Kit Chan On Why She’s "Really Bad" At Performing For Small Crowds And Why Haters Should Give SPOP WAVE! "A Chance"

We all know Kit Chan as a singer, an actress, a judge and a national treasure. And now she has added a very unique skill set to her repertoire: farming.

If you follow the 49-year-old star on Instagram, you would know that she has been volunteering at a local commercial farms, where she spends her days looking after and harvesting the crops.

While that sounds a bit like a retirement plan, fret not — Kit is still very passionate about performing. In fact, she’ll be holding a four-day concert in December.

Here, 8days.sg speaks to her about the upcoming gig, her job as a judge on SPOP WAVE! and her love for farming.

8 DAYS: This is going to be your first concert in two years. How does it feel?

KIT CHAN: Oh it’s really… I think I can represent my entire team when I say that we’re all very excited and grateful. There was a time right in the thick of COVID when they were letting 50 people into a venue and you’re like, okay, 50 people… How do you play to 50 people? And then it went up to 100, 200, 500. You see the numbers creeping up and you get excited.

But for me, in my heart, there was a baseline and I thought that anything less would be so hard because you’re not used to playing to such a small crowd. I’m really bad at that and I get very nervous. It gets too personal and intimate when the place is too small, and the worst thing is that they didn’t allow you to play in a small place — you had to play in a big place with very few people. I think that is so hard for a performer to concentrate and to put your energy out.

We thought you would have developed nerves of steel by now when it comes to performing.

I do have nerves of steel but it doesn’t mean that they don’t get affected, you know? What’s really strange is that I don’t like small crowds because you can see everybody and they’re very close. On the other hand, I’m really good with a big crowd and a big stage.

There’s enough space and distance… You also feel that there’s some sort of invisible fourth wall and that you’re protected. I’m a true blue introvert so when it’s very small… I really admire people who can do that. When I travel, I like going to small jazz clubs and watch people and they have nerves of steel. They can look you in the eye and they’re like, talking to you. That’s something else. Sometimes I think to myself that I’d like to try that.

For now, the crowd will be about a thousand people. It’s not big but it’s something I can handle without thinking ‘I don’t know what to do’.

Apart from concert prep, you’ve been very busy as a judge on SPOP WAVE!. We saw you commenting on 8days.sg's Instagram asking people to give the show a chance. What prompted you do that?

Look, I’m one of the biggest critics of Mediacorp shows, okay? (Laughs) I’ve never shied away from it and… I’m the first person who would go back the next day and tell the producers that they should do this and that. I’ve been around a long time and I can tell that they’re really trying.

The show is also about the contestants who are putting themselves out there and making themselves vulnerable. I just wanted to tell them to give it a chance and don’t just beat it down.

There are also people who lament how there hasn’t been a huge local singer the likes of you, Stefanie Sun and JJ Lin for years. What do you have to say about that?

But there are so many good young singers like Gentle Bones, Charlie Lim and Jasmine Sokko! I’m thinking… Maybe it’s because there isn’t a really big pop artiste who sings Mandarin songs? I can see that Benjamin Kheng is starting to sing Chinese songs, so… (laughs)

I think it’s the same thing that all of us face when we first start out. For myself and even Tanya [Chua]… You can probably tell that English is my first language but I’ve become proficient in Chinese because I’ve been using a lot of it for almost 30 years at work. When I first started, I wanted to sing English songs because that was what we grew up with and were inspired by, but the reality is that we’re in the heart of Asia.

If you look at Taufik [Batisah], he also does way better in Malaysia and Indonesia when he sings in Malay. Singapore’s market is really small, so I think it’s about [appealing to listeners from the countries around us] at the end of the day.

I used to be very resistant to singing in Chinese because you just want to sing what you liked. Then, my record company told me that I need to look really long term if I wanted it to be my profession. I was very sure that I wanted it to be my career when I was 19, so I think for anyone who’s starting out, it’s important to ask yourself the hard questions. At the end of the day, I’m so glad that I sang in Chinese because I can still sing in English. Only now I have a whole new range and repertoire so you just need to keep an open mind.

We noticed that you’ve also been spending a lot of time gardening recently.

I volunteer at a commercial farm. I live in an apartment and I’m the kind of person who doesn’t want plants inside my apartment.

To be a real farmer, you have to grow vegetables in soil. The only way as of now is to volunteer. In my mind, I have a dream that I’ll have a farm of my own one day — not to be a commercial farmer but to be sustainable. To be able to grow enough food for yourself and to exchange the extras with others. I want a life that is more rooted in nature.

Everyone needs to think about climate change and it’s a real crisis. We’ve been talking about it since primary school and I remember discussing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the ‘80s.

We’ve just gotten worse now and when I think about it philosophically, it’s because we’ve cut nature out from our lives so much. It’s not like I’m crazy about green things; I like the idea of being in touch with nature and I started to learn about green things and I think it feels good, which is why I’m doing it.

What about a home garden?

I’m very afraid of insects. (laughs) When I was talking to a farming enthusiast I remember feeling very sheepish because I said that I was afraid of insects and asked if he was going to laugh at me.

He said no, because he also felt the same way. There’ll be a point where you overcome it — you won’t like it but you will not freak out. He was right because I saw these huge millipedes and earthworms the first time I volunteered.

They were very alive; they were jumping, wriggling, writhing, and it was pretty disgusting. However, I wasn’t scared. Usually, I’d be screaming and running but they were like 1cm away from my fingers and for some reason, I didn’t even jump. I asked myself why I wasn't scared and I realised that it’s because they’re in their natural habitat. I’m the intruder and I’m somehow more accommodating. If I see it in my living room I’ll start screaming because that’s my space.

So… Your reason for not wanting plants at home is because you don't want insects to invade your space?

Yes it is. (Laughs) The only things I have in the house are fresh cut flowers because they’re very safe.

How about moving to a landed property and doing the gardening outside?

This is the other thing: I’m a Virgo and everything I dream about is very specific. I’m not very into tropical farming and I’m obsessed with apple trees. It’s this very romantic idea that I want to have apple trees and berries… So I think I need to have my farm somewhere in a temperate place if and when I have it.

Even if I were to have my farm one day — and I love to daydream in detail — I would probably have a section of the house where it's like an intermediate area. You can walk in with your work boots and get dirty there but there must be this inner sanctum that is very clean that has no soil and no insects.

Having to take a plane to get to your farm sounds tiring, though.

I’m so used to traveling because I’ve been doing that for my entire adult life. I’m not about being rooted in one place and I think that it’s possible to have a farm somewhere, but Singapore is still home. Let’s put it this way: wherever I am, I’d like to come home and die. (Laughs)

That sounds a bit morbid.

I know it sounds a bit morbid but I’m quite dramatic about a lot of things. (Chuckles) If someone asks me how I define home… In a certain sense that I’m a global citizen, so what’s home? It’s just the place where you die and that’s pretty clear cut. (Laughs)

Have you thought about where you’d want to have your farm?

New Zealand would be a great place, but it could also be anywhere in Europe. Let’s see where life takes me, but for now I’m very happy to just volunteer at the farm because they always need help. I’m enjoying it and learning. Maybe one day I’ll accept it and have a tropical farm. I’m only at the start of my journey, so who knows?

Reignite - Kit Chan Live in Concert will be held on Dec 16, 17, 18 & 19 at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands. Tickets are now available on SISTIC.

You can also catch Kit on SPOP WAVE! here.

Photos: Kit Chan's Instagram