Win or not, Hartono's career looks bright

Even before the finals of singing contest Sing! China, Singaporean Nathan Hartono has several offers lined up

Nathan Hartono at the Bird's Nest in between rehearsals on Thursday (Oct 6). ST PHOTO: CHONG KOH PING
Nathan Hartono at the Bird's Nest in between rehearsals on Thursday (Oct 6). ST PHOTO: CHONG KOH PING
Nathan Hartono will be performing Mandarin songs for the final on Friday. PHOTO: DIOS VINCOY JR FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Local actor and singer/musician Nathan Hartono. PHOTO: JON CANCIO

This Friday evening, Nathan Hartono will sing in one of the most important performances of his life so far, in the final of the popular Chinese television singing contest Sing! China at the Beijing National Stadium.

Whether he wins or loses on the show, he has already won - the 25-year-old Singaporean looks set to develop a music career in the massive Chinese market, possibly with his coach on the show, Mandopop superstar Jay Chou.

He tells The Straits Times yesterday over the telephone from Beijing: "We have definitely discussed the possibility of working together on future projects, but the nature of which I probably won't say anything for now because I don't want people to get randomly excited over something that might not happen.

"We've definitely been discussing like how we can work together in the future and like where I intend to go after the show is over."

Hartono has also received offers from music companies there, but is putting them on hold for now.

"Yeah, there's been a bunch, but to be completely honest, I have been dodging a lot of those things because I really want to collect myself when this thing is over.

"I haven't been able to have time to do my own proper life admin. Once this whole thing is over, I want to settle down back home for a bit, weigh all my options, make sure everything is all clear, then I'll start thinking about what the next few months and years are going to be like."

Before all that, he will first release an EP through Warner Music Singapore, possibly featuring a mix of English and Chinese songs.

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Despite having the highest score among the six finalists, Hartono thinks that there is little chance that he will win.

Being in the final is already "a huge deal" for him and his focus is to put on a good show.

He cannot reveal what songs he will be singing, but unlike his Mandarin/English mash-ups in the previous episodes, all the songs, including a performance with Chou, will be in Mandarin.

"I've been working out the songs and different things with Jay and his team, and we've got a whole bunch of interesting things.

"From what I can tell, the vibe around what we're going for in this final is not so much 'shoot to win', or 'we have to outdo and strategise'. It's pretty much just have fun, push your own boundaries and push your own limits.

"It's crazy enough that I'm gonna be performing at the Beijing National Stadium.

Formerly known as The Voice Of China, Sing! China airs on Zhejiang Television.

In July, Hartono, whose Chinese name is Xiang Yang, became the first Singaporean to make it through the initial blind auditions after he impressed all the coach-cum-judges - Chou, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Harlem Yu, China singer Na Ying and rocker Wang Feng - and they wanted him on their teams.

The initial 48 contestants hailed from countries all over the world, including China, Malaysia, United States and Brazil.

Hartono describes Chou as a "complementary" mentor, one who focuses and enhances his mentees' skill sets rather than imposes his own style or views on them.

"I really appreciate it because it just makes this whole process seem more like a collaboration as opposed to this is just his job, that he signed a contract to do and like he's obliged to help me or whatever.

"It's really nice to be able to collaborate with somebody at his level, but other than that, he's just like a chill guy."

Chou, he adds, understood the pressure the contestants were facing in the competition and he always made sure that his time with them was not all about work.

They went out for meals together ("Jay always ordered hotpot") and Chou even took Hartono and his other mentees to a gaming cafe where they played the multiplayer online game League Of Legends.

"The crazy thing is that he's sort of the face of the game over here, so when you open the game in China, the first face that you see is actually his. And it was kind of surreal to open the game, have his face there and then you look next to you and he's there playing. That was a very odd, dream-like thing going on," Hartono says.

While he has been alone whenever he travels to China to film the show, eight of his family members, including his parents and siblings, will fly to Beijing to root for him at the final.

He is also pleased that his earlier remark to The Straits Times about treating Singaporeans to iced Milo if he wins caught the attention of Nestle, the chocolate drink's company. It has promised to mobilise its Milo vans all around Singapore, regardless of the final result.

"It's the Milo van, man, everyone knows the Milo van. Every sports day, or like some national event, there will always be one. And like, they put something different in there, I don't know what it is, it's a lot better."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 05, 2016, with the headline Win or not, Hartono's career looks bright. Subscribe