Single, attractive and certainly talented, Shirlyn Tan, 31, claims she hasn’t heard a pickup line in a while. But recently, the lead singer of renowned local band the UnXpected has had much to be pleased about.

Her debut solo album, Newfound Jealousy has been well received since its April release. If anything, the 2 out of 3 awards (Best Local Song and Best Breakout Band) that she bagged at the Power 98 Singapore Music Awards on 25 July proves just how successful she is in the local music scene. She also inked her first endorsement deal with Sennheiser in Feb. More recently, Shirlyn clinched her second endorsement deal just last month with Ovation Guitars.

Shirlyn’s petite frame reveals no hint of her capabilities as a rocker. It’s this combination of powerful vocals, charismatic performances and jesting comments onstage that has been drawing crowds to the band’s regular gigs at Wala Wala, Balaclava and Timbré for 4 years now.

Despite her busy schedule, Shirlyn Tan manages to squeeze in time for a chat with Urbanwire before prepping for a gig with her band at Wala Wala. True to her rock chick persona (except for one instant when Cleo magazine dared her to wear a bright pink dress for a gig), she was dressed in a casual black tee and jeans, with sassy hair styled by Toni and Guy to complete the look. Looking evidently tired, Shirlyn appeared withdrawn for most of the interview, unlike her sprightly onstage persona (she was nicknamed Spunky for a reason).

“I think I am a little bit more outspoken on stage than in person. I would say that my personality is amplified when I am on stage, I’m pretty laid back when I’m not,” she explained.

Having been singing at various pubs for 10 years now, Shirlyn’s passion for music is beyond doubt. She always knew she wanted to do music since she was 17. “I watched a live band and knew that was what I wanted to do. I fell in love with [performing],” she said.

As the subject of her new album was brought up, Shirlyn became more candid. On the meaning behind the term “Newfound Jealousy” from the title track, she said, “it [was in] reference to a person, a so called new love. For me, it’s when you have that person that you want for yourself and you’re not actually with that person yet. So it’s something to be jealous about when that person’s not with you or with some other people.”

As opposed to her usual performances with the band where she feels “responsible” to please the crowd, Shirlyn describes her experience in producing her own album as something she needs to be contented with to be sharing with others. “[The album] is like telling my own story in a way,” she mused.

Through these songs, Shirlyn hopes to touch other people’s lives. “Most fulfilling thing about performing is being able to touch someone’s life,” she said after a moment of thought. And touching lives, she has.

When her album was just released, there was a contest on her official website for individuals to submit a post on which song from the album meant the most to them and why, for a pair of Sennheiser ear phones. According to her, the winning post was by this lady who explained how the line “Somewhere in the crowd I heard him call me” reminded her of her late father who used to sing to her. The emotion from this post was so strong that Shirlyn reacted with tears. “It was very touching. I cried when I read it and told Chris (her manager), ‘This is the winner.’”

You can’t tell from album, but things didn’t always go swimmingly well during the production of the album. Somewhere towards the end of the production of the album, their worst nightmare happened – the hard drive crashed. “A lot of things went through my head when it happened, but the first thing was to find the right person to fix it,” Shirlyn admitted. Fortunately, after a short delay, they managed to find the right person for the job and retrieved the files for the album. Even with this major glitch, they managed to complete the album in about 5 months.

Unlike the rock-influenced covers that the UnXpected usually play, Shirlyn’s album is mellower and swings to the pop genre. Being her first album, she describes it as “a gentle introduction” to those who have yet to watch the band perform. Those expecting (excuse the pun) Shirlyn to stick to the familiar grounds of rock will have to wait for her sophomore album, which is still in talks. “Hopefully the next album can go a little harder,” she said with glee.

Catch Shirlyn’s free concert, Lunchbox: Rebirth: Shirlyn’s Newfound Jealousy at the Esplanade on 25 Sep.