SINGAPORE - More than 40 music acts are performing over multiple stages across the Marina Bay Street Circuit from Sept 30 to Oct 2, as the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022 returns to being synonymous with arguably the biggest music event of the year.
Like in previous instalments, the entertainment line-up of acts playing this year is a mixed bag that includes some of the most prominent artistes of the last three decades.
Which are the must-see concerts?
1. Marshmello
Where: Zone 4, Padang Stage
When: Sept 30, 10.30pm
Never seen without his trademark cartoonish mask, American DJ-producer Marshmello is one of the world’s biggest electronic dance music (EDM) stars, with more than 45 million streams monthly on Spotify alone.
Even if you are not into dance music, you would surely have heard his chart-topping collaborations with marquee pop acts, from Wolves (2017) with American singer Selena Gomez to Happier (2018) with English band Bastille.
One of the most-subscribed artistes on YouTube (55.9 million subscribers and counting), his most recent album Shockwave (2021) earned him his first Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album.
2. Green Day
Where: Zone 4, Padang Stage
When: Oct 2, 10.25pm
American rock trio Green Day rose from plying the underground punk circuit in California to conquering arenas around the world.
The Grammy-winning band’s set will be highly anticipated as they were supposed to perform in 2020, a gig that was later postponed to 2021 and eventually cancelled due to the pandemic.
Green Day are famous for rock anthems such as Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (2004) and American Idiot (2004), and many fans in Singapore would also remember their boisterous sold-out gig at the Singapore Indoor Stadium back in 2010.
3. Black Eyed Peas
Where: Zone 4, Padang Stage
When: Oct 1, 7.30pm
Where: Zone 1, Wharf Stage
When: Oct 2, 6.15pm
F1 will bring fans a double dose of American pop group Black Eyed Peas, who ruled the airwaves in the 2000s with catchy hits such as Where Is The Love? (2003), Pump It (2006) and I Gotta Feeling (2009).
The Grammy winners are still active even with a slight change in their line-up, which now comprises will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo, and featuring Filipina singer J. Rey Soul in place of American pop star Fergie, who left to focus on motherhood. Their eighth album, Translation, was released in 2020.
And if you miss their first set on Saturday, do not fret because they are playing a second show, albeit at a smaller venue at the Wharf Stage.
4. The Kid Laroi
Where: Zone 4, Padang Stage
When: Oct 2, 6pm
Only 19, rising Australian singer-rapper The Kid Laroi is the newest act to play the main Padang stage this year, having made his name in the last couple of years with hits such as Stay (2021), a duet with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, and Without You (2020).
The teenager was the youngest artiste to top the Australian charts with his 2020 debut album F**k Love, which also went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
Nominated for Best New Artist at the 2021 Grammys, he took home five wins from the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, including Top Hot 100 Song and Top Streaming Song for Stay.
5. TLC
Where: Zone 1, Wharf Stage
When: Oct 1, 5.20pm
R&B/hip-hop girl groups did not get any bigger than TLC back in the 1990s, thanks to anthems such as Waterfalls (1995) and No Scrubs (1999).
Certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female singing group in American music history, they also set the blueprint for other R&B girl groups that came after them, including Destiny’s Child.
One of the original trio, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, was tragically killed in a car crash in 2002. Instead of calling it quits, remaining members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas have soldiered on as a duo. Their most recent album, TLC, was released in 2017.
6. Westlife
Where: Zone 4, Padang Stage
When: Oct 1, 10.25pm
Veteran Irish boy band Westlife have been to Singapore several times, but you just know the fans will never get enough of them.
A quartet comprising Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Nick Byrne, their achievement of scoring 14 No. 1 singles on the British charts is surpassed only by music legends The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
So get ready to sing along to late 1990s and early 2000s radio staples such as My Love (2000), Swear It Again (1999) and Flying Without Wings (1999).
7. Suede
Where: Zone 1, Wharf Stage
When: Oct 1, 7.20pm
This one is for all the alt-rock and Britpop fans out there. English band Suede made their debut as one of the leading lights of the Britpop movement in the 1990s and have since outlasted most of their peers.
Fronted by singer-songwriter Brett Anderson, their repertoire includes not just indie club night anthems such as Animal Nitrate (1993), The Wild Ones (1994) and Beautiful Ones (1996), but also more recent fare from releases such as their eighth album The Blue Hour (2018).
They even have brand new material too. Autofiction, their ninth album, was released on Sept 16.
8. Wings
Where: Zone 4, Padang Stage
When: Sept 30, 7pm
Malaysian rock veterans Wings will be the first act from South-east Asia to perform at F1’s biggest stage at the Padang.
Formed in 1985, they are one of the most influential bands across the Causeway, with evergreen rock ballads such as Misteri Mimpi Syakilla (1988) and Sejati (1990) under their belt.
Fronted by singer-actor Awie, the band have released 11 albums, including their 1987 debut Belenggu Irama.
9. Shigga Shay
Where: Zone 4, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre
When: Sept 30, 8.15pm
Where: Zone 3, Uptown
When: Oct 1, 8.15pm
From colloquial anthems and National Day Parade songs to film soundtracks and collaborations with international artistes, Singaporean rapper Shigga Shay has done them all.
The hip-hop artiste’s list of best-known songs include LimPeh (2013), Frontline Soldiers – the theme song from local film Ah Boys To Men 4 (2017) – and uRight (2021), a collaboration with Korean-American rapper Jay Park.
He put out his most recent EP, I AM U, in April.
10. Inch
Where: Zone 4, Downtown
When: Sept 30, 8.40pm
Where: Zone 3, Uptown
When: Oct 2, 7.10pm
Like Black Eyed Peas, local singer, songwriter and actress Inch – whose real name is Inch Chua – will also feature twice during the F1 weekend.
Her most significant works include her 2015 album, Letters To Ubin, which resulted from her spending four months living alone on Pulau Ubin.
She picked up the National Youth Award in 2018, and in 2020, her theatrical music production ’Til The End Of The World, We’ll Meet In No Man’s Land won Best Sound at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards.
- The artiste line-up and schedules could be subject to change. Go to https://str.sg/wrkA for the latest updates.
