Daddy dearest
Malaysian singer Victor Lee dedicates his new single Remember I Love You to his father.
MALAYSIAN singer Victor Lee is excited about dedicating his new single Remember I Love You to his father.
The song is written by first-time composer Jason Yeoh and produced by Penang-born singersongwriter Wu Jia Hui.
At an event to launch the single, Lee admitted that he was glad to find the right song while going through the demos.
“When I heard the song, I knew it was the one. When it got to the chorus, I found the five words ji de wo ai ni (remember I love you) to be most appropriate,” he said.
Like many other Asians, Lee said he too finds it a challenge to express in words or convey in action the bond between father and son. “In the music video, the son says to the father ‘I love you’. I myself have never said it before. Until this song came along, that is.”
While the promo picture turned out beautifully, Lee confessed it was challenging. “Even standing so close to my father, looking at him and smiling was initially rather awkward.”
The singer is 36 and his father is 57. Despite their affection for one another, Lee mentioned that he and his father do not speak much.
“When I started this project for Fathers Day, I wanted to include him in my photo shoot, but I did not know how to ask him. Since my dad was still working, I felt he may not have the time. Then, it just happened that my sister was getting married and my dad took leave to come to town. So, everything turned out perfectly well.”
Apart from the occasional singing project, Lee says he has mostly been hosting shows for other singers. “It is not such an easy job. Selling property is easier.”
“People asked why I’ve not been singing. I tell them that I cannot make a living by singing. Selling real estate is easier,” Lee repeated.
But, after making some money from real estate and having a profitable investment portfolio, Lee started to look into getting back into the entertainment scene.
“I love singing. In my heart, I still want to sing.”
But, after a long hiatus from professional singing, he was understandably anxious. Recording the song was another challenge as he had to work around his packed schedule.
“I had to fly in to do the recording. And, I was not feeling well, so my voice was not in tip top condition. In the end, my producer insisted that I clear my schedule and focus completely on recording the song.”
It had been six years since Lee’s last professional singing project, when he recorded the opening theme song for local Mandarin drama series Laws Of Attraction (2012) with Taiwan-based Malaysian singer Meeia Foo.
Lee got into the local music scene when he made it to the top eight of Malaysian Idol Season One in 2004. Following that, he recorded some compilation with other Malaysian Idol artistes and even released an album titled Perfect Moment.
Four years ago, he collaborated with Wu and three other local artistes – Wincci Soo, Cindy Chen and Tong Xin – to form a singing group called Five Lucky Stars to release some festive ditties to celebrate the lunar new year.
During the Penang flood crisis last year, Lee also worked with Wu and 13 other local singers to record a song to remind Malaysians that they were all standing together in national solidarity.