Alfred Sim readily agreed to go fully nude to portray a prehistoric caveman in his first music video, ‘Make a Call (Bo Yi Tong Dian Hua),’ one of the five tracks on his self-titled debut EP. “The director wanted the look to give a feeling of being battered and worn out, and convey the hardships I’ve endured in my music career,” the 34-year-old singer said.
But on the day of the 15-hour shoot, Alfred backed out, and he filmed the sequence wearing shorts. “When it came down to it, I felt shy about it and thankfully the director didn’t insist I follow through,” he said during his EP launch event on January 14 at Switch by Timbre.
In the 5-minute music video, the Project SuperStar 2014 champion evolves onscreen from unkempt homo erectus to modern man in a snazzy suit. He didn’t give up the idea of going the full monty entirely; instead, he had one of his promotional photos shot stark naked. He had, after all, invested two months in doing sit-ups to prepare for filming in the buff.
“My physique isn’t too shabby to begin with, but I had stopped working out as much so I thought I should train for the shoot,” said the former national sportsman and Edith Cowan University sports science graduate.
“Anyway, I’m not an idol singer. Probably no one would care if I had bared it all, so it doesn’t matter!”
Second anniversary
But one person would care: his wife, singer-songwriter Tay Kewei. Asked whether his spouse minded that he had intended to be on camera fully nude, Alfred replied with a laugh, “My wife said, ‘Great! I want to see that!’”
The couple, who married on January 4, 2013, marked their second anniversary two weeks ago, but their celebration in Bintan was planned entirely by Kewei.
“Wedding anniversaries should be organised by husbands, so I feel bad for letting my wife do it,” Alfred said. “When I’m done promoting the EP, I’ll make it up to her.”
The pair are still living with their respective parents while waiting for their new home to be ready in 2017, and they stay over at each other’s houses now and then.
“Perhaps this arrangement would get in the way of having children,” Alfred said. “But we hope we can have a baby within the year — children make a home complete.”
The singer hopes to have a boy “so we can exercise and work out together, but of course I’ll leave it to fate,” he said.
Decent acting
After beating 12 finalists to win the third season of Project SuperStar in 2014, Alfred earned a one-year contract with Mediacorp and went on to land roles as a music competition emcee in Channel 8’s Crescendo and as You Yi’s husband in Don’t Worry, Be Healthy, out this year. But the contract expired in late 2015, and Alfred chose not to renew it.
The remuneration wasn’t an issue, he explained, but he wants to focus on music and his athletics training business, REACTIV. He hopes to release another record this year too.
But Alfred isn’t yet ready to give up acting just yet. He said he’s happy to consider taking part in drama series in future, and he’s interested in being in movies.
“After working on Don’t Worry, Be Healthy, I think I’m actually a decent actor,” he said. “I didn’t do retakes, and the director didn’t scold me!”
Alfred Sim’s self-titled debut EP is available in all major stores.
Don’t Worry, Be Healthy debuts February 16, 8.30 pm on Channel 8.