Local Artist Garnered 1.1 Million Views for ‘Sunscreen’
Updated: Apr 29, 2021
Written by: Amirah Syazwani Shawel
Edited by: Rienna Kaur
Source: @nathaniengu
KUCHING, 17 April - A self-composed song, ‘Sunscreen’ previewed by a local singer, songwriter and producer in TikTok last 12th April received more than 1.1 Million views and 300, 000 likes in just 5 days with global viewers and listeners.
Nathanie Ngu, 20, born and raised in Kuching, Sarawak expresses her creativity through music which is influenced by cultures and by incorporating experiences. She is one of thousands to be gifted with the ability to write lyrics based on spontaneous events rather than being capable of composing songs with just a MacBook Pro. Nathanie proved that a person does not require fancy gears and equipment to produce masterpieces when she can accomplish it just in her bedroom.
User @nathaniengu a week before in a particular video uploaded on TikTok stated that she overlooked applying skin protection before going cycling, hence the incident led to her writing and producing a song entitled ‘Sunscreen’. In a glimpse, the song gave her listeners an enlightening and melancholic Pop-Jazz vibes with which she describes her current discography as bedroom pop with uplifting and mellow tones.
“I went cycling today and I forgot to wear sunscreen, but it kind of inspired the song.”
As of now, she has written and produced more than 20 songs including ‘Bliss’, ‘Who Do I call’, ‘I Exist’ and others featuring different singers and songwriters.
“I made a deal with myself that I will only drop this song if it gets to 10 000 pre-saves. I’ve finessed myself before and dropped a new song, but it’s completely flopped.”
The local artist was reluctant to let her pieces backfire as to what happened previously and therefore are taking precautionary steps before releasing any of it by targeting a certain number of pre-saves.
The sneak peek of her piece accrued huge numbers of followers and increased the engagement of her personal account after she announced the song was rounded off perfectly. Currently with 117, 000 followers and the accumulation of 1.5 Million likes, Nathanie has the capability to reach a larger audience with her music simultaneously sharing her identity and culture to the world.
TikTok, a favoured social media app that allows users to create, edit and share a 15 to 60 seconds video is definitely a breakthrough for small creators especially local musicians and artists. This sensational app’s algorithm assists creators to boost their content through their ‘for you page’ system, ‘musictok’ consumers and soundtrack.
Similar to Nathanie Ngu, other local creators also have the opportunity to promote their talent and turn it into a career through technology and social platforms as in Malaysia, small musicians often have setbacks to have their debut as companies and labels frequently are in search for social media images instead of talents.
