[UPDATE, 22 May: this post has been updated with details of Joanna Dong's second show.]

When Singaporean jazz singer Joanna Dong performed at the Esplanade back in 2008 alongside other emerging artists for Baybeats Festival, she had just launched her first solo jazz EP Lullaby Nomad.

Now, after emerging a finalist in the second season of last year's Sing! China and with the release of a brand new album, she will be making a return to hold her first solo concert. Due to overwhelming demand – more than 90% of tickets snapped up within a week – Dong has added a second show.

The concert is titled after her album So Here I Am, taken from the lyrics of Journey's hit 'Open Arms' which Dong sang in the grand finals of Sing! China. The Mandarin title《我是真的》is an abbreviated reference to one of the tracks in her album, a cover of Wakin Chau’s ‘I Truly Give My Love To You’. 

Both titles were chosen by Dong to reflect her sentiments around this album. She explained, "I hope I can give back to my fans through this concert, and genuinely thank them for the love they have shown me throughout the years.

"However, the phrase also serves as a reminder to myself that whilst our collective collection with singing contests may well be a passing phenomenon, I am not just a product, nor is this just a phase for me. I am a real person, with eccentricities, insecurities, a sense of humour and complex desires. I want to share that with my audiences. The English title So Here I Am alludes to the same idea".

Apart from songs from her new album, Dong will also be performing jazz covers.

Joanna Dong's So Here I Am concert will take place at the Esplanade Concert Hall on Saturday, 30 June at 7:30pm and on Sunday, 1 July at 5pm. Tickets are on sale for $38, $58, $78 and $98 via SISTIC. Get them here.

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