She deletes lewd comments on her Instagram

Ah Boys To Men star Tosh Zhang's divisive local hip-hop music video Lingo Lingo may have made headlines in the past week.

But its laughable Singlish lyrics, fleet of supercars and private jet were not the only "stars" in the clip that raised eyebrows.

Meet local freelance actress-model Melody Low, who plays the female lead clad in bodycon dresses, showing off her eye-popping cleavage.

The 22-year-old, who has over 55,000 followers on her Instagram account, appeared in local rapper Shigga Shay's ShiGGa Morning music video back in March.

In it, she parades in a skimpy white tank top and red bra, both barely covering her ample 32D bosom.

Her assets may have caught the eye of many netizens and landed her cameos, but Low laments that they have also given her unwanted attention.

In an interview with The New Paper last Friday, she said in a mix of Mandarin and English: "I upload sexy pictures of myself on my Instagram account and sometimes, I have secondary school kids posting lewd comments.

"I feel a bit offended, but I just delete them. There is no point in replying.

"Some people feel that I deserve to receive these comments because I post those pictures.

"But I feel that as long as I have a hot bod and I take care of my body, it's okay to upload them when I still look good."

She said that many people have spread rumours that she has gone under the knife for breast enhancement, but she insisted they are real.

"I don't understand why some people would spread such rumours, especially when they are not my boyfriend or my husband, and they are not the ones touching them."

Low agreed that there are advantages to being well-endowed.

"For some online videos, I am required to wear bikinis, and I look nicer in them. It's not so empty in the chest area."

Low is comfortable with her sexy image being played up, but does not want to be stereotyped.

She said: "I don't want people to look at me and think only of 'sexy bikini babe'."

At 1.6m tall and weighing 47kg, Low works out twice a week and controls her diet to keep in shape.

If there is anything that she hates or regrets, it would be her tattoos.

Low, who was from Blangah Rise Primary School, stopped school at 12 because she was not interested in studying.

She mixed with the wrong crowd and got two tattoos before she turned 16.

She said: "I was rejected for a few modelling jobs because of my big tattoo of a Barbie doll face on my back.

"It's very painful to laser off the tattoo, more painful than getting the tattoo itself."

The only child started working at the tender age of 12 to support herself and her single mother, who is in her 50s, and has been unemployed since then. Her parents are divorced.

"My mum told me if I didn't want to study, I have to work to earn money.

"So I helped out at my godmother's shop in Bugis Village selling clothes," said Low, who started modelling at 15.

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Money

These days, she earns an average of $3,000 a month modelling for events and taking on ad-hoc acting projects.

"The money helps to pay for the electricity bills at home. I also give my mother money," said Low, who lives in a two-room HDB flat in Mount Faber with her mother.

Before gaining online fame in the past year, she joined Miss Universe Singapore in 2012 and was one of the top 14 finalists.

She was also in the top-10 of Singapore FHM Models 2012, and was the winner of Miss Singapore Super Import Nights 2012.

Low, who came across as mature and a little shy in person, wants to act more.

She has just wrapped up filming for an upcoming R21 local movie and will be having a meeting with local director Jack Neo this week to discuss the possibility of acting in his new films.

Showbiz is not exactly her dream career, even though she enjoys it.

"Actresses these days don't earn a lot, only a few make it to the top. It is difficult to last long in this industry.

"I am considering opening a bistro, having my own business. Rental these days is expensive though."

Low declined to reveal if she is dating anyone, but likes "older guys who are smart and capable".

What kind of men turn her off?

"Arrogant guys who look down on others. I hate it when guys talk down to waiters in restaurants. It's very rude."

Agreement reached on video

A consensus has finally been reached on whether the Lingo Lingo music video can be viewed by the public on YouTube.

Last week, The New Paper reported that Singapore Memory Project's (SMP) irememberSG team had asked the video's director, Mr Shawn Tan, to take the video down as it had received flak online and it was concerned that it would affect the irememberSG branding.

The clip was made by J Team Productions to promote local SG50 featurette Lingo Lingo Where You Go, which was partially funded by the irememberSG Fund at $50,000.

Last Tuesday, Mr Tan made the video private following the request from the irememberSG team.

Back online

It has been back online for public viewing since last Friday and has attracted 130,000 views so far.

Mr Tan, 27, told TNP: "After discussing with (irememberSG), we have agreed that the music video can be made public now, as long as we make it clear in our description that the MV has nothing to do with irememberSG and is not associated with it."

A spokesman for the National Library Board, which manages SMP, said: "(SMP) has worked well with J Team Productions on their short film, Lingo Lingo Where You Go, which was supported under the irememberSG Fund. SMP has been in touch with J Team to clarify our request to remove the SMP and irememberSG Fund logos from their music video as this was not funded by the irememberSG Fund.

"We have also suggested to J Team ways on how the logos can be removed without affecting the music video's views count. We hope that J Team will respect our request. We look forward to continue working with them."

So far, the logos remain.

But the original description of the video - "Official theme song of Lingo Lingo Where You Go, a Singapore Memory Project/irememberSG featurette film celebrating Singaporean lingo" - has been changed to "Official Theme Song of Lingo Lingo Where You Go featurette film celebrating Singaporean lingo".

This article was first published on August 25, 2015.
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