Malaysian Chabor sees surge in popularity

This Malaysian Chabor has become so popular that a fan from China flew all the way to her hometown of Johor Baru.

And Malaysian singer-actress Joyce Chu has Chinese reality TV show Heroes Of Music to thank for this surge in popularity.

Chushot to stardom in 2014 after a music video of her song Malaysia Chabor, where she addressed online claims that she was Korean.

She was in town on Wednesday to meet the media and promote talent auditions for local training company ACME Academy, where she used to be a trainee.

PHOTO: WEIBO.COM/HEROES OF REMIX

Chu told The New Paper about an encounter with a fan who turned up at her parents' house in Johor Baru two weeks ago.

She said in a mix of Mandarin and English: "I thought it was strange that he could even find my house.

"My father was a bit scared that he was not really a fan, but the guy let my father take a photo of his passport to prove that he would not do something bad.

"My father was very kind, he drove the fan to the nearest Popular bookstore to buy my EP because he couldn't find it in China.

"The guy then took a photo of himself holding my EP in the garden of my parent's house. This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened (to me)."

PHOTO: WEIBO.COM/JOYCE CHU

Chu said she was in China when she found out about the incident.

The 19-year-old added: "I'm happy to have such a dedicated fan, but it's quite creepy."

Chu was approached by producers of Heroes Of Remix earlier this year to join the reality TV talent show which promotes electronic dance music (EDM) in China.

On the show, mentors such as South Korean singer Psy, Chinese-American singer Wang Leehom, Chinese music duo Phoenix Legend and Taiwanese singer Harlem Yu,help contestants with song choices and arranging and incorporating EDM style into the songs.

The show's participants have included established regional artists such as South Korean boy groups iKon, Monsta X and VIXX, and Chinese-Hong Kong singer G.E.M.

NERVOUS

Chu, who was hand-picked by Wang to be in his team, said: "I was very shocked... I didn't expect him to choose me. He told me that he had seen my work and really liked it.

"I'm also a fan of his work and I think he's really handsome, so when I first met him I was nervous and I couldn't speak properly."

Working with Wang went smoothly as they communicated well with each other, said Chu.

For the first episode of the show, Chu sang her own song I MiSS U because she wanted the audience to get to know her.

She said: "I remember that when I filmed the first episode, I didn't have many fans, but after the filming of the final episode, a China fan club was formed, calling themselves Grass Army."

When asked if she was intimidated by the other contestants, Chu said their "music style is different" and "cannot be compared" with hers.

Chu, who studied at Si Ling Secondary School in Singapore, also recently dabbled in acting.

She had a role in Singapore cosplay film Young & Fabulous, which was released in May. The film also starred local actor Aloysius Pang and Melbourne-born Singapore-based actor Joshua Tan.

The film was Chu's acting debut and it earned $1.2 million at the box office.

She said: "I was quite surprised when it did well because I didn't have any expectations at all. I wasn't sure if a cosplay film would appeal to the public, but it makes me want to do more movies."

Even though she is now focusing on recording a full-length album, slated for release next year, she is keen to do more acting and is in talks to do acting projects in Taiwan or China.

"My album will feature self-composed songs and the style of music will be acoustic and youthful.

"Maybe this time I might dance as well," said Chu.

"I'm happy to have such a dedicated fan, but it's quite creepy."

- Joyce Chu, on a fan from China who turned up at her parents' house in Johor Baru