BK: How did you guys come together?
Chris: I met Guang nine years ago when he was forming the band. We’re friends of friends. I heard that Alliance Francaise de Bangkok was running Fête de la Francophonie, a French music competition, so we decided to take part, as I am Thai-French and I have written many songs in French and English. They used my songs to compete, and we finally won first place.

BK: Why did it take nine years to get your first single out?
Guang: Nothing concrete happened after that competition. We went to play at Fat Fest and tried to reach many record companies, but they all refused because Chris couldn’t sing Thai clearly. We finally met Boyd Kosiyabong, and he was interested in our songs and let Chris sing on his single, “Puen Sanit.” Anyway, we didn’t get the record right away because we didn’t have much experience. He let us play as a backup band for various artists, like Lipta, "Two" Popetorn, “Pun” Paiboonkiet, Stamp, The Begins and “Mint” Maleewan, to gain more experience. We’re also doing our own songs as well as going onstage as a band.

BK: Why did you choose Shining Star as a name?
Meng: We love R&B and soul music from the Motown era. Back then, they loved to use the word “Shining Star” both in lyrics and in praising up-and-coming artists. We think it’s a good name and love the way it translates, too.

BK: What sets you apart from others?
Meng: We might not be good at entertaining people while we are playing, but we focus on passing on the emotional feeling through our lyrics. Like our first single “5 Years” that talks about lost love lingering in the mind and good memories of the past.
Guang: I think Chris’ voice is unique, too. He doesn’t sing Thai totally clearly, but it’s a unique style. The way we write lyrics is also different. Chris will write the song in English, and then others will translate it into Thai.

BK: Who do you think is a “Shining Star” in the music scene?
Meng: For me, it would be Boyd Kosiyabong. He’s my idol in making music. His songs have stories and inspiration behind them like “Season Change,” which is all about teaching you to get through a tough life by comparing it to the weather—it can be good and bad.
Art: I think Michael Jackson. He was more than just a singer. He was so good in conveying a message in his songs. Most of his songs that I like aren’t dance. It’s all R&B with cool lyrics, like “Man in the Mirror.” In Thai songs, we will only see good story lyrics from peua cheewit [songs for life] artists.
Guang: I like Thailand’s Innocent band. Their songs were simple but really modern in the 1980s. It’s still cool even now.
Chris: I like Jamiroquai. It’s old-style music, but made modern and they also send a good messages, like political ones, in songs.