She's the first face that greets us when we come into this world. Her tender love cushions the falls and disappointment we experience. She works hard to be everything we need, and her legacy is imprinted upon all we accomplish.
This Mother's Day, Hear65 celebrates the undeniable contributions of a mother's love in shaping the careers and achievements of some of our local musicians.
We spoke to eight artists and got them to share some of their most treasured memories of her, along with a track of theirs Mom has taken a special fondness of.
Favourite memory of Mom:
"My favourite memory of us was during our Covid lockdown. We were watching this 24h Covid charity concert while eating homemade dinner, which was rare for us on weekday nights up until Covid. She wasn’t impressed by some of the performances, so she suddenly had an idea that we should film our own short cover of 'Lean On Me' on the spot. She sang the melody and I harmonised and ad-libbed. I like this fun, irreverent side of her, and that we can share a lot of dark-humoured jokes together, which I don’t think most people can do with their moms."
A song of mine that Mom enjoys:
"As of now, I think her favourite song of mine is 'Beauty For Ashes'. She told me that when she was feeling down, she remembered the lyrics I wrote to keep herself going: 'Gotta keep trying even when you’re crying // Gotta keep pushing even when you’re losing.'
However, I think when my single 'Keep Me Hoping' comes out, that will be her favourite. I wrote it after losing my grandfather (my mom’s dad), and the first time she heard it was when she visited me in Boston for my graduation from Berklee College of Music, just six months after my grandfather passed away.
It’s a song to acknowledge our grief, but also to remind us of the hope we hold onto that he’s in a better place and we’ll meet him again. It has a lot of soul to it - musically, emotionally and spiritually. It was my mom who introduced me to The Temptations and Marvin Gaye."
Favourite memory of Mom:
"When she took me to piano lessons when I was five. Or when I was sick, she would take me to the doctors, and then we would go get ice cream together afterwards.
But really, every moment of quality time I spend with mom is worth cherishing long into the future, because we have a bond and an understanding that I can only describe as pure love."
A song of mine that Mom enjoys:
"She likes piano and harmonies, so probably 'The Space Between Us' off my Mirror Work album. She also has a really positive spirit, so something uplifting like my latest single 'Replay'."
Favourite memory of Mom:
"One of my favourite memories is a recent one - I spent the latter half of 2020 in Idaho living with my mom, and one day she came to me and asked to learn how to play the piano. We ended up spending 10% of the lesson learning, and 90% of the lesson laughing."
"At least she can now play the first 15 seconds of Für Elise."
A song of mine that Mom enjoys:
"No doubt it’d be 'Loved You So'. At every show of mine she has come to, she loves to shout and echo the chorus. She definitely appreciates the interactive factor of that song."
Favourite memory of Mom:
"My favourite memory is of her singing me folks songs to put me to sleep when I was really young!"
A song of mine that Mom enjoys:
'幸福可以很簡單'. "This is a song released in 2017 on my first album. It’s actually a jingle for a rice brand, Royal Umbrella SG. I wrote the song because I was inspired by my mom and the dishes that she whips up. Now that I’m away from home and based in Taiwan, I don’t get to taste her homemade meals and I really relate to the song more. Happiness can be a really simple meal with my family at home."
Favourite memory of Mom:
"It was a weekend morning when the whole family was home, and I remember whoever was watching TV in the living room at that time definitely had the volume up way too loud. I woke up abruptly because of that, walked out the room all annoyed and groggy, only to find my mom rewatching my live performances which she attended and filmed. Won’t ever forget that."
A song of mine that Mom enjoys:
"This definitely isn’t an easy one for me ‘cause my mom listens to every release I put out, downloads them and even critics them when she doesn’t really like it! But if I had to pick one, I would say it’s 'RISE' because she loves the music video very much."
Favourite memory of Mom:
"It's really hard to pick one specific memory since mom and I are super close! But one memory that is always replaying in the back of my mind was from a few years ago in 2015. We were still living in Australia during that time and would frequently visit Kakadu! Mom and I bonded over cute insects and animals, and it’s a breath of fresh air to see mom enjoying herself after a long tiring week. Mom is a wanderlust, and I can’t wait to bring her out to travel once the pandemic is over!"
A song of mine that Mom enjoys:
"Well, it’s super ironic since it’s also the only song that I have up online, but I think mum absolutely loves 'cry'. I can’t totally vouch that she enjoys the song but she’s been humming it while doing her errands and I love that! It really does warm my heart. Mom’s a hopeless romantic and she’s a sucker for poetry and anything love related. (And so am I!)"
Favourite memory with Mom:
"To pinpoint my favourite memory is hard, but I can tell you one that puts a smile on my face. I was five or six and I was getting this religious haircut where they would cut all my hair off and leave a small ponytail for me to become a 'Brahmin.' I was crying and crying and I remember throughout the whole process, my mom was trying to comfort me and take care of me. Even after that, she knew I was still sad and scared so she never left my side."
A song of mine that Mom enjoys:
"My mom isn't a really big hip-hop head like I am! But I think she likes 'Sunshine'. Our lives are stressful enough as it is and, damn, my mom works hard as hell to keep the family going. The positive message of looking forward and making peace with yourself with the melodic chorus; my mom likes that kind of stuff. Plus no expletives are a bonus too. So yeah, it would have to be Sunshine️."
Favourite memory of Mom:
"I loved exploring the streets of India with my mom, shopping and taking in the beautiful culture especially as a four-year-old. For religious reasons, we travelled to India at least once a year and I have such fond memories there.
I remember there was a little cafe where we would end up at many afternoons, ordering the same ice cream while we took a break from the heat and all that walking. One of my favourite memories is of my mom and I in a tiny little shop, getting my measurements taken for my first custom saree. I even got to pick out the fabric."
A song of mine that Mom enjoys:
"'Stay'. She likes happy songs that are easy on the ears and catchy. She’s also told me that she likes this particular song!"
Listen to a playlist of the songs that our local artists have picked out to be 'Mom's favourite' below.
