Am3ition
Words by Jenkin Au
Photography by PA Music
Group members Kali, Ahlee, Ginny and Jill have formed the new Am3ition group also known as Am3. The direct connection between all four girls and their producer, Yuen Mak, is the late Aaron Chan, one of the former members of Am3ition. Now, Am3 is set to launch their debut performance and are just as ambitious as their name suggests. Joining us for the interview were all four members, as well as Yuen, speaking to us about their formation, their excitement, and their connection to the music.
Can you tell us more about the group as a whole?
K: There are four of us and we form the new Am3ition. Am3ition used to be a group of two guys, one of them being Aaron Chan (AC). We are all his little sisters, I guess, and we are just trying to carry on the name and dance and sing because we love it.
How and what inspired you to start singing and dancing?
A: I do it because I breathe it, eat it and love it. Every day, I wake up and there is music playing and when I go to sleep, there is music playing.
K: I think the feeling is mutual because we all came together for that same passion for music.
What are some of the artists that you look up to and admire?
K: I love John Mayer and I think Beyonce is an amazing artist.
A: For me, I love jazz so Peggy Lee and Billie Holiday – Summertime, that’s my favourite and I interpret that style into everything that I sing.
G: I don’t really like anyone. I listen to whatever music is good and I don’t really like any one artist.
J: I guess my favourite would be Mui Yin Fong. I used to love Michael Jackson in the 90′s.
Where did this name originate from and how does it connect to you guys personally?
K: Am3ition comes from Aaron Chan and Abraham Siu. They were Am3ition and they were a hip hop rap group that worked with PA Music and Yuen was their producer. They did shows all over Vancouver and were planning on making it big in Asia. It was really cool, but the unfortunate event happened. All four of us were good friends with AC and we looked up to him as our mentor. We were really blessed to be given this opportunity to take on the name and hopefully live up to it.
Exactly how did this group form? Did Yuen approach you guys individually or were you already singing and dancing together?
K: We are all ex-New Talent Singing Contest contestants! Ginny and I were 2007 and Ahlee was 2008 and Jill was 2009.
J: We met AC, Bonny and Yuen all through the New Talent Singing Contest.
K: We had an English segment of the show so we spent a lot of time with them developing this. As a Chinese contest, you don’t see a lot of that kind of music so it was a really nice and refreshing segment to have.
Can you tell us about your genre of music and what you bring to the game?
A: It is RnB, hip hop and pop. Anything you can sing to, dance to and groove to, that’s what I would say it is.
What are some of the aspects of this group that sets you apart from the other groups out there? Especially in the Asian market, there are many different girl groups out there.
K: I think there are a lot of female singing groups and there are a lot of female groups that dance, but we are a female dance and singing group and both of these things are just as important to us, not one or the other. We are all dancers and we are all singers and that is different because you don’t really see dance crew singing groups out there.
Definitely, a lot of groups start off singing and then they learn dance.
K: For sure. Dance is something that is within us.
There are many aspects to a song, whether it’s the beat, the vocals, the melody, or the lyrics. Where do you think Am3 is more focused?
J: For all of us, I think we each bring a different aspect to it. Kali can compose songs and Ahlee does this as well and has talent with melodies.
K: Ginny is our lyrics and so is Jill. Our group is a good mix of what anybody wants to hear because if you were to put any of our songs together, you would hear music that is beat heavy and you can dance to because we are dancers. There is also the music that tugs at your heart strings and we have music about life and real things and curveballs that come your way and how to get over them. I think we’re pretty well rounded.
What are your upcoming goals and future plans?
K: We have our big show in October and that’s our first gig together at all. Our debut will have three songs and it will be fun. It’s a good fit to be our first show because it means a lot to us. After that, maybe our producer can take over.
Yuen: That was a stupid answer! Duh, we want to get big! No, no, they plan to have more shows and you will see them more in the local scene with the help of other artists as well and combined forces. They will have more shows and more exposure and the ultimate goal is to put out an album and for people to love the music.
What do you think is wrong with the music industry today?
A: I can touch base on what I have seen so far in the Asian market. I think that the songs over there are very commercialized and there isn’t much with true meaning to it. People are just putting out a lot of party music with no lyrical meaning.
K: Artists don’t have a lot of time to develop themselves and they aren’t really given a chance to do so and show what they have because they don’t have the time.
A: They usually last a couple years whereas some artists here work very hard and last very long.
K: What we’re trying to do is because we recognize that issue, we are trying put out a lot of time and a lot of thought into the songs that we write; we want our music to be timeless and we want it to be relevant throughout the time and not be a one hit-
A: -Wonder.
Today a lot of artists like to convey a message through their music. Is there a specific message that you girls would like to convey through your songs?
A: Ambition. There is a lot of drive, a lot of force and a lot of passion in what we do. We’re all very strong and independent females.
K: We all experienced things that other people have experienced, juggling life, work and pleasure.
A: One big thing that connects us all is music and the love for it.
What is it about the Am3ition name that made you guys decide to carry it forward?
G: The reason is because of Aaron. We really want to carry on what he’s done.
A: We definitely want to exuberate and exemplify everything that he stood for and why he did what he did and all the sacrifices he made for music.
J: We don’t want people to forget about him so when people hear the name Am3, people will still remember.
K: He worked really hard for everything. We don’t want anything given to us so we will work for it.
What is HYPE?
K: Excitement.
A: Craziness.
G: Party and HYPEr.
J: I think it’s a kind of attitude towards life and everything.
