The lion's dream came true

The lion's dream came true

Everything has fallen into place for pop-singer Singto Numchok, in his early 30s, at the height of his music career and about to father twins

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
The lion's dream came true

Strumming his guitar and humming a tune while effortlessly posing for a photo shoot, Singto Numchok from time to time looks at his mobile phone to check whether it's still recording. He's in search of his next hit, which may just come spontaneously out of the blue and he wants to capture it when it actually does.

Last week, a video featuring the Thai singer went viral. It was his interview with BBC World Service's Outlook radio programme, in which Singto speaks ear-pleasing English as he answers the host's questions candidly, talking about his rise from a factory worker into a pop star. The Isan boy will be releasing his first English-language album this October -- which explains his appearance on the BBC, where he sang one of the numbers from his new album. This week he's scheduled to fly to the UK to promote the songs that are targeted for a Western audience. 

But it's not all about his international music career, as Singto also appears as a new coach on The Voice Thailand. Sitting on the red chair in the country's top-rated singing contest signifies that he is an approved and respected mentor and it seems as if he relishes that role every Sunday evening on Channel 3. On top of that, the man is also looking forward to becoming a father of twins in a few months time -- you really just can't fault him for smiling constantly as everything is going superbly well for the man in his early 30s.

His real name is Numchok Thanatram -- Numchok means bringing luck -- while people know him as Singto, which means lion. It could have been luck that got him to the point where he is today, yet this could also be attributed to what he has displayed the most: a determination to make his dreams come true.

"As a kid, I had great imagination about what I could do and it had no limitations. I envisioned myself doing a music album," he recalled. "The inspiration came from watching a singer, Beau Sunita, doing an interview on TV where she talked about how she became a singer, and I told myself I wanted to be a recording artist like her, too."

The friendly, laid-back northeasterner didn't come from a well-off family. He had a formal education until he was 12, then he left school to find work in the capital. Later he pursued non-formal education and completed Mathayom 6.

The calling came when the teenager Numchok was working in a machine shop at a metal parts factory in Bang Born, a Bangkok suburb. His job was to cut steel, at which he purposely underperformed in order not to be assigned greater responsibility. That way, he had more time to practise his singing.

"At that point when I realised the difference between dreams and reality, I knew what I had to do. I didn't have a great voice, I didn't have good looks, so I had to do more, practise harder, in order to be really good and give myself a shot," said the self-taught singer and guitarist who also writes his own songs. 

He started performing at different pubs and bars, including those on Khao San Road, building up experience along the way. There are thousands of pub singers in this country -- in an ironic twist, many of them turn up to sing for Numchok on The Voice in order to get a breakthrough -- but only the really good ones make a transition from night-time entertainers singing covers of hits to genuine artists. Numchok proved that he was good enough to cross that threshold. He became  a professional guitarist at 17 and after joining a band called Mono, he made his first album in the early 2000s. 

"Performing in a pub and recording in a studio are two totally different disciplines. As a first-timer in the recording studio, I felt like someone who had never played the guitar before," he said.

Like most male singers, Singto's role models include rock personalities and songwriters with distinctive voices such as Sek Loso, Carabao, Asanee Wasan and Thai Tanawut. Like every boy who plays the guitar in Thailand, he first practised singing in English and playing the chords of Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight. "I had only a little schooling, but wow, I found myself singing in English!" he said laughing. 

The turning point came in the late 2000s when he relocated to Phuket. Intending to stay and find inspiration for three months, he ended up living there for three years. That was when he developed the style of music that would make him a household name and that would enable him even to move on to the international arena. He styled himself as a solo artist and drew on the surf music of Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz.

The laid-back beach sound propelled him to fame in his first album as a solo artist in 2010 -- that was when the ukulele became a comeback instrument and Singto used it as his trademark. The album was released under Pollen Sound, and soon there were many hits such as Ting (Leaving), Yu Tor Loei Dai Mai (Can You Stay?) and PS I Miss You.

In 2013, Singto surprised many fans by releasing a mini English-language album called Sticky Rice, featuring a five-song compilation. He co-wrote the lyrics and though they're not entirely sophisticated, they have the vibe of worry-free afternoons and the sincere voice of a friend ("Life can get you down at times don't worry, don't keep it inside" he sings in Let It Go, and, "You're so cute, the day I fell for you I didn't have a parachute", and he croons to the ukelele in the reggae-inflected Gift). That was a precursor to his new album in English, a collaboration between himself, Thai label What the Duck and Karma Sound Studios, a recording facility known to have hosted a number of world-class artists located near Pattaya. He didn't write all the lyrics himself here, though he gave the team an input, which they turned into correct English.

"I was given the opportunity to work with a team of professionals for miraculous music-making," he said. "I'm not competing against Western artists, only with myself.

"Well, I picture myself in a London black cab taking me across Westminster Bridge with the view of Big Ben. Then I hear my new song Miss You on the radio. That would be absolutely awesome!"

In the BBC interview, which took place in mid-July although Thai listeners have only heard it now, Singto sang Miss You, one of the eight songs on the new album, for the programme hosted by Matthew Banister. The interview became a talking point -- partly because of his new song but mainly because the singer gave an effortless interview to one of the biggest news stations of all time. 

"When answering the questions, I didn't feel like I was speaking English. I was naturally communicating from the heart and sharing my story," said the singer.

"I have an American wife and actually I should be more fluent in the language! I think Thai people liked the BBC interview because they could understand what I was saying whereas they may not completely understand a Thai who speaks perfect English."

But more than the English-language songs, being the new coach in The Voice Thailand Season 4 further puts him in the spotlight. It came as a surprise, he said, that the producer seated him in the revolving red chair along with the three original coaches, Joey Boy, Jennifer Kim and Saharat Sangkapricha.

"Why me? I still don't know the answer but they must have carefully considered everything," said Singto. "It's up to me now whether I can do a good job or not, which is about sharing my experience with team members and suggesting rather than teaching them what they should do and how to sing."

In the blind audition rounds, he looked for contestants that can narrate and express feelings through their singing rather than vocal powerhouses.

The Voice's contestants share the same dream as him, he said and recalled how his relatives back in the Northeast once thought that his daydreaming about being a singer would never come true.

"I faced difficulties along the way but my dream defeated the obstacles," he said. "You have to love what you do first, believe in it, just do it, then don't stop believing and don't stop doing and the passion will get you there some day."

Singto is enjoying a successful music career coupled with joyful parenthood as his twin boys will be born this Dec. Altogether, he will be a dad of three sons -- his first child is only 18 months old.

When they grow up, he will have his kids watching the film The Pursuit Of Happyness in which during one scene, the father played by Will Smith says to his son: "Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you -- you can't do something. Not even me." 

"As a dad, I will tell them to live their dreams. I am the testimony, as I've written my own destiny."

Singto Numchok is a new coach on The Voice Thailand.

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