‘S’pore show was probably my favourite'
Aussie pop duo The Veronicas on their love for Asia and being comfortable with their bodies
Australian pop duo and identical twins The Veronicas love Asia so much, they are convinced they have a spiritual connection to it.
“We are kind of like hippies and we think we used to be Asian in our past lives because we feel so comfortable here,” younger sister Lisa Origliasso, wearing a white floral cheongsam, told The New Paper backstage at the Music Matters indie music festival yesterday.
“We went to Chinatown (the day before) and visited the Hindu and Buddhist temples, and later we sat in a shop and had mooncakes and Chinese tea.
“I really love that Mid-Autumn Festival story about the star-crossed lovers (Hou Yi and Chang’e), it’s so romantic. And I also bought this dress at the Chinatown markets.”
The Veronicas, both 31, were in town for their inaugural Singapore gig at Millian club at St James Power Station for Music Matters’ opening night on Monday.
“Our Singapore show was probably my favourite one in the last five years,” said Jessica Origliasso.
“The energy was fantastic and I felt so pumped up when I was coming off stage.”
The sisters said the gig was extra exciting as they had been wanting to come to Singapore for 10 years and finally got to visit for the first time.
Lisa said: “With social media, we can always chat with our fans, so we feel like we already know them. Still, it was great to meet them backstage finally.”
FOURTH ALBUM
The Veronicas released their debut studio album The Secret Life of... in 2005, and have since come out with three albums with hit singles like Hook Me Up and Untouched.
They made a splash in June with their new electro pop single In My Blood, from their upcoming fourth album, by posing for its cover wearing only purple body glitter.
It was a shot by acclaimed Ukrainian fashion photographer Sasha Samsonova and it showed the twins looking like the shape-shifting X-Men character Mystique.
“We didn’t really feel exposed taking the pictures, as we trusted Sasha to give them a high fashion look,” said Jessica. “She’s worked with a lot of celebrities like (US reality TV star) Kylie Jenner.”
Added Lisa: “Besides, we didn’t feel naked because wearing the body paint was like putting on a second skin. We felt like sea creatures or aliens. (The body paint) made us move and walk differently, and we felt very long and lean.”
While The Veronicas are proud to bare their bodies, they have also been targets of body shamers because of their slim figures.
In June, a fan wrote on their Facebook page that they should eat something and he would personally pay for the food.
Jessica replied to his post with their daily grocery list of organic vegetables and said she hoped the netizen would make good on his offer.
“Yes, Jess is the sassy one,” said Lisa. Jessica, who is a vegan, said: “Usually, we ignore mean comments, but this guy was just pretending to be concerned, so I decided to do something about it.
“As a society, we are too concerned about numbers on a scale. If you’re not too thin, you’re too fat.
“Health is about feeling balanced in your body, soul and mind, and that is how we both feel. People should stop projecting their own insecurities onto others.” Although they heard about the Zika virus in Singapore on their flight over,
The Veronicas are unfazed by the possibility of contracting it here.
“Mosquitoes do tend to find me, admittedly, but life’s too short to worry about stuff like that. We’ll still go out as usual; we’re excited about visiting Gardens By The Bay this afternoon,” said Lisa.
“We have really connected with Singapore and we definitely won’t wait 10 years to come again. In fact, maybe we’ll have another holiday here in 10 days,” she joked.
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