Joanna Francois, only 13, is part of an Asian jazz vocal ensemble JazzKids, and her vocal talent has already made her no stranger to performances, and TV and radio shows. We grab this young prodigy for a quick banter to find out more.

Who is your idol?
My idol is Natalie Cole!

First thought when you see yourself on TV?
Why did I not wear the other skirt?

You must get requests to sing all the time. Find them annoying?
Yes, at family gatherings and parties. I like singing, so I don’t really mind. But they have to give me some advanced warning!

What is your training regime? Do you practice in the shower?
I warm up before practice and before a performance and I appreciate all the coaching I get! I practice singing in the shower all the time!

Why do people drink wine while listening to jazz?
I have not tasted wine, and I don’t really know why. Ask me when I am 21.

Words for those who think jazz is boring?
I’ll recommend them to swing, which is a form of jazz. I guarantee they’ll be off their feet jitterbuggin’ in no time!

What puzzles you about adults?
Why can’t they just say “Yes?”

Rain is currently gracing Kay Ngee Tan Architects Gallery. No, we’re not referring to the cute young Korean stud who (almost) always sports a pair of over-sized sunglasses. We’re talking about a show by lensman Ming that was launched Apr 17.

Exhibited for the third time, the seeds for the exhibition Rain were sowed in 2003, when Ming faced difficulty in shooting buildings satisfactorily because of—what else—the weather. “You know how it is when it’s always raining, you can’t shoot the buildings properly. So I thought I might as well take pictures of the rain. That was in the middle of 2003, when the world was gloomy. There was the Iraqi war, SARS, bombings, and it seemed like the world was coming to an end. And as a child, I remember rain as disappointment. When it rained, I couldn’t go out and play and the laundry had to be washed again,” Ming says.

But take note, Rain is not a depressing show. Besides ominous photos of dark clouds and all, there are shots of blue skies and the rainbow, drawing parallels to hope after trouble-laden days. There’s always sunshine after the rain, clichéd as that may sound.

Many claim that there’s nothing to shoot in Singapore. If you’re one of them, check out Rain. You may leave impressed, awestruck by its concept, or depart nonchalantly with a hazy impression of what it is all about. Either way, you’ll get a sense of how even the most banal element in our daily lives—the weather—can be a source of beautiful inspiration.

So, how good are you as a barista?
I’m not into the habit of commending myself. I’ll leave it to my customers to do the praising. Just kidding. I am only a young seedling in this industry and I’m still in the process of learning more about coffee.

Tell us about your winning drink Herbal Infusion.
It is a concoction of home-made ginger syrup with a shot of espresso. My inspiration came from the memories of my mother who passed on a few years ago. When she was still around, she would always have her ginger tea whenever she had gastric problems. She would always order her favorite “teh-alia” whenever she visited coffee shops that specialized in Malay food. I came up with Herbal Infusion in fond memory of her.

What do you do with the coffee that you make for training purposes? You can’t finish it all, can you?
Of course I can’t finish it all and it’s not right for me to turn my customers into guinea pigs. But my training is usually done after operation hours, so I will try to feed my friends with the coffee to minimize wastage.

With all that caffeine, do you find it hard to sleep at night?
Of course not! Sleeping is currently my favorite past-time!

So, bought insurance?
As a staff of Underwater World Singapore, I am covered under the company’s insurance. I do have my personal insurance, too.

And what are the safety precautions to take note of?
I have to be properly geared with equipment such as chain mail gloves and wired gloves. When the breeding season approaches, the sharks tend to be rowdier and pushier. At these times, I have to be cautious with certain species of sharks.

What should people do if they get bitten by a shark?
Sharks rarely attack unless they are badly wounded or have been starved for several weeks. In any event, if a shark launches an attack, punch the eyes or the snout region as these actions will startle the shark to release its grip. Seek immediate medical attention.

We heard some sharks lay eggs. Is that true?
Yes, some species do lay eggs inside a pouch, otherwise known as mermaid’s purse. We have a shark embryo exhibit where different stages of shark development are displayed.

Which is your favorite shark movie?
Jaws! The Great White is a magnificent animal with awesome power and stealth. However, it was portrayed in a negative way. Great Whites don’t really have a liking for humans.

A burning question: Do you eat shark’s fin?
Yes, although I shouldn’t. All of us are subjected to “The Tragedy of the Commons.”

So what are you listening to right now?
A very simple but effective track by G2 called “Supernatural.” This track just keeps you on a level for about four minutes and then breaks into an amazing dance track.

What music makes you cringe?
Euro Pop!

What’s your nightmare at a party?
Playing after Tom Middleton, not because he's a bad DJ but because he really gets the crowd high and leaves me with a crowd begging for high octane-energy fueled rave!

Your personal cure for hangovers?
My sofa and the Planet Earth DVD.

Weirdest request you've ever received?
What I think is weird is when someone comes up to me and says “Can you play something I like?” And that’s when I've got a whole dance floor already rocking to my sounds! It happens all the time.

You feel most comfortable in?
A white shirt, a fake tan and a massive medallion around my neck.

The kind of people you love to hang around most?
Farmers and livestock.

You have a soft spot for?
Models!

Complete the sentence. “The one thing that I'll never understand is…”
Why do people always ask for Justin Timberlake when it’s a house night?

What are you obsessed with lately?
The next 10 years of my life.

What makes Jean Danker tick?
Professional wrestling.

One thing you don’t understand about women?
The ability to always get their way.

One thing people can never comprehend about you?
The fact that I am very serious about what I do but I never take myself seriously confuses the hell out of people.

What makes you happy?
Waking up with a great melody in my head. On harder days, cuddling and spooning.

The best music to make love to?
My partner’s voice in my ear will do. Anything else is unnecessary.

Woes of a producer or a singer-songwriter?
There’re no woes, only excuses that I’d rather not be a part of.

Your last lie?
My answer to your second question.

If you had another go at life, who would you want to be?
My father.

He brings about six birds to Marina Mandarin Hotel everyday, hanging them up in the hotel’s corridor so that guests can hear them sing, before bringing them home in the evening. We sound him out on his passion for birds.

When did you start loving birds?
My interest in birds started from young, when I was just an adolescent. I would use a catapult to shoot the birds which are flying. I would take birds home when they fell and then rear them. We had to make up our own games to entertain ourselves in the past.

Do you hang out at the Jurong Bird Park?
I used to. The older staff in Jurong Bird Park know me. I organized bird singing competitions for them. Sometimes I didn’t need to pay the entrance fee when I went. But the place now has new staff who does not know me. I used to go there once or twice a month.

Do you think you’re depriving the birds of their freedom? Ever thought of giving them bigger cages?
The bigger its cage, the more the bird won’t sing. It sings to tell others that the cage is its space. When the cage is too big, it won’t feel the need to sing. Some male birds sing better when female birds are near too. It’s to get their attention.

Are you a cat-hater?
I don’t want to rear cats. My friend wants to give me a Persian cat. Its fur is white, with a tinge of blue. It’s very beautiful, but I don’t want it. Cats’ eyes glow at night, and I’m afraid that it might scare or eat my birds. I do have a dog though. It’s used to the birds. When one of my birds doesn’t want to bathe, I’ll get my dog to growl a little and chase it to the bathroom.

Is Sesame Street one of your favorite cartoons?
No lah. I rather watch Tom and Jerry. The big bird in Sesame Street is just a human wearing a costume.

Made up of bassist Pete Wentz, guitarist and vocalist Patrick Vaughn Stump, guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley, emo band Fall Out Boy has won the hearts of many (most are teenage girls wearing thick black eyeliner) with hits like “Dance, Dance,” “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” and “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race.”

“I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. I think if you like something, you like it. And you should be proud of it.

My grandpa is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. By that, I don’t mean physically. I mean his personality. He is very honest and strong for whom he is. Like he had one of those bypass surgeries on his heart and the doctor told him he should take bed rest for a month or so. But later that week, he was already fixing the roof. That’s just kind of how he is.

Home, when I was a little kid, was my favorite place in the world. You get older and it changes. People move away. But when I was a little kid, home was amazing.

I think if I had to live without my ears, I would be miserable.

I’m proud of songs like “Sugar, We’re Going Down” and “Dance, Dance.” I love the songs. I think anytime you’re an artist, you definitely have some stuff that is more famous than others, and that’s alright with me.

The decision to work with Babyface and Jay Z for Infinitely on High was because we listen to a lot of their stuff. A lot of people respect them. And we just thought it would be cool. It was awesome—both the guys were geniuses. More than anything, we were just trying out different things. A lot of that came from me. Babyface pushes me as a singer to make my vocals better and Jay Z is just awesome.

I don’t really know what growth means. Sometimes, when you say you’ve grown or something, there’s the implication that you sound better, you’re more of a guy or you’ve become more mature. I don’t think it’s like that. I think to me, it’s just change. Infinity on High is different, but I am just as proud of this record as I am of Under The Cock Tree and Take This to Your Grave.

As a writer, I was kind of scared of what people would say about a lot of things that I wanted to do. And so, I wouldn’t have done them before. But in Infinity on High, I just did them. A lot of ideas in here were ideas I had at one time but I was too scared to show them.

I was a drummer. I played drums for over a year and that was what I played the most and knew the most. I have always been making music.

When I come out of the airport, there might be people waiting for me. And that feels weird. But you’re still yourself, you’re who you are and nothing is going to change that.

I like the attention on my music. I love that and I want people to care about the music. But I don’t really understand the attention on me. I really never fancy myself as someone interesting.

We all used to be vegetarians at one point. That was when we first started off as a band. Andy is the only one who still is all the time, but sometimes we will still eat vegetarian.

You just kind of grow up and change your mind about certain things. Andy got to a point where he decided to be a vegan. He doesn’t eat dairy. I got to the point where I wasn’t sure of what I thought anymore so we split off. But I have a lot of respect for him for doing that.”

Art space 72-13 looks set to be the roaming place of video heads, electronic music freaks and performance art enthusiasts come Apr 5-7. Not surprising, considering the eye-opening activities lined up for the show A Wonderful Weekend. Curated by artists Bertrand Peret and Sandrine Llouquet, the show will comprise installations, live music, videos, talks and more, involving everyone from architects to filmmakers, visual artists to DJs.

Why the jumble of art forms and creatives? “We believe that there are a lot of people who don't care about contemporary art only because they have never seen a piece of contemporary art. By mixing exhibitions, concerts and theatre in the event, we want to mix audiences and make the public discover something they were not interested in before,” Llouquet quips. “And I think the borders between art forms are getting less clear. Contemporary creation mixes competences. Visual artists are making music and musicians are working with architects."

Llouquet’s own works for A Wonderful Weekend include an installation that plays with the space and the architecture of 72-13. Other artists who are involved include Stephane Cochard, Madame Patate, Toma, Vu Nhat Tan, Jean Phan, Robert Cianchi, Rich Streitmatter-Tran, Pilooski, Tam Vo Phi, Quynh Pham, Pleix and Leila Albayati, most of who are either Vietnamese artists or French artists based in Belgium and Vietnam.

Whatever you’re interested in, count on A Wonderful Weekend to deliver something that’ll capture your attention. If you’re intrigued already, hop over to see what’s in store. It’s a fun way to spend your Easter weekend too, if you ask us.

Brett Anderson, former frontman of Suede—one of the biggest Britpop bands of the ’90s—has just released his self-titled debut solo album. We speak to him about his past, present and future–and, yes, enquire about a possible Suede reunion.

With the huge success with Suede, and this being your debut solo album, did you feel very pressured when producing Brett Anderson?
Well, it was a strange experience. It was quite tough. You make a record that you’re proud of and sometimes, it gets booed by the world. But nothing is going to make you dislike your own music. There’s always pressure. It’s part of the game. You’ve got to go out and compete. That’s the damned side of being a commercial musician. Otherwise, you could just sit in your room and play guitar, but that’s pointless. And anything worth doing is always hard. There’s no short cuts in life.

Agreed. Brett Anderson seems more personal than your previous works, with more piano and strings. Was there any particular incident that made it the way it is now?
Different dynamics are involved when you make a personal solo album. You’re not playing under the name of a band. I’ve gotten to a stage in my life when I’m not hiding from things. I’m trying to control my life, my upbringing—that kind of thing.

Can us tell me more about the single “Love is Dead?”
It’s a song about loneliness. There’s a hint of despair in it. It’s more a song about social loneliness. Like, when you’re walking down the street and not feeling a part of the community. It’s a very 21st century kind of existential feeling, of being unsure or unworthy. Whether you’re rich or poor, wherever you are, you’ll feel it. It’s a human condition.

Will you perform in Singapore again to promote the album?
We missed out Singapore this time, but I would really like to come to Singapore. One of my favorite gigs was at Fort Canning Park! I would really like to come to your side of the world—I just don’t know when.

Do come! And we have to ask: What are the odds of a Suede reunion, even for just one performance?
I don’t know. I don’t have plans for Suede, but I’m not going to say anything and have to eat my words later.