Gammy Award winner, Corrine Bailey Rae - headliner for Singapore International Jazz Festival 2017 - summed up the first evening of the music bonanza at the Main Stage with a fantastic performance with her three (3) piece band.
Dressed in silver foil jump suit, the British singer and songwriter started her hour-long gig with Been to the Moon from her latest album The Heart Speaks in Whispers.
With songs like Breathless, Green Aphrodisiac, Stop Where You Are, Horse Print Dress, and Trouble Sleeping, Corinne Bailey Rae transformed the air - clearing the high humidity from an earlier shower to light and airy; around the open space of The Event Plaza @ Marina Bay Sands with her Soul, R&B music.
She even had a surprise and sweet moment with her husband, Steve Brown on stage, when they had an impromptu duet during the song Do You Ever Think Of Me?
While the song list was mainly from her latest album as well as her debut self-titled album, she was not afraid to sing the songs of greater gravitas from her second album - The Sea - with I'll Do It All Again, Paris Night/New York Morning and Closer.
Corinne Bailey Rae's great vocal performance struck a chord with the audience, especially during very recognizable Put Your Records On that got everyone singing along unanimously. She rounded off the Main Stage on a high with an encore performance of Like A Star.
Earlier that afternoon prior to her Main Stage performance, Corinne Bailey Rae sharing her experiences and thoughts on her momentous musical career at Marina Bay Sands’ Artscience On Screen: In Conversation With. The event gave students from Sing Jazz Academy and beneficiaries of Marina Bay Sands - School of the Arts (SOTA) and 10 Square - a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with Corinne.
She admitted that she did find it hard at times to do music in keeping with what's popular at the time and that has often been a struggle between what she felt instinctively and what people wanted her to do.
Nevertheless, Corrine Bailey Rae has always able to find inspiration from within as she enjoys writing song and singing melodies. Being a singer has allowed her to travel to many different places to sing to many people she has never met before and being able to make them smile, makes her smile as she felt she's not going through the journey alone.
She shared tips to all aspiring performers on performing in front of large crowd, such as at a festival: there's no need to deliberately preparing one's emotional before performing at a festival such as SingJazz as such venue is all about the celebration of music and knowing such energy is out there would really help. It's important to believe in what you do and knowing that people who paid to watch you would have knew what to expect of you hence it's just for you to do what you need to do.
The British singer-songwriter who enjoys reading and has a passion for language, revealed that the songs that she wrote were partly designed deliberately to be poetic, partly accidental as she really enjoys making images, like stories with memorable scenes in her songs.
Corinne credited her imitation of other singers during her younger days and later her exposure to the music of Kurt Cobain from Nirvana together with her introduction to Billie Holiday, coupled by the gift of an unusual voice and the importance of honoring her own experience in life have shaped who she is today.
It was an inspiring session indeed.
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