Edward Paul Chia
Whenever someone used to utter the sentence, “there are good English SINGERS (here’s the emphasis) in Singapore.” My mind would draw a blank; literally.
You see, after the fiascos called Singapore Idol 1 and 2 where Jerry Ong and Joakim Gomez drew my ire but certainly not my votes respectively, the only singer who could be technically labelled as “good” in my opinion was not, Taufik Batisah or Hady Mirza.
Fans of Singapore Idol, please don’t clamour to kill me. Yes I agree that the 2 winners are decent, but I don’t rate them highly, especially after I heard one of Taufik’s songs which sounded eerily like a National Day song. The song’s definitely not the duet “Reach Out For The Skies” with Rui En by the way.
Rather the good singer I had in mind was singer and songwriter Corrinne May, the lady who sang theme songs for Ch 5’s dramedy, Chase, back in 2004 like the unforgettable “Save me”.
Then by some luck, I managed to chance/stumble upon singer-songwriter, Shirlyn Tan’s first solo album, Newfound Jealousy, thanks to a recommendation from a local music advocate and close friend of mine. And well, at least the word “singer” applies now. 
For starters, like May, she isn’t exactly as young as she appears to be. Actually she’s already 31-years-old. Hey, at least she’s got tonnes of experience (I’ll explain this part later) which has helped to create a pretty decent album.
But that’s where the similarity ends, because unlike May, this lady’s one cool rock chick with a great dose of class and complexity as well who’s path to her album differs greatly from the more angelic sounding May.
Her path to glory includes a 10-year stint in the local bar circuit, at establishments like Wala Wala (the drinking haven for my co-editors) with bands such as UnXpected. But that’s not all, have I mentioned that she was the opening act for Jason Mraz’s performance at the 2006 Mosaic Music Festival?
Anyway let’s get down to business. It’s been noted that when Tan sings, listeners are able to sense the emotions and raw energy that she’s able to emote (probably honed from her time as a singer on the circuit) from her music.
But at the same time, there’s also a certain degree of angst in her voice that has caused me and a few other listeners to liken her to Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette.
Newfound Jealousy which is a 10-track pop-rock album produced by Leonard Soosay (he’s worked on the albums for bands such as Parking Lot Pimp and Electrico), was composed entirely by Tan which adds another brownie point to her repertoire of skills.
Tan’s songs are generally written with an intense outpour of thought and have a great degree of depth to them which surely helps to provide a certain amount of colour to the album.
Personally, I generally hate albums which pay no heed to the variety of the songs in it. I feel that the idea of merely plonking the songs here and there to form a mismatched arrangement spoils the listener’s hearing experience.
So thankfully with Tan’s ability as a songwriter and Soosay as the producer, there seems to be a careful train of thought planned on the song arrangement in the album that makes for delightful listening on my part.
The album first starts off with a bang, before the tempo slows and then slowly but surely building up speed to end off on a high.
The first single, “Window“ like explained earlier is upbeat and catchy, and simply infectious, acting like a magnet, drawing me in and making me to want to hear more from the powerhouse Tan. 
And as the tempo slowed, one of the songs that stayed in my mind was the track, “You”, because it offers a very jazzy feel to the album, portraying a different side to the rocker and seriously showcases her versatility as a songwriter.
However, out of the 10 songs in the album, besides “You”, there is another track that warrants the listener want to listen over and over again.
The song’s none other than the lead single on the album, “Newfound Jealousy”, which is focused exactly on what the title suggests; jealousy. Its not one of the faster paced songs, but Tan’s emotions in this piece is particularly evident and the song definitely shows a vulnerable side of Tan as well.
And as the end draws nigh, Tan gets back to her roots ands closes the album with the song, “Walk Away”. With its more rock liked quick tempo influence about lovers walking away and sweeping the past under the carpet, it’s generally a feel good piece that leaves listeners feeling satisfied.
All in all, the 10 years that Tan has spent traversing the bar scene seems to have done her a world of good. Her songs in Newfound Jealousy are well written, her powerful voice beautifuly showcases her work brilliantly, it’s made me rethink the negative perception that I once had of local singers.
To me, Tan with her original compositions, spunk and voice definitely offers something that’s been lacking in the local recording scene here for a long time which has since been filled with Singapore Idols and Idles (Olinda, I’m still waiting for your album after 3 years!)
Alas, so now whenever anyone asks about good Singaporean singers, I know that there is at least Shiryln Tan as well.
UrbanWire gives Newfound Jealousy 4 out of 5 stars.