Wildcard Vanessa excels in Beijing singing contest

KLANG: Despite a Mat Salleh-sounding name and speaking English with her parents, 16-year-old Vanessa Reynauld is quite an old pro in singing Chinese songs.

Having won awards from nearly 20 local singing competitions, the spunky girl travelled to China alone on July 19 to take part in Beijing’s “Water Cube Cup” overseas Chinese youth singing contest where she won the silver medal.

She spent three weeks surviving five elimination rounds, competing with 67 young aspirants from 42 different countries.

Eventually, Vanessa and another Malaysian were among the 10 contestants picked for the final round.

“I didn’t expect to get such a high award because I didn’t even get chosen in Malaysia,” said Vanessa who was eliminated from the selection held in Malaysia.

(She had joined the Beijing contest under a wildcard invitation.)

“When I got to Beijing, I thought there were so many good singers and it would be a very big challenge for me,” she said in an interview yesterday.

Songbird’s reward: Vanessa showing her father Ben the Runner-Up Award she won in China.

The contest was eventually won by an 18-year-old boy from New York.

“I felt a little bit disappointed because I was almost there,” she admitted.

Having exhausted her repertoire in the earlier rounds, Vanessa had to learn two new songs.

She picked a love ballad by Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung and another number by Taiwanese pop diva A-mei.

Apparently, the judges during the final felt that her selection of songs appeared too easy for her and did not showcase the extent of her talent.

Still, Vanessa’s parents – Ben Renauld and Elizabeth Lee – were proud of the achievement of Vanessa, the youngest of their three children.

After all, this was the teenager’s first international competition.

“We told her she shouldn’t be disappointed. Even if someone else is better than her, she must always do her best. That is what counts,” said Ben, who is a port management consultant.

Vanessa attributed her achievements to her family’s support especially her sister Rosanne, 18, who encouraged her and helped her sign up for competitions.

Her greatest motivation remained her older brother who has Down Syndrome.

“I want to help my family and I want to help my brother who is sick now. My brother is 28 years old and my family does not have that much money for his education and his prescriptions.

“I want to support my family,” said the Klang-born Vanessa, who studied Chinese up to Year Six and is now in Methodist Girls’ School.

The “Water Cube Cup” overseas Chinese youth singing contest is held to commemorate the 2008 Beijing Olympics and to promote cultural exchanges between China and young people from other countries.