Olinda Cho recovers from lyric slip-up in Midlife, Sing & Shine! 4 to make Top 14
The 46-year-old former Singapore Idol contestant earned praise for staying composed on stage despite flubbing the lyrics and singing in an unfamiliar language.
Olinda Cho sang Faye Wong’s 1992 Cantonese hit Easily Hurt Woman in Midlife, Sing & Shine! 4. (Photo: olindacho/Instagram)
New: You can now listen to articles.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
Competing in a singing competition overseas is challenging enough. Doing it in a language you’re not fluent in? That’s an entirely different level of pressure.
Which is why Singapore Idol alum Olinda Cho’s latest achievement in Hong Kong reality singing competition Midlife, Sing & Shine! 4 is all the more impressive.
It was recently announced that the 46-year-old singer advanced to the Top 14 following her performance during the show’s “Classic Love Songs Night” round.
Her song of choice? Faye Wong’s beloved 1992 Cantonese hit Easily Hurt Woman.
What viewers may not have realised, however, is that things almost went off track mid-performance.
Cho, who is not fluent in Cantonese, briefly forgot the lyrics. Yet, she kept her composure, recovered smoothly and finished the song without derailing the performance, earning praise from viewers for her professionalism and poise.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Olinda admitted that she’s not entirely sure what caused the lapse.
She suspects nerves may have played a role, though she also pointed to a possible technical issue.
While performing with in-ear monitors, she suddenly found herself unable to hear the band’s accompaniment clearly, causing her to momentarily lose her place in the song.
According to Cho, unexpected situations like these are simply part and parcel of performing.
And while she was undoubtedly nervous, giving up never crossed her mind. Instead, she focused on seeing the performance through.
She believes a singer should never be judged solely on a mistake, but rather on how they recover from it and complete the song.
Preparing for Easily Hurt Woman was no small task either.
Olinda spent a month in Hong Kong intensively rehearsing for the competition.
She explained that the lengthy lyrics, combined with the challenge of mastering Cantonese pronunciation and understanding the song’s emotional nuances, made the preparation process far tougher than she had anticipated.
“At the beginning, I honestly had no idea how I was going to memorise all the lyrics. I wasn’t just learning the song itself, I was also learning the language, the pronunciation, and the emotional world behind the song.”
This wasn’t her first time tackling a Cantonese song on Midlife, Sing & Shine! 4, and judges had previously pointed out that she appears less at ease performing in Cantonese compared with other languages.
Naturally, that raises the question: why not stick to Mandarin or English, which she’s far more comfortable with?
Cho said contestants don’t have complete freedom when it comes to song selection.
The competition operates on a ranking-based selection system, where participants choose songs according to their standing.
By the time it’s their turn, options can be limited.
“When I entered the song-selection room, most of the remaining songs were Cantonese songs. Among those, Easily Hurt Woman was one that I was already familiar with, so I had to make the most practical decision,” she explained.
While English remains her strongest language and she is also comfortable with Mandarin and Hokkien, Cantonese is unfamiliar territory.
But for her, growth comes from stepping outside her comfort zone.
She believes that the role of a singer – or a contestant – isn’t to avoid obstacles, but to confront them head-on and improve with every performance.
This story was originally published in 8days.
For more 8days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Source: 8 Days/pc
RECOMMENDED
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
About The Author
