Thanks giving

 

Kamikaze signs a rising star

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos by Varuth Hiruntheb

Did you know

Thankyou enjoys horse riding and skateboarding.

Prominent producer Pond Thana, who was behind the massive success of debut albums by Tata Young and Lydia, is now working with newcomer Sinchanok Klaitae (Thankyou).

The video for the 15-year-old singer’s single “Thank You for Your Love” has been well received by listeners who like its catchy tune, simple dance moves and lyrics about social networking.

Student Weekly recently met up with Thankyou at the Kamikaze office. Despite this being her first proper interview, the pretty young singer was relaxed, chatty and confident as she told us about her musical background and her debut single.

Student Weekly: How did you become a singer with Kamikaze?

Thankyou: A talent scout spotted me at a gig where I was performing. I was asked to audition to act in the music video for “Kid Thung Dai Mai [Can I Miss You]” by Min Yongsuvimol.

Student Weekly: How did you feel when you were asked to dance non-stop at the audition?

Thankyou: It was fun. I had to create choreography on the spot. I like listening to songs and coming up with dance moves for fun, so I was able to dance non-stop and the staff had fun!

Student Weekly: Is it true that you started dance lessons when you were in kindergarten?

Thankyou: I’ve been interested in dancing since then. My mom originally took me to study Thai dance, but I didn’t like it. I was more excited when I got to learn modern dance. I started with jazz and ballet, then started learning hip-hop.

Student Weekly: What kind of dance do you find the most difficult to do?

Thankyou: Hip-hop. It requires a lot of energy and feeling. But street jazz is my favourite because it combines everything that I’ve learned. It’s like freestyle dance.

Student Weekly: Why did you want to be a professional singer?

Thankyou: When I was 10 years old, I took singing lessons. I had a very nice teacher who made me love singing. After that, I dreamed about becoming a professional singer and have tried to improve as much as I can.

Student Weekly: As a music fan, what made you want to work with the Kamikaze label?

Thankyou: Kamikaze has a lot of young singers. My favourite singer with the label is Knomjean. I was thrilled to see her when I was a trainee singer. Sometimes I asked her to take pictures with me! [Laughs.]

Student Weekly: What was it like recording your debut single in the studio?

Thankyou: The producer Pond encouraged me to relax. He told jokes to make me feel comfortable. It only took me an hour to finish the recording. I worked fast because I practised very hard singing in different styles. Three days before recording, I lost my voice from practising too much, so I had to take a break.

Student Weekly: What was Pond like?

Thankyou: He’s laid-back and has a good sense of humour.

Student Weekly: Did you enjoy working with X.I.S’s Kevin on the “Thank You for Your Love” video?

Thankyou: He’s a man of few words. I was worried about feeling tense because I didn’t know him well. But on the set, we had time to chat during the meal break, and I felt more comfortable with him after that. He taught me about who did what on the set.

Student Weekly: What was the atmosphere like on the set of the video shoot?

Thankyou: We filmed at the Niva International School, where I’m a student. The actors in the video were my classmates. It was fun because I was in a familiar environment with my friends, and they were happy to be on TV! [Laughs.] We filmed from 8 am to 1 am the next day. At midnight, the air conditioners were turned off and there were no fan, so we were pretty hot filming the dancing scenes!

Student Weekly: How did you feel about your debut gig at Paragon?

Thankyou: I was nervous and worried about everything. I wondered if there would be anybody there to see me. But everything went well. My fans were awesome. They all sang along loudly with my song.

Vocabulary

  • prominent (adj): important or well known
    chatty (adj): talking a lot in a friendly way
    freestyle (n): used to describe a dance, performance, etc. where the performer can use any style they want
    trainee (n): a person who is being taught how to do a particular job
    laid-back (adj): calm and relaxed
    atmosphere (n): the feeling or mood that you have in a particular place or situation

    Idioms
    on the spot:
    immediately
    a person of few words: somebody who says very little

 

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