I've mentioned before that my mom was once a singer. In fact, my parents were married mostly due to these circumstances (Mom was a recording artiste for a label that my dad was in, the tale of their courtship was in Sin Chew newspapers two years ago)
Mom's younger sister, my 3rd auntie, was a singer too. But she had gone on hiatus for nearly 15 years (or was it 20?), since opting the idyllic life of a housewife:
3rd auntie and family
While she didn't record any albums like Mom did, Mom had told me a few times that, compared to her (Mom), my aunt had a more powerful voice. Aside from vague memories of karaoke sessions in my childhood, I don't think I've heard my aunt sang before. And since my memories of the karaoke sessions are so vague, I don't really remember her singing at all.
So I was more than a little excited (and curious) to hear that my aunt had performed at a fund-raising concert for the Sichuan Earthquake on last Sunday's Father's Day. After all these years.
My sister Cousin Mun Yoong managed to capture her performance on video, but mind you, audio and video quality are rather low.
Singing two well-known Chinese folk songs, I felt that 3rd Auntie didn't seem so rusty at all. Much unlike someone who had such a long hiatus. Maybe she had been having secret karaoke sessions that I know nothing about. But my immediate reaction to my sis was:
"Hmm... I don't think even Mom can sing like that now." (Sorry Mom!)
For me, it was like being in a Wuxia film where you hear non-stop about a hermit's badass martial arts skills in the past, but said hermit had chosen to live in seclusion at some wooden hut in the middle of a bamboo forest. You've known the hermit all your life and you've never even seen him hurt a single fly. Then, one day, when provoked by some dumb baddie, the hermit punched a hole into the baddie's face, showing that his martial arts skills are still pretty badass. Yeah, that's how I felt.
Mom's younger sister, my 3rd auntie, was a singer too. But she had gone on hiatus for nearly 15 years (or was it 20?), since opting the idyllic life of a housewife:
3rd auntie and family
While she didn't record any albums like Mom did, Mom had told me a few times that, compared to her (Mom), my aunt had a more powerful voice. Aside from vague memories of karaoke sessions in my childhood, I don't think I've heard my aunt sang before. And since my memories of the karaoke sessions are so vague, I don't really remember her singing at all.
So I was more than a little excited (and curious) to hear that my aunt had performed at a fund-raising concert for the Sichuan Earthquake on last Sunday's Father's Day. After all these years.
Singing two well-known Chinese folk songs, I felt that 3rd Auntie didn't seem so rusty at all. Much unlike someone who had such a long hiatus. Maybe she had been having secret karaoke sessions that I know nothing about. But my immediate reaction to my sis was:
"Hmm... I don't think even Mom can sing like that now." (Sorry Mom!)
For me, it was like being in a Wuxia film where you hear non-stop about a hermit's badass martial arts skills in the past, but said hermit had chosen to live in seclusion at some wooden hut in the middle of a bamboo forest. You've known the hermit all your life and you've never even seen him hurt a single fly. Then, one day, when provoked by some dumb baddie, the hermit punched a hole into the baddie's face, showing that his martial arts skills are still pretty badass. Yeah, that's how I felt.
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