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SINGAPORE: It was the story of the tortoise and the hare - in reverse. This time, the bunnies were the underdogs that came from behind to cross the finish line first.
At the grand finals of Channel U’s SuperBand, held on Sunday night at the MediaCorp TV Theatre, the all-girl band of Tuzi - comprising Carissa Foo, Sarah Lam and Joyce Tan - emerged victorious over Da Feng Chui, Sanyue and Yi Shi Jie, the three other groups that had made it to the top.
The show was hosted by Dasmond Koh and YES 93.3FM DJ Lin Pei Fen, and judged by music producers Anthony Bao Xiao Song and Jiu Jian, and singer-composer and radio DJ Calvin Soh.
The reality competition show began its second season in June this year with sixteen bands. The outcome was entirely dependent on audience voting at the finals show, which also included acts by SuperBand ambassadors MayDay, Hong Kong band Beyond, and first-season winners Mi Lu Bing.
Tuzi, which is Chinese for “rabbit”, is so named because the members wanted a name that expressed what they had in common - and they all happened to be born in the year of the rabbit. The name might have also been the trigger for one of the judges’ comment on their overbites.
With their large glasses, understated demeanor, and Carissa’s trademark lack of facial expression, it was perhaps this “nerdy”, “cute” image that made them stand out from the competition. Yi Shi Jie, for example, was a group of improbably tall guys that would have been right at home in Harajuku Park.
What did they think accounts for their popularity? “Our sincerity,” Carissa told TODAY. “Our simplicity,” said Sarah. “And probably we look harmless,” mused Joyce.
According to Carissa, it’s been a “fruitful and tiring” journey for the band, with “perhaps more low points than high”.
Added Sarah: “We have high expectations and we’re very hard on ourselves. Every time we play a wrong note on stage, we’ll be sad for the whole time.”
Chalk one up for girl power, though: It’s the first time in all the SuperBand and Project Superstar challenges that the champion has been of the fairer sex. “We never thought we’d win, because we thought the audiences were mainly made up of girl fanatics who like guys!” Sarah exclaimed.
The girls, who are 21-year-old students at the Nanyang Technological University, are still charmingly unassuming - except they’re now S$50,000 richer.
Joyce is going to invest her cut of the winnings in musical equipment and hone her skills, Sarah is going to ride roller coasters in the United States and Carissa is going to adopt a miniature schnauzer (because “they have dignified faces”).
Now, the girls are going to stuff their faces with durian, potato chips, and chocolate — all the things that are bad for your throat, they said. - TODAY/ar
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