ALEX TAN★SINGAPORE's #1 Most Multi-Talented Emcee-Entertainer

I was tasked to entertain for my clients' 47th Birthday. At first I thought it was a family event, but it turns out that its for some of her high profile friends. The guests list is similar to a Singapore Tatler event- with 2 ambassadors &  immediately that made me a little nervous. I have never actually entertained such a small prestigious group of people of this small size.

But you know I'm also fearless at the same time as I have prepared 2 of her favourite songs like "Besame Mucho" & Elton John's "Your Song" plus I decided at the top of my head to rewrite the lyrics to "The Longest Time" 

Never did I expect such a warm response from them. They really joined in & pay tribute to my client with that song-which gave the event a entire new dimension in terms of meaningfulness. I was so elated that they refused to let me go, askign me to entertain them 1 song after another until it was really time to go... 

The photographer took this picture of me which I love. Yes one of the guests affectionately called me orange boy because of my orange ensemble. 

I received this message after the event. 

Again, I'm grateful for they really enjoyed themselves plus I gave out so many namecards!!

My client of more than 8 years-Mrs. Kwan asked me to emcee & sing for his nephew Desmond‘s big day at Pan Pac Hotel. The wedding ceremony was to be held at the Ocean Ballroom at Level 2. This room is different from the level 1 Grand Ballroom as it is exceptionally long. So pros & cons- so the good thing is that the couple can really have a grand march in with a table at each side of the room. Sound-wise it's definitely more echo-y, especially for singing too!

As you can see I’ve chosen the very popular song by Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" to be  the March-In song. 

I also sang the couple's favourite song "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" originally by George Benson but redone by Westlife.

Plus also an old song "All I Have to Do Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers.

I even got the groom to sing along for the bride.

The guests were such a lovely crowd to entertain, I really had such a great time doing the wedding.

When I received the call from the client for her Dad's 82nd Birthday party, it was already 10pm the night before & so I was contemplating whether to take on the job. I think it's important to deliver my best, so that's why I felt contemplative about it. However, the client was very quick in deciding & I was amazed that it was signed & sealed abt 10.30pm. 

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so unprepared for a job though- being just less than 24 hours away- so naturally, it gave me a bit of anxiety. Somehow I just couldn’t go to sleep and only got three hours of sleep that night. However, I expected that this is part of accepting an event just so last-minute.

Just before the actual event, I tried to at least take a quick nap to power up & refresh myself.

Even though the venue was outdoors and the weather was still humid & hot, and probably because this is the first time they have hired an entertainer for their parties- it took them a while to warm up to me. But I persisted, like a true blue entertainer, I persisted till they got used to me.

As it went along, they seem to be enjoying my songs & interaction and I just kept doing what I felt was appropriate to bring up the atmosphere. I even played games with the kids, but felt perhaps they were not so up to it.

But by the end of the night, I received so many compliments I just couldn’t believe it. I think I had never pass out so many name cards during an event and they also kept asking how much is my fee etc. I was simply overwhelmed. I felt very appreciated for all the efforts that I put in despite the lack of sleep.

The client thanked me profusely at the end of the night and told me that I really surpass their expectations. She will definitely be contacting me for future parties. She even said the kids enjoyed my entertainment, even though I felt I could have done better.

The photographer also mentioned that the fact they stay beyond the original time of 10.30pm & wanted me to sing a few more songs to amuse them, it simply means they enjoyd themselves very much. I ended the night with It's Now Or Never, aptly closing the event with a classic. 

 Looking fresh right before the start of the event

Me & my shiny microphone but look at the beautiful trees! So well trimmed.

Stealing a pic in the middle, yes its very very hot!!!

Honestly, the dinner & dance theme(or as we say D&D theme here in singapore) -Wild Wild West has always been just one of those themes I have to do because people love it as it is easy to dress up in jeans & a checkered shirt. But I think today I feel I finally nail it!

Here's my latest Woody impersonation pix.

I sewed the Cowprint vest myself. think i did a pretty decent job of sewing my own vest from scratch. Double sided some more!!!

This is my old Wild Wild West video - I think I do a decent job but I always had a problem with doing country western songs as it was never my favourite genre in singing. But my repertoire has changed & grew so much so that I was able to put up quite a decent show, besides becoming better at interacting with audience along the lines of this theme.

Now, I know how to warm up the crowd, entertain them, make them laugh & keep the hype & ra-ra up to make sure it peaks at the end & never dips.

Today's show was a bigger challenge as it was buffet, yet I managed to perform well. indeed, the bosses are happy, the staff are happy, even i myself can pat myself on my back & say "JOB WELL DONE!" 

As an artiste, I am very satisfied with my progress!! Here's a clip my my latest rendition of "You've Got a Friend In  Me" my latest song. Again due to the fact that I cannot show any of their staff you have to content yourself with just this.

For over the past 20 years, I have producing shows & choreographed shows to represent Singapore on the international  arena. So here're some simple but effective advice I can give to all dancers, wanting to wow their audiences! 

Tip No 1: Internalise your Routine

Every dancer has to learn the choreography & make sure that it comes naturally without even having to think about what move is next. That should be the standard to go for. that will leave you with nothing else to worry about except concentrate on the more important stuff.  

Tip No 2: Accents

A dance move is all about the accents, the rhythms, so the moves have to go with the accents & not against it. I simply do not understand choreograoher who go agains the grain of the music, pinking the less obvious instead of going for the most apparent accents in the music. 

Tip No 3: Musicality

Every dancers has to make the move flow with the music, the feel is what separates a great dancer from the average dancers. So think about how to capture the essence of the move together with the music. 

Tip No 4: Warmup

Every dancer takes this for granted. Your body is a network of fluids & joints that requires a good warm up & tune-up. Nothing more important than this to ensure longevity & avoidance of injuries.

Tip No 5: Stage Run

You have to do a proper stage run with every single element possible to make sure to optimise the space, to ensure stage is safe, & free from defects, music can be heard clearly, & lighting does not interfere or endanger you. As much as possible, so your system does not get a rude shock.

So there you go! 5 simple tips-All the best for your next show!!! 

When it come to performing on stage for Singers, there's a lot to think about. Let me summarise by giving 5 simple tips to give a you a headstart to creating that perfect performance for a Singer.

Tip No 1: Finding the Right Song

This is the No 1 make-or-break tip for all performers as you hear that a lot during song competitions like such as "American Idol", the type of song, the range of the song, ie the key, the choice of style, the notes to pick all boils down to finding the right fit. 

Tip No 2: Preparation & Rehearsals:-

Practice makes Perfect. The more you can nail down every aspect of the performance, the better will the performance be. The song entry, the breathe control, the adlibs, the runs, make sure you practice the song to death.   

Tip No 3: Soundchecking:-

It is so important to rehearse with the actual sound person who is going to control your levels. Try to make sure the levels are right, that you are able to hear yourself, striking a good balance between that & the level of music too. Between the musician & yourself, know how to blend together .

Tip No 4: Develop Communication Cues:-   

Sometimes, halfway during the performance, you might want need the microphone to be louder or the music to be louder, so have a set of cues to help you manage that so as not to distract from the performance & come across as unprofessional. 

Tip No 5: Tell A Story

The whole idea about singing is that it is the musical way of telling a story- meaning what kind of character are you in emoting the song, what is the premise, what do you hope to make the audience feel? All that helps to create that memorable performance, as every song is like a story to be told.

So I hope these 5 simple but important tips will help you, feel free to comment & ask me for further tips & I will try my best, with 20 over years of experience, to share with you!

So you have a performance coming up. You have been practising but you want to make sure the audience totally enjoys your performance. Here are some simple tips to ensure you maximise the impact.

1. Write an Emcee Introduction

Nothing beats a proper introduction that prepares the audience to be ready to embrace you & your special talent. So a proper introduction will grab everyone's attention & make sure they are not busy eating or hanging outside. You want them to love you already before you start. So write a short but grabbing introduction to catch their attention.

2. Your Entry

You can create an impact from entering into the room rather then standing by next to the stage.

A piece of musical fanfare as introduction to pre-empt the audience. It can be short, but filled with anticipation.

3. Visual Impact

You can substantiate your presentation or your performance with simple hand props that won't cost an arm or a leg. Eg entering with a bunch of balloons. Now that's what a call entering the room with a bang!!! (well if any balloons pop that's really a big bang alright!)

4.  Comedic Element

Every performance can definitely benefit from a little humour, so work in that into your act. People love a little laughter to break the monotony, so don't be afraid to clown around or have a memorable funny moment.  

5. The Ending

Make sure you build your performance into a climax, i have seen too many started off well but never maintaining the audience interest until they feel like they lose the audience & just simply give up. Maintain your poise & end off with a bang. If not- at least, repeat your grand entry with a grand exit.

So i hope these simple tips will help to bring your performance to the next level... feel free to comment & let me know if I can be of help!

here's one of my clips...enjoy!

Today's event is really something very different & unique. As it is for a logistics company, they have decided to organise the Chinese New Year Lo hei event in their air-conditioned warehouse. Naturally I have a hard time looking for the place as the facility is so humongous, it almost feels like we are in the airport. Imagine that is the scale we are dealing with. Initially I had such a hard time looking for the actual warehouse venue that I almost gave up and call the event organiser to personally direct me.

However, when we manage to find the place, I was pleasantly surprised that the air-conditioning was really working well. The entire please had everything including Staging, backdrop, decorations, sound and there was a still plenty of space to spare. Of course, unlike normal event venues, the place is a little grey, a little cold and very echoey. But we work with it & try our best to maximise the impact.

Other than that, everything seems to go well -from the opening Chinese New Year song to the games to the singing and audience interaction, they seem to have so much fun that I was pleasantly surprised. I think the funniest must be the game I played with the guys in which one of them decided to carry me and lift me off the ground, without me even knowing. This gentle giant carried me as if I was a little baby- not just once but twice and to the amazement of the audience! Naturally, he won the contest as he proves to be the strongest. I think everything was memorable event for me. The boss even give me a big Ang Pow (red packet).

In the end, it was a successful event as when I was going home, one of the staff in the lift commented "Great Job!!!" & said that I was such an energetic and vibrant MC. So in the end, I think I made a difference to the Chinese New Year event as we all love to bring a little more vibrancy and positivity and optimism to a Lohei event.