Music Matters has always been THAT place in Singapore to catch live performances of artistes I listen to up close, and also to discover new music and artistes.
The 2023 edition of this free music festival closed on a high note on 13 September, with two showcases in one night – Girls’ Night Out and ONErpm Presents: FUNYOUCANFEEL.
Girls’ Night Out took place at the main stage, located in the heart of Clarke Quay. Presented by Branded’s It’s A Girl Thing, it was a showcase of upcoming new female artistes across the region. Filipino sensation FELIP was also at Singapore Music Matters 2023 and performed during Girls’ Night Out, which was a win for the ladies.
FUNYOUCANFEEL brought Asia’s up-and-coming viral pop stars from our screens to Singapore at Yang at the Riverhouse, which was luckily located right beside the main stage. It brought back memories of running to and fro the main stage and pubs in Clarke Quay to catch the bands and artistes in past editions of Music Matters.
Thankfully, FUNYOUCANFEEL featured the artistes that I wanted to watch, but did not manage to catch their performances on other festival days.
Music Matters always present something new every year, and I thank them for doing so for the past 18 years!
Who caught my eye (or ears) in this edition? Let’s see:
FELIP (PH)
FELIP, an SB19 member with viral hit song Gento as part of his discography, performed his first solo overseas performance in Singapore at Music Matters 2023.
His songs had strong hip-hop beats, as his songs were of rap-R&B genre. Decked out in an effortless boyfriend look in white top and necklace with a red mic in hand, his setlist included songs from his first solo EP, COM•PLEX. This included ROCKSTA, CRIMINAL, DRINKSMOKE and STRAYDOGS.
While his songs were not easy to sing along to, the audience easily bobbed their heads to the beat. Fans came prepared with banners and light sticks, and sang along to the chorus.
As the only Filipino representative at Music Matters, he ended his set smoothly with Palayo (loosely translated to drift away), a song about moving away from a toxic relationship, delivered in Tagalog, Bisaya, and English.
Claudia (MY)
Claudia “toasted” us twice, as the upcoming pop princess performed at both Girls’ Night Out and FUNYOUCANFEEL, in two different outfits no less.
At the main stage, Claudia was in a white A-line puffed dress and high boots. It was a strong contrast with the screen backdrop, which showed colour-popping signs for her first song, Mikaela. This included an explicit word in bold red font on screen.
She then flirted with the crowd with Your Gentleman, a song that went viral for being played during one of BTS Jungkook’s live session on Weverse. Claudia also sang an unreleased song, Birthday, a cute and fun song that featured her high notes on both stages.
Her fans also bopped along to her upbeat, catchy love songs – Toast and Bodies.
Claudia changed up her look for her performance at Yang at the riverhouse to an all-black ensemble as the night went on – she put on another pair of iconic boots and a two-piece ribbon top. And went on to surprise the crowd with a collab with Hnata (ID).
Her power with words is not limited to only pop hit songs. Apart from being a singer-songwriter, Claudia is also an accomplished author, with a book-to-movie Hollywood adaptation under her belt.
Fulana (IR)
Fulana is the first Saudi Arabian artist to perform at Music Matters. True to the meaning of Fulana in Arabic, which means the anonymous woman, her songs were mysterious and it could be about anyone.
She was the epitome of indie for the night, with electronic and synth beats and an enchantingly haunting voice.
While it was a different crowd demographic from Claudia’s, Fulana received a warm reception with songs like Trouble and Reprobate. They cheered and danced merrily during her stage.
She also performed an all-Arabic song called Toot Barri (توت بري). Fulana explained that it is a song about how it shows that “I grow with or without you”.
What was interesting is that Fulana is also a practicing Saudi architect. Why are there so many talented artistes here at Music Matters?
J.M3 (SG)
J.M3 got our hearts pumped up and fans screaming with delight with opening song Hot Sauce, as she delivered her rapid-fire raps in Chinese and English.
Performing a refreshing take on her songs with a live band, J.M3 proceeded to surprise us with an unreleased song, All Night Long.
J.M3 surprised her fans by performing her collab song, X, with the man himself, Kire (TW). Kire made it in time for J.M3’s stage, just as he finished his set at FUNYOUCANFEEL. You could just feel their chemistry and tension on stage.
J.M3 then tapped out with her final song, Tap Out. The catchy lyrics and pop beats made it a sure-hit song, as it is part of the official motion picture soundtrack for JOY RIDE, a comedic movie from Lionsgate directed by Adele Lim.
J.M3 is definitely taking the music scene by storm and proudly repping Singapore with her strong and witty bilingual rhymes.
HNATA (ID)
If you are a sucker for colour-coded love songs, HNATA is the guy you want to listen to.
The Indonesian singer-songwriter-producer started his set with TALK!, and got the crowd grooving before singing his more popular songs.
Dressed in a loose, collared yellow top filled with stars, a pearl necklace, and baggy jeans, HNATA was the star of the night as he sang glitter next.
He got the crowd clapping and singing along to his alternative-pop songs like cherry red, BABYBLUE and mediocre. I do appreciate the way he uses mood and colour as an imagery to different types of love.
One of the highlights was seeing HNATA perform with Ethan Low (CA/MY) for BABYBLUE, and the cherry on top was the debut of HNATA and Claudia’s collab song, The Worst Part live.
With his experience as part of a duo team, rebelsuns, and MFNE (Make Friends Not Enemies), a Jakarta / Melbourne / London based collective, HNATA definitely shines on stage with his unique colour.
CLUB BOYBND (CA/KR)
CLUB BOYBND serenaded the crowd dressed in boyfriend fits, with denim jackets and hearts on their sleeves.
The Korean-Canadian duo started with their debut hit song, kiss me thru the phone. Many phones were present to record possible real-life kisses (mostly eye contact) and bounced along to the catchy tune.
The high energy was infectious as they continued singing their Korean R&B style songs like Confessions and Like This. I will profess that their fan service was off the charts, as they used the fans’ phones to film themselves with the crowd throughout their set.
They also sang hmu, which had a mix of English and Korean, written by member Roc Lee. They also played an unreleased song.
Their songs were easy to vibe to with relatable lyrics. Formerly under Sony Music before going independent, their talent is undeniable, and had also recently been noticed by DPR Ian on IG.
Ethan Low (CA/MY)
Canadian based Malaysian-Singaporean singer-songwriter Ethan Low played the quarterback role as the finale act at FUNYOUCANFEEL.
Decked in a football jersey top, hand gloves, and loose cargo pants, he sang songs from his debut album, GEMINI, and aptly started off with Gemini as the opener.
Fans sang along to his songs including Skintight (which features Korean R&B singer Jimmy Brown), Nwyk (which stands for Not Who You Know), Hit The Floor, and Unrequited. They were all R&B heavy, with a tinge of pop.
Ethan was continuously dancing on stage, as he performed to Boujee, a song co-written by CLUB BOYBND’s BU-WAN, and Ethan’s viral hit on TikTok and Spotify, Bubbly. He might need to improve his body grooves though.
He made up for it when he brought CLUB BOYBND out for a collab towards the end.
A solid intro to Ethan Low’s discography here.
The issues with the sound system and a short screen malfunction at Yang at the Riverhouse did not bring the energy down. And while there was warm reception on both stages, there is room for improvement in terms of stage mannerisms and getting the crowd hyped up.
Everyone had a wonderful night being able to meet the artistes up close and had the privilege to listen to (many!) unreleased songs. It was also really nice to see all the artistes supporting one another on and off the stage.
Till next year, Music Matters Singapore!
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