Olivia Ong at The Right Note Campaign this World Voice Day

Famous local songbird Olivia Ong thinks that having a healthy voice is extremely important but often neglected, especially for singers who depend on their voices for a living: “As a singer, one of the scariest things that can happen is to lose your voice.” Olivia Ong recently appeared at Strepsil’s official launch of the Right Note campaign, in support of World Voice Day.

About World Voice Day and the Right Note Campaign

Although largely celebrated in other parts of the world, World Voice Day is considered unknown in Singapore. Celebrated on 16th April, the World Voice Day is a worldwide annual event devoted to the celebration of your voice. The voice is such a precious gem with so many facets and is thus highly significant to quality of life. Despite this, many people overlook its significance.

To highlight the importance of our voice in line with World Voice Day, Strepsils organised the Right Note, a campaign and singing competition. With this campaign, Strepsils hopes to join in this global celebration of the Voice through a singing competition for the public, to spread the word regarding the beauty of the voice while highlighting the joys of a healthy fully functioning voice.

The Official Launch

Members of the media were invited to witness the official launch of the Right Note campaign and competition, together with one of the campaign’s ambassadors, Olivia Ong, and Ms Hina Nagarajan, General Manager of Reckitt Benckiser Singapore and Malaysia. 

“With Strepsils’ The Right Note competition, we exemplify the importance of treating our voices with care so we can continue to create an impact in moments that matter,” said Ms Hina Nagarajan. ” We are very excited to launch this campaign not only in Singapore, but also in Malaysia. We are confident that through this campaign we will discover several hidden vocal talents in support of World Voice Day.

The top 5 finalists of the competition selected will compete in the finals and get the rare chance to get tips and sing a duet with Olivia Ong.

TSL Interview with Olivia Ong

Read on to find out what Olivia thinks of the campaign, as well as some of her music preferences and personal favourites in Singapore.

Q: Hi Olivia! What’s it like to be an ambassador for The Right Note campaign?

Olivia: I’m very happy that I can lend my time to such a meaningful event, where Strepsils hits the right note as part of World Voice Day. We all know Strepsils is a throat candy, it helps to soothe your vocals and throat when you’re not feeling well. I love the Cherry and Lemon flavour Strepsils!

Q: You started singing at a young age. What advice do you have for contestants or any aspiring singers?

Olivia: I’ll say the most important thing is to have fun. Step out of your comfort zone, here’s a platform available to you right now, join in, all you need to do is to record your voice and send it to us. Just prepare well, and have fun, it’s easy!

Q: Have you had any issues or incidents on stage regarding your voice or throat before?

Olivia: Yeah, I’ve fallen sick a couple of times before, but luckily I was still well enough to perform. I just need to change the way I sing. The worst thing is when my throat is dry. I just try to drink lots of water and eat throat candy. The only thing you can do is to keep hydrating yourself. 

Q: Is there any artist you look forward to working with in Singapore?

Olivia: I’ve been back here in Singapore for about two months now, and I’ve actually been going on Youtube checking out young singers, such as Inch Chua, Charlie Lim…my friend just told me about the Sam Willows. Recently on YouTube, I’ve heard about Cilla Chan who participated in the Voice, and lastly, Nathan Harthono.

There’s actually a lot of talented Singaporeans. If they’re open to collaborating, then perhaps we can work something out. Inch and I are Facebook friends, and I visited her in her studio when I went to Los Angeles. We exchanged music and she casually mentioned that maybe we could write a song together. 

Q: You mentioned that it’s important for singers to have musical inspirations, so who’s your musical inspiration?

Olivia: I have several. Joni Mitchell, Theresa Teng (邓丽君), Feist, John Mayer…these people are more than just singers, they have their own personalities, they know what they stand for, and I’m very attracted to that. 

As a review/lifestyle portal site, TSL strives to let our readers know about good finds in Singapore. We took this quick chance to find out some of Olivia’s personal favourites.

Q: Favourite food place in Singapore?

Olivia: There’s this cafe in Tanglin Mall called Caffé Beviamo. The bruschetta there is my favourite! It’s perfect. And the Australian coffee is excellent. 

Q: Favourite past-time in Singapore?

Olivia: I like to go for walks at the reservoirs, it’s really relaxing. 

Q: What’s your favourite song?

Olivia: I have several favourite songs. My current favourite is John Mayer’s Waiting on the World to Change from his Continuum album. I actually flew to New York last December just to watch his concert twice! I’m really a big fan of him.

The Right Note Singing Competition

Interested participants are invited to submit a video of themselves performing an English or Mandarin song, and submissions must be at least 1 minute long. Valid entries will be screened on the competition’s microsite where judging and public voting will determine the 5 finalists. The final 5 will then compete for a chance to win the final crowning glory. The Right Note competition submissions will open till 16 May 2014.

For more information, visit the official website here.