Singer Richard Marx relates to Taylor Swift: ‘People hated me because I wasn’t their cup of tea’
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American singer and songwriter Richard Marx is a fan of stars such as American singer Taylor Swift, whom he describes as “a very talented songwriter” and “smart businesswoman”.
PHOTO: DEMENTIA SINGAPORE
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SINGAPORE – American singer-songwriter Richard Marx is heading back to Singapore, this time to raise funds for Dementia Singapore.
He will play a charity concert at Our Tampines Hub’s Town Square on Sept 14. General tickets go on sale on June 5 and pre-sales for Shell GO+ members start on May 22. Ticket prices start at $118.
While best known for late 1980s and early 1990s evergreen hits such as Right Here Waiting (1989), Hold On To The Nights (1988) and Hazard (1992), the 60-year-old – who has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide – is still actively touring the world and releasing new songs.
The record-setting artiste is also very much in tune with the modern pop music world and is a fan of stars such as American singer Taylor Swift, whom he describes as “a very talented songwriter” and “smart businesswoman”.
“I think she’s got this special gift of communication,” Marx says in a telephone interview from Los Angeles ahead of his Singapore concert.
Being a pop star is not always easy, and he understands why celebrities like Swift receive their fair share of criticism.
“That’s true of every major successful artiste. I certainly had my share in my heyday. There were critics and people who hated me because I just wasn’t their cup of tea. And sometimes when it’s someone who becomes really, really successful, part of it is just an innate sense of resentment or envy or whatever you want to call it.”
Besides writing his own songs, Marx is also known to compose hits for other artistes, such as This I Promise You (2000) by American boy band NSync and Dance With My Father (2003) by American R&B singer Luther Vandross, which won a Grammy for Song of the Year.
Marx almost did not record Right Here Waiting, which went on to become a No.1 hit worldwide, because he initially offered it to veteran American actress-singer Barbra Streisand, who declined to record it.
“I’m not really a believer in fate necessarily, but I think that the argument could be made in this case. So I look at it as that was what was supposed to happen. She was supposed to turn it down, and then it became my signature song.”
Marx has consistently put out albums through the years. His 13th and most recent one, Songwriter, came out in 2022.
He is also recording a new album, but adds that it will not be done any time soon because he is busy touring. His shows in the past year have included dates all across the US as well as in Japan and Indonesia.
“Singapore is really one of my favourite cities in the world. I’ve had some great times there,” says the crooner, who last performed here at The Star Theatre in 2015.
Fans who turn up at the upcoming gig can expect to hear him belt out his trademark tunes.
“At this point, I’m lucky enough to have a shelf full of hit songs that people know. I’m not at all remotely tired of singing them. I wrote all the songs, and I’m very proud of them. I love that they seem to have stood the test of time and people still want to hear them.”
Marx – who has three adult sons with his first wife, American actress Cynthia Rhodes, and is now married to Cuban-American host-actress Daisy Fuentes – is no stranger to charity events in Singapore. In 2012, he headlined the President’s Star Charity.
He personally knows people who suffer from dementia, which is one reason he is headlining Dementia Singapore’s upcoming fund-raising concert.
“It’s something that I’m very familiar with. I don’t know whether it’s just being diagnosed more often, but it just seems like there’s an upswing of more cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s. We need to do everything we can to raise money to try to figure out how we can fight it.”
The show is also Dementia Singapore’s second to feature a global pop act. In 2023, it brought in Danish group Michael Learns To Rock for a fund-raising concert at the same venue.
Dementia Singapore chief executive officer Jason Foo says having a popular artiste like Marx at the concert can help to break the stigma surrounding dementia.
He adds: “There are particularly apt reasons why we have chosen to leverage hitmakers whose works resonate with those in our community who are in their 40s and 50s.
“Not only have we noticed a coincidental rise in the number of people in these age groups who are being diagnosed with young-onset dementia, but many in the same age demographic are also already caregivers to loved ones with dementia.”
Book It/Richard Marx Live in Singapore
Where: Town Square, Our Tampines Hub, 1 Tampines Walk www.sistic.com.sg
When: Sept 14, 8pm
Admission: Tickets from $118 to $238. General sales via Sistic (go to
