“Whether I’m a singer, an actor or a TV host, I feel like my calling in life is to be a conduit—a medium for telling somebody else’s story.
Often, I find my voice in those stories.”
Joanna Dong may wear many hats but her ability to connect with different audiences threads through her work and sets her apart. Unaffected by trends or popularity, Joanna delivers her best work by following her heart. Despite being unconventional, her debut on Sing! China (2017) was a jazz-inspired rendition of a 90s Chinese classic—delivered with warmth, flair and finesse, capturing the attention of the critical mass. This didn’t happen by chance. Neither was it due to pure talent. Joanna is someone who works fiercely and intelligently at her craft.
As a performer, her foundation traces back to her childhood years as a karaoke singer. She was also a member of the choir and jazz band in school where she trained her vocals as if it was an instrument capable of diverse sounds. As a budding young singer with a less mainstream appeal, her participation on Singapore Idol (2004) was unsuccessful, which lead her to focus on niche genres and try her hand at other performing arts. Acting and hosting taught her new modes of expression—each a note in her playbook, layering her performances with range and depth. Not only is Joanna a joy to watch on stage as a seasoned performer, but she also has the rare ability to surprise without detaching from the audience.
“How can music performance be presented differently?” she often considers. While primarily a singer, theatre training opened up her body and mind to better connect with her co-performers and the audience. In that sense, Joanna understands that a successful show is not all about her. “While a singer needs to produce good sounds, learning to listen is equally important. This mode makes you more self-reflective,” she explains. She is also effectively bilingual and pays close attention to the nuances of language in her delivery.
In 2019, Joanna founded Do Be Do Di—short for Do Better, Do Different—to keep pursuing a direction that she believes to be meaningful. Beyond the big picture, being able to do what she loves drives her the most. “I'm genuinely joyful when I’m singing or performing because at the moment, I’m not thinking about anything else besides trying to tell the story,” she says. And she does that with mesmerising ease.
