WHEN there’s nothing on her plate, Ashley Chan goes crazy. At least that’s what she professes.
Thankfully, there’s plenty going on for the self-proclaimed workaholic to keep her grounded. The 20-year-old’s current gig is as a radio announcer on Capital FM, which she secured just last month.
She is the latest and youngest addition to the station’s stables, and one with an impressive set of credentials. She does high-level ballet, is proactive in performing arts, sings in a band, is working on solo material and has hosted on TV – all while being a college student. Yes, this girl knows how to work.
Chan’s first passion was really to become a professional dancer, having learnt ballet since she was four. But tearing a meniscus from rehearsing for three musicals simultaneously unfortunately put paid to those plans.
“It was very, very hard to deal with the injury because ballet was a big part of my life. And suddenly, I went from performing and doing so many shows to doing nothing,” recalled Chan, who is of Chinese-English parentage.
But as they say, when one door closes, another opens. In her case, more than one ultimately did. And the first to lead her out of crazy land was singing – something she’d always done in church but never took seriously … until her calling beckoned.
Soon after, she joined local indie rock outfit An Honest Mistake when the band sought to replace its frontwoman Sheryl Goh, who had left to pursue her studies overseas.
It’s strange how Chan has two sides to her personality. One is more mellow, reflected in the solo material she’s recording, and the other, is this outgoing persona which fuels her hosting career.
“I’ve learned a lot about tone from working in radio. I find sometimes I’m either too low or too hyper. So, I need to find a balance,” she said laughing.
Hosting was a talent she developed after winning a reality search for the red carpet host for NTV7’s Bella Awards last year. Tucking TV hosting gigs under her belt, she eventually secured an audition as an announcer for Capital FM.
“It’s different. With TV, it’s so much easier to engage people because they can see you. But with radio, your voice is very, very important,” she said, describing the transition she made at the tail end of last year.
Today, Chan has switched to higher gears and is ready to take on the main stage (or should we say main mic?) on the radio station that promotes women empowerment. In fact, she’s already doing her shows solo.
Life is about to get even busier for the young “over-achiever” now that she’s on the cusp of her final year in her Mass Communication diploma. Unsurprisingly, she’s barely complaining.
“Doing them all at the same time is possible. It simply comes down to how much you want it and all about time management,” she asserted.
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