Six tips to get that No 1 hit

SINGAPORE - What do One Direction, Taylor Swift and Slipknot have in common? They’ve all hit No 1 on the Billboard music charts in the past month.

Now, musicians would be lying if they said they didn’t want to be like 1D, Swift or Slipknot and get to the top of the pops, but over in Singapore, the conversation in the music scene still seems to be the continuing discussion about how to engender appreciation of made-in-Singapore music by Singaporeans. And while we have had chart-toppers on the iTunes Singapore charts, perhaps, they’re too few and far between to make the public sit up and take notice.

That said, two producer-songwriters have been making a difference both at home and overseas, putting their talent and skills to good use by helping musicians attain that chart hit. The pair — Tat Tong and Roland Lim — have collectively had nearly 30 No 1 hits across Asia, Europe, Australia and the United States.

Tong, who spends half his time in Los Angeles and the remaining in Singapore, most notably worked on Troye Sivan’s breakout hit, Happy Little Pill, which was No 1 on iTunes in 57 countries with the accompanying album TRXYE hitting No 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart — making him the first Singaporean producer-writer to crack the Billboard Top 10. Tong has also worked with Chinese pop artistes such as A*Mei, Vanness Wu, Show Luo, CoCo Lee and Singapore’s JJ Lin, as well as K-pop acts such as Tasty, JYJ & Cho Yong Pil.

Lim, who also does an overseas commute between Singapore and Perth, Australia, has had a hand in eight No 1 hits and more than 20 Top 10 songs in Asia and Australia. His musical clients have included Gentle Bones, Reuby, The Summer State, Villes, Australia’s Make Them Suffer and I Am Zero, as well as Jonathan Wong from Hong Kong.

Despite their obviously busy schedules, Tong and Lim have expressed a keen desire to give back to the Singapore music community. To this end, the duo have launched their maiden educational initiative: A series of music-industry seminars under the banner, Gamechangers. The first session next month will focus on how to produce and release No 1 hits.

The seminar will cover subjects such as assembling an audio- and video-production team, effective songwriting and arrangement, marketing and promotion as well as making use of available grants. This is the start of more in-depth workshops scheduled for next year that aim to bridge the information gap and provide independent artistes with the tools they need to maximise their chances of career success.

“We are very thankful for this and aware that with, this privilege, we have a responsibility to give back to the Singapore music scene,” Tong said. “The best way we feel we can contribute is to share our experiences, both good and bad, and the knowledge we have gained on our amazing journey.”

Here, Tong (left) and Lim (right) share six quick tips that can help you get started on your music journey.

1. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

New musicians often try to showcase too much of their talent and creativity in one three-minute pop song, resulting in an incoherent mess. Simplicity is beauty: Limit the number of instruments, don’t use big words and remember that repetition is your friend.

2. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HOOK

If you don’t have a catchy hook that your average person on the street can remember and would want to sing along with in two or three repetitions, you don’t have a hit song.

3. MAKE IT RELATABLE

When your audience is emotionally invested in every lyric in your song — because it perfectly describes how they feel — your music becomes their voice and a hit is born.

4. UNDERSTAND YOUR TARGET MARKET

Think like the fish, not like the fisherman. In other words, know who your music is aimed at, learn how to build hype about yourself and market your music accordingly.

5. FIND THE RIGHT TEAM

Who you choose to work with — from your producer to mixing engineer, from the mastering engineer to the music-video director to marketing and promotions — can reap tons of benefits or also be your downfall.

6. BE IRRESISTIBLY AWESOME

Invest in your product, put in the hard yards and make sure you showcase your talent at the highest quality and level.

Gamechangers: How To Produce And Release #1 Hits will be held at Barbershop by Timbre on Dec 13 from 4pm to 8pm. Tickets at S$15 (general)/S$10 for students with ID (use discount code STUDENT) from http://peatix.com/event/62623.