Quick, name 5 Singapore singers you know. If you’re stuck after the usual names like Benjamin Kheng or Stefanie Sun, you’re not alone. But beyond the big names, there’s a whole lineup of homegrown artists to add to your playlists if you know where to look. Meet Angelica Teo, better known by her artist name “gels”, a 25-year-old creative strategist at a marketing agency by day and an R&B singer-songwriter by night.
We can all agree that behind many successful women is a mother who fought tooth and nail to give her the world, and Angelica is no exception. Raised by the ultimate “cool mum”, supermodel and actress Lyn Wang Teo, Angelica learnt from a very young age how to dream big and act boldly. This International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting this mother-daughter dream team who’ve found success in hyper-critical industries while staying true to themselves.
Image credit: Angelica Teo
Some people find their passions by chance or through years of trial and error, but music has been Angelica’s calling for as long as she can remember. When she was just 3, she could be found practising the piano or humming to Madonna’s Sorry by herself. By primary school, she was already taking to the stage, performing Mariah Carey’s Hero at her school’s talent show.
Angelica couldn’t resist music’s siren song and exhausted every avenue to hone her craft, from performing at school fairs to taking vocal training lessons under the Cambridge IGCSE Music programme.
As she stepped into the spotlight to perform for her peers, she was faced with the same insecurities that plague most of us at that awkward age. “When you’re in high school, it’s so easy to compare yourself to your peers and tie your own self-worth to what your voice can do,” she confessed.
As a 2000s baby who grew up on high-octane anthems such as Geri Halliwell’s cover of It’s Raining Men and chart-topping belters like Ariana Grande, Angelica had to unlearn the myth that only vocal powerhouses could succeed.
While her parents were supportive, often attending her performances and giving her feedback, the shift in her confidence came when she discovered artists like Alina Baraz, who are known for their soft and sultry vocals. She realised an artist’s greatest tool is not a high register or powerful voice, but their unique way of storytelling.
“I started seeing my voice as an instrument to communicate my creativity, rather than to impress,” Angelica shared. “When you’re not confident in your sound, it translates into your art, and that confidence is incredibly important to have.”
Though she stepped back from studying music in 2017 to enrol in St Joseph’s Institution’s International Baccalaureate programme, she turned up the volume on her personal projects.
At 18, she started the independent group LVNDR with 2 friends, producing lo-fi tracks that drew from R&B, Bedroom pop, and Soul music. The group garnered over 300k plays on Spotify for their cover of I Love U 3000 by Stephanie Poetri, before disbanding in 2020 to pursue solo projects.
As the world slowed down during the pandemic, so too did the budding singer-songwriter. “Back then, I didn’t have the confidence to take the leap of faith and do music,” Angelica recounted, “I had been told all my life it was a fruitless career.”
A passionate advocate for mental health, Angelica instead pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of Bath between 2019 and 2023, before returning to music after graduating.
Image adapted from: Angelica Teo
While interning and eventually landing a job in a marketing agency, Angelica kept her foot on the pedal. Under the artist name “gels”, she released multiple tracks in 2024, including her debut single curious, a dreamy head-in-the-clouds song about intense infatuation. By the following year, her music was being distributed by the company ONErpm, which acts as a record label for independent artists.
Image adapted from: Angelica Teo
Her soft lo-fi beats also started making way for heavier R&B-style bass and bolder visuals. From the disarmingly confident lyrics of you lied and simple crush to her debut EP rude awakening, it’s clear that the once open-hearted lovergirl no longer wears her heart on her sleeve; now she’s got a sharper edge and an even tighter leash on those who toy with her feelings.
This pivot towards R&B mirrored a deeper transformation in Angelica’s journey through womanhood. She shared, “R&B allowed the artists I was listening to to be bitter, confident, heartbroken, in love, and sexually liberated in ways I resonated with.”
“Since I turned 18, I’ve become more confident, assertive of my boundaries, and protective of my energy,” she affirmed. For Angelica, confidence isn’t a feel-good buzzword, but a product of years of experimentation with genres from pop to lo-fi.
Her worldly experiences and newfound self-assurance left her reflecting on her past with a sharper eye and a more fine-tuned ear for her craft. “I recognise when I’ve done certain things as a response to society’s conditioning to act more ‘feminine’ or for the male gaze, and when I’ve been taken advantage of due to my lack of confidence in my place as a woman in society.”
As an artist who makes music for girls to “feel themselves and scream at the world”, Angelica channels the highs and lows of her early 20s into brutally honest and empowering lyrics in her EP, rude awakening, but embodying that courage took time.
Social media was one hurdle she overcame in putting her music out there. Although she’s amassed over 23,000 followers and a million likes on TikTok, Angelica confided that it felt “cringe” to promote her music at first. Over time, she embraced the idea that “to be cringe is to be free” because “life doesn’t reward potential, it rewards audacity”.
She practises what she preaches with daring and unfiltered lyrics that are unapologetically her. The catharsis listeners get from her raw honesty is just as freeing for her, a self-described “avoidant” who finds opening up difficult in her everyday life. “My first time performing was so scary because I was showing people my inner monologue and emotional turmoil in such a raw and personal way,” she admitted.
Image adapted from: @wotato_photos via Instagram
One of her most vulnerable songs, i hope you end up in hell, was born from an especially dark period in her life. She confided, “The main inspiration for this song was my experience being sexually assaulted when I was 19 years old by someone I thought I could trust. Since then, I’ve experienced iterations of the same event but with different people, and realised that the trauma was shaping the way I interact with the people around me.”
“The song is so incredibly important because sexual assault is so prevalent amongst young women,” Angelica shared. Recently, the Singapore Police Force’s 2026 annual crime brief showed sexual offences are on the rise, with 479 rape and 1,531 molestation cases reported last year.
“A lot of women have to live with the fear and anxiety brought about by these experiences, and are often expected to keep quiet about it so as not to ruin the perpetrator’s future,” she added. This fuelled her to put pen to paper and use her music to amplify the voices of those less heard by society.
“Our experiences often get invalidated and underreported for fear that no one will believe us and the justice system will not bring us justice.”
“It’s okay to not be over it. You don’t have to wish the person who did this to you well or forgive them,” she concludes. While she’s “done the work” and “gone to therapy”, Angelica hopes her music can comfort women forced to live through such experiences.
She shared, “It was incredibly emotional for me to write because it’s a situation I don’t think I’ll ever heal from, but I wanted other girls who’ve experienced the same thing to feel validated in their pain. From the DMs I’ve gotten, I think it hit the mark.”
Confronting the wounds she’s still recovering from gave Angelica a way to reclaim her agency. From a wounded angel grounded by rude awakenings to a veiled bride-like figure blinded by her lover’s lies, her most vulnerable experiences are transformed into art.
“Writing music and creating visuals with my friends has been important in reclaiming control and taking back power in places where I felt I lost it, because when you’re most vulnerable, the thing you lack is control,” she pondered.
Through the growing pains of her early 20s, Angelica credits her support system as the bedrock that kept her grounded. A steady source of comfort has been her mum, whom she sent 20-minute-long voice notes to when she was going through a heartbreak while studying overseas.
Image adapted from: Angelica Teo
“My mum is super supportive because she wanted to be a singer when she was younger, so she’s vicariously living through me in a way,” she said. Her mum shares and reposts Angelica’s content, and regularly streams a dedicated playlist with all her songs. “My mum and I are so close. She’s always there to help me piece things back together when I get a little lost.”
More than just Angelica’s number 1 fan, her mum is also none other than Lyn Wang Teo, a 90s supermodel who started her career young like Angelica.
Image credit: Angelica Teo
Lyn never dreamt of walking runways, but when her business struggled to take off, and the opportunity presented itself, she had the wisdom to pivot. At 23, she was on the road to making a name for herself, winning Elite Look Of The Year in 1991 and Best Model Award in 1993 while flying to work in cities like New York and Hong Kong. She brushed shoulders with the greats like Kim Robinson and Daniel Boey, and even walked for Versace, Givenchy, and Karl Lagerfeld.
With first-hand experience of how cutthroat the industry can be for young women, Lyn is also Angelica’s closest confidante, offering her a safe space from all the noise.
Sure, Angelica got a crash course on the art of posing and free rein to raid her designer closet, but growing up with a supermodel mum wasn’t always glitz and glam. Teenage Angelica felt she had big shoes to fill – literally, as she recalls trying and failing to do a catwalk in heels while her mum chuckled at her attempts.
Image adapted from: Angelica Teo
Sharing her mum’s striking features also meant constantly being compared to her, on top of Angelica’s insecurities about her scoliosis. In times like these, Angelica leaned on her mother’s mantra: “人比人，比死人 (rén bǐ rén，bǐ sǐ rén).” Translated to “comparison is the thief of joy”, it reminded her that pitting herself against others is a losing game because life is never fair. Instead, she was taught to nurture her character because physical beauty is fleeting.
Having lived through the heyday of the 90s “heroin chic” look, Angelica’s mum never wanted her to become a model, hoping to shield her from the body dysmorphia and unrealistic beauty standards of the industry.
Her mum redirected her focus inward, teaching Angelica to take pride in her values, choices, and community. Angelica believes this laid the foundation for her creative process and shaped her into the introspective singer-songwriter she is today.
Angelica wearing her mum’s wedding qipao at her graduation ceremony (right).
Image adapted from: Angelica Teo
“We are both unique and beautiful women in our own ways. I’m really proud of my mum, and she’s worked incredibly hard to become one of the best models, but the presence of her achievements doesn’t mean I lack,” she elaborated, adding, “I guess it does help that she calls me beautiful and talented all the time though.”
That said, her mum never shielded her from criticism; in fact, she encouraged her to seek it out. Angelica struggled with taking criticism to heart until her mum taught her that feedback isn’t an indicator of character, but how you manage it is.
Lyn lived by this as a young model, working overtime and walking for hours as her manager and bookers critiqued her. Taking a page out of her book, Angelica sees criticism as a roadmap for growth rather than a mark of failure.
However, Angelica still embodies her mum’s free spirit and remains committed to her singular vision: prioritising self-belief over external validation. No matter what crazy fashion choice or radical idea Angelica had – although Lyn did raise a brow at Angelica’s bleached eyebrows – her mum encouraged her to explore and express her identity without fear of judgement. The same went for her passions.
Angelica elaborated, “I don’t really think about what other people think because it’s unproductive for my creative process. I’m making music I like, and for others who may resonate with it too.”
When Angelica broke into an industry with more global than local stars, her mum gave her a 90s supermodel secret that still rings true today: Confidence will get you places.
Image adapted from: DBS Sparks, Angelica Teo
Now, both mother and daughter are thriving: Lyn is signed with NOW Model Management and made her acting debut in Season 2 of DBS’ Sparks miniseries. Meanwhile, Angelica has amassed over 15,000 monthly Spotify listeners, was featured on global New Music Friday playlists as well as the cover of Spotify’s Rising 65 playlist, and performed her first live gig.
“Believing in yourself and not being afraid to dive in headfirst is something I’m learning from her every day,” Angelica concluded. “Another would be that rejection is redirection, and shouldn’t always be taken personally.”
New music & future collaborations
Angelica’s not taking no for an answer when it comes to making her wildest dreams come true. The singer is taking a bet on herself, resigning from her job and dedicating herself to her music, with future plans to tour. She’s already working on her next project, though she’s keeping the details on the low for now.
For now, you can stream her music on Spotify or follow her on Instagram for teasers of her upcoming releases.
As for a potential collaboration with her superstar mum, she’s got a few ideas up her sleeve, from a game show-style interview to a cameo in a music video, or sampling her voice notes in a song.
From the runway to the stage, this dynamic duo is proving that the sky is the limit as long as you trust in your capabilities.
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Cover image adapted from: Angelica Teo, @wotato_photos via Instagram
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