Estelle Fly is ready for takeoff

Music has a way of bringing us back – to the people we miss, the moments we hold dear. In the book Norwegian Wood, author Haruki Murakami reflects on how a familiar song can summon the ghosts of love and loss, tender and unrelenting all at once.

Looking at Estelle Fly – with her trendy bleached hair, fierce onstage charisma, and steady, confident gaze – you might expect her song to be an energetic dance-pop track from her coming-of-age years, or perhaps, a fiery girl-power anthem.

So it comes as a surprise when she names the 1970 hit Close to You by The Carpenters, a gentle pop ballad that sings of adoration and affection.

“Growing up, I’d sing it to my grandma. She’s Cantonese, and it was one of the few English songs she knew,” Estelle explains, a small smile playing on her lips, her gaze softening.

Her late grandmother, she lets on, loved to sing and was in a choir. They had a close relationship, having lived together when Estelle was growing up. To Estelle, she was a cool maternal figure. They spent their days singing together, and the matriarch would even pull out scarves for them to dance along with.

Eventually, she moved back to Malaysia. The 33-year-old fondly recalls trips back where she would look forward to her cooking. On special occasions, such as her grandma’s birthday, Estelle would perform the song just for her.

The last time she did that was five years ago, Estelle shares. There’s a catch in her voice and she pauses for a brief moment, then bursts into tears.

“These are not sad tears!” she quickly adds, a small laugh breaking through, as if reassuring both of us that the interview can continue. I gently note that, perhaps, her love for performing stemmed from those early memories. She nods, dabbing at her eyes.

“We were close, even though there was a bit of a language barrier. I love her,” she says.

The road less travelled

Here’s what Google will tell you about Estelle’s career. She made her debut with Sea*A, a four-member Singaporean and Malaysian J-pop idol group. Since then, she has performed on major stages, opening for acts like May’n, Babymetal, and Red Velvet. Most recently, she took the stage at Waterbomb Festival Singapore, performing on the same day as K-pop legends 2NE1.

She has been releasing music since 2018, but next month marks a new milestone: the launch of Zone, her first-ever EP. She describes this four-track release as her most personal project yet.

“I just completed my last song yesterday!” she says, beaming. Each track, she teases, taps into a different side of her artistry. Crazy Stupid Love – a bright, effervescent number reminiscent of Disney soundtracks – was performed for the first time at Waterbomb. Then there’s the title track Zone, a high-energy dance anthem.

“It’s very reminiscent of Britney Spears, because she’s one of my idols, someone I’ve always looked up to as a performer,” Estelle shares. “[The song] is about stepping into your power and owning your womanhood.”

But why an EP now?

“I’ve been doing singles for the longest time,” Estelle candidly admits, adding that she resolved to push her music further this year. “So I was just like, let’s start off strong with an EP.”

While Estelle has always been drawn to performing like a moth to a flame, the road to this moment hasn’t been a straightforward one. After Sea*A disbanded in 2013, she returned to Singapore to pursue a diploma in mass communication. A couple of years later, she took to the skies as an air stewardess with Singapore Airlines.

“Both my parents used to fly, and growing up, I loved listening to their stories about seeing the world, creating new memories, and learning what good service really meant.

“Flying taught me a lot about grace, patience and perspective,” she says of that time.

Eventually, Estelle found her way back to music, putting out songs as a solo artiste. Her most-streamed tracks on Spotify, …Just Friends and Love Like This, both released in 2019, have since garnered more than one million streams each. Still, she admits she wasn’t satisfied with how they fared.

“I felt like I wasn’t worth listening to, and I wasn’t worth caring about,” she says. “It can be quite hard, especially when you’re young – your worth is tied to how you look, how many fans you have.”

That period made her question her path as a musician.

“I wasn’t getting the results that I wanted. I think we set these idealistic goals for ourselves, and when we don’t meet them, it becomes very discouraging,” she reflects. That’s when she decided to take a pause and pursue other creative endeavours.

Not just a one-trick pony

Estelle soon landed supporting roles in television series like Emerald Hill High (2019), Teenage Textbook: The Series (2020), The Nightwatchers (2021), and Alienated (2023). She’s also done voice-over work, and even ventured into theatre with The Monster in the Mirror (2023), a musical that also starred Noah Yap.

“I said yes to acting, because I’ve always felt like if I never tried it, I’d never know [if it’s for me]. If the opportunity comes, just say yes. I’m a performer, right?” she says with a glint in her eyes.

This can-do attitude has carried her throughout her career, along with an unabashed love for the spotlight. In fact, she was first talent-scouted as a teen simply because she wasn’t afraid to put herself out there.

Then 16, Estelle was working at a maid cafe at Anime Festival Asia, an annual convention for Japanese pop culture fans in Singapore. When the cafe needed someone to promote a karaoke system by performing a song, she volunteered without hesitation.

“I told them, ‘How about me? I can sing,’” she recalls with a laugh. “I thought the performance would be at the booth, but when they said it was going to be on stage, I was like, even better!

“I was really confident… I just wanted to go up there and sing on a big stage,” she says.

And if there’s one thing Estelle knows for sure, it’s that she can sing. Her Tiktok covers of K-pop hits – including tracks from the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack – have won her a growing following online.

But perhaps, the biggest validation of all came when she covered the film’s Free with fellow crooner and friend, Nathan Hartono. The Straits Times showed their duet to Andrew Choi – the singing voice for the film’s main male lead – and he rated it a solid 10 out of 10.

“I love Estelle’s voice… And she’s just so comfortable in her element, and she sang it so beautifully,” he said, adding that the pair are “super talented” and he’d like to meet them some day.

“The Internet is crazy,” Estelle says with a grin. “The fact that you can put [a cover] out there just for the fun of it, and then have the original singer see it and react to it? Thank you, The Straits Times, for showing him the video!”

Not long after, Andrew even slid into her DM to say he hopes to catch up the next time he’s in town.

Claiming the spotlight

Funnily enough, when asked about a recent high point in her career, Estelle says it had nothing to do with accolades or milestones – just a simple moment when her mother told her that she was proud of her.

“For the longest time, she was used to me just feeling my way in the dark. But now, I finally feel like I’ve stepped into my time to just lock in, and make my own decisions. I think that’s reflected in my work, my music, and my life,” she muses. Then, with a cheeky laugh, she adds that she’s also found a good team and started earning money.

We daresay Estelle Fly is propelled by raw talent and an undeniable fire to perform, making her one to watch. And though her stage name hints at soaring, her pre-show ritual is all about grounding.

“I say a prayer. And then I remind myself that I deserve to be here. I’ve worked my way here, so I have nothing to worry about. I just need to go out and do my thing.”

PHOTOGRAPHY Shawn Paul Tan
CREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING Lena Kamarudin, assisted by Mandy Tan & Erica Zheng
ART DIRECTION Ray Ticsay
MAKEUP Laselle Lee, using Shiseido
HAIR Grego, using Revlon Professional
LOCATION The Standard Singapore