Local singers Joanna Dong, Olinda Cho to square off in upcoming Sing! China episode

SINGAPORE — Save the date: Singaporean singers Joanna Dong and Olinda Cho are set to square off in the upcoming Sing! China episode on Friday (Sept 29).

A press release issued on Wednesday also confirmed that both singers will perform a duet with guest Taiwanese singer Harlem Yu in the Playoffs. Dong will perform a song by Yu, True Love Song, while Cho will sing hit song Silence by their mentor and Mandopop superstar Jay Chou.

Yu, who was a mentor in the first season of the reality singing competition, described both performances as contrasting: “One is robust, while the other is soft. One is like a raging storm, the other like a soft gust of wind.”

China Press earlier reported that Dong will be belting Open Arms for her solo performance.

In this episode, Chou will pick a vocalist to represent him in the grand finals on Oct 8.

Earlier media reports, however, have said that Dong beat Cho to represent Team Chou in the finals.

Chou’s finalist will go up against finalists from the other mentors’ teams — Doris Guo from Team Na Ying, and Xiao Kaiye and Ye Xiaoyue from Eason Chan’s team. Chinese singer/songwriter Liu Huan’s finalist will also be selected in this episode.

In a performance that aired on Sept 8, Dong sang a bilingual rendition of I Want You to Be My Baby accompanied with her trademark “vocal trumpeting” to the chorus of Chou’s hit song Tornado, which was released in 2000 on his debut album titled Jay.

Last year, Singaporean singer Nathan Hartono took second place in the finals of Sing! China Season 1. Hartono also chose Chou as a mentor.

Hartono competed against five other finalists and performed the song Nunchucks with Jay Chou and a cover of the latter’s The Longest Movie in the grand finals.

Friday’s episode will air on Jia Le Channel (Singtel TV, Ch 502) at 9pm in Singapore, the same time as China.