Looking beneath The Façade

By Kelly Liew, Advanced Diploma in Nursing (Midwifery)

Girls, girls! I found them.

Yes! I found two cute boys who actually sing.

Jereld Ang and Brendon Chua, the members of the band The Façade, melted my heart when they played their guitars and sang.

Jereld (left) and Brendon (right) rocking the house at NYP Jam! 2012

Earlier this year, they emerged as champions of NYP Jam! 2012. Following that success, they attracted 2 additional members and took the 1st Place when they competed against 7 other talented bands from NP, NUS, SMU and NTU at the starringNIGHT competition organised by the Singapore Management University (SMU) in August. 

The Facade was invited to perform at starringNIGHT to celebrate the conclusion of a series of activities to raise funds for My Buona Vista Place, a one-stop centre for social welfare programmes that reaches out to over 20,000 residents in the Buona Vista estate. Through starringNIGHT, they advocated the importance of building strong community ties by nurturing the spirit of helping the less fortunate during their time of need. Who doesn’t like amazing performers who also care for the community?

The vibrant CCA and arts scene in NYP promotes creativity and a love for the community while giving students a platform to shine. Brendon and Jereld, who are members of Soundcard, discovered their mutual love for music making and came together to form The Façade in 2011 after a spontaneous suggestion by Brendon.

"The Façade started as an acoustic duo, with me playing the rhythmic guitar parts and Jereld taking the lead guitar parts" Brendon shared. The newly formed duo sang covers of pop and R&B songs and their persistence led them to NYP Jam! 2012 where they tasted sweet success when they won the NYP category. Winning NYP Jam! 2012 also gave them national exposure when they performed in-studio after an interview on FM98.7 with DJ Divian Nair. How lucky!

When I spoke to Jereld and Brendon, they said that having a CCA in NYP is an essential part of the whole polytechnic experience.

The vibrant CCA and arts scene in NYP promotes creativity with a love for the community and gives students the platform to shine.  They explained, "NYP's CCAs are connected like a huge and warm family. We form strong bonds with new friends from other CCAs through inter-CCA exchanges and camps. Thanks to Soundcard, our three years in poly was all the more enriching and exciting!"

I strongly agree with that view. I believe that it is the social interactions in school that let us make new friends, discover our talents and create a school culture that we can truly call our own. In these past 8 months, I made many wonderful friends that I would keep for the rest of my life. Being a writer for Discover NYP gave me a chance to work with many talented people and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything else.
As Brendon puts it, “If you want to have a fun Poly life, NYP’s the choice!”

I am now an ardent fan of The Façade and I am sure you will be too when you see them for yourself. The Façade is currently working on original compositions and we may be able to see them play under the music group, Timber.Org soon. For now, you can find them as TheFacadeSG on YouTube.

Catch The Façade at NYP Jam! 2013, on 4 Jan at the NYP Atrium.

NYP JAM! IS BACK
If you love to sing and want a shot at stardom like The Façade, sign up for NYP Jam! 2013 now. You could be the next NYP Jam! Champion! For more information and to register, visit www.nyp.edu.sg/nypjam2013.

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Kelly is a first year student, pursing an Advanced Diploma in Nursing (Midwifery), who loves reading and cooking. She also likes to spend time with her friends, engaging in relaxing activities. Her friends describe her as unpredictable, spontaneous and inquisitive.