Sun Bio
Cause a Ruckus

There are few challenges Sun hasn't tackled in the 7 years since she began her career in music. One of Singapore's leading Mandarin Pop stars, she has sold more than 4 million albums, performed in front of hundreds of thousands of fans, worked with producers and songwriters as illustrious as Wyclef Jean and Diane Warren, become the first Asian artist to have a #1 hit on the Billboard's Dance Chart and performed the Olympic anthem at a ceremony in the Forbidden City leading up to the opening of 2008's Beijing Olympic Games.

In the midst of it all, the singer has found time to counsel troubled teens at home in Southeast Asia, help build six schools for impoverished children in China and gave more than 50% of her royalties and income for charities including aid for victims of last year's horrific Sichuan earthquake and hydrocephalic children in Honduras. In her remaining spare time, the singer indulges her passion for fashion: She's opened 3 boutiques in Singapore and helped bring an Ed Hardy flagship store to Singapore. Oh yeah, and she's also raising a four year-old son. Calling her a master multitask-er is a massive understatement.

And yet, the singer says there's no greater challenge, nor one more worth undertaking than her current push to bring her music to America. "I believe it's a secret dream for every Asian singer to make it in America," she says. "This is the place. But I don't just want it to be an experience to add on to whatever achievement I've already got. It's just my dream to be able to share whatever is in me. Coming here, I feel really liberated.

Born Ho Yeow Sun, Sun was a spontaneous performer from her childhood. "I've loved singing since I was young," she says, citing Celine Dion and Whitney Houston as early influences. "I was always a performer at home for my family, especially my mom. I can remember her clapping to my hair-swinging, butt-shaking moments." She wrote her first songs jamming with friends after college, where she'd begun a successful career in youth counseling in Singapore. She recalls how exciting it was to take on the persona of a song, and how gratifying it was on stage to feel the support of her friends in the audience: "I'm an emotional performer; when I'm singing, I really get into what the song is saying."

In 2000, a friend of Sun's invited a local label executive to one of her performances, and he was so impressed that he offered her a contract. "It was a shock," she says. "I was happy doing what I was doing. But as he put it, counseling is one-to-one, where a song with a message reaches thousands or even millions. I realized that whenever I have to express myself, especially during the low times in my life, I sing a lot and I listen to a lot of music." The singer, who has a master's degree in counseling and started a community services association in 1996 to help troubled teens in Singapore, says music was always like a "safety blanket" for her. "I struggled with depression during my teenage years, and I listened to a lot of music," she explains. "Not all of the music was really positive, but it still comforted me during those times. Music can help people express pain that they couldn't find words to express. That's what I love to do – connect with my fans and help them express whatever's in their hearts."

That connection with her fans has spanned five platinum-selling albums of primarily ballads in Mandarin, and five chart-topping English-language dance singles. Then, in 2007, Sun made another invaluable connection when she met writer, producer and Fugees co-founder Wyclef Jean. He was so impressed by the singer that he invited her to open his North American tour and featured her in the video for his song "Fast Car." The pair also teamed up in the studio, recording tracks like the exotic bump-and-grind pop tune "China Wine."

"In Asia, I'm known to sing the big melodramatic ballads," she says. "But like anyone else, I'm not one-dimensional, and I also love uptempo, energetic songs. When I got to America, being surrounded by such creativity and musicality opened me up to exploring different sounds." For her debut American album, Cause A Ruckus, Sun worked with a team of A-list producers including Rodney Jerkins (Beyonce, Brandy and Mary J. Blige), Danja (Justin Timberlake, Madonna and Nelly Furtado) and Rob Knox (Britney Spears and Ciara) to achieve a sound she describes as "dance music with a rock edge and a little bit of the Asia touch."

Sun's first single off of Cause A Ruckus is "Fancy Free" produced by Chuck Harmony (Neyo). Sun says about "Fancy Free," "Fancy Free" is my life philosophy in a nutshell. I'm a strong advocate of loving yourself and your dreams... No matter what others say or feel. There is such a positive energy in the song and lyric that I connect with completely. The message I want to convey is simple: No one is perfect and great dreams are achieved by ordinary people who believe in their individual beauty and uniqueness!" The video for "Fancy Free," was directed by award winning director Joseph Kahn (U2, Enimen, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey).

"You Stupid," produced by Danja, gave Sun a chance to perform a tongue-in-cheek kiss-off ditty that reminds her of her favorite songs by Gwen Stefani. "This song is for every girl with lousy boyfriends!" she says, giggling. "It's a song to tell those guys, 'You're stupid! You didn't treasure me. You didn't appreciate me.'" And the Rodney Jerkins-produced "Garage," she says, "just makes me want to dance."

The singer also gets tremendous gratification from a wide array of humanitarian projects, including opening schools and orphanages in China and India, and visiting the earthquake-stricken Sichuan last year. "My fans say, "Where do you get the time to do that?' I love music and performing, but touching lives and holding these kids in my arms -- that's real to me." She tenderly recalls an encounter in Sichuan with a six year-old girl orphaned by the earthquake. "When she saw me, it was almost like she knew me. I don't know why, but we just connected. There were people there who were artists, so they drew pictures of me and her, and I always look at them and wish I could do more for these children. I send money to her, but I know that she's still not been adopted. It breaks your heart. I feel like there's so much to do, seriously, and I feel helpless sometimes, but I have to remind myself that I believe in the power of one, that we all can do something."

Regardless of the undertaking – from her charity work to her singing career to her entrepreneurial pursuits – Sun hopes one message shines through. "I want to be a role model," she begins. "But I think differently from a lot of people. I feel like being a role model doesn't mean that I have to be perfect. Nobody can be perfect, and I don't want to just sing songs that are positive. I want to sing songs about love and empowerment, but I also want to sing about pain, I want to sing about life, I want to sing about reality. Coming to America has really opened me up and liberated me. I love the slogans you guys have: 'If you can dream it, you can do it.' Moving here is the biggest step I've ever taken. I have friends that are like, 'Are you sure you're going to do this? You've accomplished so much,' and it's not easy to start over again and do something so different. But life is so short that I don't want to live with 'what if?' It's my dream, and I just want to give it a try."

從耀珊開始追求她的音樂事業起，這七年来，耀珊迎接的挑戰不計其數：在新加坡是頗具盛名的華人流行歌星；專輯銷售量破四百多萬張；曾在數十萬歌迷面前現場演唱；并曾與全球赫赫有名的詞曲創作人、製作人（如懷克里夫金Wyclef Jean、黛安華倫Diane Warren等）合作﹔耀珊更是第一位登上告示牌舞曲排行榜冠軍的亞洲藝人﹔還在2008北京奧運開幕前，在紫禁城的慶祝典禮中領唱奧運會歌。

在這些繁忙的成就中，她在東南亞還特別撥出時間輔導當地茫然困惑的青少年、為中國各地貧困的學童興建六所學校、捐獻她一半以上的版稅與收入做慈善工作：不僅幫助去年在四川經歷可怕地震的災民，也捐助醫治宏都拉斯罹患腦水腫的病童。除此之外，她還行有餘力去追求她在時裝方面的熱愛：在新加坡開設三間服裝名品店，並為Ed Hardy在那裡開設了旗艦服飾店。哦，對了，她還盡力養育她年僅四歲的幼兒。稱她擅長身兼數職的角色，一點也不為過。

儘管如此，耀珊卻認為還有一項更大的挑戰值得她去嘗試，那就是將她的音樂帶進美國。她說道：｢我相信能打進美國市場，可能是每位亞洲藝人都有的夢﹔那是夢想之地。但我不希望那只是在我許多的經歷當中，另外多增加的一項。我真正夢想的是能將我內在所有的，分享表達出來。來到這裡，我覺得真的讓我能自由地盡情發揮。｣

本名何耀珊的Sun，自童年就展現相當的表演天分。｢從小我就愛唱歌，｣她告訴我們，諸如席琳狄翁(Celine Dion)和惠妮休斯頓(Whitney Houston)都對她產生影響。｢在家人面前，我總是娛樂表演的主角，特別是給我媽媽看。我還記得每當我唱得頭發飛散、手舞足蹈的時候，她在一旁熱烈拍手的樣子。｣學院畢業後，她不僅在新加坡開創了非常成功的青少年輔導事業，也和朋友們創作了第一齣音樂歌舞劇。她憶起當時在台上表演歌舞是何等的興奮，而看見台下觀眾朋友們的熱烈支持，更讓她有說不出的滿足感。｢我是很入戲的演員﹔當我開口唱歌，真的就進入歌詞的意境和感受裡。｣

2000年，耀珊的朋友邀請當地一位唱片公司的老板觀賞她的演出，他立刻深受感動，提出合約希望幫耀珊發片。｢我真的很驚訝，｣她說，｢因為在我原來的工作領域裡，我就做得很開心。但他勸我：輔導不過是一對一的功效，但歌曲傳播的訊息，可以接觸到成千上萬、甚至上百萬的人。我就想到自己每次想要表達心聲時，特別在心情最低落的時候，我常常會唱歌或聆聽音樂。｣這位擁有輔導碩士學位的歌手，在1996年便在新加坡開辦社會服務社，以幫助當地有需要的青少年。她認為音樂對她而言，彷佛一床能｢安撫人心的毛毯｣。她更進一步解釋：｢我自己青少年的時候曾在憂鬱症裡掙扎，音樂一直是我的陪伴。不見得所有的音樂都很正面﹔但在那段時間裡，音樂給了我很大的安慰。當人的傷痛實在無法以言語形容的時候，音樂可以替他們表達。這也是我想要做的：能接觸我歌迷的心靈，幫助他們表達出心中的想法。｣

因為能與歌迷的心弦共鳴，她以抒情慢歌為主的五張專輯，紛紛創下白金銷售的記錄﹔另外更有五首英文的舞曲，也在排行榜上屢創佳績。到2007年，耀珊遇見身兼詞曲創作人、製作人及Fugees創辦人的懷克里夫金(Wyclef Jean)，為她帶出不可思議的新機緣。他大為賞識耀珊的才華，邀請她在他北美巡迴演唱中擔任開場演唱，更擔綱在他的歌曲MV｢飆速快車(Fast Car)｣中共同演出。他們兩人還搭檔錄製了一首異國情調十足的炫耀舞曲“China Wine”。

｢在亞洲，大家所熟悉的我，主要都唱抒情旋律為主的歌曲。跟大家一樣，我也有多樣性的不同面﹔我也喜歡節奏強烈、動感活力的歌曲。當我來到美國，接觸到周遭這麼多的創意和音樂性，真的開啟我去探索不同的音樂元素。｣在她首張美國專輯《引起騷動(Cause A Ruckus)》裡，耀珊跟許多一線的製作團隊合作，如：朗尼杰金斯Rodney Jerkins (碧昂絲Beyonce、白蘭蒂Brandy和瑪麗布萊姬Mary J. Blige)、丹佳Danja (賈斯汀Justin Timberlake、瑪丹娜Modanna和妮莉費塔朵Nelly Furtado)及勞勃諾克斯Rob Knox (小甜甜布蘭妮Britney Spears和席亞拉Ciara)等人連手，製作出她所形容｢有搖滾的鋒利，加上一些亞洲風味的特殊舞曲｣。

《引起騷動(Cause A Ruckus)》推出的首波主打《無拘無束(Fancy Free)》由曾為尼歐(Neyo)製作歌曲的查克哈默尼(Chuck Harmony)親自打造。耀珊談到《無拘無束(Fancy Free)》時說：｢簡而言之，無拘無束就是我人生哲學的縮影。我強力支持人要能愛自己、愛你的夢想……不論別人怎麼說、怎麼想。這首歌裡帶著強烈正面的積極能量，歌詞也跟我的理念不謀而合。我想要傳遞的信息很簡單：沒有人是完美的﹔平凡人也能成就偉大的夢想，只要他能相信自己的美好與獨特！｣而《無拘無束(Fancy Free)》的MV，則請到曾獲獎項肯定的喬瑟夫坎恩Joseph Kahn (U2、阿姆Enimen、小甜甜布蘭妮Britney Spears、瑪麗亞凱莉Mariah Carey)親自執導。

由Danja製作的《你這個笨蛋(You Stupid)》，讓耀珊有機會表現這種幽默又略帶嘲諷意味的分手歌曲，讓她聯想到她最喜歡關史蒂芬妮 (Gwen Stefani) 的一些歌。 ｢這是為所有曾經遇人不淑的女生唱的歌。｣她輕笑著說：｢這首歌是要告訴那些男生，『你是笨蛋！你不懂得珍惜我、不懂得欣賞我。』｣另外由朗尼杰金斯所製作的《車庫Garage》，她的感想是：｢就讓我忍不住想跳舞。｣

除此之外，讓耀珊很有滿足感的，是她在社會人道方面廣泛的工作﹔她不僅在中國和印度等地開辦學校、孤兒院，甚至曾在去年親自前往四川地震災區探訪。｢我的歌迷問我：『你哪來這麼多時間啊？』我喜愛音樂跟表演──但實際去接觸生命、將那些孩子抱進懷中，那才是真正的我。｣當她想起在四川遇見那個六歲的小女孩，因地震父母雙亡、孤苦無依，臉上都不禁顯出些許感傷。｢當她看到我，好像馬上就認識我似的。我也不知道為什麼，但我們就很投緣。當時有些畫家在場，為我跟那個孩子畫了些畫﹔每次看到那些畫，我都希望自己能多為這些孩子做些事。我有寄錢給她，但就我所知，到現在都還沒有人收養她，想到就讓人心疼。真的，我覺得有太多該做的事，有時真覺得自己好無力﹔我得提醒自己：我相信一個人的力量，我們每個人都可以有所貢獻。｣

儘管她肩負這許多責任﹔從慈善工作到演藝事業再到企業的開展，耀珊希望她能清楚傳達出一個信息：｢我希望成為角色模範。但我的想法跟許多人不一樣，我覺得要成為角色模範，不代表你就一定要十全十美。沒有人是完美的，我也不想只唱陽光正面的歌曲。我希望所唱的歌能帶給人愛和力量，但我也想唱出人的悲痛，我想唱的是人生、唱的是真實世界。來到美國真的開啟我、容我盡情發揮。我很喜歡這裡人常說的一句口號：『只要你能夢想，就能實現。』搬來這裡，是我生命中跨出最大、最遠的一步。我有些朋友懷疑：『你真的想要這麼做嗎？你已經有很好的成就了。』一切要從頭開始並不容易，更何況是做完全不一樣的東西。但生命太短暫了，我不想活在『萬一』裡。這是我的夢想，我只想盡力去試。｣