Zoe Tay, Rebecca Lim, Kym Ng, Pan Lingling take on piano battle to raise funds

Photos: Camelia Ting
Video: Zhang Jiahao

For the Lions Charity Show 2016, to be televised on January 24 on Channel 8, local actresses Zoe Tay, Rebecca Lim, Kym Ng and Pan Lingling will be putting up a musical performance, a piano battle against four schoolchildren aged 7 to 9.

But instead of the standard uprights or grands, the quartet will be duelling on a custom-made instrument specially flown in from Taiwan, a coin-operated appliance that sounds a note only when change is slotted into it at the correct spot.

“This is different from the pianos we play by striking the keys,” Kym said. “Through slotting in coins to play music, we hope to encourage the audience to donate generously.”

The unique item will consist of three tunes, one of which is quite tough, according to Zoe. “We’ll leave it to Rebecca to handle it — she knows piano so she’ll be fine,” she said.

Unlike the others, the Queen of Caldecott Hill said she has no knowledge of or background in music, so the performance will demand extra coordination among the four actresses. Kym said, “The rest of us have to pay attention to when it’s our turn to slot in coins and fill in for Zoe if she messes up!”

Zoe shot back, “I’ll go for music remedial classes, and during the show you’d better not make any mistakes!”

Stars avenue
The first large-scale charity programme of the year, the Lions Charity Show 2016 will be held at The Theatre @ Mediacorp at 1 Stars Avenue. The event will bring together senior citizens, local stars and international celebrities in a bid to raise $3.7 million for the Lions Befrienders and the Lions Home for the Elders, with the bulk of the beneficiaries being members of the Pioneer Generation.

Local performers will be divided into two teams — with Lee Teng and Pornsak as leaders — to compete in terms of how much they can raise, while international artistes can pick which team to pledge their items to.

Quan Yifong and Guo Liang will host the live telecast, and stars on the roster include Shane Pow, Jeffrey Xu, Jeremy Chan, Ben Yeo and GeTai Challenge finalists Desmond Ng, Hao Hao, Zhu Li Li, Li Bao En, Sherraine Law, Cheng Ze Xiu Ping, Xie Wei Na and 2Z.

Celebs from Hong Kong and Taiwan include 80s singers Su Rui and Anna Lin (who’s slated to sing a duet with Singapore’s own Marcus Chin), jazz-pop singer-songwriter Yen-J, and Cantopop veterans Johnny Yip and Susanna Kwan.

Pornsak will put up a medley of songs in dialect with his 92-year-old father and the choir from the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan.

Lee Teng and Ben Yeo will form the band Daddy’s Good Boy, putting up a song and dance and performing Lee Teng’s first self-penned rap tune, ‘Just Believe.’

It took Lee Teng two weeks to write the lyrics, which are mainly about doing charitable acts. And asked whether he had consulted Ian Fang — who released his debut rap single, ‘First Attempt,’ last December — on songwriting, Lee Teng said, “I did invite him (to participate), but he’s busy with filming so he hasn’t the time.”

Lions Charity Show 2016 roadshow held on January 16, 2–4 pm at Bugis+
Live telecast of Lions Charity Show 2016 airs Sunday, January 24, 7 pm on Channel 8, with a repeat broadcast on January 31, 3 pm.

Telepoll donation hotlines are open from now until January 31, 11.59 pm.
• 1900 112 0010 ($10)
• 1900 112 0020 ($20)
• 1900 112 0050 ($50)

This story first appeared on toggle.sg/ch
Story by Camelia Ting

Related:
Catch up on episodes of the GeTai Challenge
Desmond Ng : I thought I was Jay Chou!
Is flamboyant Getai star, Hao Hao the new Lady Gaga? We think so
Ian Fang aspires to a career as a rap artist