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Singer of 90s hit My Special Angel singer, Ger, is back with a new single

SINGAPORE - Besides the fact that she had a hit single in the late 90s, My Special Angel, it is probably safe to say that not many people know a lot about Geraldine Ho, who goes by the moniker Ger. My Special Angel was featured in local movies Army Daze and Teenage Textbook, and received heavy airplay when it was first released in 1997.

Singer of 90s hit My Special Angel, Geraldine Ho, took 13 years to find her footing to return with a new single.

Singer of 90s hit My Special Angel, Geraldine Ho, took 13 years to find her footing to return with a new single.

SINGAPORE - Besides the fact that she had a hit single in the late 90s, My Special Angel, it is probably safe to say that not many people know a lot about Geraldine Ho, who goes by the moniker Ger. My Special Angel was featured in local movies Army Daze and Teenage Textbook, and received heavy airplay when it was first released in 1997.

It might be news to some, for instance, that Ho was part of the team that won Singapore’s first and only SEA Games women’s hockey gold medal in 1993 when the Republic hosted the Games. There’s also the fact that she has no formal training in music, although she credits her uncle for instilling the love of it in her at a young age. “I can’t read notes,” she laughs. “I sing into my phone and get professional musicians to flesh it out for me.”

Ho recorded the demo for My Special Angel when she was studying in Australia. “I remember paying $400 to record the demo of My Special Angel,” she shared. That demo turned out to be the final version of the song that was played on Singapore radio.

After a 13-year hiatus from music, Ho is back with a new single, Missing You, which also has a Mandarin version, Shuang Ren Bei. We catch up with the 43-year-old to find out what she’s been up.

What have you been up to in the last 13 years?

I’ve been making my living as a personal trainer and physical therapist. But I’ve also been writing and producing songs on my own. Three years ago, I decided to sign on as songwriter with Sony Music Publishing in Taiwan. Part of the motivation for doing so was to see how people would react to my music.

What was the reason behind taking a break from music?

Because of my shy and introverted nature, I had a fear of performing in public. For the longest time, I didn’t do anything to get over that fear. In addition to that, I had a lot of self-doubt about my musical abilities. On hindsight, that mental punishment turned out to be a blessing, because I now have a clearer idea about what I want to do. A few years ago, I went for a course on self-awareness, and that really helped me gain more confidence to pursue songwriting.

Why did you have all this self-doubt despite of the success of My Special Angel?

I didn’t know many people in the music industry then and wasn’t sure just how to take my career forward. The music industry (in the 90s) was not was it is now. If you wanted to make it back in the day, you had to sing in Mandarin in order to reach out to the Taiwanese and Chinese markets, which weren’t just bigger, but also a lot more polished and forward thinking in terms of marketing strategies.

What are your thoughts on the local music industry now?

It has certainly moved forward! First, the quality of the recordings has improved remarkably. There’s also a lot more diversity. You have bands and musicians like The Sam Willows, Gentle Bones, and Tanya Chua. They are so different from one another, yet undisputedly Singaporean. I feel that the talent we have here is no less than what can be found elsewhere in the region.

Tell us more about your new music.

I’m releasing one song, but with English and Mandarin versions. The English one is titled Missing You, while the Mandarin one is titled Shuang Ren Bei. My Mandarin is not fluent, so it was quite challenge having to sing in Mandarin. By a stroke of luck, I met a Chinese lyricist, Celia Wong, through that self-awareness course I did and I shared my song with her. She liked it, and what I appreciated was how she respected the essence of the song. Sometimes, the meaning of a song changes entirely when done in Mandarin, but my lyricist Celia Wong worked with the original meaning of the English song when she was coming up with the Chinese version. I decided to release the same song in two languages in order to reach out to a wider audience.

Do you have any plans to release an EP?

I do have enough material for an EP, but I want to see how Missing You and its Mandarin version will do. The local audience is probably not acquainted with my slower tracks. If they are well received, I’ll consider doing more with the music I already have.

Are you currently represented by a company?

No. I believe that as an artiste these days, you have to be proactive in making things happen, rather than sit around and wait for someone to sign you. I’ve already done enough waiting around as a songwriter for a singer to pick up my songs. Going the indie route means artistes have a lot more creative freedom and are in full control of their image. Thankfully, with technology and the internet, it’s now so much easier to release music on your own.

 

Missing You and Shuang Ren Bei will be available on iTunes and Spotify from October 24, 2016.

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