Malaysian woman sings for UK neighbours during lockdown
Image adapted from: Amy Tan
Unlike Malaysia and other countries, the United Kingdom does not have a formal end date for their lockdown. Before the CMCO, Malaysians were already dreading the multiple 2-week MCO extensions, so we can only imagine what the British are going through.
However, it is understandable why their government had to resort to such extreme measures as their country has recorded well over 200,000 COVID-19 cases with around 32,000 deaths.
During these times of self-isolation, a Malaysian woman who is currently residing in the UK there has come up with a fun way to keep her neighbours entertained – by holding a solo concert every Sunday. The people over there love her weekly singing sessions so much that they come out of their houses to dance along to the tunes.
Local singer-songwriter wanted to reach out to the elderly and vulnerable
Amy Tan is a 35-year-old Malaysian singer-songwriter and pastor currently residing in Ealing, West London. Before moving to the UK 3 years ago, Tan was a professional singer and worship leader who has sung at multiple corporate functions and weddings.
Image adapted from: Amy Tan
According to The Star, Tan began recording songs through the voice note function on Whatsapp when the country went into lockdown and would send the audio files to her neighbourhood group chat. However, there were also times when she brought her equipment outside of her house and held a mini-concert for her neighbours in the area.
This would happen every Sunday at 2PM, which is around the time when she is done with conducting her online church session.
Tan has been posting videos of her singing sessions onto her Facebook page for others to enjoy and they’ve all been garnering positive responses.
Image adapted from: Amy Tan
In one of her posts, she shared a 4-minute compilation clip that showed her neighbours dancing outside their houses with their family members. We saw residents of all ages coming out to enjoy Tan’s performances and they appeared to have a ball of a time.
Image adapted from: Amy Tan
If you were wondering what kind of songs Tan sings to get the crowd so hyped up as if they were in a real concert, she sings a wide selection of genres – from hit pop songs like Titanium from David Guetta and classic oldies like Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by The Platters.
Image adapted from: Amy Tan
Her biggest motivation behind these concerts was to reach out to the elderly and vulnerable who are in self-isolation during this trying time. By organising these weekly sessions, Tan is not only able to cheer them up, but she’s also given them something to look forward to each week.
Image adapted from: Amy Tan
Neighbours grateful for the much-needed entertainment
Tan’s neighbours are ever grateful for her lovely singing sessions, and they’re not shy to voice out their thanks on her social media page. Here are what some of them had to say:
Josie Byrne is one of Tan’s neighbours who says that her street is lucky to have her around during this lockdown period.
Image adapted from: Josie Byrne
And netizen Ikechukwu Anyanwu also thanked Tan for lifting the spirits of people around her during this difficult time.
Image adapted from: Ikechukwu Anyanwu
Malaysian woman sings for neighbours in the UK
Tan may have moved to the UK, but we’re still hella proud to have a fellow Malaysian spreading joy and love to her community over there. Until their lockdown is lifted, we hope that Tan will continue with her weekend concerts as we’re sure it’s something that the neighbourhood has begun to look forward to each week.
Here’s to hoping that the COVID-19 situation worldwide will settle soon.
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