The Singapore Idol finalist on supporting Khalid, climbing the charts and trusting your gut
She's been a radio DJ, a television host and a stage actor. Nobody could say Tabitha Nauser hasn't had an impressively diverse career, but her fame exploded when she finished third in Singapore Idol.
It also allowed the Gen.T honouree to return to her first love—music—with a renewed sense of purpose and confidence, all fuelled by the success of her debut single, Bulletproof, which topped Spotify’s Singapore Viral Chart in its first week of release.
“The most rewarding moment of my career thus far has to be hearing the audience sing along to my songs when I opened for [US singer-songwriter] Khalid’s American Teen Tour in Singapore," she says. "It was a crazy feeling to know that my music resonated with them.”
Nauser never had any doubt that singing was her destiny. “The first time I knew music was my calling was when I was about 6 years old, watching my mum, who was a Tamil singer, perform on television," she says. "I had always been the girl who’d sing everywhere, even when it was 11pm and everyone else was in bed.”
On stage and off, the 27-year-old R&B singer is strong, youthful and unmistakably honest. Cases in point: the empowering anthems inspired by her own experiences that she has released, such as Body Language, featuring Malaysian rapper SonaOne, which is about self‑confidence; and Rules, about being in control of one’s life.
“I started my music career wanting to show people what I could do," she says. "In a way, I had a very me-centric mindset. But as I grew as a musician, I saw what a great platform I had to talk about important social issues and inspire others to be more open about sharing their experiences.”
