Jointly reported by:
Chloe Eu Ji Chen Sr2A
Rosalind Chiang Fei Yang Sr3A

      The 18th of September (Saturday) was the final round of Kuen Cheng High School’s Singing Competition, an online event via Zoom video platform. There were three categories which are Junior Individuals, Senior Individuals and Duets. Ms Serena Low, a Sunway University School of Arts lecturer, Madam Hee Siaw Fuey, the School’s Head of Co-currcular Department cum Music Teacher, and Madam Lai Yan Qiu, the Assistant Head cum Teacher-advisor of the Choir Club, were the judges for this competition.

      The competition was pre-recorded, whereby contestants recorded their performance beforehand and played during the Zoom session. For this competition, 3 Special Awards, 2 Excellence Awards, 2 Consolation Prizes and 1 Popularity Award were allocated for each category. The Popularity Award was based on audience voting from any category.

      The competition started with Junior Individuals, followed by Duet Group and Senior Individuals. Most songs were in Mandarin from famous singers like Jay Chou, JJ Lin and more. Some contestants selected English songs such as the prominent “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars, “You Are The Reason” by Calum Scott and “Rose” by D.O.

      After each performance, the judges gave some appraisal and advice. Then, the audience voted for their favourite performance via Google Form. 

      Following the five-minute voting, the emcee announced the winners of the competition. The judges decided to add an Excellence Award for the Senior Individuals due to having numerous outstanding performances. A group photo was taken, and the competition came to an end.

      We, Members of the Kuen Cheng Newsletter Club,  had the privilege to interview the award winners to share their journey to victory.

      Lim Bao Yi, Jr2Z(6): Popularity Award in the Junior Individual Category:

      Bao Yi felt honoured to be voted for the Popularity Award and was grateful to the audience, especially her friends who enjoyed her performance. She hoped that everyone could do the things they love and enjoy amidst the pandemic.

      Gan Kai Xuan, Sr2A: Consolation Prize in the Senior Individual Category:

      Kai Xuan was on cloud nine when she was announced as one of the winners. She wanted to thank her mother, who supported her during the recording, the most. Her mother suggested recording multiple times, to the point she thought of giving up due to schoolwork. However, she already spent a lot of time preparing, so why stop now? Her efforts paid off when she won the prize.

      Yap Xiew Tong and Chloe Eu Ji Chen, Sr2A: Special Award and Popularity Award in the Duet Group:

      This was the third time Xiew Tong and Chloe participated in singing contests together, unfortunately, they never placed previously. It was their last year to participate in school-based competitions so Chloe wanted to sing with Xiew Tong again. When they were announced as the winners, she was overjoyed that they finally won together and grateful to the audience.

      Xiew Tong participated in the contest to create memories of their high school years. Much earlier she participated in singing contests in school but to no avail. Her first contest in high school was with Chloe and felt proud because they finally won a prize together in their fifth high school year. She recalled the second half of the song was challenging for her, especially the three sentences of harmony which took her an hour to record. This might be the last singing contest she will participate in school. Xiew Tong was thankful towards the judges, and did not regret participating in this contest.