Iman Fandi is not new to the media world, and with her countless talents, she’s ready to dominate yet another industry – music! Singapore’s latest popstar has graced us with the cinematic ‘Timeframe’, and everything in it is to die for.
Turning 21 this year, the model, actor, athlete and now singer-songwriter, Iman Fandi, is the only daughter to Singapore’s very own legend, Fandi Ahmad. But she’s here to prove that she will write her legacy, as Iman Fandi, the pride and glory of Singapore’s music world. And we’re proud to see our very own take on this challenge.
‘Timeframe’ is truly an all-in-one package – it’s a movie, a talent show, a fashion show, all rolled into one. It was a special project with producer Flightsch, and engineer John Hanes (who’s worked with artists like The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift and Halsey)!
Iman also signed with Universal Music Singapore, which was a milestone she had never imagined she would achieve! She initially intended to do this on her own and go independent, but when Universal got a hold of ‘Timeframe’, things just started to unravel, and they led her here!
But wait! Did I mention that ‘Timeframe’ was written entirely by Iman herself when she was just 19? And that too, in a day?
I had the amazing opportunity to talk to her myself, which was such an honour, and when I asked her a little more about the story behind how she wrote ‘Timeframe’, here’s what she said: “I wrote this song a day after I had to say goodbye to a friend that was leaving Singapore. So I was in a taxi, and the melody came into my head, and the sun shone in my eyes, and the lyrics of the first verse and chorus were actually about me sitting in that taxi on the way to town to meet a friend.”
“That’s when somehow the inspiration and the idea for it came, and then I came home, and I finished the entire song, knowing that this was the first song I wanted to put out, somehow.” It became a birthday resolution for her to release this song.
Iman shared that songwriting is like a journal to her. She expresses whatever she’s feeling in the form of lyrics – happiness, sadness, confusion, indecisiveness, everything. “Somehow, it helps me just relieve all my little thoughts and creative ideas that I have, yeah! It helps me. It’s my little output.”
She even kept this whole process a secret from her family and the world! She revealed how her family only heard the entire song and saw the whole music video at the press conference! They were shocked and excited and happy. “I did not expect tears!” she told me.
She wanted this to be hidden away as she felt that she was so young at the time, and she wasn’t ready to put something like this out there yet. She was afraid of criticism and judgement, but in the end, she decided that this was something she knew she wanted to do and try. She didn’t want to regret not taking her chances.
I’m sure this is something we can all relate to, isn’t it? We often feel afraid of what others may think and stop ourselves from doing things we really want to do, but in the end, it’s always about taking on those chances – not for others, but for yourself. Thank you for sharing your story, Iman.
The music video of ‘Timeframe’ is also one that tugs your heartstrings a little, when you realise how you relate to it too. It takes on a film-style production with a very personal storyline and close to Iman’s heart. It is inspired by all the goodbyes she has had to say as she travelled ever so often with her family.
As the video start’s, we see Iman struggles to speak as she gets cut off every time by others’ questions doubting her successes. The cameras are flashing incessantly, as if to show the immense pressure she was under and how it was blinding, literally. But no one knew what she was actually feeling on the inside. All they saw was her incompetence from the way she portrayed herself in front of those cameras.
Then, when the music starts, you see her actual state of mind and realise that she’s actually lost a friend that had to fly away from her, and she was devastated inside. She was fighting her own battles inside but trying to hold down the fort in front of others, all on her own. No one saw her battles.
Just like that, we simply assume things about others based on what we see and hear, but have we ever tried to look inside? Everyone is fighting a battle that their eyes will never tell. Don’t be the reason for their struggles; be the reason they win them — another beautiful message.
Iman shared how although the song had already been written in 2019, again in a day, there were a few delays caused by this nasty pandemic (as expected) and some rearrangements in the song made to ensure the best version of ‘Timeframe’ was released. Iman mentioned how regardless of all these delays, she’s still glad about how things played out. She also mentioned how she especially loved the visuals in the video!
She wanted to be as involved as possible in the music video itself, as she believes artists should. In her words, “It’s their baby!” She wanted people to get the right idea from the music video, while still ensuring it wasn’t too long or draggy. She also mentioned, “Of course, the best part was the fittings! We had fittings for like two hours or so on one of the days. It was so fun, like picking out the outfits, yeah!”. I’m sure that’s heaven for many of us. I know it’s mine!
Music has always been a part of Iman. She shared how her whole family loves music and was exposed to many different genres, but she fell in love with Pop and R&B, which she believes will always be her sound. She cites Zara Larsson, The Weeknd, Zayn Malik, Lewis Capaldi, and some up-and-coming artists like Destiny Rogers and Astrid S as some of her biggest musical inspirations. She got inspired by their styles and wanted to create her own fusion with Dance and R&B. Although, in the future, she wants to explore more styles!
The future is indeed bright for Iman Fandi, and there’s a long journey ahead of her. She shared that she definitely wants to make more music. She even hopes to start collaborating with local and international artists one day, but till the day comes, Iman has many things up her sleeve to share!
In fact, she shared that she is working on an EP right now! Cue the cheers and applause! She said that this is “something I am very excited about, and I hope people would love the EP when it comes out, and I’m just working towards that. And hopefully, I can release more songs in between this year as well.” We are so excited to see what else she brings us and what other stories she will share with us!
Let’s support Iman on this new journey she has started and show her lots of love! Till she releases more stuff, be sure to check out ‘Timeframe’ on Spotify and Apple Music, and check out the music video on YouTube! For some bonus content, also check out the behind-the-scenes video to ‘Timeframe’!
All the best, Iman! Thank you for sharing such beautiful stories in the form of ‘Timeframe’, and we can’t wait to see more.
Visuals courtesy of Hans Goh
