Mandopop musings and melodies

Home-grown musicians - from indie songwriters to stadium-filling superstars - have been hard at work putting out new music.

The biggest release comes from Mandopop star JJ Lin, who dropped his long-awaited 14th album Drifter • Like You Do on Tuesday.

Here are 10 more works by other local acts.

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1 POP

TILL I LET YOU GO

Hear it on: KKBox, Apple Music and other online music platforms

Singer-songwriter Nat Wu's debut album, released last month, is chock-full of radio-friendly goodies.

They include the crowd-pleasing May I Like You?, the nostalgic My Grandma and the sentimental title track, which uses a plane's departure to symbolise moving forward in life.

Looks like Wu, a former flight steward and member of local band The JumpStart, is off to a promising start.

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2 POP

STILL

Hear it on: KKBox, Apple Music and other online music platforms

The pensive Still marks pop duo The Freshman's 10-year music journey and pays homage to the steadfast support from their fans over the years.

Last Sunday, the pair, consisting of Chen Diya and Carrie Yeo, held an online concert, which they called a "live recording show". They performed the song as well as older numbers such as Memory Palette and Growing Up.

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3 POP/R&B

MESSED UP

Hear it on: KKBox, Apple Music and other online music platforms

After their explosive, tension-filled duet Pride Of Love in 2018, Boon Hui Lu and Kenny Khoo (also known by his Chinese name Feng Ze) are back with another fiery collaboration - this time expressing clashing attitudes towards love. Alas, despite their red-hot chemistry, the new song feels like more of the same.

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4 ELECTRO-POP/ROCK

REBOOT

Hear it on: KKBox, Spotify and other online music platforms

You might remember their mega mash-up of Taiwanese rock band Mayday's songs in 2018. This original song from BPM - short for Broken Pieces and Mending and made up of Benita Kei and YC - packs even more punch. The duo's new track Reboot is about self-loathing and struggling to deal with others' opinions.

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5 POP

PURSUING LOVE

Hear it on: KKBox, Spotify and other online music platforms

This frothy love song is by singer-songwriter Marcus Lee, who took part in reality singing competition Sing! China in 2017. Rather apt for our times, the song's music video, the second of a four-part Web series titled Digital Love, follows two individuals who fall in love during a global pandemic.

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6 POP

TURNING THIRTY

Hear it on: KKBox, Apple Music and other online music platforms

Singer-songwriter Ohmymeiting (Above right), whose real name is Ng Mei Ting, will turn 30 next year and she has released an EP named after the upcoming milestone.

The acoustic versions of previously released tracks, such as Will It...? and Cliff, especially suit her sweet, soothing voice.

Spliced between the songs are tracks where she speaks to listeners, explaining the songs and sharing her musings.

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7 ROCK

MASKER

Hear it on: KKBox, Spotify and other online music platforms

Watch it on: bit.ly/356UIKQ

Unleashing her inner rock chick, singer-songwriter Tingzhi.Hz (Above right) rallies her listeners to remove one's facade and boldly face the world.

With its energetic music arrangement and a memorable electric guitar solo, Masker makes for an exhilarating jam.

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8 POP

LOVE DICTIONARY

Hear it on: KKBox, Spotify and other online music platforms

This is singer-songwriter Derrick Hoh's cover of Stefanie Sun's 2001 tune. It has a more complex instrumental arrangement than the original and Hoh's mellow voice delivers the wistful lyrics well.

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9 POP

CCB

Hear it on: KKBox, Spotify and other online music platforms

Watch it on: bit.ly/3kbLoeH

Not so long ago, Singaporeans were stuck at home during the circuit breaker, masks were out of stock and you could see live-stream sales peddling anything from salted fish to durians.

These events are captured in a wacky song with a bossa nova-style melody by Singaporean trio Lim Tay Peng.

The group - made up of musicians Aaron Matthew Lim, Tay Sia Yeun and Peng Chi Sheng - perform songs with a local twist and their previous works have featured Chinese New Year as well as Singapore's food culture.

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10 HIP-HOP/POP

WE ALL DEAD

Hear it on: KKBox, Apple Music and other online music platforms

Hate, disgust and chaos are themes that the music of hip-hop artist Acid revolves around.

His lack of interest in conforming to mainstream society can be seen in his debut five-track EP, which features dark, confronting numbers such as We All Dead and growly singing on Till July.

He is probably going for a fringe audience, but the in-your-face approach might just help him carve out a niche in the generally placid Mandopop world.