20 interesting things to know about Stefanie Sun

Rumours started buzzing in 2011 when Stefanie attended a publicity event at Beijing sans her trademark mole — which was at the corner of her right eyelid. The sharp-eyed Chinese media immediately caught wind, and speculated that she removed it because she wanted to have a Dragon baby. 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

In an interview with The New Paper, she confirmed that she had removed it permanently and felt relieved that she didn’t have to see it anymore every time she looked in the mirror. Asked whether it was because she wanted to increase her chances of conceiving a baby, she said, half in jest: “Yes, the great teacher in the hidden mountains of the Himalayas also said I would be even more popular than ever, have super smart triplets, a very smooth pregnancy and a long-lasting marriage filled with much bliss and happiness”. She adds: “Just as long as I remove a piece of flesh atop my right eye.”

Fun fact: She gave birth to a baby boy in Oct 2012. Coincidence?

At a time when it was rare (we mean impossible) for well-known international labels to sign local artistes, Warner Music Group in Singapore decided to make an exception for Stefanie. Its then-managing director, Kathleen Tan, said in an interview with The New Paper that “Stefanie Sun has sheer talent that money can’t buy”. She adds: “If I, as the managing director, and my counterpart in Taiwan didn’t believe in that talent, she would not be what she is today.”

It was also thanks to Stefanie’s mentors Lee Wei Song and Lee Si Song that she got her big break — they were the ones who approached Warner Music Singapore for a recording contract in 1999. Stefanie was taking lessons at the Lee Wei Song School of Music at the time.

With a down-to-earth demeanour and a raw, fresh-faced girl-next-door appeal, Stefanie was no conventional starlet. The label decided to introduce her in a more creative manner, by cutting a sample of her song, Cloudy Sky, and getting it played on music-linked websites and Warner Music’s official homepage.

Little was revealed except for the singer’s name and the song title, and it was accompanied by a tagline, “There’s never been before a 22-year-old singer like this girl”, according to Kathleen Tan. The song was played continuously and it went viral, piquing people’s interest. The rest, is history.

In 2000, a man apparently stormed an autograph session and tried to hold Stefanie hostage with a gun. He rushed on stage, grabbed Stefanie and fired a shot in the air at the Sogo Department Store in Chungli, a town near Taipei. Security guards reportedly subdued the man, suspected to be mentally ill, and handed him to the police.

The Taiwan incident wasn’t Stefanie’s only brush with the wrong side of the law. In 2007, Stefanie and her crew were in Cairo shooting a music video when they were extorted by local gangsters masquerading as government officials. Eventually with the help of the Singaporean embassy, Stefanie, her mother and crew managed to leave Cairo safely.

In fact, the staff in a restaurant they went to couldn’t tell who was the real Stef, according to a hilarious Instagram post, in which she jokingly told them her sister was the real Stefanie. Her sister is, in fact, six years younger. They also have an elder sister. Stefanie’s sisters frequently appear on her social media posts, and have made appearances at her concerts.

In March 2011, Stefanie secretly registered her marriage to Dutch-Indonesian Nadim Van Der Ros, whom she had been dating for five years. He’s not in the entertainment industry — he’s the founder of Be An Idea, a brand strategy consultancy that facilitates better conversations for positive change. They have two children together.

Side note: Nadim, who is usually content to remain in the background, is not afraid to “defend” his wife’s honour when he has to. In 2015, when the City Harvest Church controversy erupted, he made a public service announcement on Facebook, clarifying that Stefanie is not Sun Ho. Singer Sun Ho is the wife of City Harvest Church founder, Kong Hee. “Just for the record and for my non-Chinese friends, this Sun Ho is neither a relation nor should be confused with my wife, Stefanie Sun or Sun Yanzi. My wife is a touch more successful in her singing career, infinitely more talented and beautiful, both inside and out,” he wrote. Awww.

Stefanie Sun rarely reveals the faces of her two children, preferring to keep that part of her life private (as it should be). They always appear from the back, side, or with their faces covered (pictured) with a cartoonish substitute or with something covering their faces. Interestingly, although she’s often seen out and about town with her son, there are no photos of them on the internet. Most recently during the circuit breaker, Stefanie also posted photos of how she had been passing time at home. She worked out with her daughter but never revealed her daughter’s face.

In an interview, she said she was very grateful that people here respect her privacy. “I do feel very lucky. It also made me realise that people are very decent, be it the media or the public. I take my kid everywhere. And they know not to take pics of him and it’s really… I feel like people should know that humans can be decent lah.”

Stefanie Sun, who gave birth to her daughter when she was 40, is not afraid to share anecdotes about her kids, though. Like how her son, whom she affectionately calls Na Xiao Zi (that boy in Mandarin), was terrible at keeping secrets (he broke the news that she was pregnant to his classmates in school) and how he has a funny laugh that makes his face light up. Aww.

While celebrities have the pressure of looking polished and presentable when they are in public, they love their casual dress-down days where they can wear their comfiest clothing. In 2014, Stefanie went viral when she was photographed in a McDonald’s dressed in a purple T-shirt, denim shorts, slippers and glasses. Many netizens joked at how ‘auntie’ she looked but Stefanie showed off her sense of humour and edited the photo by placing a tiara on her head and added the words “So Beautiful OK”.

As a testament to her star power, Stefanie even had an orchid named after her, the Dendrobium Stefanie Sun, in 2006 — making her the first local celebrity to get such an honour. She also has a wax figure of herself at the Madame Tussauds Singapore wax museum which portrays her signature look for her 2014 Kepler World Tour (aka aforementioned bright orange hair), as well as a black fringed singlet, leather leggings, shoes by Alexander Wang, and a crystal-encrusted microphone. Stefanie was apparently involved in the creative process, and the figurine took around four months to make, costing $300,000.

At 23, the local singing sensation was already a colossal hit in Taiwan, Beijing and Hong Kong. In less than two years, she overtook Kit Chan, Mavis Hee and Tanya Chua to become the most successful local singer. Among her many awards is the local Favourite Music Artiste title at the first MTV Asia Awards.

2001 was a big year for Stefanie. She was nominated in six categories for the 12th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, and she swept three awards for Best Newcomer (for Sun Yanzi album), Best Composer (for “The Happiness I Want”) and Best Composition (for “Dark Days” in Sun Yanzi album), edging out big names like Na Ying, Karen Mok and Jay Chou.

In the same year, Her World, Singapore’s largest women’s magazine, recognised her as our Young Woman Achiever.

On defining achievements, she said: “You don’t need an award or status to have achieved something. I would consider myself successful if I had a balanced life i.e. being happy with my work, enjoying strong family ties and having somebody to love.”

With fame also comes criticism, Stefanie has been labelled “arrogant, unapproachable, a lesbian and an anorexic”. How does she deal with that? Read the full interview here.

When Stefanie was a rookie looking to build a foundation in the entertainment industry, she went on Taiwanese host Jacky Wu’s popular variety show, Jacky Go Go Go. During the appearance, Stefanie had problems comprehending his questions, which led him to remark “Why are the newcomers so stupid nowadays?”

That quick statement, which Jacky said was made in jest for entertainment value, was “a slap to her face” according to Stefanie. Stefanie, however, took this as a learning lesson and doubled down on mastering her mother tongue.

With a career spanning over two decades, Stefanie is one of the most recognisable names in the industry. In 2019, a Chinese netizen shared her love for Stefanie on social media, calling her “an obscure Singaporean Chinese female singer”. This post garnered flak as Chinese fans flocked to the post in support of Stefanie. One of such fans is Sean Xiao Zhan, one of the biggest names in the Chinese entertainment industry at the moment.

Everyone is taking a hit from the restrictions imposed due to the global pandemic, including Stefanie. In 2020, Stefanie surprised fans with a concert on Facebook Live to mark the 20th anniversary of her career. She added that she was supposed to launch an anniversary tour starting in June, which was later cancelled. Stefanie was also set to perform at the One Love Asia Festival in October 2021 with fellow headliners including Jolin Tsai, Joker Xue, Tanya Chua and BoA, before it was cancelled.

In February 2021, Stefanie dropped a new single titled What Remains. The song was penned and produced during the pandemic, which Stefanie said has given her time to reflect and create this soulful piece.

ICYDK, Stefanie Sun is herself an entrepreneur and businesswoman. During her year-long break in 2003, Stefanie created her own talent management agency and production house Make Music. According to the company’s website, it seems like Stefanie is the sole artiste they manage.

Celebs aren’t immune to mental health issues too. Stefanie Sun shared that fact in a 2020 interview with Pin Prestige while throwing her weight behind Beyond The Label, a movement by the National Council of Social Service to address mental health stigma.

“I also went through a very excruciating time where I didn’t even have the energy to get out of bed or do anything. While I overcame it, there’s a possibility that I might face it again.”

“During that period, I couldn’t brush my teeth or plan my time because I felt lost. I really couldn’t do anything. I tried to be objective and wrote down everything that I had to do — what time to get out of bed, brush my teeth, take a shower, change my clothes, put on a bit of make-up, have my breakfast…”

“I made a list and followed it. I broke the tasks down into its simplest form and took one step at a time. I’m not giving a lot of details, but I have been there.”

Stefanie added that there is no panacea that will help everyone’s mental struggles but for her, she didn’t want to let herself, her family and the public down.

“I wouldn’t say I saved myself, I only did what I had to do at that moment, moving one small step at a time. When I could, I leapt forward. When I couldn’t walk anymore, I stopped to rest. We must understand, even if everyone else is moving forward except you, it’s still alright.”

“This Covid-19 pandemic has helped me to realise that I’m doing very well, and I’m on the path that I’m supposed to be.”

In interviews with local media to promote her 2021 single What Remains, Stefanie Sun shared that she has doubts about her parenting skills. “I can’t cook and I’m not very nurturing. I can only sing and dance with my kids!” She also feels hesitation whenever she uses an iPad or mobile device to occupy her kids.

In the end, Stefanie believes that every parent like herself will make mistakes but it is more crucial that they continue working hard at parenting.

In September 2021, rumours started swirling that Stefanie Sun has been blacklisted by the Chinese authorities after her name appeared on an unverified list online. The list, said to be from China’s National Radio and Television Administration, claimed that there will be new restrictions on celebs who hold foreign citizenship. Her agency and netizens alike have refuted the claims, with the former claiming “false rumours” and the latter stating that the blacklisting would be unjustified as Stefanie has never been a Chinese citizen.

On May 27, 2022, Stefanie Sun held a virtual concert on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok – where she celebrated her two-decade-long career with her iconic songs. At the end of the show, her talent management agency Make Music confirmed that over 240 million tuned in, topping the 100 million number held previously by Jay Chou.

Stefanie Sun was featured as part of Spotify’s Equal Campaign that celebrates female creators for International Women’s Day. This was Stefanie’s second time on the billboard – the first was when her fans took out a four-day ad to celebrate her 40th birthday in 2018.

In the social media post, Stefanie thanked the streaming platform “for recognising the women behind each song. For applauding our pursuit of music through our strength and fragility, a relentless journey that all women artistes embrace and endure.”

Here’s a look at the key songs that launched her career

Probably the most famous of Stefanie’s early works, the song Cloudy Day was composed by Singaporean songwriter Lee Si Song, one of her earliest collaborators.

Its nostalgic, easily relatable themes of childhood, growing up and facing the harsh vagaries of adulthood have endeared it to fans, who sway and chant the Hokkien refrain “Tee Or Or, Bey Lor Hor” (“The sky is dark, it is going to rain soon”) at Stefanie’s gigs. The phrase refers to what the grandmother of the song’s narrator used to sing to her.

The song’s use of rain clouds to symbolise dark times in one’s life was also particularly poetic.

One of Stefanie’s most famous performances of the song was during the Sing50 concert in 2015 at the National Stadium, in front of a 41,000-strong audience and against a projection of – you guessed it – rain.

She also performed it on June 9, 2020, during a surprise online concert to mark the album’s 20th anniversary.

Stefanie was turning 22 when the album was released and this classic song’s story of learning to love must have resonated deeply with her young fans.

She sings innocently: “Because of love, we are learning / learning the language to communicate / learning to understand / learning not to cry.”

It showcases Stefanie’s sweet, ingenue persona, which over the years has evolved into the confident, charismatic performer she is today.

Proving she can let her hair down, Stefanie picked up the pace in this sunny, carefree number about an exhilarating rush of excitement.

The rapid strum of a guitar in the prelude and merry whistle at the end add to its joyful exuberance.

This spunky attitude is also present in some of her later fast numbers such as Perfect and Green Light.

Stefanie composed the melody, and the slow, moving ballad showcases her unique, emotional voice, which swells in the chorus.

The singer, who has played the piano since she was five, has gone on to compose other songs such as Abandon and Eternal Love.

We look forward to more of Stefanie’s creations!

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