Jayley and Hayley Woo taking baby steps into K-pop?

Photos: Tammi Tan
Video: Foong Mien Shi, Genice Ooi

After appearing in film That Girl in Pinafore and travel variety series Family Wanders together, twin sisters Jayley Woo and Hayley Woo will be taking on their first stage collaboration with CHEF: Bibimbap vs Chilli Crab, a unique live theatrical performance directed by NANTA creator Choi Chul Ki.

The action-comedy musical – an original Resorts World Sentosa production – features two teams of chefs singing, dancing and beat-boxing their way through an intense cook-off of cuisines from different countries. Jayley and Hayley will be taking turns to play Cutie Chef, a bubbly pink-clad soprano in pigtails.

According to the 25-year-olds, they learned about the casting call for CHEF from the writer of Family Wanders, and they both auditioned separately for the roles of Sexy Chef and Cutie Chef. However, their images and vocal ranges were deemed more suitable for Cutie Chef, and they will be tag-teaming as Hayley has filming in June and Jayley has a production in July (the show runs from June 10 to July 22).

When asked if they find it a pity that they won’t actually be sharing the stage together, Jayley shared that just being able to go to South Korea for training with her sibling “is a blessing”. The girls will jet off to kimchi land on May 1 – or earlier, depending on their schedules – for a month of rehearsals.

Now that they’ve nailed down the valuable chance to train in the birthplace of the Hallyu wave, this begs the question: could their involvement in CHEF be a stepping stone to a K-pop career?

“Oh, we do not know,” said Hayley coyly. “Because from what I’ve heard, we’re also going to be performing one or two shows for the Korean audience, and we don’t know who’s going to come. Perhaps someone from YG, SM or JYP Entertainment will see us and go, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to sign her!’ You never know! (laughs)” The idea of our own showbiz twins becoming label mates with the likes of BIGBANG, EXO and GOT7 is certainly something we can get behind.

Woo Young Wook, Jayley Woo, Choi Chul Ki, Hayley Woo and Ko Eun Hee

But in the meantime, Jayley and Hayley will be busy worrying about their singing skills for CHEF. “Ko Eun Hee unnie (who plays Sexy Chef) has 15 years of classical music background, while we were in the secondary school choir 10 years ago,” said Jayley with a wince.

Avid KTV patron Hayley added, “Karaoke singing and musical singing is so different! For KTV, you can just turn up the volume and echo so you don’t have to use much strength, but for this, you have to use your diaphragm and everything.”

At least they have each other to rely on for encouragement and help. For instance, as Jayley revealed, “Hayley’s tempo is [too fast] but her pitch is more accurate, so we take turns correcting each other.”

With the both of them taking on the same character, are they worried about comparisons and being pitted against each other (as is bound to happen with famous siblings)? Hayley shrugged, saying, “We’ve been compared ever since we were born so we’re used to it. It’s normal.”

The cast gives the media a preview of their performance at the press conference

CHEF: Bibimbap vs Chilli Crab runs from June 10 to July 22 at Resorts World Theatre on selected nights at 8pm and selected weekend matinees at 2pm. Tickets are priced at S$118, S$98, S$78, S$48 and S$38 (excluding booking fees) and are available on SISTIC and the Resorts World Theatre Box Office.