Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Olivia Ong riding high on iTunes Singapore jazz charts

SINGAPORE – When we spoke to jazz man Jeremy Monteiro some time ago, he mentioned that although there perception is that there is little support for local musicians, the jazz appreciation population in Singapore was, in real terms, a small community when you look at the general population of the country.

S'pore singer Olivia Ong may have switched to singing Mando-pop, but people still love her jazz albums: Three of them are in the Top 40 of the iTunes Singapore jazz charts. Photo: TODAY file photo.

S'pore singer Olivia Ong may have switched to singing Mando-pop, but people still love her jazz albums: Three of them are in the Top 40 of the iTunes Singapore jazz charts. Photo: TODAY file photo.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE – When we spoke to jazz man Jeremy Monteiro some time ago, he mentioned that although there perception is that there is little support for local musicians, the jazz appreciation population in Singapore was, in real terms, a small community when you look at the general population of the country.

(Although in terms of population percentages, it could compare to the jazz loving communities in other countries.)

But if the iTunes Singapore jazz charts is anything to go by, it indicates that while the population may be small, it is quite supportive of local jazz music. As of today (Feb 11), there are four local albums in upper echelons of the Top 100.

There’s Monteiro’s own Chinese New Year album, Gong Xi! at No 7, but up at No 2 is Olivia Ong’s Best Of compilation (dropping one place from yesterday’s pole position - upstaged by Stacey Kent’s Breakfast On The Morning Tram).

Rounding out the top five are Kenny G’s Greatest Hits (No 3), the Sparkling Jazz 2 compilation at No 4 and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s duet album Cheek To Cheek at No 5.

Ong also has two other albums on the Top 40: A Girl Meets Bossanova 2 is one place behind Monteiro at No 8, while A Girl Meets Bossanova is at No 21 today.

Further down the list is The Steve McQueens, with their album Seamonster at No 76.

“This shows that Singaporeans are supporting Singaporean artists, at least on iTunes,” wrote Monteiro on Facebook yesterday (Feb 10).

It’s not a bad coup for local jazz, considering the rest of the field is packed with offerings by powerhouses such as Diana Krall, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck, among others.

“Artistes like The Steve McQueens show that we have the talent to perform on the world stage,” said Michael Tay, founder and director of the Foundation For The Arts And Social Enterprise told TODAY previously.

Tay is also one of the people behind the Singapore International Jazz Festival or SingJazz Festival, happening in March.

“We think the road to getting good at something — and then get better and better — is to keep on doing it, and do it with passion and love,” The Steve McQueens’ Joshua Wan said in a previous interview.

It looks like that ethos is paying off. It may be slight at the moment, but it’s a start.

You can track the chart here: http://itopchart.com/sg/en/music-album-charts/jazz/

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.