Romanticising life with Violette Wautier

Fresh off a rejuvenating trip to Norway, Thai-Belgian singer-songwriter and actor Violette Wautier, 31, radiates a calm confidence during our Zoom call.

Now back in Bangkok, any trace of jet lag seems to have vanished, leaving her with a radiant smile and a palpable sense of ease. She reveals that she had spent a good amount of time chasing the Northern Lights with her boyfriend, Jirayu La-ongmanee, a fellow actor and lead singer of the Thai band Retrospect, as well as their respective mums.

“Just the mums and kids,” Violette laughs. “It’s our mums’ dream to see the Northern Lights so we did that, and it was a really fun experience. It was also Jirayu’s first time, and that was really special.”

Violette’s eyes light up as she describes Jirayu on the trip, emphasising his charming personality and how he never fails to bring a smile to her face.

“He’s in a metal band, so he’s pretty fierce on stage. But in person, he’s actually super funny and very sweet,” she shares, recounting how they spent most of the holiday playfully shoving each other into the snow.

“He would push me halfway and catch me because he doesn’t want me to fall and hurt my back,” she gushes.

The couple’s endearing meet-cute story began in 2016 on the set of the TV drama series O-Negative (2016), where they portrayed a loving couple navigating life’s complexities. However, unlike the characters they portrayed, Violette and Jirayu parted ways after filming without pursuing a romantic relationship in real life.

Their paths intertwined once more in 2018 when they both starred in TV series Club Friday The Series 10: Ruk Rao Mai Tao Garn (2018). By late 2019, their on-screen chemistry had spilled into real life, blossoming into a romance that they kept tightly under wraps. The public only got sneak peeks into their happiness with carefully curated vacation snapshots, and videos of their heartfelt duets.

Their love story was not without its challenges, requiring both patience and unwavering commitment to better themselves as individuals, before opening their hearts up to one another.

“I used to be in relationships all the time; once I’m done with a relationship, I would find myself in another within the next few months,” Violette confesses, adding that this cycle left her feeling adrift, her decisions often shaped by the needs of others rather than her own.

It was only after going through a period of deliberate solitude that Violette rediscovered her sense of self-worth, learning to value herself, and refusing to compromise her own happiness for the sake of a relationship.

So when she reconnected with Jirayu, it was with a new-found clarity. Both had embarked on a similar journey of self-discovery, emerging stronger and more discerning.

“I knew what I was looking for in love, and I think he was in that kind of same momentum as well. When we met again, it was like, ‘Huh, interesting.’ And it just kind of grew,” Violette explains.

Reflections on love

Her latest EP, Call Me Dramatic, released late last year, serves as a poignant reflection of her personal journey. It weaves together narratives of heartbreak, the essence of romance, and moments of unfiltered self-expression. The songs are deeply personal, offering a raw and honest exploration of human connection from Violette’s own perspective.

Take Dancing On A Graveyard, for example. With lyrics like “Kissing you is heaven/but loving you is hell”, the song delves into the paradox of a relationship graveyard – a space where one person’s joy is entwined with another’s pain and heartbreak.

“We have all been through [those kinds of relationships] before we find the good ones,” the singer reflects.

Another standout track, Favourite Mistake, dives into the irresistible allure of bad boys – their rebellious charm, long hair, tattoos, and that ever-present edge of danger – a fascination that feels universally relatable.

Violette says of the songwriting process: “I tried to explore movie genres and incorporated myself in it as well.” The end result is a diverse, experimental collection of tracks, each unfolding like a scene from a film. So if this EP feels cinematic to you, that’s entirely by Violette’s design.

A storyteller from young

Violette’s passion for storytelling began at the early age of 14. “I loved reading so much back then,” she recalls, noting a particular fondness for romance novels featuring “a very delusional” character.

This early fascination with fictional narratives led her to experiment with writing her own novel, though she admits: “I only finished one book, one story, and I knew it was lame, so I stopped.”

Despite this initial foray, her innate storytelling abilities were evident. “Now looking back, I knew that I was a storyteller, so maybe that’s why I write songs the way I do,” she reflects.

Violette’s musical journey was ignited by the inspiring example of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. “I started writing because of her. She was only 14 when she wrote her songs, and I was around, like, 15 or 16,” she recalls.

Witnessing Taylor’s early success instilled a sense of possibility in the young Violette. “That was when I was like, ‘Oh, if she could do that at her age, I could do that too, and I have my own story to tell.’”

This new-found confidence, coupled with the transformative experience of moving to Canada for a student exchange programme, further fuelled her creative drive. “When I went to Canada, there weren’t a lot of things to do, so after school, I would always come back and start writing,” she explains.

The young and confident Violette started performing in high school at a talent show on Education Day, where she sang alongside a boy who played the guitar. She remembers having a small crush on him, and that her friends were cheering her on. “But I was nervous performing because I had never sang in front of a lot of people before,” she reveals.

In 2013, while in her sophomore senior year, she decided to participate in The Voice Thailand Season 2, when she was 19 years old. Her decision stemmed from a desire to validate her talent.

“I was losing my confidence, and I just wanted to know if I was good enough to be on the show,” she confesses. This internal struggle fuelled her decision to audition in secret. “I just went and did it without telling anyone, because if I didn’t pass, it wouldn’t be so shameful. But if I passed, it’d be cool.”

The experience proved to be a turning point. “I got four chair turns, and it really boosted my ego and confidence,” she recalls.

Venturing into acting

After graduating from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Communication Arts, Violette started honing her craft full-time by diligently performing in a variety of live performance settings.

By 2014, an opportunity presented itself and Violette ventured into acting, landing a prominent role in the horror film The Swimmers (2014). However, her debut on the silver screen was met with critical disapproval.

“I got critiqued on the Internet so badly, people were saying, ‘Just go back to singing, you’re so stiff when acting,’’ she recalls.

These harsh online comments initially shook her confidence. “In my head, I felt like I did so well,” she shares.

Determined to prove her critics wrong, she approached her next acting role with renewed focus. The results paid off: Violette won the Best Supporting Actress award in the Suphannahong National Film Awards for her performance in Heart Attack (2015).

Even while acting, Violette didn’t forget her love for singing, and found the time to debut with a Thai-language digital single Whisper, and recorded a few songs for the original soundtracks to The Swimmers, Heart Attack and The Gift (2016).

By the time she turned 24, Violette decided to launch her eponymous record label, The Wautier Record, to pursue her own creative interests. Her musical journey skyrocketed with the release of her 2018 debut English single Drive, which quickly climbed the charts. This initial success was followed by an even more impressive feat with Smoke, which shattered records as the most streamed English song in Thailand and ascended to the top of Apple Music charts in eight countries, including Malaysia and Singapore, solidifying her status as a rising star in the Asian music scene.

On top of all that, the multi-faceted star continued to act, and even landed a lead role in the Thai remake of the Taiwanese drama Endless Love (2019).

By then, it had been a year since Violette had stepped away from the recording studio, and she yearned to return to singing. In June 2020, under her contract with Universal Music Thailand, she dropped an English album, Glitter and Smoke, with all nine tracks penned by her. The inspiration? A breakup.

This poignant period in Violette’s life, marked by heartbreak and profound sadness, was an unexpected muse. “I was so sad all the time because I was so heartbroken,” she reveals, acknowledging the album’s deeply personal origins.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Violette continued pursuing both acting and singing with fervour. In 2021, she showcased her acting prowess in One for the Road, a critically acclaimed film that garnered recognition at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Then came her second album Your Girl, released in 2022.

When she turned 30 in 2023, she celebrated the milestone with her first ever concert. “It was such a big moment for me and my team, because it marked a point of, ‘Oh, I’ve made it,’” she shares.

“It was a dream come true for me, and I got to see my loved ones, family members, friends and fans celebrating my 10-year career.”

Miss International

Violette considers her fans to be an integral part of her musical journey, deeply valuing their support and recognising their influence on her creative work.

In fact, she met her Singapore fans twice last year – once in January for 555 Thai Music Festival, the first-ever all-Thai artistes event here, and again in November to promote her EP in an intimate showcase.

“The fans were really welcoming. And apparently, I spoke a lot on stage. My team said they didn’t know I was this funny, because I felt so comfortable with my Singaporean fans. They were so nice to me. I also learnt Singlish like ‘walaowei’,’’ she laughs.

She also performed at major music festivals such as Summer Sonic Osaka in Japan, and Summer Sonic Bangkok in Thailand in August. She closed the year with another performance at Clockenflap, Hong Kong’s largest music festival, in December.

Despite these big achievements, Violette is quick to point out that 2024 was also a year of intense emotional highs and lows.

This roller coaster of emotions, she acknowledges, is likely a reflection of the challenging times many people faced. “I guess for a lot of people, it’s been a hard year. It was for me too.”

The singer recognises that navigating these emotions requires self-awareness and emotional intelligence. She adds: “Sometimes, you just need to find a way to cope with [your emotions], understand other people, and set your boundaries.”

Living life like the movies

Violette’s plan for 2025 is to romanticise her life, envisioning it as a captivating film. This intentional approach to living, while perhaps dramatic, is a deliberate act of self-care.

“That’s such a fun way to live,” she says. “I think it’s beautiful to just experience life like a movie all the time.”

As for what her next creative chapter would be – be it new songs or a whole new album – the 31-year-old has no clue yet. But she lets on that she’s already brimming with exciting ideas.

“We’re going to see what the idea is going to grow into,” she teases with a glint in her eyes.

PHOTOGRAPHY REUBEN FOONG
CREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING LENA KAMARUDIN, ASSISTED BY PRIYANKA PATEL & JEON JAE WON
PROPS STYLING GERMAINE NG
HAIR SEAN ANG
MAKEUP SPITE.19
MANICURE REBECCA CHUANG/FLUTTERY TIPS