Don’t you think Singapore glistened a little extra last week? Didn’t it feel a little more electric? Couldn’t you feel some pulsating beats booming in Clarke Quay, as if some mega performances were tearing up the part of our city that never sleeps? Oh, that was CreatorWeek in full force – from panel talks with Miss Universe Singapore 2023, Priyanka Annuncia, beauty creator Yashora Samaradivakara, and creator preetipls, to performances by Japanese boy group PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE, William Singe and so much more!
Held from 7 to 11 May 2024, musicians, creators, and artists from around the globe came together to showcase their talents and engage with passionate fans and industry big-names. This year’s CreatorWeek was nothing short of spectacular, transforming the bustling heart of the city into a vibrant hub of creativity and innovation. CreatorWeek proved to be an unparalleled festival that celebrated artistic brilliance and the magic of creation.
After all, the things that keep us going and make life a little more livable are music, art, and endless scrolling on social media for a slew of content that makes us smile. We never realise the amount of hard work and thought that goes into these creations. CreatorWeek celebrated this awe-inspiring process of creation and the incredible minds behind it. Today, we delve into some of the magic that unravelled at CreatorWeek that stuck out to us! Join us, won’t you?
Music Matters
Of course, we have to start with my personal favourite part of CreatorWeek: Music Matters! This consisted of the conference, where renowned speakers and thought leaders shared their insights on the music industry, and Music Matters Live, the live showcase of artists taking Clarke Quay by storm!
As a music lover, being in the midst of all these musicians from around the world, bringing their stories to the stage, fired up by their passion, made me feel like heaven truly is a place on earth (called Music Matters Live). While I didn’t know quite a few of these artists, I so extremely enjoyed every second being serenaded by the most mesmerising vocals, jamming to the rockstars setting the stage ablaze, and being surrounded by so much talent! *Cue dreamy sigh* Can I go back?
The most explosive, highly-anticipated and adrenaline-packed performance of Music Matters Live 2024 was most definitely PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE, who made their debut in Singapore right here. The way the suspense was built down to the last second for their arrival on stage, the way the audience was screaming “PSYCHIC FEVER!” at the top of their lungs, where the excitement was too much to contain, the way the audience burst into screams at volumes I never thought the human body could muster were all testament to the fact that Singapore had been waiting for this very moment.
And my, oh, my, what a show they delivered! They were up there for about 30 minutes (we might be wrong; time passed way too fast!), but the performances were packed with energy and fire till the last second. They brought the essence of an all-rounded Japanese boy group (reminiscent of a K-pop group’s performance) with their insane dancing, sick raps, beautiful vocals, and arresting stage presence. In that short duration, they played six songs, one of which was the song that propelled them to virality and fame – Just Like Dat feat. JP THE WAVY.
The crowd was absolutely bonkers, too, singing (nay, screaming) along to every lyric of every song, proving PSYCHIC FEVER’s mega power and just how long their fans had been waiting for that moment. PSYCHIC FEVER embarked on their Asia tour, “HEAT”, this month. While they’ve only announced shows in Japan, could we maybe foresee a Singapore stop being added after the amazing response they got? Fingers crossed!
Do you know who else took the stage? William Singe! This is the same person featured in Mama by Jonas Blue and was a guest on SING OFF, YouTube star Conor Maynard’s iconic series! We had the pleasure of speaking with him and hearing about his journey. He also performed at the Fountain Square, CQ @Clarke Quay on Wednesday, 8 May. We’re so mad we didn’t get to catch it, but we know he did a fantabulous job and wow-ed everyone! If you didn’t catch it either, read our interview with him to learn more about this gorgeous soul.
Taking our sights off the main stage of Music Matters Live, we made our way around Clarke Quay to the other locations hosting performances. We then made our way to Señor Taco for Tunecore Showcase. My jaw was on the ground as I walked in. The atmosphere was electric, the vibe unmatched, and the decor absolutely stunning.
The restaurant’s retro feel, adorned with disco balls and fairy lights and a black-and-white floor that looked so danceable, made it a dream. The vintage touch also came from the records that stood behind the stage. Imagine being an artist and feeling like the pioneers and icons of music have your back, watching over you as you take that stage.
And that must’ve been how Mix Fenix from the Philippines felt as she took centre stage, serenading us with her voice, facing the crowd on her first-ever international gig, with her guitar in hand. In the crowd, we heard many other people from the Philippines screaming with her, sharing their excitement for the representation of their culture standing before them. Mix shared that her band couldn’t make it that day, hence, she was performing alone. But with the support of the very wholesome crowd and music icons behind her, she most certainly was not alone!
Another location hosting Music Matters Live performances included Swee Lee Clarke Quay. This space itself was astonishing, and as a self-proclaimed music fanatic, I’m ashamed I hadn’t explored this wonderland before Creator Week.
They describe themselves as “an all-encompassing music lifestyle store featuring a cafe & bar, vinyl listening stations, musical instruments and merchandise.”. The cafe serving locally roasted coffee and cocktails created by Employees Only is 30th on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023 list!
The cafe? Bar? Store? It’s everything all at once, I don’t even know what to call it! But this space also comes with an ultra-cool wine cellar. Ah, I mean the Guitar Cellar! It’s a massive room filled with myriads of guitars that will be any guitar player’s heaven (or if you play Guitar Hero, like me, I think we qualify, too!). Nonetheless, it’s named the Guitar Cellar after its similar vibe to a classic wine cellar. You’d get lost in here and be so tempted to touch them all, but guitars are expensive, so be careful!
As we rocked up to Swee Lee, we were so mesmerised by the interior and the stage for performers to do what they do best. We saw Jewel Owusu from Australia, and Celine Wanyi from Hong Kong take the stage as a crowd sat in the seats designated for the audience with a cuppa Joe or cocktail in hand. It was a sight to behold, with a platform for artists to connect with those who love music, cementing the crucial role that Swee Lee plays in Singapore’s tiny music hub.
And the final location we explored in the slew of Music Matters Live locations was PULSE Singapore. Whether you call it a club, a gastro-bar, or a live entertainment venue with a bomb mix of music, it doesn’t change the fact that this place served up vibes. As part of Music Matters Selects, we saw performers Adriel from Malaysia and Nao Yoshioka from Japan set the place on fire.
Adriel rocked the stage with an unreleased song that stole my heart (but also really made me laugh) called Gochujang! It sounds like such a deep-rooted song with lots of layers to peel back. But then, the chorus hits, and you hear “gochujang”. It’s hilarious, adorable, and so fun! Adriel is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter/producer who draws inspiration from Daniel Caesar and Phum Viphurit. His songs sound like the perfect backdrop for some intimate reflection and deep thinking while also uplifting yourself from whatever trenches you’re caught in.
We also saw Nao Yoshioka take the stage, instantly turning up the temperature as her presence burned a hole in that stage! You can tell she’s really feeling herself and the music she’s playing when she’s up there, and she captivates you. She holds your attention from beginning to end. Hailing from Osaka, Japan, and now based in New York City, Nao is a contemporary soul singer with a powerful voice that blows you away. It was a joy watching her perform.
CreatorWorld
Then came the CreatorWorld conference, where attendees got the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and learn from fellow creators, artists, and industry executives. Social media is truly a new pillar of communication, aside from classic broadcast channels like television, radio and newspapers. Hence, a conference like this, where we get to learn from key thought leaders about how to make the most of this new realm, was exactly what we needed.
While there were chats with Adrian Xiao Ming of Hepmil Media Group (one of our beloved SGAG icons) and #HireMeLeh content creator Elizabeth Boon (whose voiceovers on her vlogs always make me cackle), we got to catch Melissa Laurie, Founder and Managing Director of Oysterly, Asia’s leading short-form video agency, in action.
The woman was given a Junior Ballroom in the Ritz Carlton Hotel. She had two small projection screens and a small stage to work with under rather horrid lighting. Technical difficulties kept coming at her like the obstacles you’d get in Subway Surfers. But Melissa never backed down, never gave up. She held her own. She overcame every obstacle. She engaged the crowd and invoked a few laughs from us. That just proves to us all that she’s a credible source to teach us how to create captivating content that people will enjoy and engage with.
She shared some insightful ideas during her presentation that prove just how much the world has changed. Social media is more than what you think it is. It’s the new Google search. It’s an information powerhouse. She gave us a lay of the land and tips to create outstanding content.
But guess what> We got to speak with her privately, and she shared with us really inspiring points about creating content on our own. As soon as we got home, we got to work and created for you the ultimate cheat sheet to go viral on social media. You’re so welcome.
CreatorWorld was truly a worldly experience. We got to meet with so many fellow creatives who took this golden opportunity to network and put themselves out there. Such is the blessing (or curse for us introverts) of this creative world. The more people you meet, the more you learn and know. And this opportunity was courtesy of CreatorWeek which presented the attendees with this unique chance that you can’t get elsewhere!
It’s A Girl Thing
Don’t we all know the whole “I’m just a girl” trend on TikTok? With No Doubt’s Just A Girl as the backtrack, the ironic trend mocks the way women are unable to do certain simple things, growing up in a male-dominated world. We can do them, but why should we? Males created a world where they refused to let women do any of these tasks, saying, “she’s just a girl”. This trend is a clap back to all of that.
Do Math? I’m just a girl! Drive? I’m just a girl! Complete my assignment by my 11.59pm deadline? I’m just a girl! Sexualising women? I’m just a girl. Demeaning women? I’m just a girl. Disrespecting a woman’s hard work? I’m just a girl.
Women have never had it easy and have never found peace. Women have never had the pleasure of growing in a workplace, on social media, or even as they walk home on a desolate street without having to worry about any of the above. We may be in the 21st century, but the only evolution we’ve experienced is bringing the negativity geared towards women to the new platforms of this new age – social media.
It’s A Girl Thing is an award-winning series of live panel discussions sharing stories of women. As for CreatorWeek, It’s A Girl Thing invited creators from around the region to share their journeys as women in the creative space. These strong, empowering women shared the journeys they’ve had and the paths they paved for themselves to overcome the obstacles that are naturally in the way of almost every woman.
They shared about the power to dream and make it a reality, the power to own who you are and fight for yourself, and the significance of uplifting one another and building a strong community of women where we pick each other up.
While there were many speakers there that day, three of them stuck out to me and left me feeling extra inspired. These are three Singaporean women that we know very well – Miss Universe Singapore 2023, Priyanka Annuncia, beauty creator Yashora Samaradivakara, and creator preetipls.
First, let’s talk about Priyanka Annuncia, who was crowned Miss Universe Singapore 2023. Some may view Miss Universe as a reinforcement of traditional gender roles and beauty standards, where women are judged primarily on their physical appearance, thus perpetuating the objectification of women and perceiving the pageant as an entertainment event or business opportunity. It’s a shame that despite the time we are in, the true purpose of Miss Universe has never been understood. Well, in that case, these people should have been at It’s A Girl Thing.
Priyanka completely blew me away, and everyone else there. We learned that before Priyanka was crowned Miss Universe Singapore 2023, she graduated with a double major in Law and Criminology, visited a shelter for trafficking victims in Thailand in July 2023, and had been a private investigator for three years. She honed her skills there and now leads investigations, rescue missions, and reintegration programmes for victims.
Just recently, still, in her tenure as Miss Universe Singapore, she completed several courses with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and worked with the FBI/NYPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force to further her skills and knowledge in defeating this horrific evil. She is also the Founder of the Justice Portal, an online space empowering communities to prevent crime, raise awareness and support survivors.
After detailing all of this, don’t you feel so proud that our Singaporean woman with this prestigious title is Priyanka? I loved that It’s A Girl Thing invited her to share about what she’s done and her journey leading up to this moment in time, which proved that Miss Universe is beyond the superficiality that the world demeans it to. It’s a platform for women with inspiring journeys to step up and, in turn, inspire women (and men!) to make a difference in this dark, cruel world. She spoke so eloquently and made a massive impact with her story.
Another speaker who moved me greatly by the end of the day was a beauty creator and Social Media Manager at Wah!Banana 01 Studio Pte Ltd, Yashora Samaradivakara. She shared what it was like being a woman in a saturated space like social media.
A story she shared that left me shell-shocked was when she posted a picture of herself when she was in her early teens and men were in her DMs, asking her how much she was for a night. She shared that this was her first experience of what it’s like for a woman in a man’s world (she was just a teen, mind you), and it opened her eyes. She also shared how anytime she posted about her boyfriend, people would spring on her a barrage of negative comments. She drew a line and decided not to mention men and her partners in her content at all.
It’s insane how, even when a woman is doing so well, building herself up while empowering other women and starting real, much-needed conversations (she speaks a lot about inclusivity in the beauty industry in her content as a brown woman herself), the world can somehow manage to take the spotlight away from all the beautiful work and cast it on the thoughts and ideologies of the 19th century.
Yashora shared such vulnerable moments about her journey that day. Today, she is creating a safe space for young women to be unapologetically themselves, the same safe space the world failed to provide her when she was growing up. She’s sparking real change in the beauty industry and creating a world where every woman, regardless of her skin colour, can feel beautiful.
And finally, we got to see Singapore’s Top Everything, preetipls, take the stage. The nation loves her for her fearless approach to social commentary, representation of minority voices, and her ability to use humour and satire to drive meaningful conversations and inspire change. During her panel discussion, she shed light on the journey she walked to get to this point in her life, on a stage and talking to people who were there to hear about empowering women’s empowering stories.
Together with Preeti, we watched one of the iconic rap songs she released in 2019 (how has it already been five years?) – E8. We learned from her all about her thought process when creating these works of art. Inspired by the E8 score she got for Mandarin in her O Levels, she shared how her parents made her take Mandarin as her mother tongue in school because, as sad as it is, it’s true that being able to speak Mandarin in Singapore is an advantage.
In the video, she is dressed in her traditional sari and holds an Indian classical music instrument, the sitar, while rapping in Mandarin about getting E8. She has always used her content to spark conversations about the stereotypes and barriers restricting racial minorities in Singapore. And this was just one of her efforts.
But here’s the thing many people forget: preetipls is a character. Behind this whimsical, crazy Singapore’s Top Everything persona lies a real human being who wants to bring real change – Preeti Nair. The persona is an extension of her personality but a gazillion times exaggerated. Yet, people are so quick to bring her down with harsh words, in fact proving her point as she stands in this industry as a minority individual herself.
She shared so much about her inspiring journey and her efforts to lift women up, especially through her podcast, PREETI GIRLS CLUB (which she spoiled that she will be starting back up soon with more of her friends joining her), and it’s time these efforts are what we place in the limelight. Preeti merely existing in this industry as a creator already smashes stereotypes that have been branded upon other women with brown skin. But look at her thriving. It’s rightfully so that she’s called Singapore’s Top Everything because no one’s doing it like her.
As a fellow brown woman myself, seeing these women stand on a platform as important as It’s A Girl Thing was a huge moment of pride. As they shared their stories, struggles, and vulnerabilities, they opened the eyes of millions about the state of the world we live in. As I do my job sharing with you what I experienced, I hope this cycle continues and we create a world where women can safely, unapologetically, and fearlessly be women.
CreatorWeek was a whirlwind of emotions and a journey from start to finish. From important conversations that spark change to giving a platform to musicians across the region to do what they love, CreatorWeek wasn’t just a fun, little week that passed by way too fast. It was a crucial stepping stone and platform that raised awareness about some of the most important causes, some of which needed to be celebrated.
As we eagerly wait for CreatorWeek to return to our city as soon as possible, we owe gratitude to Branded for making this happen. They breathed life into this event to present brands, creators, and fans with the opportunity to network and learn from each other ways we can gear our content and businesses towards creating a greater world. After all, CreatorWorld is all about creation. It doesn’t stop at content, music, or businesses. It’s about our world, too.
The week may have passed, but it will take us some time to digest everything that happened! To check out everything that went down at CreatorWeek, explore Branded’s official website! To catch all things Music Matters (including snippets of performances you might’ve missed!), check out their Instagram page.
Photos by Pauline Caoile and Eshani N J of the DANAMIC Team.
