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Music Gone CountryYa Ya Ying shifts from sexy pop to country bop By
Suwitcha Chaiyong Did You Know : When Ya Ya Ying was very young, her mother played Indian songs to help her go sleep.
Shifting musical styles so dramatically at the peak of her career was a risky move. But at 21 years of age, Ya Ya Ying displays a maturity rare in one so young � and lately she�s needed it. In addition to her big career shift, Ya Ya Ying has had her hands full taking care of family problems � her mother lost 10 million baht in a pyramid scheme � and dealing with wild rumours about an alleged relationship with her Fak Din Glin Dow co-star Sarawut Mardthong. Through it all, Ya Ya Ying has kept a positive attitude towards both her life and work. Ready to put her problems behind her and embark on a 10-province concert tour of the Northeast, Ya Ya Ying recently stopped by Student Weekly to fill us in on the details. Student Weekly: Why did you decide to release your luk thung albums? Did it have anything to do with your mother�s debt? Ya Ya Ying: Actually, a producer talked to me about this luk thung project a year ago. Many other artists were called for auditions as well. By chance, I also got a role as a luk thung singer in the drama Fak Din Glin Dow. After the drama ended, a music team approached me about this album. Releasing an album is a source of income, but it wasn�t my main reason for doing it. I was excited to learn and try new things.
Ya Ya Ying: I�ve realised that I can�t avoid criticism. What I did was to do my best in my own style. In fact, my album is a blend between pop and luk thung music. So, even though I may not sing like a luk thung professional, I added a lot of choreography in hip-hop, jazz and contemporary dance to help make these albums a link between the past and present. Student Weekly: Are you worried about how your fans feel about your change to luk thung? Ya Ya Ying: When a fan questioned me about why I shifted into luk thung music, I told her to wait and listen to the albums first. After seeing some music videos, she said she liked the music because it still had my style. I also heard one of my country songs while I was walking around Siam Square. It was cool � a country song was playing at Siam Square. Student Weekly: So how would you rate yourself as luk thung singer? Ya Ya Ying: We should ask listeners instead. But if you ask me to score my performance, I always put 100 percent into my work. Student Weekly: Now that you�ve made changes in your music career, have you thought of making changes in your acting career? Perhaps taking on a bad girl role? Ya Ya Ying: I want to try new characters, but not a bad girl. Being a bad girl would probably have a negative effect on my singing career. I wouldn�t mind playing an irritable person or maybe even an action or comedy role. Student Weekly: In the past few months, there were many rumours about you. How have you handled it? Ya Ya Ying: I live my life in the spotlight, so people can see me easily. I used to search webboards and found people who liked me and people who hated me. I know that I can�t make everyone love me. If I care about every comment, I can�t stay in show business. Vocabulary tinged
(n): a
small amount of a colour, feeling or quality
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With her catchy beats, sexy dance moves
and Indian-tinged sound, Ratha Phongam (Ya Ya Ying) has built a
successful career for herself in the world of pop music. But with her latest
two albums � Wan Wann 1 and Wan Wann 2 � Ya Ya Ying has moved
away from trendy pop and has found her voice covering Thai country, or luk
thung, tunes.
Student
Weekly:
The songs on your albums are remakes of old luk thung hits. Are you
worried about people criticising you or comparing you with legendary
singers of the past? 