April 21, 2023, 10:05 PM
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Although she just scored her first win at this year's Star Awards, Singaporean actress-singer Tasha Low has actually spent more than a third of her life under the spotlight.
The 29-year-old first debuted in Korea in 2012 as a member of K-pop girl group SKarf.
The group disbanded in 2014, and Low participated in girl group reality programme "Idol School" in 2017.
The rarity of a Singaporean K-pop singer led her to be remembered as the "K-pop girl", till her not-so-recent breakthrough in local showbiz.
Speaking to Mothership, Low gave deeper insights into her experiences, struggles and future plans.
How it all started
Low was a huge fan of Taiwanese singer Rainie Yang when she was younger, buying her albums, along with attending fan meets and concerts.
Watching Yang dance and sing piqued her interest in pursuing a career in showbiz:
"I [had a] thought, 'I wish I could be on stage, just like her.'"
Inspired to perform on stage, Low began to attend numerous local talent auditions – including Campus Superstar – before passing the audition for Korea's Alpha Entertainment.
"I went for a lot of auditions before I actually got offered a contract to go to Korea. I think it was just a hit-and-miss thing for me. So when I was offered the contract, instinctively was like, 'Yes, I would go'."
Coming from a family of ballroom dancers, she too considered ballroom dancing as a career but had a stronger inclination towards hip-hop dancing.
An introvert doing extroverted things
When Low was in South Korea struggling to adapt to the life of a budding K-pop star, she was told that she would be given an additional responsibility: being SKarf's leader.
This surprised the self-professed introvert, and was an additional weight on her shoulders as she had to act as the bridge between the rest of the group and her company.
She explained:
"I was never extroverted. I just find it very hard to put myself out there.
I guess it's very contradictory because [although I'm] an introvert, I love [being a part of] showbiz a lot. I love singing and dancing on stage. But at that point of time, it's like, I'm not myself, you know."
She made the difficult decision to return to Singapore in 2018.
Turned to selling kimchi
After returning to Singapore, Low decided to put her passion aside and try something else.
Her former group mate, Ferlyn Wong, introduced her to a job opening for a Korean food company in Singapore.
"I thought, 'Okay, I could use my Korean skills to work.' So I went for the interview and I got in," Low said.
As a sales manager, she went door to door selling kimchi and other ingredients.
"I had to give [out] my name card, introduce myself, and tell them like, 'Who's your supplier? I could give you cheaper [rates] if you want,' you know, stuff like that."
It soon became obvious that a career in sales was just not for Low and she decided to leave the job eight months later.
As she came to this realisation, she started receiving more requests to return to the limelight.
She mused:
"A lot of calls were coming in, and trying out the kimchi thing just made me feel like I suited showbiz a bit more.
Also, [my] friends around me were encouraging. They told me, 'Showbiz is for you, and you should just really try it in Singapore because you never tried [it] before. You'll never know what will happen, right?' So I guess they gave me a bit of confidence as well.
And after I went for the first audition, I got in, and that's when it [gave] me more courage to go for more auditions."
Her family continued to be supportive as she ventured back into showbiz for the second time.
Giving acting a go
Starting an acting career in Singapore wasn't the easiest move for Low, as she was trained to sing and dance in South Korea.
Being introverted and self-conscious made it harder for her to express her emotions on camera.
"When you're on set, so many people around are just looking at you... It took me a few projects to be more natural in front of the camera, I would say. But the more I did, the more I improved. So that was the good thing," she explained.
Another channel that gave her the opportunity to improve was attending an acting workshop taught by award-winning actress Yeo Yann Yann while preparing for the Channel 8 drama, "Genie In A Cup".
"In the first few projects I did, I was consciously just thinking about 'Do I have a double chin? Is this is my good side?' I was just completely worried about that.
But after I went for Yann Yann's class, it really did open me up a lot, and it helped me just stop being conscious about that and just focus on acting instead."
Just getting started
While this year marks her 11th year in showbiz, Low shared that her journey in Singapore has "just started".
Besides taking on more acting projects, she also hopes to return to her roots by releasing a rap song by June.
Her Star Award Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes win also came as a welcome reminder:
"I just don't really have that much confidence as a person, so when I see [encouraging comments], it really does give me assurance that I'm doing the right thing, [that] I'm on the right track."
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