Sharon has many talents, and is showing it a step at a time

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/27/sarawak/6338706&sec=sarawak

Thursday May 27, 2010

Sharon has many talents, and is showing it a step at a time

By STEPHEN COLLIN
sarawakstar@thestar.com.my

SHARON Jit Lugun was born in Kuala Lumpur in September 1994 to a Punjabi mother and a Kelabit father. After approximately two years, she and her family relocated to Kuching where she has been living ever since. She is currently doing her level one of the International General Certificate of Secondary Education at Tunku Putra School.

This 16-year-old comes from a family that has a rich music background.

Her grandmother on her mother’s side is a prolific singer who sang at temples while her father is an amazing singer who taught Sharon to sing from a young age.

PHOTO: Versatile singer: Sharon performing on stage

She cited the latter as a cultural talent among members of the Kelabit ethnic group, a talent that gets passed on from one generation to the other.

Coming from a family that puts emphasis on education, she has Business Studies and English as her favourite subjects.

She started performing at the early age of seven. She started singing in Kelabit with a group of 13 girls called Kan’id, which means cousins, as the group was comprised of cousins.

With the group, she performed at the Rainforest World Music Festival for three years. She sang, danced and co-wrote the songs the group performed. She has also performed at different local gigs and functions.

PHOTO: Supportive family: Sharon (second from left) posing with (from left) her mother Nikki Lugun, her sister Karen and father Isaac Lugun.

In 2008, the group released a ten-song first album in Kelabit named Kan’id featuring the songs they had performed at the Rainforest Festival.

“I also play the sape (an Orang Ulu lute),” she said.

She started playing the instrument at the age of seven.

On her own now, she is working on a new album that will be released at the end of the year.

However, the first song in the album, No Intentions, produced by influential Malaysian producer Audi Mok, is currently getting airplay.

The song not only speaks of her talents but also about how her experiences are the greatest inspiration when it comes to song-writing.

Inspiration hit her while she was on an airplane from South Korea and thinking about the situation she had faced a few weeks earlier. She grabbed her pen and wrote the song at the back of the boarding pass since she had no paper.

When she got home, she played the song on her guitar and this is how the song came to be.

It speaks about falling in love with no intentions and directions, and its repercussions. The video of this song, that was written in ten minutes, is expected to come out at the end of the month.

The way she learned to play the guitar is also fascinating. Last year, she taught herself to play the guitar within a week, as a result of boredom. Prior to this, she had other guitarists to strum for her. Playing the guitar has helped her in music creation and performing without depending on others.

Prior to recording No Intentions, she did covers of songs like I Am Yours by Jason Mraz and Hating On the Club by Rihanna.

She has also done covers like Stand by Me by Ben E. King and Summertime composed by George Gershwin for Porgy and Bess.

“I also performed at the Green International Festival last year, the launch of The Star, Night of Expressions at Inti College and other local functions,” said Sharon.

She listens to a wide range of genres like R&B, pop, folk and jazz.

Singing in alto, she said her rich background and passion for music helped her develop her talents.

She collaborated with the African group Sound Circus in their album Something About You where she contributed background vocals.

Apart from singing, Sharon is a debater. She is a two-time semi-finalist at the World School Debating Championship organised by Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak.

Last year, she won the second-best speaker title and her team won the most promising team title after making it to the semi-finals in their first attempt at the competition.

Although she loves singing, she wants to pursue a career in law. She likes standing up for herself and others and human rights is closest to her heart.

Currently, she is in the cast of Making a Difference, a production that is part of the Sarawak Youth Rally to be held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching on July 23.

She is also an avid reader and her favourite novels are Kite Runner and The Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. It made her cry, she said.

She is also engrossed in the work of Enid Blyton.

Her guiding principle is to strive to do the best.

Her biggest contradiction, she said, is that people think she’s shy and reserved while she’s really outgoing and light-hearted.

The future holds good things for her and she is taking it a step at time to reach her goals.