05 Aug 2007, New Paper
The pastor's wife asks: Will I be slammed again?
HOMECOMING is usually a sweet, blissful affair for most.
By Chang May Choon
HOMECOMING is usually a sweet, blissful affair for most.
Not for Sun Ho.
The Singaporean singer said she gets anxiety attacks before flying home from the US, where she is based.
'I'm very scared my mother will tell me all the (bad) updates,' she told The New Paper on Sunday with a laugh.
It's 'sad' that Sun should be 'scared to come back and see unfriendly faces and read reports that are not flattering,' said her friend and creative director Mark Kwan.
But her worries are not unfounded.
In the five years since her controversial crossover from church counsellor to pop star, Sun, 36, has weathered bad press and flak from vicious Netizens.
Remember the red dress with the plunging neckline that she wore to a Hollywood event in 2003 and the 'Is-she-a-pastor-or-not' saga?
The latest fodder for gossip is the music video for Sun's latest English single China Wine. In it, she dances up a storm as a geisha clad in micro hotpants.
While some are wowed by its 'sleek Hollywood style' and 'groovy' dance moves, others called it a 'disgrace' and blasted Sun for being 'slutty for a pastor's wife'.
STRUGGLE
Herein lies the pop star's problem breaking into the US market.
She may be American hip-hop maestro Wyclef Jean's new muse, but her detractors here never fail to remind her that she is married to City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and should behave appropriately.
Sun, who returned on 26Jul, said she is constantly aware of the 'OB (out-of-bouds) markers that others put upon me based on their perceptions of who I am or what they think I should be'.
She knows that she is 'subject to a different measuring stick' but, when challenged to break out of the 'tiny confines of the box that I'm placed within', she believes in 'delivering the best that I can do'.
Over tea at CK Tang's Island Cafe on Thursday, she confided: 'This would be my most apparent struggle. I won't say I worry, but I think a lot.
'I want to be an artist who can challenge myself artistically and gain new experiences in order to grow creatively. But a lot of times I'd think, when I come back, am I going to be crucified again?'
The China Wine video has attracted more than 20,000 views on YouTube.
Netizens were divided between calling it 'hot' and 'slutty'.
One posting questioned the use of the 'Buddhist handclasp' and the derogatory connotation to geisha.
Civil servant Ryan Chong, 30, said: 'She can't be Jolin Tsai. Her age is showing and what's more, she's married with a kid.
'She started out with a wholesome image so why is she going wild now?'
But, are detractors going too far in trying to bring the pop star down?
Why attack her so when her music video is, by any measure, typical of most pop music videos these days, some ask.
Undergraduate Wayne Choong, 24, said: 'It's similar to all the music videos I watch on MTV. What's so special about it (to warrant) criticism? It's much more reserved compared to Pussycat Dolls or Christina Aguilera.'
Entrepreneur Cheryl Lim, 36, added: 'When Singaporeans see all these people dressed sexily, we don't bat an eyelid.
'But the moment it's Sun, people start to criticise. That's having double standards.'
The 'double standard' is something that Sun is painfully aware of.
That's why she's eager to distance herself from her church connections.
Initially labelled a 'music pastor', she has since clarified that she was only a counsellor in church and not a preacher.
Her husband, honorary pastor Kong, knows all too well.
'Cut her some slack, lah!' he said.
He declined to comment on the China Wine video 'so that no one will say people pay attention to her only because she married a pastor'.
But, he added: 'Sun has her own career. Her producers are positioning her for the Western pop market.'
Whatever the case, Sun is forging ahead, working with Haitian-born Jean to inject an Asian-meets-Caribbean flavour into her English tunes.
Her debut English album is slated for release in the second half of next year. Before that, she will do a duet with Jean on his own album and also tour with him.
She said: 'I want to remain relevant to the typical US music listener, while rocking the boat somewhat by adding my culture to make it a brand new sound.'
Sun said she is lucky to have a supportive management team.
While her Mandarin ballads bring out the 'attentive counsellor' in her, the geisha in China Wine brings out her 'fun self'.
MORAL LINE
But she insisted she still draws a line.
'I've had super revealing dresses pushed upon me and I've had to push them right back at the stylist,' she said.
'But that's the style and culture of Hollywood. There's nothing too sexy or taboo about cleavage... I'm the 'weird' one there when I have to explain to them my reservations and restrictions.
'Like I said, I have my thoughts and worries about Singapore,' she said, sounding almost resigned.
On coping with her detractors, Sun, who has been appointed the official Beijing Olympics music ambassador, said she has learnt to focus on the positive instead of dwelling on the negative.
But she still dreams of winning over her worst critics one day.
'I really hope that through time, they'd come to know the real Sun and accept me and appreciate me as an artiste - without any bias.'
The pastor's wife asks: Will I be slammed again?
HOMECOMING is usually a sweet, blissful affair for most.
By Chang May Choon
HOMECOMING is usually a sweet, blissful affair for most.
Not for Sun Ho.
The Singaporean singer said she gets anxiety attacks before flying home from the US, where she is based.
'I'm very scared my mother will tell me all the (bad) updates,' she told The New Paper on Sunday with a laugh.
It's 'sad' that Sun should be 'scared to come back and see unfriendly faces and read reports that are not flattering,' said her friend and creative director Mark Kwan.
But her worries are not unfounded.
In the five years since her controversial crossover from church counsellor to pop star, Sun, 36, has weathered bad press and flak from vicious Netizens.
Remember the red dress with the plunging neckline that she wore to a Hollywood event in 2003 and the 'Is-she-a-pastor-or-not' saga?
The latest fodder for gossip is the music video for Sun's latest English single China Wine. In it, she dances up a storm as a geisha clad in micro hotpants.
While some are wowed by its 'sleek Hollywood style' and 'groovy' dance moves, others called it a 'disgrace' and blasted Sun for being 'slutty for a pastor's wife'.
STRUGGLE
Herein lies the pop star's problem breaking into the US market.
She may be American hip-hop maestro Wyclef Jean's new muse, but her detractors here never fail to remind her that she is married to City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and should behave appropriately.
Sun, who returned on 26Jul, said she is constantly aware of the 'OB (out-of-bouds) markers that others put upon me based on their perceptions of who I am or what they think I should be'.
She knows that she is 'subject to a different measuring stick' but, when challenged to break out of the 'tiny confines of the box that I'm placed within', she believes in 'delivering the best that I can do'.
Over tea at CK Tang's Island Cafe on Thursday, she confided: 'This would be my most apparent struggle. I won't say I worry, but I think a lot.
'I want to be an artist who can challenge myself artistically and gain new experiences in order to grow creatively. But a lot of times I'd think, when I come back, am I going to be crucified again?'
The China Wine video has attracted more than 20,000 views on YouTube.
Netizens were divided between calling it 'hot' and 'slutty'.
One posting questioned the use of the 'Buddhist handclasp' and the derogatory connotation to geisha.
Civil servant Ryan Chong, 30, said: 'She can't be Jolin Tsai. Her age is showing and what's more, she's married with a kid.
'She started out with a wholesome image so why is she going wild now?'
But, are detractors going too far in trying to bring the pop star down?
Why attack her so when her music video is, by any measure, typical of most pop music videos these days, some ask.
Undergraduate Wayne Choong, 24, said: 'It's similar to all the music videos I watch on MTV. What's so special about it (to warrant) criticism? It's much more reserved compared to Pussycat Dolls or Christina Aguilera.'
Entrepreneur Cheryl Lim, 36, added: 'When Singaporeans see all these people dressed sexily, we don't bat an eyelid.
'But the moment it's Sun, people start to criticise. That's having double standards.'
The 'double standard' is something that Sun is painfully aware of.
That's why she's eager to distance herself from her church connections.
Initially labelled a 'music pastor', she has since clarified that she was only a counsellor in church and not a preacher.
Her husband, honorary pastor Kong, knows all too well.
'Cut her some slack, lah!' he said.
He declined to comment on the China Wine video 'so that no one will say people pay attention to her only because she married a pastor'.
But, he added: 'Sun has her own career. Her producers are positioning her for the Western pop market.'
Whatever the case, Sun is forging ahead, working with Haitian-born Jean to inject an Asian-meets-Caribbean flavour into her English tunes.
Her debut English album is slated for release in the second half of next year. Before that, she will do a duet with Jean on his own album and also tour with him.
She said: 'I want to remain relevant to the typical US music listener, while rocking the boat somewhat by adding my culture to make it a brand new sound.'
Sun said she is lucky to have a supportive management team.
While her Mandarin ballads bring out the 'attentive counsellor' in her, the geisha in China Wine brings out her 'fun self'.
MORAL LINE
But she insisted she still draws a line.
'I've had super revealing dresses pushed upon me and I've had to push them right back at the stylist,' she said.
'But that's the style and culture of Hollywood. There's nothing too sexy or taboo about cleavage... I'm the 'weird' one there when I have to explain to them my reservations and restrictions.
'Like I said, I have my thoughts and worries about Singapore,' she said, sounding almost resigned.
On coping with her detractors, Sun, who has been appointed the official Beijing Olympics music ambassador, said she has learnt to focus on the positive instead of dwelling on the negative.
But she still dreams of winning over her worst critics one day.
'I really hope that through time, they'd come to know the real Sun and accept me and appreciate me as an artiste - without any bias.'
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