Last night (May 8), NME held its first-ever live show in Asia: an unplugged edition of our live series Girls To The Front, our celebration of dynamic female and non-binary talent in music. For this show in Singapore we had four incredible artists: Noui, Rhyu, Shazza and Shye.
All performers put on stunning showcases for a young, passionate audience at Swee Lee Clarke Quay, joining other events taking place in the area for Branded’s inaugural CreatorWeek. Scroll on to relive the night through our amazing photos…
Kicking things off with Noui
Singapore-based Indonesian artist Noui was the first to perform, bringing her hushed pop tunes to the intimate audience at Swee Lee Clarke Quay
Entering the ‘Border Room’
Noui’s set was filled with songs from her latest EP, ‘Border Room’, as well as older songs such as the melancholy ‘Everytime We Fall’
Vocal acrobatics with Rhyu
Next up was Rhyu, who dazzled the crowd with her raw vocal talent and heart-on-sleeve songwriting
A family affair
Acknowledging Girls To The Front’s mission of spotlighting female talent (and ahead of Mother’s Day in Singapore this weekend), Rhyu performed her last song with her mum – whom the singer credited with starting her musical journey.
The stage was set for Shazza
The chatty and charismatic Shazza took to the Girls To The Front stage with her friend and collaborator Ashlyn
The right person – at the right time
Earlier this year, Shazza sang with Canadian pop duo Crash Adams for a TikTok – which went viral and introduced her to a huge new audience. At Girls To The Front, she showcased her own songs, from bittersweet love song ‘Right Person, Wrong Time’ to latest single ‘All You Really Need (Is Love)’
- READ MORE: Singaporean pop artist Shazza is writing her own musical story: “I wanna look towards new horizons”
Singalongs with Shazza
Shazza roped us into singing the chorus of an unreleased, Formula One-inspired song titled ‘Hell For Leather’ – and we were more than happy to oblige…
A long-awaited return to the stage for Shye
Between competing on reality competition Chuang Asia: Thailand and taking time off for herself, it’d been a while since Shye had played a show…
Feeling the love
… But Shye’s fans were quick to let her know she had been missed, singing her lyrics with energy and enthusiasm.
On our feet
“Isn’t this supposed to be a party?” Shye got us up on our feet just in time for her more upbeat songs, like ‘Phonecase’ and fan favourite ‘Need’
Flower girl
Shye received a bouquet from a fan and went on to sing – what else? – ‘Flower’
Smile for the camera
When all was said and done, fans hung around to meet and snap pics with their faves
It’s a wrap!
A group shot of Shazza, Rhyu and Shye at the conclusion of Girls To The Front. Onto the next one!