Sandy Lam - Feeling Perfect

When it comes to Sandy Lam, it wasn’t love at first sight.

I first came across her music when I was 4 and her song “Grey” was dominating the airwaves. At the time I thought it’s a hilarious song and Sally Yeh’s song “Blessing” struck a much louder chord with me. When I was in primary school my choir teacher told us we shouldn’t learn from Lam’s singing because she is a mediocre singer – not only does she have no idea how to project her voice, she whispers rather than sings. As an unquestioningly obedient student back then I did as I was told and tried not to pay attention to her repertoire. Instead I focused on emulating singers with big voices like Yeh, and failed miserably because my voice is not designed for roaring.

But fate works in mysterious ways and you can’t really escape from people and things you are meant to fall in love with. When 17-year-old me was combing through goodies at a second-hand music store I happened upon Lam’s album Feeling Perfect – like its title, it feels perfect. She looks comfortable in her own skin and can get under yours. Even though she’s casually clad, she struck me as a diva with a lot of love stories to tell – some romantic, others brutal, yet others a combination of both. So I bought the album without hesitation. It also helped that it only cost $20 and I was on a shoestring budget.

I ended up listening to the perfect album over and over again. Sandy taught me that you don't need to sing like Mariah Carey to sing well and there are many ways to sing well. All you need to do is sing like nobody else.

The album found a home in my disc man. In fact I listened to it way too much and it is scarred by glitches. Like Reiko in Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, “I wore the grooves out listening to every note. I sucked the music right out of it.” I was addicted to the song “Cry”, which is about the mixed feelings a woman experiences when she runs into her ex who she is still in love with, and his son. Even though I had zero love experience at the time I always welled up when I heard the song because Lam sings from the bottom of her heart. Her music made me want to go fall in love and embrace both the happiness and pain it brings.

Whether I am in or out of love, I listen to Sandy. She is like a much cooler older sister who is there to tell you no matter what love throws your way, you will survive. And no matter how bitter the memories, they will become sweet.