Three-member pop and dance group Gina is keen to make M-pop the new buzzword, writes Loong Wai Ting
WHEN Gina first broke into the local music scene, many didn’t see it lasting in the industry for long. But the Malaysian pop and dance group, whose name also means “child” in Hokkien, proved its critics wrong.
The group comprises Toro, Shuai P (real name Hui Chee Jack) and Jing Ling (Chan Lu Yi).
Gina has just released its first studio album, Player, recently. “We’ve known each other for more than seven years. But with Gina we want more people to know us,” said the leader of the group, Toro, whose real name is Ang Yee Siang.
Following the same music style of Korean and Japanese pop, Gina, however, has the upper hand when it comes to presenting themselves. “Our music is very catchy and upbeat. We try to stay away from doing the same thing over and over again,” he added.
However, the group isn’t without its critics. Formed in 2008, the group released its first EP, V Are Here and was immediately criticised for being too K-Pop.
“People accused us of copying Korean pop artistes. They left negative comments on our Facebook fanpage, but we took these in our stride and wanted to prove them wrong,” said Shuai P. “If Korea has its own K-Pop music, why can’t we have Malaysian pop or M-pop? And that’s what Gina is set to do. It’s a learning process for us and I believe it will take us far someday,” he added.
From building its own set for La Dam Boom (the first single from Player) music video and directing it, the three consider themselves all-rounders. “We managed to put everything together using what little we had, partly because we want to challenge ourselves to see how far we can go,” said Toro. “We started with nothing and slowly we worked our way up.”
At the Press conference, the trio also showed off their singing and dancing skills prior to the preview of their La Dam Boom, Nevermind and Never Stop Dancing music videos. “We are new to the industry and we just want to gather as much experience as we could,” he said.
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