Striking the right chord

By Wong S.Y.

Sparks did not fly when Singaporean singer-songwriter-actress Boon Hui Lu and music producer Cheong Waii Hoong first met at the NTUC Youth Club in 2014. Their romantic stars were not yet aligned, although musically, they were instantly in tune.

At the time, they were NTU undergraduates: she was in her second year of Accountancy, and he was a freshman majoring in Economics.

Said Waii Hoong: “When I first met Hui Lu, I was blown away by her singing ‘Royals’, a song by Lorde, at the NTUC Youth Club. To this day, I find Hui Lu’s singing voice unique.”

Hui Lu said she found Waii Hoong humorous and witty when they first met. After chatting, she said: “We realised we both wanted to pursue music careers after university.”

After graduation, alumni couple Boon Hui Lu and Cheong Waii Hoong pursued their music careers.

They discussed taking music electives the following semester and choosing pop and jazz. The NTU electives bring students from different faculties together to learn and jam every Friday. After every Friday night session at the NIE Building, Hui Lu and Waii Hoong would have dinner and head home together.

Waii Hoong reminisced: "Taking the music elective together became our most cherished memory at NTU. After a long week of classes, jamming together felt like the perfect way to wind down. The final exam involved a band performance, which we really enjoyed."

They started collaborating on music and entered an NTU songwriting contest called “Music Express 飞乐时空” held at the Nanyang Auditorium on campus in 2014. She composed the song and lyrics, and he did the arrangement. The duo took home the trophy.

A year after their first meeting, they started dating after Waii Hoong confessed his feelings for her at a posh restaurant.

Since then, they have become music partners, with her performing and him handling music production. They joined other music competitions and have often placed in the top three.

Said Hui Lu: “We are both free-spirited Sagittarians, and we complement each other well in music-making.”

Hui Lu started her career as a child actress and represented Singapore in the popular Taiwanese reality TV singing competition One Million Star in 2012.

After graduation, she was offered a job at a big accounting firm but turned it down to pursue her music dreams in Taiwan, where she signed with the Taiwanese record label HIM International Music.

After Waii Hoong graduated in 2017, he joined her in Taiwan and has set up his music label to produce music for top celebrities such as Kenny Khoo. The couple held their wedding ceremony in October 2023.

The couple at Cheong Waii Hoong’s Convocation in 2017.

The music factor

Today, the husband-and-wife duo are building a thriving music career in Taiwan, much like Beyoncé and Jay-Z — she’s the singer, and he’s the producer making it all happen.

Hui Lu reflects on the challenges for couples who work and live together. “The biggest is staying objective when it comes to work, as personal feelings are involved. When we work together in the music studio, we learn to take turns directing and controlling the music process."

“There is also joy in the process as we discover new inspirations and keep each other motivated. We feel we understand each other without needing to explain much.”

Hui Lu has written and sung her songs and collaborated with illustrious names like Hebe Tien and Namewee. Her songs “Every Day is a Miracle” and “Your Body Speaks” were hits featured in Taiwanese singer Hebe Tien's popular album. With nearly 600,000 followers and over 227 million views on her YouTube channel, Hui Lu has built a strong online presence. In 2023, she reignited her acting career, taking on the role of the female lead in the Mediacorp TV drama series “Till the End”.

The couple is based in Taiwan now.

They are thankful to NTU for their musical journey together and for allowing students to nurture and pursue interests beyond their academic disciplines.

Hui Lu said that her project work at NTU taught her how to work harmoniously with people from different backgrounds and instilled the importance of teamwork, which is vital in any music performance.

Waii Hoong remarked: “Critical thinking is a very important skill I picked up from my university days. In music production, it’s necessary to be precise about the message each piece of music is meant to convey. This is similar to analysing the requirements of school projects from the briefs we were given.”

Hui Lu took time out last year to be a judge for the NTU Alumni Club Talent Contest.

“It was comforting to see fellow NTU graduates still sharing the same passion for performing and music, even as they pursued other careers,” said Hui Lu.

Hui Lu hopes to achieve the same success enjoyed by fellow NTU alumna Stefanie Sun, who has always been her role model.

She enthused: “Stefanie has been my idol since I was a little girl and played a big part in inspiring me to pursue a career in music. I used to mimic her singing tone and accent because I listened to her songs all the time.”

Looking ahead, the couple hopes to accomplish even more. Hui Lu has just completed a 10th anniversary music showcase over Valentine's Day in Singapore, and Waii Hoong looks forward to new project collaborations in the new year.