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Tabitha takes digital route with release of new singles

SINGAPORE – One-time Singapore Idol contestant Tabitha Nauser celebrated a new milestone in her life last Friday: The release of her new single, Bulletproof.

SINGAPORE – One-time Singapore Idol contestant Tabitha Nauser celebrated a new milestone in her life last Friday: The release of her new single, Bulletproof.

Nauser, 24, intends to record, then release singles digitally every few months. The aim: To have a full album of tracks ready for digital — and perhaps physical — release by the end of 2018, at the latest.

Nauser said: “I don’t want to rush it, I’ve never been a big believer of ‘it needs to go out now’. I think it takes time for the creative juices to flow.”

Asked about the unusual method of recording and releasing her tracks — most artistes tend to record full albums, then pick singles to release — and Nauser says she “wanted to get a feel of the reception towards Bulletproof”.

She will then “be able to carefully curate the rest of the tracks for the album”.

That means that public reception could set the tone for her creatively, leading to what she ends up recording.

Nauser is still working on the timeline of her next releases, but says that the songs will reflect her signature R&B and pop influences.

Bulletproof is a catchy dance-pop tune that speaks of unconditional love, in which “every time we’re through, you pull me back”.

It’s not a song about a relationship, though. Nauser says that Bulletproof is an odes to people who’ll stick with her through thick and thin, and who won’t let go of her — flaws and all.

“I feel like that’s (who) everybody aspires to have in their lives,” said she said.

Nauser first burst to fame in 2009, clinching third place on Singapore Idol. She recently left her DJ stint of four years to pursue singing full-time and recently signed a deal with Sony Music Entertainment Singapore, whose roster of Singapore acts include The Sam Willows and Sezairi.

This, says Nauser, is the realisation of a life-long dream.

Nauser says she must have been around two years old when she first felt the urge to sing.

Her mother tells her stories about how she would, as a child, lie in bed and sing non-stop in the middle of the night — and loudly, too.

When she was older, she would listen to Destiny’s Child’s The Writing’s On The Wall on repeat, memorising lyrics line by line and learning each song by heart. She would also watch tapes of her mother, a singer who appeared on Mediacorp TV Vasantham in the 1980s, wondering when it was going to be her turn to hit the stage.

“Even though I didn’t understand what she was singing, I was like, it looks so nice to be on stage and do that kind of thing,” Nauser, who is of mixed parentage — her father is a Swiss-born a professional executive chef, and her mother, who is of Indian heritage, is now a housewife.

She added that she’s had the chance to dip her feet into many aspects of showbiz, but singing is where her heart lies.

“That’s where I started. I feel like I am older, have been through more things in life, and it just feels like it was the right time for me to (fully take on singing),” said Nauser.

Her ambition is to break into major markets abroad.

“I want to think big. I want to break into America or Australia,” she said.

She’s prepared to do the hard yards and work 24/7 — ala Beyonce — on her performances, her singing and her image.

“Obviously, your (music and) your image and what you are about ... (those) don’t just happen overnight. A lot of the artistes (who are described as) overnight sensations have actually been putting in work for years. There’s no such thing as an overnight sensation,” she said.

The self-professed workaholic lists Aaliyah and Mariah Carey among her greatest musical influences, and spends her free time surrounding herself with music, either listening to new tracks of watching live performances on YouTube.

But ask her if she aims to become the world’s next Beyonce, and the singer says that although she has role models, she wants to be known for her own personality and brand of music.

Like Beyonce, Nauser wants to be able to evolve as an artist, to be able to keep up with the times and still be relevant.

But, she added: “I don’t want to be emulating Beyonce’s career. I want to say that I stuck my own feet in the ground and made my own path.”

Tabitha Nauser’s single Bulletproof is available on digital platforms like Spotify and iTunes.

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