'Ordinary' Stefanie Sun has stellar comeback concert after 10 years

When we talk about Singaporean singers, people often mention Stefanie Sun.

But if you ask those who mention her name if they've been to her concerts, more often than not, nobody's heard her perform live.

That's because Sun, 46, has spent most of her recent years under the radar — by choice.

Her career kicked off after someone remarked that there was no other 22-year-old who sang like her, with Sun reaching greater levels of popularity with every album she put out, and every tour that she embarked on.

Things changed for her probably about 10 years ago — we say probably because she's never said if there was ever an "Aha!" moment for her, or if her change in priorities happened gradually — but what we do know is that after her Kepler tour, which concluded in July 2015, Sun stopped touring.

She did put out another studio album, "No. 13 – A Dancing Van Gogh", in 2017, but by then, one could tell that she was no longer working nonstop.

Thus, it felt like a grand homecoming for Sun, her fans, along with the rest of us who listened to her music while growing up while never really knowing who she is, on Apr. 5.

She had the stage all to herself for almost three hours at her "Aut Nihilo" tour, which will continue to take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Apr. 6, 12, and 13.

By no means was it a perfect show. There was one moment when we half expected her to sit up in the bed, suspended above the stage, to start singing, but the bed was mysteriously lowered back onto the stage, where there was a brief pause before Sun started singing.

There was another, when Sun went off-stage to get closer to the fans while singing "I Am Fine", but spent a tad too much time with them and ended up having to sing half of the next song while still making her rounds.

But it's the fact that she took all these in her stride, and belted out track after track, that made it even more impressive.

"I think she's in even better condition than she was 10 years ago," we overheard fans discussing excitedly after the show. "I felt goosebumps the moment she started singing 'Turbo'."

And then there were the fans who burst into tears the moment they heard Sun sing. "I grew up listening to her songs, and I'm finally an adult who can earn enough money to buy tickets to her show," one fan told us.

Fans from all over the world, including some apparently from New York and Sichuan, flew in just to witness Sun take the stage again.

If you ask Sun, however, she's very much just like you and I — except, she's better at singing.

During the show, she shared:

"I've been living a very ordinary life [...] Every day, I worry about what my kids should eat, and what us adults should eat. [That's what] I worry about. I flip through the newspapers, and watch Netflix. I realised that I'm actually very ordinary. I'm not particularly smart, neither am I particularly talented — except in singing.

But I admit that I have a bit of wilfulness in me — I want to live the life I want to live. I think, regardless of what we choose, be it the most dazzling or most ordinary, what we're seeking is a better version of ourselves."

Top photos courtesy of Make Music