To 18-year-old Siti Nur Ameerah Bte Sallehuddin, singing has been a part of her since her childhood.
“I started doing bedroom covers when I was 10, where I would do pop songs. I felt that I’ve always had a passion since I was young, because my singing would make everyone smile,” said the Temasek Polytechnic student, who is currently in the second year with the Diploma in Communications and Media Management.
She picked singing up as a hobby, and was able to showcase her talent and passion in the recent Viral Voice 2020 competition, hosted by Our Tampines Hub (OTH). The judges were senior vocal instructor Ann Hussein, celebrity judge Peter Tan and choir conductor Acid Pang.
Little did she know that applying for an audition would give her the opportunity to perform live on new year’s eve for the countdown.
“I only sent in my entry 30 minutes before the deadline because one of my friends signed up as well and I wanted to try it out. I did not expect that I would make it far, let alone win the competition,” she explained.
Her friends were one of the driving forces that motivated her to sing in the competition. She sang “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi because she felt that she could evoke her emotions best through this song.
Ameerah, the youngest out of the ten finalists, ended up winning the competition and was overwhelmed with the support she received from her family and friends. With 30% of the votes casted online by the public, her supportive parents told anyone they could get a hold of to vote for their daughter.
She said: “Even my dad who does not post on Facebook, reposted the video and told all his friends which was really cute.” Her extended family joined in the fray, with her aunts and cousins asking their friends and colleagues who did not even know Ameerah to vote for her.
Ameerah, like many others with a similar passion in TP, is part of the CCA Music Vox, a performing arts group consisting of vocalists, guitarists, bassists, drummers, keyboardists and songwriters. All the performances that she had taken part in with Music Vox so far were pre-recorded. Similarly, due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the singers were unable to sing live on stage. This was an added advantage for her because she was able to retake her performance until perfection.
“It was very tiring to juggle between school and the competition. Though I only had one week to practise for the finals, it was a song I was very familiar with. In the end, it was a very fulfilling journey and it was all worth it.”
By Irriena Ezrynn Binte Mohamed Zakariah, Shane Elliot Dawson & Jared Wong
