A 36-year-old busker was belting out a ballad by Tanya Chua on Feb. 11, when he was unceremoniously heckled by a passerby.
"不好听! (Not nice!)" a woman shouted, before walking off.
Evan Goh, who emerged as one of the top three finalists in a 2023 local reality singing competition, dubbed the heckling the "worst experience" yet in his busking journey.
The heckling
Goh uploaded a clip of the incident onto social media, hoping to laugh it off.
In the video, Goh strummed his guitar and sang for the crowd at Paya Lebar Square.
He was singing "雙棲動物 (Amphibian)" by Tanya Chua.
Image via @evantellstories
Suddenly, woman could be heard off-screen yelling that she didn't like his singing.
Gif via @evantellstories
"Art is subjective," Goh wrote in his caption.
More criticism
He was surprised to discover just how subjective art was, when commenters began criticising his choice of a "slow" and "melancholic" song during Chinese New Year.
Comment on Goh's post
Comment on Goh's post
Sad stories
But Goh has more or less moved on from the hate.
"As a singer, all I want is a stage, and to have people listen to me tell my stories through music," he told Mothership.
And if those stories happen to be mostly sad, then so be it.
He shared that his top songs to perform were "oldies" by Tanya Chua, JJ Lin, and Stefanie Sun.
"Unfortunately, 90 per cent of Mandopop (songs) are slow ballads," he quipped.
"I am not a beggar"
"We are buskers, but not beggars," Goh said.
He explained that he busks mostly because he enjoys it, and not for money.
"I don't mean any disrespect when I say this... but I really hope [people] can respect our time, our effort, and our craft.
Speaking from my own perspective, as long as I am able to hold a person's attention for a few seconds, to just listen to me and appreciate my music, I'm happy about that."
However, he did acknowledge that his music "isn't for everyone".
Getting over it
When Mothership dropped by Paya Lebar Square on the evening of Feb. 22, Goh was seen performing around the same place he'd been heckled.
His fingers danced nimbly over the frets of his guitar as he sung — a ballad, of course.
Within the first hour or so, a couple of people stopped in their tracks to listen for a bit, before going on with their lives.
Many more ignored him.
But Goh seemed unfazed.
Gif by Julia Yee
"What I would love to do, is to stay true to myself. Do what I love to do. Sing the songs I want to sing. I would advise fellow buskers and singers to do the same... stay true to yourself, and perform what you most resonate with."
The way he sees it, people can find their sunshine and rainbows somewhere else.
He'll keep on singing his sad songs.
Top images @evantellstories/Instagram