With the likes of Uber and Grab muscling into their food delivery turf, early movers such as Deliveroo and foodpanda are raising the ante.
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Food delivery fever: What does the future hold for players?
National Gallery Singapore receives millionth visitor
SINGAPORE – National Gallery Singapore on Saturday (June 18) received its millionth visitor seven months into its opening.
Mr Ricky Chia, 47, was welcomed with much fanfare, in the presence of Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, who…
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More than S$100,000 worth of drugs seized in CNB bust
In total, CNB officers seized about 1.1kg of heroin, 150g of ‘Ice’ and a slab of Erimin-5 tablets.
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Remember Greyson Chance? Here are 50 things to remind you who he is
Who is Greyson Chance?
Six years ago, he was the 12-year-old kid with the big voice who got famous when a YouTube video of him singing Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi went viral online. Now Chance – who turns 18 in August – is ready for another, well, chance at stardom, but this time, without the help of the Internet fame machine. He will be in Malaysia to promote the release of his latest EP Somewhere Over My Head, which he described as his reintroduction to the music scene.
“It reflects how far I’ve come since 2010,” he said during a phone interview from Los Angeles. In the meantime, here’s a list of 50 things about the singer that you may or may not know.
1. Chance was born on Aug 16, 1997 in Wichita Falls, Texas, but grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma.
2. He is the youngest of three siblings. His sister Alexa and brother Tanner are both musicians as well.
3. Chance began playing the piano at age 8, and carried on lessons for three years. He can also play the ukelele.
4. The recording of Chance performing Paparazzi while playing the piano at his elementary school’s music festival was first posted on his YouTube account (greyson97) on April 28, 2010.
5. Views were initially stagnant for two weeks, and Chance told Star2 that he had not expected the three-minute recording to create any sort of buzz.
6. It was his brother Tanner who wrote to television personality Ellen DeGeneres and suggested that she watch the Paparazzi cover video. That’s how DeGeneres first came to see the video.
7. At that time, the video only had about 10,000 views. That changed when DeGeneres shared a link to the video on her Twitter account (@TheEllenShow).
8. DeGeneres was not the only famous fan. American radio personality Ryan Seacreast tweeted: “u cant really go wrong singing @ladygaga with a @justinbieber haircut”. Cue various media publications calling Chance the next Justin Bieber (More on the so-called rivalry between Chance and Bieber later).
9. Chance made his first appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 13, 2010. At that time, the video already had eight million views.
10. During the show, he told DeGeneres that he has never had any singing lessons.
11. Why a Lady Gaga song? Chance is a huge Little Monster. “She’s probably my number one inspiration. She takes her individuality, and she takes the amazing talent that she has and she makes just great songs that are catchy and they make you want to dance and maybe throw out some Ellen moves,” he told DeGeneres.
12. The biggest surprise for Chance while taping the show was a phone call from Mother Monster herself. The pop singer congratulated Chance on his newfound fame and advised him not to be nervous about the show, saying. “You already won over everybody’s hearts.” She also told him to “Be focused and stay away from girls.”
13. Speaking of girls, Chance, who had written two songs at the time, told DeGeneres that one of them (Broken Hearts) was about two girls who well, broke his heart. DeGeneres quipped: “Look what’s happening to you now. Now they’re sorry!”
14. After his performance was broadcasted on television, more celebrities took notice, including Ashton Kutcher and American Idol 2008 runner-up David Archuleta.
15. After all the extensive media coverage, Chance finally set up his own official Twitter account (@greysonchance) on May 15, 2010. His first tweet was: “My first tweet! Thanks for all the support, follow me here so I can keep you updated on everything!”
16. Chance made a second appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show two weeks later. At that time, his Paparazzi video had garnered 30 million views, but he told DeGeneres that he hasn’t quite settled into his newfound viral fame yet.
17. During the show, DeGeneres surprised him by announcing that she is starting her own record label eleveneleven and signed Chance as his first artist.
18. She even posted this message on her official website www.ellentv.com: “I was so inspired by 12-year-old Greyson Chance that we decided to make a record together. I am starting my own record label called eleveneleven!”
19. Looking back at the moment DeGeneres discovered him and the media frenzy that followed along with sudden fame, Chance told Star2: “It was all happening too fast. I told myself to just live in the moment. Let’s just go with the flow.”
20. Chance was nominated as Choice Web Star in the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, and Favorite Viral Video Star at the 2011 People’s Choice Awards, but did not win either award.
21. Chance released his debut single Waiting Outside The Lines in Oct 2010.
22. His debut studio album Hold On ‘Til The Night came along in August 2011. The 10-track album peaked at No. 29 on the US Billboard 200.
23. Critics were not impressed though. Rolling Stone gave the album two stars with the review: “His handlers clearly hope he’s the next Bieber; sadly, there’s not an ounce of fun in him. Unfriend.”. New York Daily in its review said: “Chance fails to impress beyond YouTube Paparazzi video.”
24. Pop starlet Ariana Grande starred as Chance’s ex-girlfriend in the 2011 music video for his second single Unfriend You.
25. Bieber posted a link to Chance’s Unfriend You video with the comment: “keep it up bro.. voice sounds great bro keep it up”. Chance thanked Bieber for his the support in a retweet.
26. In Nov 2011, Chance was invited to perform at the Anugerah Industri Muzik, where he sang a Paparazzi duet with singer-songwriter/fellow YouTube sensation Najwa Latif, and also performed Waiting Outside The Lines.
27. Chance has a huge fanbase in Asia. He toured the region extensively throughout 2012, performing concerts in KL, Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.
28. That same year, he returned to Asia in November to promote his new five-track EP Truth Be Told Part 1.
29. After a whirlwind 24 months, Chance announced his departure from his label in January 2013. He tweeted: “It was a positive parting, for both of us, and I will always remember them as my first home and my first record label.”
30. In a raw and emotional Tumblr entry in 2014, Chance described what happened vividly: “During the writing of my second record, I got a call from my manager; my label of two years had just dropped me. They did not believe in me anymore and did not think that I was ‘economically’ an asset from them in the future. I was heartbroken.”
31. Being only 15 at that time, did Chance experience an emotional breakdown? He laughed and then said to Star2: “Not really. I was really fortunate to have a strong support system. I had my family and close friends. I moved on and focus on being a regular (high school) kid.”
32. He admitted that getting back into the music scene was a difficult decision to make: “It was very hard for me to think about going through everything again. Thankfully, I found a reason to fall in love with the music again.”
33. He credited his parents for being supportive about his return to the music scene: “They said ‘Do whatever makes you happy’. I think they were a little scared but I’m assured them that I will be okay.”
34. Chance is looking to redeem himself with latest EP Somewhere Over My Head, which features five songs.
35. At 18-years-old, Chance is no longer that cute baby-faced kid anymore. His voice is a lot deeper, and he is also a lot taller now too, at 185cm.
36. In November 2015, he made another appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote the new EP, and a teary DeGeneres said she’s very proud of him. He performed new single Afterlife.
37. He told Star2 that Afterlife was inspired by a close friend: “There’s a certain sadness in the song. I also thought the song is a bit selfish because it’s about wanting someone all to yourself.”
38. Current single Back To The Wall is a feel good anthem. He thinks it’s one of the most fun-sounding songs he ever wrote.
39. Piano ballad More Than Me was the hardest song to write for him. He sat on the chorus for a long time. The idea for the song came when he was driving at his hometown in Oklahoma. He said: “It reflects on my upbringing, all the good times and the bad.”
40 Speaking of driving, Chance is the proud owner of a vintage 1966 Ford Mustang car that he named Moses.
41. The release date for Somewhere Over My Head is May 13, the date of Chance’s first appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in 2010.
42. Chance said he would not change anything about his past: “I think it has made me who I am today.” But he can’t bring himself to watch the Paparazzi video, which now has over 56 million views. “No, just keep it away from me!” he said.
43. Chance loves Malaysian food and always looks forward to it whenever he stops by. “The food and, of course, all the friends I’ve made in Malaysia. I always have a good time in Malaysia.”
44. Speaking of coming back to Malaysia, besides the show at Menara Star, he will also be performing at Sunway Putra Mall in Kuala Lumpur on June 18 and Gurney Paragon Mall in Penang on June 22.
45. Chance has tried his hand at acting as well. His first ever role was in sitcom Raising Hope in 2011, in which he played a younger version of lead character Jimmy Chance.
46. Greyson Chance fans are called “Enhancers”, or “Greysonators”.
47. Chance is an avid reader who often share photos of books that he’s reading on Instagram.
48. He has a habit of penning his lyrics in his reading material, often with the excuse “ran out of paper”.
49. Chance’s first ever Instagram post on his account (@greysonchance) was a photo of himself at Kuching, Sarawak back in November 2012.
50. Chance’s advice to musicians like himself who experienced overnight fame and had to start all over again is: “Keep your head up. Just keep on going.” He also said: “Don’t do it for the fame.”
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New e-service to replace walk-in applications for Certificate Of Clearance
From Jun 21, 2016, applications for the Certificate Of Clearance must be made online.
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The bumpy road to a 'car-lite' Singapore
Getting around the country without a car is becoming increasingly convenient, but mindsets and the lack of space are possible roadblocks to Singapore being “car-lite” by 2030.
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Skipping meals and sleep, S'pore viewers can watch whole season in 3 days
Singapore is a world champion when it comes to binge-watching TV shows.
With DVDs and VCDs in the 2000s, viewers could finish watching entire seasons in a sitting. Now, online streaming options are keeping fans up at night.
In a recent study covering more than 190 countries, video streaming service Netflix found that Singapore’s subscribers devoured the entire first season of a TV series within three days – the global average is four.
Miss Nurfaizah Faizuwan, 21, told The New Paper she has been binge-watching TV shows since she was 14.
She said she can finish watching a Korean drama, which spans 16 to 20 hours, in just three days.
“I used to watch US TV shows on Channel 5. But the problem is that it broadcasts the shows very slowly,” she told The New Paper.
Her habit started with US shows Glee and The Vampire Diaries.
Miss Nurfaizah, who is waiting to begin her undergraduate studies at the Nanyang Technological University, said she has watched more than 40 TV shows over the years, and can spend seven hours a day binge-watching during the school holidays.
Now she binge-watches TV shows three days a week.
“Sometimes I’ll skip lunch and just continue watching. I’ll be so engrossed that I’ll forget about my hunger,” she said.
She also admitted she would snack on potato chips in front of the TV.
Nutritionist Fiona Chia said binge-watching TV shows can lead to a different type of bingeing later.
“Skipping meals intentionally allows the body to starve and feel deprived of energy. The individual would most likely feel over-hungry and tend to binge eat the next meal,” she said.
NEGATIVE
In a US study conducted last year by digital recording company TiVo, 30 per cent of the 42,000 respondents regarded binge-watching as a negative activity. Despite that, nine out of 10 admitted to doing it.
Miss Nurfaizah goes to bed as late as 3am during the school holidays, but said: “I stop watching when I know I’m tired. It’s not like I will forgo sleep.”
Dr Kenny Pang, a specialist at Asia Sleep Centre, said sleep deprivation is not just about feeling tired.
“(Sleep deprivation) affects one’s mood, concentration, focus and memory,” he said.
“It can even leave the patient short-tempered and irritable.
“The immune system would also be affected as the lack of sleep increases the cortisol level. As this causes suppression of the immune system, the patient might be more prone to colds and the flu.”
It’s not just a habit among the younger generation.
Madam Irene Wong, 56, spends up to 10 hours a day watching Korean and Hong Kong dramas.
Madam Wong, who works part-time in administration at a tuition centre, told TNP: “When I’m cooking a simple dinner or ironing clothes, I watch Hong Kong dramas because I just need to listen. I don’t really have to look at the screen.
“But for Korean dramas, I have to focus on the subtitles, so I will only watch them when I’m done with all my household chores.”
She watches dramas such as The Royal Gambler, Descendants Of The Sun and Oh My Venus.
Madam Wong, who has watched more than 100 TV dramas over the last 16 years, said: “I sleep at 6am if I’m really rushing to finish a show, but I will make sure that I have nothing on the next day.
“On days when I have to work, I will sleep between 2am and 3am.”
Mr Anson Tan, general manager of new media at PCCW Singapore, which launched streaming service Viu, said: “We see a mix of fans on our platform. There are those who chase dramas as they air, and those who prefer to wait for the entire series to end before they start watching – and these fans can finish it in one to two days.”
tracylow@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on June 18, 2016.
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S'pore couple spend $8,000 a month to house 450 dogs in Johor Baru shelter
In a small clearing off Bukit Tiram in Johor Baru, Singaporean couple Logan Nathan and Malathi Suppayan, both 49, run a sanctuary for stray dogs.
Located a 30-minute drive from the Causeway, the 0.6ha land is a shelter for about 450 dogs rescued from animal pounds and the streets.
It all started 10 years ago, when Mr Nathan first met his wife.
She loved dogs and frequently took in strays from the streets.
Mr Logan said they would take in strays that were too vulnerable to survive on their own.
It came to a point where their four-room Marsiling flat housed 18 dogs, so they decided to move to a bigger space.
“We felt that the dogs should not be crammed within the four walls of a flat. They deserve to have the freedom to roam,” said Madam Malathi.
That was how the Esa Animal Shelter in JB was born.
“I think this is God’s calling for me,” said Mr Logan, who used to be a private tutor.
Madam Malathi said: “Our vision is to reduce the number of stray dogs on the streets and to do what we can to help them.”
STAFF
The couple hired three full-time staff to help out with the chores at the shelter.
Every day, the staff feed 150kg of kibble to the dogs, wash each enclosure at least once, and clean up after the dogs thrice.
The couple, who have no children, admitted that it is hard to run the shelter.
The shelter costs $8,000 a month to operate and that does not include the dogs’ medical costs.
Their main source of income comes from their part-time jobs – Mr Logan works as a night-shift security supervisor while Madam Malathi does freelance legal research work in Singapore. They visit the shelter twice a week.
They also use public donations and the rent they collect for a room in their Marsiling flat.
The couple have linked the four-year-old shelter up with other animal welfare groups to raise awareness on strays, as well as coordinate rescue efforts.
While the dogs in the shelter are up for adoption, Mr Logan ensures that the adopter is well-prepared and committed to take care of the dog.
He also has a list of requirements, including taking the dog for medical check-ups and vaccinations.
“In the sixth month, they have to bring the dogs for a stay-in at the vet,” said Mr Logan.
“I want to ensure that the dogs will have a good life and not be abandoned again.”
The couple hope their shelter will be able to give these strays a new lease of life, and create more awareness of their plight.
Mr Logan said: “We have faced many struggles to get to where we are today, but I want to be the voice of the voiceless and to help the strays in whatever way that I can.”
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The New Paper
mgovin@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on June 18, 2016.
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Ben Tan re-elected as President of Singapore Sailing Federation
Dr Tan, who was first elected to office in 2010, said in his speech that this would be his last term as President.
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Sea Horse 8% OFF Storewide & 35% to 50% off Selected Items from 17 – 20 Jun 2016
Sea Horse 8% off storewide till 20 June & 35% to 50% off selected items till 30 June
Sea Horse 8% OFF Storewide & 35% to 50% off Selected Items from 17 – 20 Jun 2016
Sea Horse is having a Hari Raya promotion featuring 8% OFF storewide promotion till 20 June 2016 and 35% to 50% off selected products
