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#Showbiz: Kelly, Sachie and Alesia — more than just 'soul sisters'

APTLY naming themselves Tiga Soul for their mutual love of soul music, singers Kelly Siew, Sachie Amira and Alesia Dhana do not merely sing covers of American divas' greatest hits.

The three best friends, who formed their vocal harmony group six years ago, also create their own music, act in musicals and coach young musical talent in schools and colleges.

JOANNE KAM SHOW

In a recent interview, Siew, 40, from Bintulu, Sarawak, said they first worked together after performing in a cabaret show that starred popular comedienne Joanne Kam.

"Actually, all three of us have been in the local music scene for a decade or so. But that meeting brought us together as a group as we believed that it would enhance our presence in the competitive music industry."

DISNEY STAR SEARCH

Siew and Kuala Lumpur-born Sachie, 31, have always dreamt of becoming successful singers, and Ipoh girl Alesia, 30, starred in musical theatre as a teenager and participated in Disney Star Search 2005.

"I have been in singing competitions since I was 7, and my father, who is a great vocal coach, trained me," said Siew, whose favourite song is The Moon Represents My Heart by Teresa Teng.

Sachie, who entered several singing competitions during her secondary school days, was heavily influenced by Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez.

Her favourite song is Bila Resah by Anuar Zain.

"My mother encouraged me to sing, and she is my biggest fan," said Sachie, who is of Japanese, Korean, Indonesian and Malay ancestry.

MEDICAL GRADUATE

Siew is a medical graduate from Melbourne, Australia, but swapped her stethoscopes for microphones to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a recording artiste.

"I practised as a doctor for three years, but I had to pursue my dream and it was 'killing' me not being able to do so full-time. So I decided to take a gap year and moved from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur and a gap year became many years and here we are."

MUSICAL THEATRE

Alesia, whose favourite song is Have You Ever by Brandy, graduated from The Urdang Academy in London with a diploma in Musical Theatre and a degree in Musical Theatre from the University of Surrey.

An actress, singer and model, Alesia is a vocal coach at Sri Emas International School and MITstem International School.

"I'm also a vocal coach for the musical Get on Your Feet that will be playing on March 11," she said, adding that being a vocal coach helped her grow as a performer.

BACKUP SINGER

Sachie, who has been a backup singer for Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza and Ning Baizura, and also opened for Girls Generation's concert eight years ago, said Tiga Soul had its first major showcase in the Riuh Festival 2021.

"It was held at the Sentul Depot. There were lots of great local acts and the crowd was amazing," she said, adding that the three of them could sing in Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, English and Portuguese.

"We will be launching our first full acapella single by the end of this month, and it will be our first Malay and English song. We have another one planned for mid-year too."

FOOD BLOGGER

Do they have other talents besides singing?

"Yes, we play the piano and violin, and I can also tap dance and Kelly is a great cook and food blogger," said Sachie.

Which international singer is their dream duet partner?

"Give me Sam Smith or Adele any day," said Siew.

"I'm all for Khalil Fong or Jeremy Passion," said Alesia.

"Girls Generation or better still, Ariana Grande," said Sachie.

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