12-02-2021
Feelings are more complicated than words. There are feelings that we do not know how to express in words. Singers help. They help us speak the words which are the beautiful opposite of silence.
We listen to good singers. They release our emotional pain and connect us with their souls. Perhaps, a good singer is also releasing whatever emotion which is going on in his or her life. We breathe, talk and sing together the ‘sung’ losers or ‘unsung’ heroes.
A great singer, throughout the career, provides all the proof that souls can be found in songs. Susan Wong(黃翠珊) is an example. I do not listen to her when I am happy. I listen to her when sadness comes as a ghost. Her unique husky, modulating and assailable voice is a soothing cleanse to detox. Her music informs that I have a place to hide my vulnerabilities.
An ‘audition disc’ is a well-recorded music CD with great details which audiophiles can use to test the hi-fi sound system especially stereo speakers. Some singers in Hong Kong target at this market. The successful male singer is Donald Cheung (張偉文) and the female counterpart is Susan Wong. Susan said, “I would look at myself as an easy-listening jazz singer known for my alto range.”
Wong was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Australia with her family at the age of seven. Musically talented, she played the piano and later violin. She sang in the choir and won competitions. In 1997, she returned to Hong Kong and became a professional singer by the name of ‘Janelle Wong’.
Susan said, “I worked very hard at that time but things did not turn out as what I expected. ‘Asian financial crisis’ in the 90s hit Hong Kong and entertainment business fell into decline. So, I gave up singing and reformed myself thoroughly to become an accountant.”
I was joking, “Why did you mend your ways?” She laughed, “If things come, they will. Life is simple. Plan a direction but never push too much. Everything later happens for you, not to you. Good things will take care of you at the right time, neither too soon nor too late. When I almost gave up my singing career, I was introduced by a music producer Keith Yip(葉建華) to make an album called ‘Close to You’ in 2002. Perhaps my voice was a little bit different from the rest. I regained my own path bringing me some measure of success. I want to keep on singing but I do not define the levels of success. I just work hard to be productive and play my role responsibly. Gradually, music records became my carpet, despite not being the usual red carpet that the other sparkling pop stars would crowd and walk. I sing for hi-fi fans.”
I asked Susan, “Will you give up your accounting profession one day?” Susan answered, “Never, I enjoy being a ‘slashie’—an accountant, singer, wife and mother. All these multiple side-hustles along the way created a complete Susan Wong.”
I said, “What are your next moves and options?” Susan stared at me mischievously, “Always on the move but do not try to figure out what it may bring. It is inevitable that I will move to the world’s online music streaming platforms such as Spotify for audience development. It is really amazing that I can now have fans from South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe.”
“With the dawning of a bad age caused by the COVID pandemics in 2020 to 21, we all had to handle difficult changes. But, we may revolutionize the clouds into a new reality. I cannot work as much as I should. I am happy, on the other hand, to devote more time for myself and my family. I cook for them and do jogging. ‘Negative-positive’ dualism is what I learnt from my highly uneven career. The idea of small failures haunts the human animal but I think it is designed to help us avoid a bigger trouble. Take life easy but keep looking up—that is the lesson of my life,” said Susan.
Life is a primary chaos of unfortunate things. Yin is the receptive and Yang is the active principle. The balance of two opposites, good and bad, makes sure when we are hungry for less, we will get more.
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