If you were a young rising artist, performing in front of thousands in a national arena would probably feel like something that you can only fantasize about.
For Indonesian singer-songwriter Jinan Laetitia, that became a reality that she lived through not once, but six times over two weeks just last month.
Four months after performing at the 2023 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, the Jakarta-born artist found herself on another flight back to Singapore, this time to support British rock band Coldplay at their Music of the Spheres concerts in the city-state.
Jinan, who entered the music world with her debut EP POV: The Prelude in 2020, initially found having to be on stage in the 55,000-capacity Singapore National Stadium daunting, and recalled trying not to think of the size of her audience during her preparations.
"When I arrived at the stadium, I was really nervous because it was really big. On the performance night, I was really nervous until [I was] at the top of the stairs," the 21-year-old shared.
Although the crowd inside the stadium had gathered to see Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, and Guy Berryman, Jinan recalled receiving a warm reception that made her feel at home: "When I stepped on stage, I saw everyone just with this beaming smile on their face and I felt very welcomed. So I'm glad that the shows turned out better than I had expected."
Donning vibrant and stylish outfits, the Warner Music Indonesia act cut an elegant figure as she charmed her audience with originals such as 'Indulgence' and her 2024 single, 'Symbols'.
With a keenness to find new ways to tell her musical stories — as heard in her 2022 debut studio album One — and an appetite for growth, Jinan is someone you can fully expect to build on her tremendous early career achievement in Singapore.
While she was in Singapore for the Music of the Spheres shows, Jinan spoke to Bandwagon about opening for and meeting Coldplay, how her education in Fine Arts has influenced her music, and what we can expect from her in the near future.
Hi, Jinan! You were in Singapore just last September to perform at the 2023 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. What was it like finding out that you would be back here to open for Coldplay?
It was so amazing, surreal. Because after I flew back from Singapore to Indonesia, I already missed it. So yeah, I'm very happy to meet all the Singaporeans again. There's a saying that Singaporeans are cold, but I don't see that in the crowds at all. I felt like everyone was really appreciative and they wanted to discover new music, and I appreciated that a lot.
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What's it like performing to a crowd of thousands for six nights in a row?
Well, I was really nervous about my stamina at first because it's a really big stage and we're performing [for] six nights. But whenever I stepped on stage, everyone was very supportive. And we did like a cheer where I said, "Singapore say 'yeah'". And then they shouted back really loud. It fuelled my energy and I [thought] I [could] survive the six nights all right.
Tell us what it was like to meet Coldplay in person. What are some memorable moments from the time you spent with the band?
They're very humble and I like the fact that whenever we get to meet them, we're all connecting on the fact that we're human beings and we're musicians that care about our art. Yeah, it's just like talking about something you're both passionate about.
Your single ‘Indulgence’, which was released last December, has a sound that’s quite different from that of your earlier releases. What were your sonic inspirations while putting together the track?
You're right, it's quite different from my previous tracks. When I was making 'Indulgence', I was having this phase where I was really obsessed with percussions. So me and my producer, Osvaldorio, listened to a lot of tracks with drums and beats and we just collected different samples that we liked and tried different patterns. So yeah, it's a very percussion-centric track.
Besides being a singer-songwriter, you have pursued an education in Fine Arts. In what ways has your educational background influenced your creative output as a musician?
That's a great question. Something I discovered is that all the arts, like the visual arts or just music, they're very similar in a way. Because when I studied visual arts, like when you paint or you sculpt, you make these little tiny details that add up that make something beautiful. And music is like that too. When you're making a track, you put these beats and then a synth and then the bass and then the vocals and whatever. And you add these tiny details that add up [to] make a beautiful composition. Yeah, they're similar in that way.
It has been two years since you launched your debut album, One. Can we expect a follow-up to it anytime soon? What do you hope to explore in your next album?
I'm the type of artist who is very enthusiastic about putting out new material. So I'm trying to put new things out as fast as possible. But sometimes it takes time, you know, to make something genuine. So yeah, I'm just working on my second album right now. But I promise I'll put it out as soon as it's finished.
How do you hope to grow artistically moving forward?
I'm very passionate about meeting other musicians and how their work is different, but also how their work is the same. Now I'm in Singapore and I [have gotten] to meet a lot of Singaporean artists, I feel like each of us has our unique characteristics. And I feel like especially for Asian artists, we need to strengthen our uniqueness more so we can grow as a region. Yes, I'm very passionate about showing our uniqueness and growing as a collective. I hope I can get to see that someday.
Watch a special karaoke edition of On The Record, featuring Jinan Laetitia, here:
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