Dominic Chin's latest release is a seven-track EP that turns heartbreak, grief, and hard-won healing into sharp R&B-pop confessionals. Written in the aftermath of a messy breakup, PRETTY PETTY began as a tongue-in-cheek “revenge album” before evolving into something far more vulnerable — a project that traces the emotional whiplash of loving, losing, and learning to rebuild.
For the Singapore-based artist, whose music has long explored self-acceptance, mental health, and love in all its forms, PRETTY PETTY feels like his most unapologetic chapter yet. At the centre of the EP is ‘STARTING ALL OVER’, a stripped-back reflection on anxiety, shaken self-esteem, and the exhausting process of finding your footing again, made even more personal by Dominic’s own violin parts woven into the track.
In this conversation, Dominic opens up about the emotional turning point behind the EP, revisiting ‘NEEDY’, writing through discomfort, and why PRETTY PETTY became more than just a breakup record.
Was making this EP more cathartic, confronting, or both?
This EP turned into something I never expected by the time I reached the end of the project, and in many ways, it was deeply cathartic and confronting. I initially set out to create a fun, tongue-in-cheek pop record about how terrible that relationship was, almost laughing at it from a distance. But as I kept writing, the songs slowly became more personal and introspective than I had planned.
Instead of just pointing fingers, I found myself reflecting on my own flaws, my patterns, and the parts of myself I had been avoiding. What started as a light, slightly petty concept ended up becoming a much more emotional and honest process of confronting my own issues and making sense of everything I had been through.
At what point did it become something deeper?
The turning point came when I decided to revisit my song ‘NEEDY’. I first wrote it back in 2018 for my album License to Cry, but at the time, I never felt fully satisfied with it. Something about it always felt incomplete. Coming back to the song years later, after going through more relationships and life experiences, I finally felt like I had the emotional clarity to finish it honestly.
Reworking ‘NEEDY’ made me realise the project was becoming something deeper than I had planned. Instead of just writing fun pop songs about my ex, I found myself confronting my own role in those relationships — my insecurities, my patterns, and how my attachment style shaped so much of it.
Was it difficult to be that deeply honest in your songwriting, knowing listeners would hear those raw details?
The hardest part about writing these songs isn’t really the public hearing them — it’s my family. I’m generally quite private, so sometimes they end up discovering parts of my life through my music that I never shared with them before. I remember my mum hearing some of my older songs about my mental health and becoming really worried about me.
We ended up having a long conversation where I had to reassure her that I was okay. It was emotional, but it also reminded me how much my family cares.
Each track is said to reflect a different stage of grief. Did the songs come together naturally in that order, or did you shape the track list later to tell that story?
The track list wasn’t written in order, but it was arranged to reflect the emotional rollercoaster happening in my head — the highs, the lows, and everything in between.
‘YOU DO YOU’ and ‘NEEDY’ sit on completely different emotional ends of the EP. What did those songs allow you to say that the others did not?
‘YOU DO YOU’ was actually the first song I wrote, and I thought it would set the tone for a light, fun record. But as I kept writing, I realised I needed to be more honest about what I was discovering about myself, which led to songs like ‘NEEDY’.
I was a little worried it might come across as whiny, but in the end, I just leaned into it — sometimes you just need to let yourself feel it and throw a small pity party. It became a song where I allowed myself to wail and belt to my heart’s content.
‘STARTING ALL OVER’ feels like the emotional core of the record. Why was this the song that best captured where you were mentally and emotionally?
Because it touches on the pattern I kept seeing in my relationships — my own insecurities getting in the way of being fully present with someone. Writing that song felt like returning to the core of everything: grounding myself again and taking care of my mental health.
Life will always have its ups and downs, but to me, ‘STARTING ALL OVER’ is about giving yourself permission to get back up and try again.
Sonically, this EP blends R&B-pop with some of your most exposed writing yet. How did you balance that heaviness while keeping the songs catchy and replayable?
It wasn’t easy, honestly. That balance really came from working closely with my collaborator and producer, Lamin. He has a great instinct for shaping strong hooks and progressions, and he helped make sure the songs still felt catchy and uplifting even when the emotions behind them were quite heavy.
More than a breakup record, PRETTY PETTY also feels like a project about resilience. What do you hope listeners who are going through their own heartbreak take away from it?
I hope they realise they’re not alone. Heartbreak can feel incredibly isolating, but healing is possible, even if it takes time. If this EP can remind someone that there’s still a path forward after the pain, then it’s done its job.
You’ve said you refuse to carry unhealed baggage forward. After finishing this project, do you feel like you’ve found closure, or are you still discovering what healing looks like?
I think I found closure in knowing that walking away was the right decision. Of course, I still miss the good moments sometimes, but finishing this project helped me accept that I deserved more.
Now it’s about focusing on myself — rebuilding healthy routines and learning how to move forward in a better way.
Finally, what’s next for you?
This year, I really want to explore performing more and use those shows to tell the stories behind my songs and connect with the audience through them. I’m planning a showcase down the line in an intimate setting. It’s been a while since I did a show like that — the last one was two years ago.
