ALIA D'MELDA, 32, resident singer of The Bellini Grande

Even in 5-inch stiletto heels, 1.6m-tall funk and soul singer Alia D'Melda cuts a tiny figure on the stage of The Bellini Grande club at Clarke Quay. But when she starts to sing her version of Aretha Franklin's soul anthem, Respect, she morphs into a vocal powerhouse.

With her strong contralto and smooth moves such as shaking and wriggling her hips, D'Melda, 32, electrifies the appreciative audience. The bottle blonde then struts confidently towards the dance floor while singing Beyonce's Deja Vu, teasing the guys in the crowd.

Later, she wows the crowd again by turning into a leather-clad, headbanging rock chick for a rock number.

D'Melda - who is married to professional footballer Azhar Baksin, 33, of Sengkang-Punggol team, with whom she has a two-year-old son - has been performing her popular solo gigs at The Bellini Grande since February. Before that, she was the vocalist for six-piece band Raw Energy, which specialised in top 40s music.

It was a big step to sing on stage alone backed by a house band. She tells Life!: 'I was in a comfort zone, singing with my band for 13 years. The thought of being a soloist freaked me out.'

It did not help that sceptics told her that she might not have the stamina to sustain three 60-minute sets, six nights a week. Also, she had piled on weight and tipped the scales at 65kg. But she whipped herself back to shape in three weeks.

'I was under tremendous stress,' says D'Melda, who lost 13kg and now flaunts a svelte figure. 'I went on a diet of low carbs and worked out at home.'

Her solo gig also features a wider range of music from her former pop-rock band, so the stress of losing weight also came on top of practising a whole new repertoire with the new five-piece band.

The 1995 Asia Bagus talent show finalist says: 'It was hard work. But I managed to do it because of good family support.'

Before the solo gig, the yummy mummy had earlier overcome another hurdle in her career. She says: 'People say your singing career is over when you have a family and kids. I had to prove them wrong.'

The former Chai Chee Secondary School student did just that, performing at various nightspots such as the former Thumper club at Goodwood Park Hotel with her former band not long after giving birth.

But now, the husky-voiced singer is looking ahead to a new challenge: her Pop Diva Tribute Show next Wednesday.

The one-off showcase will see her performing with other female artists such as Filipino vocalist Tiny and Singapore-based French singer Lucile Bannholtzer.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.