Have you ever dreamt of becoming the next Lin Jun Jie or Stephanie Sun? Have you ever thought of writing your own songs and singing them on stage, in front of a live audience?

Well, you might have the opportunity to be signed on as a singer through this competition, Music Express 13 organised by NTU Chinese Society Singing Group…Definitely a great platform for those aspiring singers out there who’s ever dreamt of being talent-spotted! Even if you’re not that ambitious, it’s a really great opportunity to try your hand at composing music and writing Chinese songs! Who knows, you might even discover that hidden talent in you..!

I was at NTU’s Nanyang Auditorium to support my friend, who was one of the contestants, during last year’s Music Express 12 Competition. It is actually a national Chinese song-writing competition.

I was surprised at the quality of the composition works that the contestants actually came up with! Not to mention, some of them really had the total package…looks, voice and showmanship! For those of you who watched SuperStar Season 2, you might recognize the names Diya and Huang Shiyu. Both of them were apparently contestants in this competition before!

I also went for several of the seminars organised by the committee. They mainly focused on teaching us the basics of melody composition and some aspects of writing lyrics to a tune. Certainly very informational and entertaining! Also, I was impressed by some of the original composition works that were shared with us by the co-organisers, VI Music.

-one of their seminars at the national library. VI Music professionals sharing with the audience.

The other event they had was a mini-concert at The Music Dreamer’s Cafe where members from NTU’s very own Chinese Society Singing Group showed off their musical talents on stage....I was practically singing along with them as they belted out popular pop songs, and original compositions. I must say, they’ve got some real talent there!

I heard there’s going to be a Music Express 13 competition again this year! How exciting…Should I join? Hmm, I think I’d rather not torture anyone with my croaky voice that can’t carry much of a tune! However, some of you out there can consider joining this competition if you want to try Chinese song composition. For those of you who are thinking, “but I don’t have any musical backgrounds!” there’s a category B called Your lyrics, My tune, that requires contestant to fill in Chinese song lyrics to a pre-determined melody. I’d say give it a go if you’ve got what it takes! Go take a look at their website this year www.musicexpress13.com to find out more!