Burn it up
CATCH catches up with RRILEY, and finds out how she listened to her heart and took the plunge to go solo
Story by: Tang Yi Qing | Photos by: RRILEY, Dawn Chua
RRILEY, also known as Sandra Riley Tang, is a well-known Singaporean musician. The 30-year-old has spent the last eight years in the music industry. She first started in a band called The Sam Willows. After a long run with them, she was the first to go solo.
RRILEY first began as a 22-year-old with a passion for music. She found a group of like-minded people who shared similar passions and that’s how The Sam Willows was born. In a few years, their career blew up. When asked about the secret of the band’s success, she shared: “With an insane amount of hard work, everything just fell into place together.”
When asked why she chose to pursue a solo career, she simply replied, “Why not?”
CHALLENGES FACED
At the beginning of her career, it was hard for RRILEY to stand out. She shared that she did not fit into the ‘commercial mould’ of what one would expect from a music artist. She kept finding ways to work on what made her different and unique. Through all this, she preached that practising self-love and being comfortable with who she is tided her through.
“I think it was only then people started to notice me,” she said.
ON HER NEW MUSIC
Her single, Burn, is her first solo release and a powerful one. It has over a million streams on Spotify. The song focuses on being confident in your own identity and having the guts to step out of your comfort zone to do what you believe in despite the naysayers.
Mmm Bye on the other hand, focuses on the topic of female empowerment and moving on from negativity. She shares that the ”negativity” refers to “people that don’t deserve your energy and attention because they’re just bad vibes.”
Her latest single was released on Valentine’s Day, Love Me Like A. This song is about loving yourself the way you want to and being unashamed of wanting your partner to love you the same way too.
All her current songs have a consistent theme: loving yourself.
JUST A REGULAR GIRL
RRILEY believes it is possible to turn your passion into a career. After all, RRILEY has done it and in various ways too! She stresses the importance of knowing your goals and working hard towards them.
She added that she has been lucky to have met people along the way that have helped her build her go-getter mindset. She believes that anyone can do what they want to do as long as they put their mind, body and soul into it.
With that, she concluded: “A little positivity goes a long way!”
