Singapore Mandopop superstar Stefanie Sun's new song, Rainbow Bot, is out today exclusively on Apple Music and it will remain available only on that platform for four months.
In addition to the song, Sun, 38, also worked on a three-minute documentary that will be available exclusively on Apple Music from today. In it, she talks about her music and being a mother.
Rainbow Bot comes from a five-track EP of the same title, which will be available on Apple Music in its entirety from Friday.
The other four tracks are covers and they are available only on Apple Music for a year. They are Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child Of Mine; Nursery Rhyme 1987, a childhood tune she loved when she was young; This World, a song by the late Taiwanese singer-songwriter Tsai Lan-chin; and a new version of her own song Kepler, from her last studio album of the same name released in 2014.
Sun tells The Straits Times in an e-mail interview: "The five songs picked had a strong underlying tone of what it means to be a child, guileless, free and sometimes fearful, sometimes fearless. The greyish tint that colours our adult world is taken away and replaced with a much wider, more unfiltered lens.
"The EP doesn't just feel close to my heart, but it feels like it is the past and present of myself, and also the part of me that is not so publicly treaded upon."
Her arrangement with Apple joins what appears to be a worldwide trend of musicians making exclusive deals with content- streaming platforms. Earlier this year, American diva Beyonce brewed Lemonade first for the music streaming service Tidal, which her rapper-husband Jay Z co-owns.
The highly anticipated new album from feted singer-songwriterrapper Frank Ocean, which is due anytime now, will be an Apple Music exclusively for the first two weeks of its release.
Subscription to Apple Music costs $9.98 a month.
Sun tied the knot with Dutch Indonesian business executive Nadim van der Ros in May 2011 and gave birth in October 2012.
She says: "Motherhood has been terribly fruitful. And although I may have very little time for anything else, I feel very blessed for all the added cheer in my life. My son is hilarious. He's bringing me to Mars when he becomes an astronaut."
She has kept a tight lid on her private life so far - she has yet to reveal her son's name or even share pictures of him.
But she says she is not fiercely guarding her privacy .
"Aiyah, I don't keep such a tight lid on my personal life. I don't hide at home and am everywhere with my family. It's just that everyone is playing Pokemon Go these days, not Spot-the-singer-with-the-kid."
