Mandopop club revival

SINGAPORE - Live Chinese music entertainment, with performers dressed in campy outfits belting out popular Mandopop and Cantopop numbers, is making a comeback.

At least three new live Mandopop nightclubs have opened in the past year and one established club is seeing renewed interest in such entertainment.

Show opened its doors at Bugis+ last month, while The Shavencat in Tanjong Pagar has been entertaining Mandopop fans since June.

At Middle Road, Allurez has been doing brisk business since it opened in the middle of last year.

Even five-year-old Shanghai Dolly at Clarke Quay, one of Singapore's longest-running mainstream Mandopop clubs, has seen business pick up.

Mr Gordon Foo, 32, coordinating director of operations of St James Holdings, which owns Shanghai Dolly, notes a 15 to 20 per cent increase in sales at the club in the past two to three months.

He says: "Interest in live Mandopop entertainment really started when our (now defunct) Mandopop club Dragonfly opened in the mid-2000s. Now, we're seeing a renewed interest.

"In the last three years, we've seen many televised singing competitions from Taiwan and China, such as The Voice Of China and One Million Star, which are popular among Singaporeans, so I think the audience is exposed to Mandopop culture again."

Live Mandopop entertainment took off for a while in 2005 and 2006, when Dragonfly - anchored by headline acts such as William Scorpion, the undisputed king of Chinese pop singers in Singapore - became the go-to nightspot for Chinese music.

In its heyday, the club pulled in an average of 40,000 patrons a month, but closed in 2012 when its appeal fizzled out.

Other live Chinese music nightspots, such as Firefly at Marriott Hotel and Babyface discotheque at One Fullerton, both of which opened in the mid 2000s, also did not survive beyond a few years.

Now, the Mandopop scene is seeing a revival, with new clubs hiring singers and dancers from Taiwan to woo a more affluent clientele of working professionals.

At the three newer clubs, most of their foreign entertainers hail from Taiwan. The owners explain that Taiwanese singers and dancers are known for their vocal skills and are just as popular as performers from China and Hong Kong.

Mr Zorro Ho 33, one of the four owners of Allurez, says the demand for Mandopop entertainment "has always been there" and it is just a matter of coming up with "a new way to experience it".

The club currently employs 10 Taiwanese singers and dancers, but also uses entertainers from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

"Taiwanese performers add a unique spice to the entertainment mix... they definitely add more vibrancy in terms of their performance," says Mr Ho, who adds that some of his performers have taken part in music videos for top Taiwanese singers.

At The Shavencat, the anchor act is 10-member Taiwanese band Hot Shock, who also perform at nightclubs Myst and Primo in Taipei, Taiwan.

The Shavencat, a restaurant-bar and nightclub spanning 7,000 sq ft, features Singaporean live music band Passion, who perform contemporary Mandopop songs, and local English acoustic acts such as Shirlyn & The UnXpected and Jack & Rai.

Mr Bernard Ang, 42, the club's managing director, says he opened a Mandopop-centric club as he felt there was a demand for patrons "who would appreciate a Mandopop club without foreign female drink promoters pushing drinks" to customers.

He was referring to seedy Chinese entertainment nightspots that hire scantily clad female promoters to go around the club urging patrons to buy alcoholic drinks.

Industry players estimate that there are just a handful of mainstream Mandopop clubs in Singapore, with Shanghai Dolly and Club Sonar in Orchard Hotel being the more prominent ones.

Club Sonar has dancers from Taiwan and singers from China, Malaysia and Singapore performing predominantly Mandopop and Cantopop numbers, but they occasionally do Korean and English songs as well.

Show's owners are hoping to expand its clientele beyond executives to families. But do not take your tots with you into the club - women have to be at least 18 to enter and men at least 23.

The 5,600 sq ft establishment has three Taiwanese singers and four Taiwanese dancers performing 1990s Mandopop hits from the likes of Faye Wong and Aaron Kwok, but also hires local singers to beef up the line-up.

Mr Jeremy Poh, 28, the club's head of marketing, says: "We believe there is a strong market for Mandopop and I think there's enough demand for a club like ours. There's a more wholesome feel here - it's good for couples, families, anyone."

Clubgoers tell Life! they enjoy the atmosphere and the entertainment offered by these clubs as they are different from other live gig venues.

Financial consultant Peter Loh, 34, who frequents Allurez at least once a week, says: "It's different from other places with live music like Timbre, which has a normal band. Here, it's like a mini-concert with a personalised touch because the performers really interact with you.

"And it's comfortable enough for me to bring my friends, even my clients, here."

Mr J. L. Gan, 25, an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, visits Mandopop clubs regularly and has recently been to Show.

He says of Show: "It's a pretty nice concept because it's on the top floor and has an outdoor space for patrons to interact. Apart from more typical clubs like Zouk or The Butter Factory, it's another good place to chill and enjoy performances. The live band is pretty good."

But will these Mandopop clubs make it past a few years?

Mr Poh believes their longevity depends on "how the performer interacts with the crowd" and "whether they have stage presence".

While Mr Foo believes the trend will continue to pick up, with more Mandopop establishments to open in future, the quality of the entertainment would determine their survival.

"Customers are more discerning, they want quality and variety. We will see a lot more new clubs, for this period of time at least.

"But moving forward, not everyone will last - only those with strong entertainment offerings will survive," he says.

melk@sph.com.sg

The Shavencat

What: The 7,000 sq ft establishment, which opened in June, is split into a restaurant-bar and a live music nightclub.

Patrons of the nightclub are entertained by established Taiwanese band Hot Shock's pop and rock music covers of popular Mandopop hits as dancers perform choreographed dance routines on stage.

The club was able to bring in Hot Shock through a tie-up with two other well-known nightclubs in Taipei, Myst and Primo.

Also performing on stage from Wednesday to Friday are local band Passion and popular home-grown acoustic acts Shirlyn & The UnXpected and Jack & Rai, who play during happy hour.

The club caters to a largely local crowd in their 20s to 40s.

You can enjoy wine at the bar, which also serves up yummy bites such as deep-fried chicken skin and truffle fries with foie gras.

Where: 21 Tanjong Pagar Road, 01-01

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11 to 3am

E-mail: enquiries@shavencat.com

Show

What: The latest kid on the Mandopop block touts itself as a place for feel-good live Mandopop and Cantopop entertainment.

The 5,600 sq ft club, which had a soft opening on July 30, has a group of Taiwanese singers and dancers performing covers of the latest Chinese hits and evergreen favourites from the likes of Faye Wong and Aaron Kwok.

Local DJs spin hour-long sets in between performances, a concept that already exists in many Asian fusion nightclubs in Singapore.

There is no purchase of flower garlands for performers to show one's appreciation or pushy female drink promoters. Located at shopping mall Bugis+, the club, which caters to working professionals in their 20s to 40s, also welcomes families as long as they meet the age limits of 18 for women and 23 for men.

Those who want more privacy can use the whisky and cigar room or book the function room.

Where: 201 Victoria Street, 05-05 Bugis+

Hours: Monday to Thursday, 7pm to 3am; Friday, Saturday and eve of public holiday, 7pm to 4am; closed on Sunday

Tel: 6509-9559

This article was first published on August 21, 2014.
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