\n<\/p>\n
We’ve all been students before and know just how stressful exam periods can be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While there are many ways to destress \u2014 some eat, some sleep, some exercise \u2014 how many of us can say we casually compose a song to unwind?<\/p>\n
Well, 12-year-old Lyla Ng<\/a> can.<\/p>\n For those who find that name familiar, the budding musician was the youngest of the Top16 contestants of 2023 Mediacorp reality competition\u00a0Battle Of The Buskers<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n She is also the daughter of local songwriter and producer Eric Ng, who has worked with Asia’s biggest stars from\u00a0A-mei<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Tanya Chua<\/a>,\u00a0Sandy Lam<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Stefanie Sun<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Though it has been two years since the competition \u2014 Layla was eliminated during the busking rounds \u2014 this aspiring singer clearly hasn\u2019t given up on her music dreams.<\/p>\n In a recent interview with Zaobao.sg<\/a>, Lyla shared that she’d been actively creating music after completing her\u00a0Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in October this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n She’s even recorded a new English song, ‘I\u2019ll Never Forget’,\u00a0<\/em>her\u00a0<\/em>first new single since her debut at eight years old.<\/p>\n The single is scheduled to be released on November 14 and Lyla was recently even verified on Spotify.\u00a0\u201cI feel happy and very fulfilled,” she chirped.\u00a0<\/p>\n Has she been balancing songwriting with school well though? The soon-to-be Sec 1 student gushed that preparing for PSLE was actually easier than expected. \u00a0<\/p>\n “I only felt nervous just before the exam when the teacher said: ‘There\u2019s one minute left before the exam starts’,” she recalled. “However, because I studied very hard, I felt the PSLE was not as difficult as I imagined.”<\/p>\n Remarkably, she wrote \u2018I\u2019ll Never Forget\u2019 amid her PSLE prep.<\/p>\n The new song captures her happy memories in primary school, including joyful moments during her Primary 5 camping trip when everyone danced around the campfire.<\/p>\n \u201cI started primary school at age seven and now I\u2019m 12. That\u2019s half of my life so far, I really can\u2019t believe it!,” she beamed.\u00a0<\/p>\n “These years were full of joy and excitement. There were ups and downs, but mostly good things, like spending time with friends and seeing my grades improve.\u201d<\/p>\n When revision hit a bottleneck, Lyla started writing the song to change her mood.<\/p>\n \u201cThe creation process was very fast, but after the exams, improving the lyrics and melody took longer. Previously I felt the song could be better, but I am satisfied with the improved version.\u201d<\/p>\n She proudly shared that, by chance, the song was chosen by her school as the theme song for their Primary 6 graduation ceremony.<\/p>\n Some of her friends even got to hear it a day before the interview. \u201cThey said it sounded great and applauded loudly,” she quipped.<\/p>\n But the first listener, of course, was her father.<\/p>\n Eric, who accompanied his daughter to the interview, said he immediately recognised the song as a good composition but reminded her to enunciate clearly.<\/p>\n He added that besides handling the lyrics and melody, she personally played the accompaniment and performed a guitar solo in the song.<\/p>\n Although he did work on the song with Lyla, \u201c70 per cent was done by her\u201d and he only played a guiding role.<\/p>\n Eric further revealed that his daughter has already recorded three new songs, and has another 30 original songs ready to be produced at any time.<\/p>\n \u201cAt her current songwriting pace, she could release a new song every month for the next few years,” said the proud dad.<\/p>\n Lyla obtained her\u00a0busking license when she was only nine years old and has been able to perform on the streets more often now that she has finished exams.<\/p>\n Her busking earnings were initially handled by her parents. As she became more responsible, Eric now plans to deposit 30 per cent directly into her account for her to manage freely, while the remainder will continue to be overseen by her parents.<\/p>\n What does she do with her earnings then?<\/p>\n Well, she previously used that money to buy herself a bicycle, and the loving sister recently also got one for her younger brother.<\/p>\n Looking back at her busking experience, Lyla recalled that one time she asked\u00a0the audience to sing along to Taylor Swift<\/a>‘s ‘Shake It Off’.<\/p>\n To her surprise, the audience response was poor \u2014 surely everyone knows the hit title track from Taylor’s 1989<\/em> album? \u2014 but Lyla overcame the embarrassment and followed through with the performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her courage then touched the heart of a mother in the crowd, who gave her S$20 out of admiration.<\/p>\n That\u2019s literally what \u2018Shake It Off\u2019 is all about, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n