VETERAN Hong Kong singer Nancy Sit recently collaborated with Malaysian songstress Sheila Amzah for an upcoming Lunar New Year song.
The duo recorded the song “The Year of the Yo” for the Year of the Dragon, composed by singer-songwriter Jonathan Wang.
The song combines the elements of traditional New Year songs with the popular light dance music style. In addition to paying tribute to traditional New Year songs, the track also features rap verses from the two artistes, bringing uniqueness to the audience through the cheerful melody.
“The Year of the Yo” showcases the multicultural characteristics of Malaysia, as the lyrics also cover Mandarin, Cantonese, Malay, English and Hokkien.
“I believe that after the release of this song, Hong Kong will also usher in the ‘Yeo Sheng’ craze in the New Year,” said Nancy.
The idea for the collaboration initially came from a movie project. In June 2023, when the producer’s representatives and Sheila went to Hong Kong to visit Nancy, the two agreed that they would collaborate on a song while waiting for the film to be developed.
Coincidentally, Nancy and Sheila have many things in common. They are both representatives of “strong women” in the entertainment industry; they balance family and career and debuted as child stars. After meeting, they quickly established a deep understanding and friendship.
The 73-year-old also praised Sheila, saying that the Malaysian singer is not only talented in singing but is also able to flawlessly sing in many languages.
“I didn’t expect that she would also be able to sing in Cantonese very well like us Hong Kong natives,” she said.
As for Sheila, the singer said that she is not quite fluent in Cantonese and that she had to practise hard for the sake of recording the song.
“It’s really difficult to sing in multiple languages. My tongue is almost twisted!” she said.
