Jarrell Huang, the comeback kid

Jarrell Huang, the comeback kid

SINGAPORE - In 2011, Singaporean teenager Jarrell Huang made waves when he became an overnight sensation on Taiwanese television.

Then just 11 years old, the Primary Five student at Maha Bodhi School beat thousands of contestants and went through multiple rounds of competition to finish ninth place on the eighth season of Million Star.

The popular long-running Taiwanese reality TV singing competition featured hopefuls from Taiwan, China, Malaysia and the US.

Million Star, which ended its run last August after 10 seasons, was the same talent search that produced Mandopop singers such as Jam Hsiao, Yoga Lin and Aska Yang.

Having impressed TV viewers with his clear, pristine vocals, Jarrell was even dubbed "Singapore's child prodigy" by the show's host Matilda Tao. He is the youngest contestant ever to make it as a Top 10 finalist.

Prior to his achievements, other homegrown aspirants - Huang Jinglun and Sugie Phua, who were both in their 20s when they joined the competition - had snagged fifth and seventh place in Season 3 in 2008.

After falling off the radar for four years, Jarrell, now 15, is back on the music scene with a debut Mandarin EP, Little Prince's Adventure.

The album is distributed by Taiwan's Seed Music, whose stable of artistes include Hong Kong's Edison Chen and Korean boy band F.Cuz.

Last month, in an interview with The New Paper, the 1.75m-tall Jarrell explained his absence: "In 2012, I didn't touch music for an entire year because I was very busy preparing for the PSLE."

Due to Million Star, which required him to shuttle frequently between Singapore and Taipei, he had "missed six months of lessons".

"I was lagging behind, so when it came to my Primary Six year, I crammed two years of revision into one year," he said.

He scored 4As for the PSLE and an aggregate score of 225.

"I wasn't too disappointed because I think I managed to catch up," he said.

Besides exams, there was another reason why he decided to put his album plans on hold till today, instead of releasing it at the peak of his popularity in 2011.

VOICE CRACKED

"My voice broke shortly after Million Star wrapped, so it was impossible for me to sing anything then," explained Huang, who counts Mandopop superstar Show Luo as his favourite idol.

"I was quite worried whether my (voice change) would affect my singing. I took nine months to get used to and comfortable with my new voice."

Known for covering high-pitched numbers by Chang Yu-sheng and Zhao Chuan during Million Star, Huang said matter-of-factly that he "can no longer sing those songs" as they are out of his vocal range.

Now a Secondary Three student at Chung Cheng High School (Yishun), Jarrell laughed shyly when quizzed if his schoolmates are aware of his singing endeavours.

"We had our Secondary One orientation camp and many of my seniors remembered and recognised me from my competition days on Million Star," he recalled.

The show aired in Singapore on E City (StarHub Ch 825).

"They started spreading the 'news' and it wasn't long before everyone in school knew who I was."

A school councillor and member of the Chinese drama club, his on-campus celebrity status has also won him female admirers.

He embarked on a promotional tour in Taipei last December, where he went on different radio programmes to introduce his new material.

The trip gave him the opportunity to meet Taiwanese fans who have loyally stuck by him since Million Star.

While he is passionate and enthusiastic about singing, don't bet on him quitting school in pursuit of showbiz fame.

In the last couple of years, he has received invites to participate in a few China-produced reality TV singing contests, but he turned them down to focus on his studies.

"In the past, such thoughts did cross my mind," he admitted.

"I would think, 'I shall study till junior college or polytechnic, that would be enough'.

"But now, especially after my promotional stint in Taiwan, I am adamant about graduating from university. That's my goal. Having seen the music industry first-hand, I feel that it's extremely important to continue studying and learning."

If a music career doesn't work out in the future, he foresees himself "doing something related to mathematics or science" - he is now taking the physics, chemistry and combined humanities subject combination in school.

He said: "Last year and this year is the best time to release and promote my EP. Next year, I will be too busy preparing for my O levels!"


This article was first published on February 16, 2015.
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