How did you become VIVA!?
Thanote: The band is the brainchild of Colin Law and Eugene Eustaquio, our producer and musical director. All of us came from an audition organized by them.

What exactly is pop opera?
Eugene: When we mention opera, people tend to think of a powerful vocal, which is not the case here. Pop opera is what we use to describe a high-class and unique way of singing and representing the songs. And it indicates that the singers are classically trained.

You all come from a similar musical background. What’s it like working together?
Salith: Sharing the same classical background really helps because everyone shares the same passion and knows what they’re doing. Most of us already know each other from before, which also makes it easy to work together.

Any challenges?
Kamonporn: As classical singers, we’re not really used to singing with a microphone. That’s one thing we have to work on. Then there’s the pronunciation since we have to sing in different languages. Also, each one of us has had to adjust in order to harmonize. There are five of us and it’s easy to fall out of sync!

What sort of repertoire can we expect at your show?
Fueanglada: We’ll be performing pretty much everything from pop to rock, not just classical. So don’t be surprised if you hear us sing stuff from Queen.

Will you be performing any Thai songs?
Tulanan: Yes, we’ll be doing our own rendition of “Season Change” by Boyd Kosiyapong. We can’t really tell you the rest though!

Who picks the songs for you guys to cover?
Salith: Our producer gave us a selection of songs he thought we would be great at covering. All the songs are pretty well-known so we’re confident that the audience will enjoy them.

When can we expect your debut album?
Fueanglada: It should be done early next year, around January.

Catch Viva! at Dr. Thaworn Phornprapha Auditorium
Siam Motors Building.