Singapore has a diverse music culture that ranges from rock and pop to folk and classical. Its various communities have their own distinct musical traditions: the Chinese form the largest ethnic group in Singapore, with Malays, Indians as well as a lesser number of other peoples of different ethnicities including Eurasians. The different people with their traditional forms of music, the various modern musical styles, and the fusion of different forms account for the musical diversity in the country.
The following lists events that happened during 1990 in Singapore.
Cài is a Chinese-language surname that derives from the name of the ancient Cai state. In 2019 it was the 38th most common surname in China, but the 9th most common in Taiwan, where it is usually romanized as "Tsai", "Tsay", or "Chai" and the 8th most common in Singapore, where it is usually romanized as "Chua", which is based on its Teochew and Hokkien pronunciation. Koreans use Chinese-derived family names and in Korean, Cai is 채 in Hangul, "Chae" in Revised Romanization, It is also a common name in Hong Kong where it is romanized as "Choy", "Choi" or "Tsoi". In Macau, it is spelled as "Choi". In Malaysia, it is romanized as "Choi" from the Cantonese pronunciation, and "Chua" or "Chuah" from the Hokkien or Teochew pronunciation. It is romanized in the Philippines as "Chua" or "Chuah", and in Thailand as "Chuo" (ฉั่ว). Moreover, it is also romanized in Cambodia as either "Chhay" or "Chhor" among people of full Chinese descent living in Cambodia and as “Tjhai”, "Tjoa" or "Chua" in Indonesia.
Tanya Chua is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. She launched her singing career by releasing her debut studio album Bored in 1997. She was part of the trio that sang Moments of Magic (1999), Singapore's official millennium song. Her albums, Amphibian (2005), Goodbye & Hello (2007), Sing It Out of Love (2011) and Depart (2021), each won her a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer award.
The Singapore Biennale is a large-scale biennial contemporary art exhibition in Singapore, serving as the country’s major platform for international dialogue in contemporary art. It seeks to present and reflect the vigour of artistic practices in Singapore and Southeast Asia within a global context, fostering collaboration and engagement between artists, arts organisations, and the international arts community.
Daisy Irani is a Singaporean television actress, director, and producer of Indian origin.
Jon Leong, 梁偉鑛, is a Singaporean performing artist, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor. His first steps into the world of entertainment started when he played in bands in the Singaporean live music bar and club scene through his university days before achieving public prominence after finishing as the runner-up during the second season of Singapore Idol, a franchise of the popular Pop Idol series. He played the principal role of "The Boy" in the Cirque Du Soleil-esque circus musical, Voyage De La Vie. The show ran for more than 3 years, making it the longest running show in Singapore until the time of its closing.
Jonathan Murray Chu is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, one of the first films by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asian descent in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993.
Inch Chua, stylized as iNCH, is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, musician, producer, actress and artist previously based in Los Angeles and New York. After rising to fame in Singapore's nascent indie scene as lead singer of the rock band Allura, Chua began to record on her own, blending acoustic folk with alternative rock, electronic music, jazz and pop influence. Inch Chua is backed live by her band, The Metric System.
Cheah Chee Kong, also known as CheeK is a Malaysia-born Singaporean director, writer, TV series creator, producer and creative media executive. The feature film Chicken Rice War and musical drama series The Kitchen Musical are some of his notable works. The Kitchen Musical was nominated for two awards at the International Emmy Awards 2012. 9 November 2015 – CheeK has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Content Officer at MediaCorp Singapore. 2018 – Disney North Asia Creative and Content Development; conceptualize and develop local original scripted series and non-scripted formats. June 2020 - key member of team that launched Disney+ in Japan in charge of Programming, Content and Creative
Pek Jin Shen, better known by his stage name Shigga Shay, is a Singaporean hip hop artist, songwriter, director and music producer. He is widely acknowledged as one of the prominent figures in Singapore's music industry, celebrated for his extensive body of work. ShiGGa Shay has achieved notable accomplishments throughout his career, including being recognised as the "Unsigned Talent of The Week" by WorldStarHipHop at 17 and securing multiple #1 singles on the iTunes Singapore Charts. Furthermore, he had the distinct honour of being invited to perform at the White House Afterparty for the State Dinner in Washington, DC.
The Sam Willows is a four-member Singaporean pop band formed in 2011. The group consists of siblings Narelle and Benjamin Kheng, together with their friends Sandra Riley Tang and Jonathan Chua. The quartet’s self-titled freshman EP was released in November 2012, followed by their debut full-length album Take Heart that was released in October 2015.
Amanda Heng Liang Ngim is a contemporary artist, curator and speaker from Singapore, who works in Singapore and internationally. As an artist she has a multidisciplinary practice, working collaboratively in contemporary art exhibitions, performance, forums, workshops and art interventions. Her practice explores themes of national identity, collective memory and social relationships, gender politics and other social issues in urban, contemporary Singaporean society. She is the recipient of the 2019 Singapore Biennale's Benesse Prize.
The Quests was a Singaporean pop band. Founded in 1961 by guitarist Chong Chow Pin, lead guitarist Raymond Leong, bassist Henry Chua, and drummer Lim Wee Guan, they are considered the most successful Singapore band of the 1960s.
Eric Ng is a Singaporean Mandarin pop music songwriter, music producer and music arranger, and session/touring guitarist. He is also the founder of Funkie Monkies Productions and The Songwriter Music College.
Charles Lim, better known as Charlie Lim, is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, musician, producer and artist.
Benjamin Kheng Wen Ming is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, and former national swimmer. Kheng made his music debut with the Singaporean band The Sam Willows, which debuted in 2012.
Sandra Riley Tang, known mononymously as RRILEY, is a Singaporean artist and musician who made her debut into the industry in 2012 as a founding member of local pop quartet The Sam Willows.
This is the discography of Singaporean indie pop musician, singer-songwriter and music producer, The Sam Willows, which consists of Benjamin Kheng, Narelle Kheng, Sandra Riley Tang and Jonathan Chua.
Take Heart is the debut studio album by Singaporean pop band The Sam Willows, released on 30 October 2015 through Sony Music Entertainment Singapore.
