S1E18: How a viral song made Singaporean singer Regina Song famous

Hear from home-grown singer Regina Song, one of the most streamed Singapore artistes in the past year. Synopsis: Synopsis (headphones recommended): The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio. In this special episode of Music Lab, ST’s music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts Regina Song, one of the most streamed Singapore artistes in the past year. The 21-year-old first encountered fame when her 2024 song, The Cutest Pair, went viral on TikTok. A song from her debut album Fangirl, it has since garnered 54 million streams on Spotify alone. But as she discusses in the podcast interview, the singer wants to be more than just a one-hit wonder. She has been working on new songs and performed two of her newest tunes, Before I Leave and Midsummer Mansion, live on the podcast. In the interview, Song talks about her relationship with social media and how it plays a huge role in how she operates as an artiste. She also discusses the challenges of being a full-time music musician in Singapore, including the lack of a structured system for rising artistes. This episode was recorded and filmed in front of a live audience of some 90 ST readers on October 7 at Esplanade Annexe Studio, as part of the ST Podcast Live! Sessions celebrating 180 years of The Straits Times in 2025. Highlights (click/tap above): 10:23 How an old laptop and piano lessons set her on the path to music 17:30 On how The Cutest Pair made her one of the most streamed Singaporean artistes 23:13 The pros and cons of social media for a singer 28:46 Revealing personal details in confessional lyrics 33:03 The lack of a structured system for rising artistes in Singapore 38:04 A desire to headline bigger festivals and help other musicians pursue their dreams Watch the full performance and podcast on YouTube: https://str.sg/JdzuV Listen to Regina Song’s live performance of Before I Leave & Midsummer Mansion here: https://str.sg/MbDc Discover home-grown artiste Regina Song at: YouTube: https://str.sg/ieaZ Spotify: https://str.sg/o2WPs Instagram: https://str.sg/9PLo Read Eddino Hadi's articles: https://str.sg/wFVa Host: Eddino Abdul Hadi ([email protected]) Produced by: ST Podcast Team & ST Outreach & Engagement Team Edited by: Hadyu Rahim Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong Discover previous artistes' live performances featured on Music Lab Podcast: Channel: https://str.sg/7m92 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/w9TB Spotify: https://str.sg/w9T6 Feedback to: [email protected] --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX -- #musiclabSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.