National Library...

Back then we bought a Roland BA-330 portable speakers from Swee Lee

but we later realized some problems with it. 

The folks at Swee Lee were so kind to refund us even after we used it for the audition!! 

A month later, we were notified of our successful application!! 

Thanks to the panel of judges who put us through! 

A little teaser video during Christmas to kick-start our busking!

Day 1 - Busking in the rain? 

It was not a good start for Operation Busking. 

Hours before, the skies were grey, 

parking was torturously hard to find at Wheelock place, 

and we had to park nearby because there were so much barang we had to bring for busking!!! 

Thankfully, we had the help of so many kind souls, 

who braved through the rain for me just to kick start the operation *touched 

Here's peipei my holding the brollie for everyone else lugging the 

1) portable speakers 

2) fatt's footdrums + high stool 

and other barangs out of my small car. 

It was a struggle handling all the stuff in the rain, 

little and daphne in the picture below... struggling on the right!

and Sam on the left hand arm holding the portable speakers, another the brolly... 

poor guys.. 

The rain was so bad we had to evacuate to the underpass connecting Ion to wheelock!

The traffic was great and there was natural acoustics in the tunnel hehe 

We only managed to sing 3 songs before the security came to chase us away..

we were so loud Breadtalk could hear us oops lol..

Here are my helpers! 

And Justin on the left who came to film us!! 

Day 1 concluded rather abruptly and we were unfortunately unable to do further busking :(

Day 2 - Sunshine after the rain! 
We almost thought we couldn't make it
but heaven didn't let us down and showered us with weather-goodness!!!

It was, in my opinion, an awesomee weather!
The cool breeze after the rain made our busking experience a real "breeze" hehe (pardon the pun),
and the response was overwhelmingly great!

After scribbling some words on a cardboard, 

we are ready to hit it!! 

My trusty busking partner.. Mr FATT KEW!!! (and i'm not swearing)

Legendary footdrummer/guitarist, inventor of "Fingerstyle guitar" iphone app.. that's him! 

Visit www.lickbyneck.com or download "fingerstyle guitar" if you want to learn guitar now!

The crowd started to gather after a few songs...

Confidence boost indeed!

I don't know if it's the spirit of christmas that got everyone into the mood of giving, 

but i was really touched by people when they started to make "donations" to us!! 

That's me soliciting money from the minor.. 

no seriously the baby is sucha a cutie!! 

i was trying to hold his hands hahah

 Surprised by everyone's generosity by the end of our 45mins set! 

Thank you all for your kind donation!! 

Even had really sweet people coming up to take photos with me (: 

This little girl is simply adorable!!

 Thank you CHA BAN SHENG for the sound system!!

I had such a difficult time looking for a good one..

and diya/carrie agreed to lend it to us without any hesitation..

Truly touched by your kindness!!!! T_T

We will be back for more!!
Like me on my facebook to stay updated on our appearances!! :D
Check out this video for some shots of our busking - Tay Kexin 'Prove Myself' MV 郑可欣《勇敢证明》MV

Go Beach Nikoi Island!

In between in the madness of gigging, preparing of album, and managing my business,
i found free time oh precious free time to rest!

No work, no worries, no cellphone,
just 2 days of pure relaxation and indulgence for all senses.

Welcome to Nikoi Island (: 

Thank God It's Singtel... In BANGKOK!

A few months ago, the virgin tv-host me interviewed The Wanted...

Next thing i know i was off to Bangkok for my first ever travel-hosting experience!!!

I felt like i was swept on a whirlwind of action over the 3 days in bkk,
thank god for SingTel Bridge DataRoam,
i was able to share my moments on all my social media platforms,
else i would have totally forgotten what had happened over those 3 crazy days!

Watch the webisode here!

Say hello to my adorable travel partner, Joanne Marie-Sim!

She's been hosting TGIS for a while and it was really a joy having her around to kill time, 

especially in between scenes when we are waiting for the cameras to set up! 

DAY 1 began with an early morning flight to destination Bangkok!
Took a ride to our hotel upon touchdown!

And helllooo to my comfy bed at Aloft Hotel!

Comfort food next to fuel the rest of our hectic day at shoot! 

Though i was kinda disappointed it wasn't the same 

tom yum goong and mango sticky rice i had at the old suan lum market...

Post-meal, all made-up and ready to go!

Some highlights of the trip 
You'll probably see more footages on the show
but here are some of my fav moments during the 3 crazydays!

Khao San Street-market

The last time i was in bangkok was for work as well,

but i made sure i had the chance to hit the streets because seriously,

Bangkok is all about the street-side coconut ice-cream, teh-tarik and cheap eats/buys!!!

I was at the all-famous Chatuchak market the previous time, 

and this time, we took a stroll down Khao San Road! 

Welcome to Khao San, 

ang moh paradise ala Holland Village in Singapore.. 

I posted our picture on fb while making my way through the busy streets of Khao San,
and received a recommendation from a friend to make fake IDs!
so i continued along the streets to find... this!
hahah amazing!

Bargaining can sometimes really be a pain in the ass,

and i was surprised to find the Google Translate app so easy to use! 

All i did was to speak into the phone what i wanted to say, 

and it was translated into Thai almost instantly! 

Some shots taken along the streets.. 

 

RCA Go-karting

It was my 2nd time go-karting, first being when i was 12?

So it was fun to kart now that i'm actually a licensed driver, 

i knew how to test my speed limits!

The production crew member mounted some cameras on the kart

to capture our excited and adrenaline-filled faces haha

I must be the smallest-sized driver ever.

The suit could fit 2 of me, both horizontally and vertically, i swear!

Alright, maybe it's not so bad? Karting chick much? lol

Come on everyone looks cool with a helmet!

All set and ready to go! 

Excuse our oily-matted hair, we needed to put on shower caps 

beneath the filthy helmets doused in thousands of karters' sweat.

Yeah all pumped-up!

I admit i didn't dare to bump into others fearing we'll all crash spectacularly, F1 style, 

but later Leonard knocked into me and it was really like a bumper-car ride! 

I forgot i was actually driving at less than 50kmph hahaa oops..

Go-karting, success!

GraveYard Dining

I really don't like to mess with the netherworld,
so this task was particularly creepy to me.
In auntie fashion, i was prepared with my own spiritual protection,
the crew also prayed to pay respects and avoid stepping on "anyones' toes".

The street-side dining area was actually a wall apart from the graveyard,
but we had to take a scene WITHIN the graveyard.
It was a path laid with grand tombstones on the sides,
i didn't really dare to see them, i just kept talking to joanne,
we were even saying funny ghost stories to distract each other.

Both relieved to make out of that graveyard alive,
we proceeded to a wall apart for a superb meal!
Despite the dirty location with huge geckos on the wall,
this was really my best meal in bangkok for the trip!

HUNGRY! 

Evidently, the roasted chicken wings were fab...

Bugs are nutritious, so they say..

I chewed a freaking maggot/silkworm/idontcarewassitcalledit'sGROSS

and i ain't proud of it. 

It was this harmless-looking roadside stall,

and we decided to make a go for the out-of-the-ordinary. 

Afterall, what's a travel documentary without some fear-factor eating challenge?

How about a platter for your gustatory pleasure?

 How much would it take for you to eat something like this?

Ok, these kinda looked like cockroaches,

they were the length of my finger,

and i was later told they are actually insects found in the water.. 

Whatever they are, i will not for the life of me put this thing in my mouth!!!

I think these are crickets, i'm not sure..

but no, still not for me...

ok maybe a million dollars will seal the deal..

I picked.. these. 

They are the least gross in my opinion, and honestly, they looked crunchy....

until i took a bite and was traumatized for the rest of the night 

because it turned out to be disgustingly chewy and soft!!!!

So grossed out i couldn't have supper happily like the rest at the end of the night, 

cos i couldn't get rid of that feeling in the mouth!! 

Most of my pictures were taken and edited on instagram, 

then instantly shared on my social media platforms!

No i didn't use data roaming (that would've costed me a bomb), 

i was using SingTel Bridge DataRoam applied with My SingTel Account app,

and it costs only $15/day for unlimited usage! 

I admit i'm pretty much a social media slave and SingTel Bridge DataRoam

allowed me stay socially connected, sharing moments while on the road!

Being connected also made our BKK trip a breeze 

(e.g Google translate for easier communication, google maps for easier navigation) 

Best of all, i received plenty of 'live' recommendations from my social network on facebook 

when i posted our photo at Khao San! 

Those great recommendations saved me plenty of trouble on researching beforehand,

a great plus for busy city people like us who doesn't have time for much planning! 

Travelling soon? Apply now, it's really easy! 

To set up Singtel Bridge DataRoam in SG using My SingTel Account app, 

Download My SingTel Account app

• for iPhone users: https://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/my-singtel-account-3/id472906810?mt=8
• for Android users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.singtel.mysingtel&hl=en
• for BB users: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/reviews/43515/?lang=en

Find out more about Bridge DataRoam here: http://info.singtel.com/roaming/travelling-overseas/data-roaming