Inch by inch

PHOTO: Nurjannah Zulkifli

IT HAS been an extraordinary year for local singer-songwriter Inch Chua.

The 22-year-old played at one of music’s biggest festivals, South By Southwest (SXSW), in March for the second time, made her debut at Canadian Music Week, and signed on with American talent management agency Mighty Fresh, which represents YouTube stars like David Choi and Michelle Phan.

Last month, she acted in her first-ever musical, the critically-acclaimed restaging of Lao Jiu: The Musical, directed by Kuo Jian Hong, daughter of the late playwright Kuo Pao Kun.

Earlier this year, Chua moved to California and is now based there.

By no means does she think she has made it, though, despite living the dream of relocating to a city full of opportunities and connections.

"People think the grass is always greener on the other side," she said. "That's not always true. For every nice, talented person you want to meet, you have to sieve through a thousand a**holes."