SHE released her first single The Moment in 2013, and first set foot in Hollywood representing the country in the World Championship Of Performing Arts (WCOPA) 2010.
At WCOPA 2010, she bagged four gold medals, including the Hollywood Industry Award and Champion Of The World Senior Division Award.
Cheryl Koh Shao May, 22, from Shah Alam, is back in Los Angeles now and has finally put her name on the American music map, courtesy of Crazy Rich Asians.
Cheryl, who goes by her stage name Cheryl K, is the voice behind the star-studded new film's theme song Money, and is the first artiste to sing this Motown cover version in English and Chinese.
A business administration graduate with a minor in music industry, she auditioned for the job of singing the theme while at the University of Southern California last year.
She sent the producers of the film, Warner Bros, a brief video of herself singing Jessie J's Mama Knows Best a cappella style.
Below is a recent interview with Cheryl, who aspires to perform in international music events such as the Grammys someday.
TELL US ALL ABOUT YOUR SONG FOR THE MOVIE CRAZY RICH ASIANS
I sing Money as the opening title and ending credits.
The song is cheeky and fun — it talks about how badly you want and need money, despite having everything else.
It’s actually a very old Motown song sung by Barrett Strong, written by Janie Bradford and Berry Gordy Jr.
It has since been popularised by The Beatles and Bruno Mars.
The version I sing is written in Mandarin and English, which makes it special.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO RECORD FOR A MAJOR FILM FOR THE FIRST TIME?
It feels like a dream come true. It has always been on my bucket list to hear my voice in a big theatre and see my name scroll up during the end credits of a movie. Never did I imagine it would come so soon in a blockbuster movie.
I’ve never been more proud to be Asian and to be able to sing in both Mandarin and English.
TELL US ABOUT THE MUSIC VIDEO AND WORKING WITH YOUR WORLD-CLASS PRODUCTION TEAM. HOW DID WCOPA HELP YOU COME THIS FAR?
Working with them on a movie feels so surreal. Awkwafina recorded her rap separately from me because she was in New York at the time for the Oceans 8 movie which she was starring in.
I got to finally meet her in person during one of the photoshoots together with the other cast members.
I had so much fun working with music producer Cheapshot, his The Math Club team, as well as director Jon M Chu.
Jon gave me a lot of pointers and tips on how he wanted me to sing the song.
I remember him saying, “Cheryl, I want you to growl as much as you can and sing with your greatest energy because I want people to feel like they want to jump out of their seats during the opening of the movie.”
We also took many fun photos and boomerangs together inside the recording booth.
The whole Warner Bros crew was also there shooting behind the scenes footages of me while I was recording.
I recall it was just me, one person, singing inside the booth with a few cameraman around me and about 10 others outside watching me.
I was only 14 in WCOPA and I knew I had so much more to learn and grow but I always kept that hunger and love for singing.
WCOPA helped me improve and challenge myself on an international level — to keep working on my craft and striving to be the best.
I also got to meet many talented friends from all over the world whom I am still in touch with.
We support each other and I believe this plays a significant role in our success.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE MOMENT? TELL US ABOUT YOUR STUDIES AND WORK IN THE US
I graduated in May and since the movie was released, I have been occupied with interviews, photoshoots, and attending publicity screenings.
I also have been working on some side projects with my music and talking to a few producers who are interested in working with me.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR MEETING WITH THE STARS OF THE FILM. DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE MAIN STARS?
I got to meet and talk to Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh, Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Ken Jeong, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Jimmy O Yang, Ronny Chieng, Chris Pang, Nico Santos, Jing Lusi, Sonoya Mizuno, Kevin Kwan (author of book), Tan Kheng Hua, and Janice Koh.
I managed to get photos with all of them.
They also recognised the song, Money from the movie and complimented that I was very talented.
I was starstruck and humbled by this whole experience.
I had a photoshoot with the main cast, and met the rest at a comedy show they were doing and the red carpet premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
I had a really good conversation with Ken and Michelle. Ken was so humble and friendly — he actually came up to me to introduce himself which really surprised me because I was about to go fangirl on him.
Both Michelle and Ken also asked about my background, passion for music, and were very encouraging.
When I met Henry and told him that I had once reached out to him via Instagram, he was like, “You’re the singer, right?”
They are all very inspiring people and living proof that hard work doesn’t go to waste.
NOW THAT YOU HAVE SUNG THE THEME FOR A MOVIE, DO YOU AIM TO PERFORM THE THEMES FROM FUTURE MOVIES AND TV SERIES LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY?
Yes, I’d love to sing more songs for future movies and TV series.
I was actually requested to submit another demo to Warner Bros for one of its upcoming movies. I am just hoping for the best and am open to other opportunities that come my way.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR COMPOSING AND SONGWRITING
I recently posted a performance of an original song I wrote called, Purpose on Facebook and it went viral, with over 2,700 reactions, 1,600 shares, and 75,000 views.
That surprised me because messages kept pouring in from people all over the world who shared how much that song meant to them or made them cry.
Honestly, that is the best feeling any singer-songwriter can get when we know that our songs can move and inspire others.
Yes, I wish to continue writing more of my own songs and have them professionally produced soon so I can have my own EP or album playing on radios or future movies.
ANY PRODUCERS, COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS YOU DREAM OF WORKING WITH NOW THAT YOU ARE IN THE US?
I wish to work with people like Bruno Mars, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Mark Ronson, Scooter Braun, Ellen DeGeneres and David Foster one day.
I also dream of having my own concert at Madison Square Garden or win a Grammy award in the future.
DO YOU PLAN TO MAKE APPEARANCES IN FILMS OR TV PROGRAMMES IN FUTURE OR WILL YOU STRICTLY REMAIN A SINGER-SONGWRITER?
I am actually interested in acting as well and was one of the extras in the upcoming Warner Bros film, A Star Is Born, co-starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper so I had the privilege of working and talking to them on set.
This was filmed earlier last year and it was my first time working on a Hollywood movie set.
I have since been acting and writing scripts for funny relatable viral online short skits which got featured on pages like 9Gag and LadBible, accumulating over 60 million views.
Some are called Short People Problems, Tall People Advantages, and What It’s Like to Be Sisters. Most of them are posted on my Facebook Page,Cheryl K.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR COMING PROJECTS. ANY MAJOR COLLABORATIONS? ANY WISH LIST?
I am in negotiation with a potential recording label in the US.
I am also waiting to hear back from other projects I am working on and will definitely share news when things are more solidified.