SHE can sing, she can dance and she’s pretty. So why are some critics intent on putting Sun Ho down, whatever she’s doing?

The question cropped up again after netizens fired their latest salvo against the Singaporean singer.

They felt that for the video for her new single, Fancy Free, the 37-year-old had copied from American singer Lady Gaga But supporters of Sun have fired back, defending her against the criticisms.

The New Paper received almost a dozen angry e-mails, several of them from members of City Harvest Church, after we reported the criticisms on Tuesday.

Among other things, her supporters pointed out how Singaporeans seem to have the tendency to put down our homegrown artists.

One writer, Serene Koh, wrote: “It’s time for Singapore to stop shooting down our own and start cheering them on.”

Another writer, Tan Yong, agreed, writing: “We seldom get excited and cheer on one of us who has made it overseas.

“Singers like Kit Chan and now Sun Ho made a name beyond our shores. But here we go, throwing whatever we got at them.”

Sun has five multi-platinum Mandarin albums, and several of her dance hits released in the US have reached the top of the Billboard Dance Club Charts and the UK’s Music Week Dance Charts.

Yet the criticism continued on online forums like Hardwarezone, SgClub and Trevvy.

So is it true that Singaporeans are generally unappreciative and overly critical of local musicians?

Y.E.S 93.3FM radio DJ Dennis Chew, 36, thinks so.

Dennis, who released a Mandarin album in 2003, thinks Singaporeans are not united enough to support local musicians. People are also “very good” at complaining and comparing.

He believes that if more people here buy albums by local singers, the Singapore market won’t be so small.

Said Dennis: “There’s no culture here to appreciate local singers. People don’t think it’s a big thing to be able to sing or write music.”

He also thinks Singaporeans don’t focus on the artiste’s performances, but instead, pick on them.

In the case of Sun, he said: “People only see that she’s the wife of a pastor and question why she’s so liberal.”

Not constructive

Jamie Meldrum, the 39-year-old programme director of 91.3FM, which has been spinning Sun’s Fancy Free has watched the music video. He doesn’t think Sun is copying Lady Gaga.

He said: “Most of the critics want to put someone down to make themselves feel better. Criticism is fine and has its place, but it’s not always constructive.

“Why try to put a Singaporean down when we finally have someone out there putting out decent music?”

Class 95FM DJ Jean Danker, 31, agreed. “I’m very proud that Sun is doing well on the dance charts. I wish we could be more supportive, though it’s much better than before. Local bands are getting more exposure and the standard is getting better,” she said.

But Rod Monteiro, a DJ with 91.3FM, thinks Singaporeans are not too critical.

“Local musicians haven’t given us good music in a long time, so it’s tough to support them. That’s why people think we are critical,” the 42-year-old said.

David Tan, 33, the frontman of local band Electrico, said: “The music industry in Singapore, while progressing, is still in its infancy and it would do well for people to not be too critical at this stage.

“But at the same time, the artistes shouldn’t use that as an excuse to not strive for their best.”

The band composed and sang this year’s National Day song What Do You See, with some critics saying they had sold out to the official agenda.

Some also thought the song isn’t easy to sing along to.

Local singer Tan Diya, 24, thinks Sun is a controversial personality and people cannot take her case to be applicable to the entire music industry.

She believes people tend to be biased against Sun because of her connections to City Harvest Church.

Sun is married to the Reverend Kong Hee, founder of the church. Artistsdosometimes copy each other. Some have called Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsaian AyumiHamasaki-wannabe.

Jean said: “I don’t think it’s bad to emulate someone’s style. It’s not about copying, it’s marketing yourself in a certain way. And it’s not just in popthat it happens.”

Diya prefers not to use the word “copy”. She said: “Music evolves. It doesn’t just come out of nowhere, you get reference from other people’s products. If you want to put it negatively, it’s copying.

“But to put it nicely, it’s inspiration.”

This article was first published in The New Paper.