The bubbly girl with long hair, whose eyes are pretty and full of confidence. Apart from her appearance, she possesses a voice that could turn everyone’s attention to her. A sweetheart with a big heart, Taylor Louise is on her path to become a great singer.
A pre-teen’s ascent in the music world
The walls resound with the rhythm of Taylor Louise’s singing. Her melodious voice is a sentiment of her talent, as she sings to her favourites Olivia Rodrigo, Disney Princesses Original Soundtrack, and others. Taylor, according to her mother, could sing before she could talk.
As a pre-teen, Taylor has performed on many stages. Her first stage was last year’s Kuching Got Talent, where she received a consolation prize.
“She started singing at the age of two. She didn’t know how to talk yet and was considered to have a speech delay at the time. But I would play songs for her to listen to every day. She would then pick up words from the song. Despite her inability to talk, her pronunciation is spot-on when she sings them.”
According to Taylor’s mother, the Chinese New Year song was the first song she learned to sing well when she was two years old. She also mentioned that she was worried that Taylor couldn’t talk as she didn’t until she was four, “but she could sing, which was weird.”
Sharing further, Taylor’s mother started taking her to formal vocal classes four months ago. In a bid to encourage her daughter’s talent, she also said that during the recent lockdown, Taylor sang a lot to pass the time.
“She would sing every day. Whether it’s in the toilet or on the staircase. She would sing to her cats and dogs, and they would just listen. Because of this, I told her that once the lockdown was lifted, I would take her to learn to sing.”
And when she isn’t singing, Taylor would look up ways to improve and maintain her voice on YouTube. She also learned how to do warm-ups by watching her online mentors on social media.
Singing in front of an audience
As a pre-teen, Taylor mustered up the courage to perform on stage. Despite her confidence in her performances, she admitted that the initial step up was daunting. Speaking to her, she described her nervousness as having butterflies in her stomach.
“During my first talent competition, I felt like fainting and wanted to quit. But my mum said there was no way to do so as she had waited two hours for me to perform. Once the music started playing and I began to sing, I forgot about my feelings,” she said.
When asked about her challenges when singing, the child singer said that she still has trouble hitting high notes. And there would be times when she ran out of stamina to sing — “So I just stop singing when I get tired. I’d do some exercises or chill for a while before I resume singing.
“I also struggle with not being able to eat as much French fries as I would want. Because I needed to take care of my voice, my mum would refrain me from eating any fried foods before a performance. She also told me to drink a lot of water and honey, which I hate because it has a weird taste,” she said.
Despite her young age, she has no qualms about memorising the lyrics as that is her strongest suit.
“But I tend to forget things easily. Like, I’d go into a room to do something, and within seconds, I’d forget the purpose.”
When singing a sad song, Taylor tries to sing it with emotion. And when she performs an emotional song, the audience cries along with her. Talented and skilful, Taylor revealed that whenever she sings a sad song, she would think about a scenario in which her dog died.
Social media famous
With more than 7,000 followers across her social media platforms — Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube — Taylor’s mother shared that sharing her daughter’s presence online was initially a dilemma.
“I’ve thought about it before. She previously had over 600,000 followers on TikTok, however the platform later banned children’s content. Then I took a four-year rest before deciding to share her singing on social media. I was initially scared to share, but I told myself that I shouldn’t be,” she said.
In the interview recently, Taylor’s mother described how life is short and uncertain. Therefore, she realised that Taylor’s internet presence is necessary for her to advance further in singing.
“She has the talent and I wanted to keep records of it on the internet. I also hope to build a portfolio for her. In this era, social media is important for a singer. How else would you get noticed? Taylor told me she wanted to sing, and as her mother, I wanted to help her achieve her goals,” she said.
She added that Taylor has received invitations to many shows as a result of her social media presence, with her favourite being the recent Open Mic session at the Borneo Hotel in Kuching.
“Being a singer can be tiring. We are always rehearsing, and when I am sleep-deprived, I become cranky. But I keep going because I love singing,” shared Taylor.
Taylor is an artsy person in general, with a passion for the arts in addition to singing. Her favourite places are museums, and she enjoys painting as a hobby. While her mother wishes for her to always be happy, Taylor aspires to be a great singer one day.
