Alicia Pan, Unplugged!

She arrived clad in a loose top, denim shorts & heels. Her long hair pulled back in a ponytail, sunshades perched on her head. The first thing that struck me was her flawless tan ~ a smooth golden brown that made Stan & I speculate after if she went for one of those Japanese tanning bars!

It's hard to miss someone like Alicia Pan if she were simply walking down the street, minding her own business. Perhaps it's this X-Factor that saw her being selected as 1 of 3 up & coming Asian artists (with Nikki Gil & Vince Chong) to be featured in the Asian version of "Breaking Free", the theme song for Disney's hugely-popular High School Musical.

And if you're ready to pigeon-hole her as one of those typical entertainers with a pretty face, Alicia sprang a couple of surprises on us. While we were chatting off-air, she revealed that she'd once been an accountant. Alicia Pan - an accountant?! My mind can't quite wrap around that.

But yes, she apparently comes from a family of finance folk: Mum is in Taxation & Dad's a banker. So she had to at least try it out... But sorry, folks. No accounting for Miss Pan!

And unlike many entertainers we've interviewed who stumble into our studio muttering they're still half-asleep at 11 in the morning, this spunky gal reveals she's an early bird. She's up bright & early to work out, which includes a morning swim or Yoga. No excuses from this pro about her voice being still "asleep" either. She was ready to roll!

Alicia Pan & guitarist Adrian filling The Living Room with some acoustic music on Christmas Adam!

Well, even though I'd heard her sing on the track of "Breaking Free" (Asian version), I thought that didn't do her justice. Her forte is a more laid-back soul, R&B type genre, and she did that to brilliance for us, unplugged. Here's a taste:

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I love this original song, "Never Live Till You Love"! It made Stan & I groove on our swivel chairs. So if you see the camera shaking, you know why lah... *GRIN*

In the 2nd segment, Alicia shared with us what Christmas means to her. And of course, we had to get her to share her favourite Christmas song. So here she is again, singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"...

Catch Alicia Pan at Timbre @ Old School every Friday. Her set begins at 9.15pm. And don't forget to tell her you heard her 'live' & unplugged in The Living Room!