K-pop group I-dle and Chinese singer Cai Xukun to headline inaugural Bubbling & Boiling festival in Singapore
On Friday (Jul 25), organisers announced that K-pop group I-dle and Chinese singer Cai Xukun will headline the festival on each day, respectively. The team also hinted that more acts will be revealed in the coming weeks.
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Formerly known as (G)I-dle, I-dle consists of members Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua and released a string of chart-topping hits including Tomboy, Queencard and Fate.
, Minnie said that the group rebranded to its new name following contract renewals.
'Since this is the new chapter of our group, I think it's a good time to rebrand,' said the Thailand-born singer.
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Cai Xukun, more popularly known as Kun, first found fame through his participation in multiple idol survival shows such as Super Idol and Idol Producer. He eventually won first place for the latter series and became a member of the C-pop boy band Nine Percent.
Following the group's disbandment, Kun has established himself as a popular solo artiste with numerous brand deals and hit songs to his name. His last concert in Singapore was in 2023.
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He has long been drawn to quiet, emotionally layered stories, often exploring themes of memory, identity and belonging in his films. He now brings this same sensibility in telling the country's story on its biggest national stage. For the past NDP shows he directed, he featured stories of migrant workers and ex-offenders striving for second chances, grounded on his personal belief that there is room for a more empathetic society. "This year, there is a significant focus on people with disabilities. It has always been my hope to inspire more empathy and understanding (among various communities)." WITH EXPERIENCE COMES CONFIDENCE There are few creative jobs quite like orchestrating the NDP's show segment. As creative director, Mr Boo oversees everything from conceptualising the show's theme, storyline and staging, as well as working with a team of artistes, musicians, designers, choreographers and filmmakers to bring his vision to life. It is a mammoth undertaking involving thousands of participants and requiring careful planning and coordination, but he has learnt much from his earlier experiences directing the NDP shows. "I used to focus a lot on achieving professional excellence in the choreography, the performances, everything. But over time, I've come to appreciate that even when things are a little rough around the edges, it can still be incredibly powerful," he said. "What matters most is the spirit of the performers and how they reflect the broader community of Singaporeans. That, to me, is just as meaningful." Before becoming the creative director for the first time, Mr Boo had served as film and multimedia director at three NDP shows, with veteran musician-songwriter Dick Lee at the helm. "I have (him) to thank for roping me in as early as 2010 and again in 2014 and 2015. I learned a lot during those years about what it takes to put together (a show of this scale). "But of course, when I took on the role of creative director myself in 2018, I injected what I understood as a filmmaker into the process and tried to do things my way," he said, recalling that he was also guided by his team's feedback, often bouncing ideas off them to make everything work. Especially when it came to the performance segments, Mr Boo admitted that he often felt like a fish out of water because he was unfamiliar with the theatrical side of things. "I relied a lot on the team to propose ideas on what the costumes should look like, the music and the choreography. But now, I am more comfortable saying, 'No, don't do that' or 'Why not try this instead?' "(The confidence) does come with experience. I am now much better at being specific about what I think we should have (for the show)," he added. Certainly, looking back now, there were moments where he wished he had done things differently and when such situations surfaced again this time, he was able to refine them. "In 2018, I relied heavily on the film segments to tell the story or communicate the themes. In 2021, during COVID-19, we used animation and a short film to do the same," he said. "This time round, there is still a short film, but I feel the performances in between have become stronger and more coherent. What surprised me this time was how much the performances themselves could carry the story." Although Mr Boo's films have travelled the world, the NDP is as close to home as it gets, yet he does not feel that his global achievements have fundamentally changed how he sees himself as a Singaporean. "While my films are my own artistic expression, I see my role in NDP closer to that of a designer responding to a brief," he said. "Sometimes, I inject my own point of view and naturally, aspects of my worldview do find their way into the show. But ultimately, I am designing something to suit the purpose of the occasion." TELLING A STORY THAT RESONATES At home with his family, National Day came with its own routine – his father would hang the Singapore flag each August and Mr Boo would help. Over time, it became a quiet tradition. And when it came to the parade, Mr Boo said his favourite parts when he was growing up were the fireworks, the Red Lions parachutists and the roaring flypast. "Anything that made you tilt your head up," he said. "As a child, the things that stuck with me were always in the sky. That is something I still hold onto today when designing the show," he added. "I try to create moments where people are not just looking straight ahead but looking up, looking back and looking all around, so that the experience feels full and immersive." When asked about his earliest memories of watching the NDP, Mr Boo recalled attending a couple of them with his whole family when he was still in primary school. "My dad was a civil servant, so I attended one or two NDPs when I was young and those moments stayed with us." His connection with the NDP deepened years later, when he first got involved behind the scenes as a volunteer camera assistant during film school in 2002. "We laid cables for the video cameras and were responsible for taking shots from the tower," he recounted. Coincidentally, the creative director that year was veteran artiste Dick Lee – a name that would resurface in Mr Boo's career years later when they worked together on the 2010, 2014 and 2015 shows. Remembering the emotional impact of watching NDP live as a young boy, Mr Boo said that this shaped his approach as well when he became creative director for the show. He wanted to make sure that every performance – rehearsal or not – feels complete and meaningful. "That is why we always try to make the (rehearsals) feel as ready and complete as possible, even though it is still very early in the process when those shows happen." In the years when he was not involved in the show as creative director, he usually watched the NDP from home, Mr Boo said, because he was curious to see how other directors or artists interpreted and presented the themes of National Day. As for whether he plans to take a break after wrapping up 18 months of work for the NDP, the answer was no. "I'll be jumping right back into my next feature film, from which I took a break to do NDP. We're hoping to complete it by early next year," he said. The film, shot in Taiwan and Singapore, has been eight years in the making – and that was all he would say about the project. On what he hopes viewers could take away from this year's show, he pointed to a line in this year's NDP theme song Here We Are, performed by Singapore artistes Charlie Lim, Kit Chan and The Island Voices. It goes like this: to be seen, heard and known. "When I first came across the lyrics, they really struck me," Mr Boo said. "To some degree, that's what we do as artists – we tell stories, shine a light on a sentiment, a feeling, a character. And with something like NDP, we try to do that on the broadest possible scale.
