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SINGAPORE: When R J Rosales last performed in Singapore, he was wearing a tutu.
That was for a role in the musical "Cabaret" in 2006, the same year he played the “evil son of an evil father” in "The Forbidden City".
But for his return concert at the Esplanade next Friday, the Filipino-Australian singer-actor will be crooning without the theatrics. “I feel most at home when I sing a lot of Frank Sinatra stuff, the heavy ballads or the musicals. They’re just so comfortable to do,” said the “30-something” actor best known for his role as Chang in 1998’s musical "Chang & Eng".
Rosales recently finished a 14-month, five-city Australian tour of "Miss Saigon", where he played Thuy, and eventually the Engineer.
And he’s now ready to resume his love affair with Singapore, which is one of the three places he considers home, along with Sydney where he’s based, and Manila where his extended family lives.
Apart from stage performances, he had also put in some air-time on MediaCorp’s Channel 5, playing a “geeky teacher” in the drama series "Spin" and co-hosting "Style Doctors" with Nadya Hutagalung.
The self-described “singer who can act” (but, surprise, he has a degree in Mathematics) says things have changed since his first stint back in the late ’90s, where he described the scene as “quiet and not as vibrant as it is now”.
“I want to stay put for a couple of years,” said Rosales.
In fact, Rosales said he’s now learning Mandarin and suspects its only a “matter of time” before he switches from a thick Australian to a more pronounced Singaporean accent — once more.
“I’m having my weekly craving for chicken rice again,” he quipped.
Not surprisingly, food is one of the things that he looks forward to whenever he’s in town.
“Back in Australia, we thought Asian food was sweet and sour pork or lemon chicken. And when I came here, everything was bursting with flavours.”
You could likewise say that when he was growing up in Sydney, where he lives with his parents and three siblings, the whole Rosales family was bursting into song.
“I grew up with a karaoke system, those really big ones that play cassette tapes. We’d have karaoke parties almost every week,” he recalled.
“We’d wake up to my father’s renditions of Tom Jones and Elvis Presley songs as early as seven on Saturday mornings!"
Thankfully, for Rosales’ concert, you don’t have to wake up that early to hear him in concert. He’ll be singing some Broadway songs — including "Miss Saigon" stuff — and rock songs.
And no, there won’t be any tutus. - TODAY/sh
Late Nite @ Esplanade: A Musical Journey with R J Rosales is on August 29, 7.30pm and 9.30pm, at the Esplanade Recital Studio. Tickets at S$35 from Sistic.
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