Bonnie
Bonnie Loo

Wings Of Dreams
Stella Seah

Televised singing competitions continue to be a good way of launching newcomers and two champs of local shows have released their debuts. Bonnie Loo won Campus Superstar last year, while Stella Seah (below) came up tops in Sunsilk Academy Fantasia in 2012.
Loo has a powerhouse voice and the the first two tracks showcase it. They also show her range – Don’t Want To Admit is an emotional ballad, while Yolo is a thumping dance track.
She balances restraint with belting on Admit: “I don’t want to admit/Admit you’re the one that I loved/Facing your cold greeting/I smile, I remain calm, but I’m just putting on a front.”
The sassy attitude of Yolo, that youthful cry of You Only Live Once, is a good fit for her, though the word “zhui” (to fall) is noticeably mispronounced as “zui”.
Loo also takes on legendary singer Teresa Teng’s I Only Care About You and local singer Kit Chan’s Heartache. She gives a sweeter spin to the songs, which works for I Only Care About You, but not so much for Heartache.
Seah also does a cover on her EP, a version of Dawn Gan’s Our Class that is not too different from the original. But it is at least consistent with the sweetie- pie image she is going for here.
Head instead for the breezy pop of Go Local, which is peppered with references to all things home-grown. She sings: “Local go go go, local enough?/ Kopi-O is tastier than espresso/You teach me to wrap a dumpling/I’ll treat you to curry fish- head.”
One way to spice up your music diet is to give these new records a go.
(ST)