On the 5 February 2017, Radio Heatwave treated the public to eight hours of heavenly music thanks to its annual event, Originals Only Open Mike for Youths (OOOMY), in collaboration with OOOM Singapore. Acts such as Gareth Fernandez, Falling Feathers, and Disco Hue came down to the The Star Vista, enchanting the crowd with their strikingly different yet commonly breathtaking music styles.

OPEN MIKE SESSION

OOOMY started off with an open mike session, allowing the public to take the stage and show off their pipes.

Dressed in a crazy get-up and coupled with fun dance moves, our Promotions Manager, Prashain started off with a theatrical and sassy performance of two Lady Gaga tunes, ‘Venus’ and ‘John Wayne’.

Next of, Abby and Jesse, a young sibling duo also known as CUO, sang “I Need Another Man” while Jesse showed off his fancy piano skills at the end.

Then Radio Heatwave (RHW) jock, Ysabel, wowed the crowd with her sultry, acoustic rendition of Britney Spears’ “Toxic”.

RHW jocks Mel and Sarah took over Ysabel and came to the stage with a strong and heartwarming cover of “I Get To Love You” by Ruelle and they even threw in some awesome harmonies.

RHW jock Qadirah closed the OOOMY Open Mike Session with a bang with a lovely cover of Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat's “Lucky”.

STEPHYCUBE

Stephycube’s performance oozed with chill vibes as she opened with an indie version of Britney Spears’ “Oops, I Did It Again”. She followed with her original song, “Bliss” that sounded like a calm lullaby amidst the gentle finger plucking of her guitar. Surprisingly a rock fan as well, she performed a mellowed down version of “Diary of Jane” by Breaking Benjamin.

Stephycube was even brought to tears as she sang her heartfelt original, “Emergency Ward”, a song written about her late grandfather and the memories she had with him. She ended off with another original called “Aftermath” and Fall Out Boy’s “Thanks for the Memories”, which definitely got the audience hyped up for the following performances.

BRYAN CHUA

Describing his music style as “confused, eclectic and fun”, Bryan Chua took a unique spin for his performance by incorporating a loop pedal into all his songs. He left the crowd awestruck as he created layers and layers of beautiful melodies on the spot, right before everyone’s eyes.

Bringing out the inner Ed Sheeran in him, Bryan started with “I See Fire” before moving onto to his original song, “Broken Lightbulbs”, which he creatively mashed up with another Ed Sheeran hit, “Castle on a Hill”. He closed off with latest his single, “Artist”.

LAST MINUTE

Having a penchant for romance songs, Last Minute, consisting of Danial and Sulaiman, performed a series of love songs for their set. Starting off with Maroon 5’s classic “This Love”, the audience swooned at the sound and clarity of their voices. They followed with a powerful rendition of John Legend’s “Ordinary People”.

To truly show how much they liked cheesy songs, the duo even threw in a couple of originals titled “Black Dress” and “Chase”, written by Danial’s other band and Sulaiman respectively.

GARETH FERNANDEZ

Gareth kickstarted his performance with a mash up of originals, before stunning the audience with his cover of Zayn and Taylor Swift’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”. He then sang Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me”, hitting all the notes with such ease that everyone was left dumbfounded.

Throughout his performance, Gareth actively engaged the audience, getting them to clap along while he charmed them with his light yet powerful voice. When asked about his career, Gareth even poked some fun at himself, saying he didn’t practice enough. However, he encouraged budding musicians to better themselves by continually doing what they’re good at and not giving up.

FALLING FEATHERS

A light-hearted, jovial musician, Falling Feathers captivated the crowd with his original song, “Perfect”. His style is very upbeat, and he managed to make use of the limited area on the stage, dancing around and jumping to the beat when the song reached its peak. He also threw the occasional wink at a random audience member, capturing the hearts of half the crowd and making the other half swoon in their seats.

To top it off, he sang “Why So Serious”, his new single, and a cover of McFly’s “The Heart Never Lies” another lively tune which increased the hype. Finally, he wrapped up his performance with “Rule the World”.

MARICELLE

Maricelle has a very unique style, a sort of electric, deep and dramatic sound. She started off with her song, “Lucky Ones”, which was a very loud and emotional sort of song, and naturally so as the song is about pursuing love. Next she performed a slightly faster number, “Up All Night”, which made use of her very strong vocals, yet her sound isn’t too overwhelming but instead was quite ethereal.

Her next song “Quick Fix” was inspired by the time she spent living in Shanghai. Lastly, Marielle ended off with her original, “Love Drunk”, which is a very echo-y song, sort of like the audio version of the feeling you’d get when flying over snowy mountain tops.

DISCO HUE

Last, but most definitely not least, was Disco Hue. The band first performed their originals, “1973” and “Plastic Hearts”. It was very refreshing to hear Sherlyn’s effortless runs accompany the band’s classic electro-pop kind of sound, and the audience was obviously enjoying their performance, swaying to the music and clapping along.

They then moved on to performing favourites like “Saturday Noise” and “Gotta Find You”, all of which had their signature night-club feel to them. To end the night with a bang, the band performed “I’ll Be Waiting”, an all-time favourite among audience members.

After being treated to 8 hours of non-stop tunes from 1.30pm to 8pm, it seemed like the crowd and performers thoroughly enjoyed the OOOMY Open Mike Session. It was definitely a good platform for local musicians and feisty aspiring singers from the crowd alike to showcase their vocal talents and gain recognition for their passion.

Overall, it was just an awesome night of great music at The Star Vista and all of us will certainly be looking forward to future OOOMY Festivals and other Radio Heatwave events  such as this successful one!

Writers: Sarah and Samantha

Editor: Prashain

Photography: Gayle and Amirah