Sporting singer

Taton’s mom offers support

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos courtesy of Post Today

Singer Phattrapreya Younyao (Taton) released her debut dance single, “Good Boy,” last year. Apart from her song, listeners also know Taton as the daughter of Senior Colonel Ratjai Younyao, better known as Ratjai Sripetch, who won a silver medal in running at the 1986 Asian Games.

Though the 18-year-old singer didn’t follow in her mother’s footsteps to become a professional athlete, they are very close and Ratjai is a great supporter of Taton’s music career.

Because Ratjai had to work in France for several months, Student Weekly interviewed the mother and daughter separately for our Mother’s Day story. Despite the distance between them, Ratjai and Taton’s stories matched up well.

GOOD SPORTS

Taton seems to have inherited her mom’s sporting spirit, as since her childhood she has been good at swimming, tennis, basketball and volleyball.

“Taton has a talent for sports and she can pick up sporting skills very fast,” Ratjai said. “She also has a sporting spirit like me. We don’t seek revenge if we lose, and we can be friends with our competitors.”

SINGING SKILLS

Aside from inspiring Taton’s sporting skills, Taton’s mom always encouraged her love of music. Ratjai was once invited to sing at a party, and she was embarrassed because she couldn’t sing. She didn’t want Taton to have the same experience, so she encouraged her to have singing lessons.

“I agreed right away when mom asked if I wanted to take a singing course because I already liked singing and dancing,” Taton said. “I later found that I loved singing onstage.”

SUPPORTIVE MOM

With solid support from Ratjai, Taton participated in several singing contests to sharpen her singing skills and to find opportunities to become a professional performer. Whenever Taton felt disheartened during competitions, her mother would always cheer her up.

“After waiting to audition for a reality TV from early morning until evening, I called mom to say that I couldn’t bear to wait any longer,” Taton said. “But she encouraged me to stay a little bit longer so that I wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity.”

DIET CHALLENGE

To become one of the 50 finalists for the GMM singing training course and TV programme G-Junior, Taton accepted a challenge from the trainers to lose 10 kilogrammes in a month.

“Without mom, I wouldn’t have made it because I couldn’t control my diet,” Taton said. “I had to exercise and change my eating habits. My mom allowed me to eat anything, but only in small amounts.”

Taton believes that she made it onto G-Junior because of her diet success.

DATING RULE

As well as helping with her professional career, Taton consults her mother for advice on her personal life. During junior high school, she asked permission from her mom to have a boyfriend.

“I thought it would be better if mom knew from me rather than somebody else that I wanted to date somebody,” Taton said. “Mom let me have a boyfriend on condition that we didn’t spend time alone together.”

PROUD PARENT

Ratjai and Taton both said that they’re proud of each other. Ratjai is impressed that her daughter has become a grown-up who can take care of herself, while Taton is happy to be the daughter of such a supportive parent.

When asked about future plans, Ratjai said that she hopes her daughter will earn a Bachelor’s degree at university.

“Her future and career are her choice, but since the future is unpredictable, I’d like Taton to always do the best that she can,” Ratjai said. “She has done well so far, and I’ll always be by her side.”

MOTHER’S DAY

This year, Taton is preparing to take the university entrance exams. She’s also making plans to celebrate Mother’s Day with her family.

“I’m not sure if mom will to back in Bangkok by Mother’s day, but if not, I’ll send her a card online that I made with my sister,” Taton said. “When she comes back, we will definitely take her out for dinner.

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