Doing It Ke-way

A career that doesn’t have regular hours is both a boon and a bane when it comes to raising your child, but Tay Kewei shares how she’s managing so far.

- Tay Kewei

Dressed simply in a denim jumpsuit and armed with an easy smile, what immediately strikes me about Tay Kewei is how genuine the air about her is. We chit-chat while settling down for our interview and she grouses good-naturedly about how her son kept her up all night with his restlessness; the friendly manner in which she speaks makes me feel like I’m chatting with an old friend rather than an accomplished singer-songwriter that I’m meeting for the first time.

Hearing her dulcet tones in her earlier pieces, it might come as a surprise to find out that Kewei only started singing during her university days in her third year; she got her big break when she was selected to be David Tao’s backing vocalist in his world tour, and went on to tour with other Chinese pop stars including Wang Lee Hom, A-Mei, and JJ Lin. She also joined local singing competition Project SuperStar, making it into the top 24 but unfortunately had to withdraw due to conflicting schedules.

Since then, Kewei has truly come into her own, having released three full-length albums and held two successful concerts. She’s also performed at various events such as the National Day Parade, SEA Games, and the ASEAN-China Friendship Concert at Beijing TV Centre. With these under her belt, the songstress has also garnered a strong fan base on Instagram with more than 50k followers.

For all her success, Kewei remains sincere and affable and is not above sharing about her shortcomings as a parent or the challenges she’s met along the way. She doesn’t see the need to posture herself as the perfect mum who has it all together. 17 months into this journey, she’s happy to keep trying to find what’s best for little Momo – a nickname coined by Kewei and her husband Alfred Sim for their son.