11 Dec 2014 by Adeline Lum CM-
They are the voices that audiences at ballrooms and concert halls have been enjoying for the last eight years, treated to favourite inspirational and gospel tunes in the likes of Il Divo, Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban.
Hers is the familiar lead voice that filled Istana Budaya not too long ago, enjoyed by high society and the who’s who of Kuala Lumpur.
Put together and you have the T4C (Tenors for Christ) and Doreen Tang collaboration.
Not only are they the latest talk in town at corporate and charity events, but this new collaboration will be releasing TWO completely DIY music videos this December.
“When A Child is Born” featuring T4C and Doreen Tang will be released this 12th December (Fri) whereas their cover of Michael Jackson’s “One Day in Your Life” will be released this 26th December (Boxing Day)
Backstage, the members of T4C are quite a riot. Their camaraderie, marked by a lifetime of friendship, is punctuated with wit, humour and jabs. But add Doreen into the mix, and things escalate to new heights.
A mixed bag of personalities, Josh Awang, Victor Chua, Tom Tan and Doreen Tang click so well off stage and on stage one would think they have been together forever.
“Before we met Doreen, we’ve always imagined her to be this slightly older woman with curlers in her hair and wearing false teeth,” said Josh.
“Well, we’ve always known her as “an old friend of Tom’s,” added Victor.
Despite having heard of Doreen over the years, they have never met her until their recent act together at Asian Beacon’s 45th anniversary dinner.
“I have not been singing actively for the past six and a half years ever since I became a mother. But I’ve prayed over the years for an avenue to get back to singing before it was too late and I’d really have to wear false teeth and curlers,” said Doreen, clearly on par with the boys when bantering is in session.
“We’ve been together for eight years but we haven’t really done anything beyond performing at events. We have done charity, corporate, and wedding events and so the next most natural step was to produce a music video but we were too contented and needed some kind of push,” said Josh.
So when T4C and Doreen Tang finally got together, they found tremendous chemistry on stage and off stage. This new collaboration became an apparent answer to both T4C’s and Doreen’s prayers.
For T4C, the impetus they were looking for came in the form of a former diva coming out of hiatus. And as such, since Doreen came into the picture, the T4C boys testify that things have gone up a few notches.
“Our technical requests to our organizers had always been 3 cordless mics, 2 stage monitors and a CD player, but since Doreen joined us, it is now 4 cordless mics, 3 stage monitors AND a holding-changing room,” added Victor.
“But truth be told, it feels like Doreen has been with us since day one of T4C, like she’s always been a part of us all this while,” said Tom.
The idea for music videos came about when Josh, realizing that they had stumbled upon such a gem of talent, decided to invite Doreen to do music video duets with him. It was also a way to hint and nudge to the other T4C boys that music videos was the next order of business.
“For a while there, we were suspicious. We thought Josh was slowly showing Tom and myself the door, and replacing us with Doreen,” quipped Victor.
Prior to this, driving all the way to Shah Alam to record at Joshua’s private studio was a chore, but now the gang had new enthusiasm they even entertained the idea of going up to Fraser’s Hill just to shoot a D.I.O (do it ourselves) music video.
But this new found chemistry has not only made their collaborative journey more “gung ho”, it has also been peppered with a series of unrelenting but hilarious incidences.
“We had driven up to Fraser’s to shoot the music video for “One Day in Your Life,” but when we got to the top, it was raining and to make matters worse, Josh’s car had only 3%- 5% worth of petrol left! And then I started to panic,” said the diva amongst the thorns.
“But in all that panic, Josh was so calm, composed and transfixed on the potential shoot location more than the petrol gauge that was already flickering by this time,” added Doreen.
The reason they ran out of petrol was that Josh had filled a different car with gas that morning. They had to buy petrol in a plastic container at a sundry shop to fill the tank.
Because it was getting really cold with the sun setting quickly, they only had 1.5 hours to shoot. (a proper shoot for a 5 min. video takes no less than 7 hours).
And since it was getting foggy and dark up in Fraser’s, they decided to rush down to shoot in front of the picturesque Sungai Selangor Dam. But by the time they got there, not only was it pitch black, they realize that they had left the camera with all the precious footages inside at Syazan Inn, 42km of winding roads back up at Fraser’s Hill.
A few weeks later, they continued video shooting near Ampang Look Out Point but it rained massively on them, cutting short their session. Not giving up, Josh, Tom and this time together with Alan Yun, model and actor but now camera person for the shoot, went up again a week later to get more shots.
This time, Josh’s car had a flat battery and left them stranded for almost 4 hours under the scorching sun because the car dealer’s road assist messed up royally.
Such has been the adventures of Doreen Tang and the T4C boys since they ventured into music video production. There were many more incidences but they reckon it would take up an entire book to tell the story.
With their new found friendship, chemistry and collaboration, T4C and Doreen Tang proudly presents, their first two music videos, “When A Child is Born” and a cover of Michael Jackson’s “One Day in Your Life.”
“One Day in Your Life” was an obvious choice because of its beautiful message that applies to the prodigal son or daughter or friend. It’s almost like a song from God the Father to His Children who have wondered away,” said Josh.
“We’re hoping to reach a wider audience through these music videos so that our message of hope and reconciliation will touch more lives,” added Tom.
“And we have not forgotten our mandate of coming out with our full debut album, hopefully before we reach sixty,” quips Victor, at which point the group looks at Tom and laughs. “That’s not too long from now,” added Victor to more laughter.
To engage this new collaboration of T4C and Doreen Tang, call 012-6511-656 for inquiries and further details.
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