A world champion returns to his roots
Published on: Saturday, January 10, 2015
By: Kan Yaw Chong
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Mother Ellen Chung is an ex-All Saints grad married to Johorean businessman R.C.See!
After beating 1,000 to emerge the singular winner of the annual Astro Star Quest Chinese Singing Competition 2014 in Malaysia last August, Uriah was voted the World Champion at the TVB International Chinese New Talents Singing Championship, Hong Kong, on November 30, 2014, after beating even the best of the best from China, and also cream of new talents from around the world such as the USA, Australia, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand.
By any standard, it is a tall order to beat a thousand Malaysians and then goes on to beat the rest of the world to become the world champion!
Given the chance, we want to hear from the horse’s mouth how he did it.
The opportunity presented itself when the Daily Express bumped into Uriah at the wedding of Shawn Chung Nyuk Leong, 32, son of his mother’s first cousin, Kenny Chung, at the All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral, Saturday officiated by Rev. Kenneth Thien and later sang at the wedding dinner.
Daily Express: Do you feel yourself a Sabahan because your mother comes from Sabah?
Uriah: Ya, ya, ya. I love Sabah. It is a very nice place, although I don’t come here often, only four times but when I do I really love this place. It is a very different feel from JB (Johor Baru). I feel at home.
In the ultimate analysis, Uriah reckoned what separated him from the pack was probably his “in depth knowledge of music ” and paid tribute to his graduate musician mother who raised him up on the ins and outs of music from young.
Uriah confessed his confidence nearly vanished at the nerve-wracking world stage but also provided interesting insight how he defeated hundreds if not thousands.
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