Singaporean singer–songwriter Ming Bridges, 23, has been taken on a metaphorical roller-coaster ride over the past three years. After releasing her first all-Mandarin album, Ming Day, in Taiwan in December 2012, the svelte 1.68 m-tall star went on to grace the magazine covers of Shape Singapore and FHM Malaysia.
But the stress of high expectations of herself led to a thyroid disorder that caused her weight to balloon 36 kg to her personal record of 80 kg.
Ming then ceased public appearances. “I was afraid of how people would look at me, and I was so upset I would cry at home every day,” she said.
Now back with a new album, Beautiful Melody, and a trimmer 60-kg figure, Ming said, “I’m not down to (my original weight), but being healthy is most important.”
The singer added she enjoys her greens and starts her day with lemon-infused water. “My friends make fun of me for living like an old person, but it’s all for my health,” she said.
First love
The singer–songwriter was in town to promote Beautiful Melody, which contains six songs, four of which are originals. Ming wrote the album’s title track for her first love, she explained. “Everyone needs love, but we often forget to treasure the right people who come by, and I’m one such person,” she said.
Ming added she had started dating someone while studying in England, but her music career took up a great deal of her time and the relationship fizzled out. “I think back on the good times, and I really regret it,” she said.
She wrote ‘Beautiful Melody’ to warn fans against making the same mistake she did, and added she would gladly give up her career for love if Mr Right came along.
And the British–Chinese Singaporean hopes to find a partner who speaks Mandarin, “so that I can practise and improve my Mandarin,” she said.
Lesson time
Whether she was studying in the UK or promoting her music in Taiwan, a weekly Mandarin class was always on her schedule.
Ming said she prefers composing songs in Mandarin because the language is more nuanced. She also let on her liking for Jolin Tsai’s ‘Masked Confession (Jia Mian De Gao Bai)’ and Hebe Tian’s ‘A Little Happiness (Xiao Xing Yun),’ from the soundtrack of the Taiwanese box-office smash Our Times.
Ming even spoke of her admiration for compatriot singer–songwriter JJ Lin. “I hope I can perform with him one day,” she said. “I like good boys, and I feel he isn’t a bad boy.”