It looks like 2026 isn’t off to the smoothest start for the Singland Festival, a three-day event touted as Singapore’s largest indoor New Year celebration at Marina Bay Sands. First, K-pop star Rain lamented that the audience was too quiet during his set on New Year's Eve. Now, Canadian singer-songwriter Henry Lau is the next star to publicly vent his frustration over performing at the event on Jan 3.
The performance was meant to mark the 36-year-old former Super Junior-M member’s Singapore debut as a solo artiste but instead saw the multi-instrumentalist roaming the stage with his violin in hand and calling out the venue in the process.
Apologising to the audience, Lau said, “I hope that after today, no other singer, no other performer, will perform at this place again.
“I love Marina Bay Sands, I love you guys, it isn’t their fault, it is just that this is not a place for performing.”
What was the reason for his outburst? Henry Lau went on to explain that visibility was a major issue.
“If I am standing here, they can’t see me, they can’t see me, no one can see me. And the most important thing is I want to see you all,” he elaborated as he continuously walked around the stage to address fans at different corners of the venue.
Organised by live events company Season Culture, Singland Festival was held at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Convention Centre.
The MBS Convention Centre typically hosts conferences and exhibitions and has long been chastised by concert goers for poor sound quality and obstructed views. Among them, attendees at Hong Kong singer Joey Yung's concert in 2023 complained about the terrible sound quality.
“I’m only doing this for the sake of future artistes because it’s actually very hard to perform here. The set list I prepared for today. I couldn’t perform it the way I wanted because I want to see all of you,” Lau explained.
Fans rallied behind Henry Lau, with many commenting online that despite the visually impressive-looking 360-degree stage and massive LED screens, it felt cramped, with many not being able to see the performer.
“The problem with the layout is that it is not suitable for concerts because there are too many pillars restricting the view of the stage. Even VIP ticket holders couldn’t see the whole stage, and many people were blocked due to the pillars around the stage,” read a comment.
8days.sg has reached out to organisers for comment.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
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The performance was meant to mark the 36-year-old former Super Junior-M member’s Singapore debut as a solo artiste but instead saw the multi-instrumentalist roaming the stage with his violin in hand and calling out the venue in the process.
Apologising to the audience, Lau said, “I hope that after today, no other singer, no other performer, will perform at this place again.
“I love Marina Bay Sands, I love you guys, it isn’t their fault, it is just that this is not a place for performing.”
What was the reason for his outburst? Henry Lau went on to explain that visibility was a major issue.
“If I am standing here, they can’t see me, they can’t see me, no one can see me. And the most important thing is I want to see you all,” he elaborated as he continuously walked around the stage to address fans at different corners of the venue.
Organised by live events company Season Culture, Singland Festival was held at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Convention Centre.
The MBS Convention Centre typically hosts conferences and exhibitions and has long been chastised by concert goers for poor sound quality and obstructed views. Among them, attendees at Hong Kong singer Joey Yung's concert in 2023 complained about the terrible sound quality.
“I’m only doing this for the sake of future artistes because it’s actually very hard to perform here. The set list I prepared for today. I couldn’t perform it the way I wanted because I want to see all of you,” Lau explained.
Fans rallied behind Henry Lau, with many commenting online that despite the visually impressive-looking 360-degree stage and massive LED screens, it felt cramped, with many not being able to see the performer.
“The problem with the layout is that it is not suitable for concerts because there are too many pillars restricting the view of the stage. Even VIP ticket holders couldn’t see the whole stage, and many people were blocked due to the pillars around the stage,” read a comment.
8days.sg has reached out to organisers for comment.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...