2020 marks Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun’s 20th anniversary in show business. 

The super-talented singer-songwriter kickstarted her career with Yan Zi in 2000 after she graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a degree in business studies.

Her debut album was followed by My Desired Happiness, also in 2000, which cemented her status as The One to Watch.

Stefanie snagged multiple Best Newcomer awards that year and her first three albums went on to sell 1.5 million copies by Sept 2001. The Her World Young Woman Achiever (2001) continued to be popular in Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

There’s of course, her National Day Parade theme songs which almost every Singaporean can sing with gusto, her flamboyant and energetic sold-out concerts and her bold coloured ‘dos (she once spotted a full head of neon orange hair).

As the 41-year-old celebrates her birthday this month and marks her 20th year in showbiz, we take a look at some little-known facts about the songbird. Read on.

1. She removed a mole, apparently for superstitious reasons

Rumours started buzzing in 2011 when Stefanie attended a publicity event at Beijing sans her trademark mole — which was at the corner of her right eyelid.

The sharp-eyed Chinese media immediately caught wind, and speculated that she removed it because she wanted to have a Dragon baby. 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

In an interview with The New Paper, she confirmed that she had removed it permanently and felt relieved that she didn’t have to see it anymore every time she looked in the mirror.

Asked whether it was because she wanted to increase her chances of conceiving a baby, she said, half in jest: “Yes, the great teacher in the hidden mountains of the Himalayas also said I would be even more popular than ever, have super smart triplets, a very smooth pregnancy and a long-lasting marriage filled with much bliss and happiness”.

She adds: “Just as long as I remove a piece of flesh atop my right eye.”

Fun fact: She gave birth to a baby boy in Oct 2012. Coincidence?

2. She got her start because someone believed in her

At a time when it was rare (we mean impossible) for well-known international labels to sign local artistes, Warner Music Group in Singapore decided to make an exception for Stefanie.

Its then-managing director, Kathleen Tan, said in an interview with The New Paper that “Stefanie Sun has sheer talent that money can’t buy”.

She adds: “If I, as the managing director, and my counterpart in Taiwan didn’t believe in that talent, she would not be what she is today.”

It was also thanks to Stefanie’s mentors Lee Wei Song and Lee Si Song that she got her big break — they were the ones who approached Warner Music Singapore for a recording contract in 1999.

Stefanie was taking lessons at the Lee Wei Song School of Music at the time.

3. Her label launched her first single in an unconventional way

With a down-to-earth demeanour and a raw, fresh-faced girl-next-door appeal, Stefanie was no conventional starlet (read: not glamorous enough).

The label decided to introduce her in a more creative manner, by cutting a sample of her song, Cloudy Sky, and getting it played on music-linked websites and Warner Music’s official homepage.

Little was revealed except for the singer’s name and the song title, and it was accompanied by a tagline, “There’s never been before a 22-year-old singer like this girl”, according to Kathleen Tan.

The song was played continuously and it went viral, piquing people’s interest. The rest, is history.

4. She once had an autograph session in Taiwan disrupted by a man waving a gun

In the year 2000, a man apparently stormed an autograph session and tried to hold Stefanie hostage with a gun.

He rushed on stage, grabbed Sun and fired a shot in the air at the Sogo Department Store in Chungli, a town near Taipei.

Security guards reportedly subdued the man, suspected to be mentally ill, and handed him to the police. Phew!

5. Her younger sister looks like a splitting image of her

In fact, the staff in a restaurant they went to couldn’t tell who was the real Stef, according to a hilarious Instagram post, in which she jokingly told them her sister was the real Stefanie. Her sister is in fact six years younger.

They also have an elder sister. Her sisters frequently appear on her social media posts and have both made appearances at her concerts.

6. She secretly married her Dutch-Indonesian husband

In March 2011, Stefanie secretly registered her marriage to Dutch-Indonesian Nadim Van Der Ros, whom she had been dating for five years.

He’s not in the entertainment industry — he’s the founder of Be An Idea, a brand strategy consultancy that facilitates better conversations for positive change.

Sidenote: Nadim, who is usually content to remain in the background, is not afraid to “defend” his wife’s honour when he has to.

In 2015, when the City Harvest Church controversy erupted, he made a public service announcement on Facebook, clarifying that Stefanie is not Sun Ho. Singer Sun Ho is the wife of City Harvest Church founder, Kong Hee.

“Just for the record and for my non-Chinese friends, this Sun Ho is neither a relation nor should be confused with my wife, Stefanie Sun or Sun Yanzi.

"My wife is a touch more successful in her singing career, infinitely more talented and beautiful, both inside and out,” he wrote.

7. She’s extremely private about her kids

Stefanie Sun almost rarely reveals the faces of her two children, preferring to keep that part of her life private (as it should be).

They always appear from the back, side, or with their faces covered (pictured) with a cartoonish substitute or with something covering their faces.

Interestingly, although she’s often seen out and about town with her son (she’s been spotted at kopi tiams and queuing for fast food, looking charmingly unglam BTW), there are no photos of them on the internet.

Most recently during the circuit breaker, Stefanie also posted photos of how she had been passing time at home. She worked out with her daughter but never revealed her daughter’s face.

In an interview, she said she was very grateful that people here respect her privacy.

“I do feel very lucky. It also made me realise that people are very decent, be it the media or the public. I take my kid everywhere.

"And they know not to take pics of him and it’s really… I feel like people should know that humans can be decent lah.”

Stefanie Sun, who gave birth to her daughter when she was 40, is not afraid to share anecdotes about her kids, though.

Like how her son, whom she affectionately calls Na Xiao Zi (that boy in Mandarin), was terrible at keeping secrets (he broke the news that she was pregnant to his classmates in school) and how he has a funny laugh that makes his face light up. Aww.

8. She has an orchid named after her and a wax statue too

As a testament to her star power and popularity, Stefanie even had an orchid named after her, the Dendrobium Stefanie Sun, in 2006 — making her the first local celebrity to get such an honour.

She also has a wax figure of herself at the Madame Tussauds Singapore wax museum which portrays her signature look for her 2014 Kepler World Tour (aka aforementioned bright orange hair), as well as a black fringed singlet, leather leggings, shoes by Alexander Wang, and a crystal-encrusted microphone.

Stefanie was apparently involved in the creative process, and the figurine took around four months to make and costs $300,000.

9. In 2001, she was awarded Her World Young Woman Achiever

At just 23, the local singing sensation is already a colossal hit in Taiwan, Beijing and Hong Kong. In less than two years she overtook Kit Chan, Mavis Hee and Tanya Chua to become the most successful local singer.

Among her many awards is the local Favourite Music Artiste title at the first MTV Asia Awards. 2001 was a big year for the local singer.

She was nominated in six categories for the 12th Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, and she swept three awards for Best Newcomer (for Sun Yanzi album), Best Composer (for The Happiness I Want) and Best Composition (for Dark Days in Sun Yanzi album), edging out big names like Na Ying, Karen Mok and Jay Chou.

So in 2001, Her World, Singapore’s largest women’s magazine in Singapore, recognised her as our Young Woman Achiever.

On defining achievements, she said: “You don’t need an award or status to have achieved something.

"I would consider myself successful if I had a balanced life i.e. being happy with my work, enjoying strong family ties and having somebody to love.”

With fame also comes criticism, Stefanie has been labelled “arrogant, unapproachable, a lesbian and an anorexic”.

How does she deal with that? Read the full interview here.

Key tracks from the work that launched her career

1. Cloudy Day

Probably the most famous of Sun’s early works, this song was composed by Singaporean songwriter Peter Lee Shih Shiong, one of her earliest collaborators.

Its nostalgic, easily relatable themes of childhood, growing up and facing the harsh vagaries of adulthood have endeared it to fans, who sway and chant the Hokkien refrain “Tee Or Or, Bey Lor Hor” (“The sky is dark, it is going to rain soon”) at Sun’s gigs. The phrase refers to what the grandmother of the song’s narrator used to sing to her.

The song’s use of rain clouds to symbolise dark times in one’s life was also particularly poetic.

One of Sun’s most famous performances of the song was during the Sing50 concert in 2015 at the National Stadium, in front of a 41,000-strong audience and against a projection of – you guessed it – rain.

She also performed it on Tuesday (June 9) during a surprise online concert to mark the album’s 20th anniversary.

2. Love Document 

Sun was on the cusp of turning 22 when the album was released and this classic song’s story of learning to love must have resonated deeply with her young fans.

She sings innocently: “Because of love, we are learning / learning the language to communicate / learning to understand / learning not to cry.”

It showcases Sun’s sweet, ingenue persona, which over the years has evolved into the confident, charismatic performer she is today.

3. Turbo

Proving she can also let loose and get down, Sun picked up the pace in this sunny, carefree number about an exhilarating rush of excitement.

The rapid strum of a guitar in the prelude and merry whistle at the end add to its joyful exuberance.

This spunky attitude is also present in some of her later fast numbers such as Perfect and Green Light.

4. Fine

Sun composed the melody herself, and the slow, moving ballad showcases her unique, emotional voice, which swells in the chorus.

The singer, who has played the piano since she was five, has gone on to compose other songs such as Abandon and Eternal Love.

This article was first published in Her World Online.