Iman Fandi Spills Her Soul Into Debut Album
Singer-songwriter, model and loving daughter on the cusp of releasing her debut album, Iman Fandi, Prestige Singapore‘s June 2024 cover personality, lets us in on her music career, relationships, and the meaning of having it all.
In the music video for her R&B-style single “Top Bop”, Iman Fandi confidently leads a group of dancers, looking straight at the camera while belting out, in honeyed vocals: “So we ain’t/ Never on the sidelines/ Put it out high/ Counting on the daily/ Taking what’s mine/ Ain’t got time to stick around/ I’ve been working all night”.
“It’s about somebody who wants to be famous and get up there, and has all these big dreams. It’s a story of a girl who wants to make a hit song,” says Iman, during our interview at the office of Universal Music Singapore, which signed her on as an artist in 2021. “Top Bop” sounds like it could be a song about the 24-year-old singer-songwriter, who will be releasing her debut album this September. Not so, she says affably. “It’s not autobiographical. When it comes to songs like that, it’s more of my alter ego.”
Is her alter ego similar to Sasha Fierce, the fiery and flamboyant alter ego and stage persona of superstar Beyoncé, who incidentally, is one of Iman’s favourite artists? “Her name is Willow,” Iman says of her other personality. “I’m really shy, but I become extroverted when it’s related to my work. If I am nervous performing, Willow just takes over.”
It must have been Willow, then, whom we saw at last year’s National Day Parade. Performing a rendition of Dick Lee’s classic song “Bunga Sayang”, Iman held 27,000 spectators – and many more viewers at home – spellbound with her commanding presence and clear vocals. She recalls, “I was so nervous, but it was such a great opportunity and experience for me.” She also performed at the Marina Bay Countdown party last New Year’s Eve and is now motivated to take on more this year.
Growing Up Famous
If Iman is shy, it does not show. Seated before me, with her luxuriant tresses in a high ponytail, and wearing a long tan vest with matching trousers, black lace-up boots and gold-framed glasses – she is mildly myopic but doesn’t dare to try Lasik – she is friendly, relaxed and candid. At a recent gala, she was the picture of grace despite being accosted by strangers and friends who wanted a photo with her.
No doubt she is used to the spotlight. Iman’s parents are Singaporean football legend Fandi Ahmad and South Africa-born retired model Wendy Jacobs. She is the third child in a brood of five, with four similarly good-looking brothers who are professional footballers. Her parentage is clearly visible – Iman has the youthful charm of her dad, and the sultry good looks of her mum.
The self-proclaimed introvert first burst into public consciousness in 2014, when she signed up for The New Paper’s New Face modelling competition. She was 14. Despite having scant modelling experience save for a handful of “mother-daughter” photo shoots, Iman knew, from years of exposure to the modelling business thanks to her mum, that it was an avenue she wanted to explore. She got to the finals of the competition, and in subsequent years, worked with several high-profile fashion and lifestyle brands, in addition to appearing in numerous editorial shoots.
She recalls, “I didn’t tell my mum that I had signed up. When I got the e-mail accepting me, she was like, ‘What?’ (Laughs.) She was there to support me on that journey. But sometimes I look back at myself and I’m like, ‘Iman, you want to try too many things.’”
Listening and Writing
Despite her impetuous – and life-changing – decisions, the up-and-coming musician has a good head on her shoulders. In 2021, she got her bachelor’s degree in psychology. She says cheerfully, “My parents are very open and supportive. They always told us, ‘Do what you want to do, but always have a backup plan.’ My backup plan is psychology!”
Aside from a love of crime and mystery shows, she was inspired to study the subject because she is often the “Aunt Agony” among her friends. Apparently, she’s got empathy and a knack for giving advice. “Love Me Little More”, one of six songs that Iman has released over the past three years, was inspired by the relationship problems of a good friend.
Describing the song as “tropical house” with an Afrobeat influence, Iman explains, “It is about wanting someone to love you as much as you do them. At that time, my friend often talked to me about her relationship difficulties. I started journaling for her, but in the form of a song. Of course, I asked for permission first. When I played it for her, she went, ‘Wow, this is exactly how I feel.’
“I love writing about stories that I want to tell or my personal experiences. I like writing songs that mean something.” The first song that Iman penned was “Timeframe”. Then 19, she was inspired to write it during a cab ride, the day after she had said goodbye to a friend who was leaving the country.
She says, “At that time, it felt like everybody around me was going overseas – my brothers, my dad, my friends. It felt like nobody was around.”
Melding pop, R&B and house, “Timeframe” caught the attention of Universal Music Singapore. It was subsequently produced by Singaporean hip-hop artist Flightsch and mixed by 13-time Grammy-winning engineer John Hanes. Within a month of its release, the song charted twice and was streamed over 100,000 times. Says Iman, “Over the years, the singles I’ve put out have been quite different from each other. I’m starting to find my sound, and the album will be a round-up of that journey.” As she embarks on a new chapter in music, she hopes to no longer be pigeonholed as being just an influencer – which was never her goal from the outset.
“I was just putting out photos of what was happening in my life,” she says, of her early years on social media. Many people were clearly keen on these glimpses into her world. Since starting her Instagram account in 2012, Iman has amassed more than 84,800 followers. She has 56,000 followers on TikTok. Not everyone who follows her online is a fan, though: While she has learnt to brush off negative comments about her or her family, she admits “it can be upsetting sometimes”.
“Social media is a great way for me to show my work, and to work with brands. But sometimes, things can get clouded when I want to use these platforms to highlight my music.”
For The Love of Family
While “Timeframe” was chiefly inspired by a friend with whom she had “a platonic thing that could have been more”, Iman is now happily in a relationship. She reveals that her beau of three years is a Singapore PR who is currently based in the UK, where he is studying international business. She’s sanguine about the long distance, having matured since the separation that inspired “Timeframe”. “I have realised that sometimes, these things happen, and you just have to accept it.”
Even though her dad and siblings are overseas pursuing their football careers (her youngest brother Iryan is currently serving National Service), the family is close-knit. She shares, “We want to see all of us succeed. We have a family chat group, and every time one of us does something interesting, we send pictures, our congratulations, things like that. That keeps us all together, because it is difficult sometimes.”
One of her current challenges, she says, is navigating the responsibilities of a daughter while pursuing her own dreams. Her mother has suffered serious health problems for many years. “I feel like I am her caregiver as the oldest child who is in Singapore. I have been helping since I was 10, because my older brothers used to live in Chile. My dad was with us, but he was working in order to support the family.
“I had to learn many things, but it made me strong and independent. I’ve been wanting to do more work overseas, and sometimes, I do wonder how I might be able to do that [given my responsibilities here].”
Having It All
Despite the challenges, family is so important to Iman that when asked where she sees herself in 10 years, she immediately says, “married, with children”, then adds making music and selling accessibly-priced jewellery to the list.
It is a charmingly unstudied response for a recording artist with a debut album on the horizon. Can she envision herself being married with children and achieving renown on the level of Taylor Swift, whose recent concert she attended and found “inspiring”?
“Can I?” she asks, echoing the doubts of many women who wonder if they can have it all. “I hope I can. The reason I said ‘family’ first is that no matter what I am doing at different stages in my life, that is something I have always wanted.”
As we discuss the challenges faced by working women today, Iman’s alter ego Willow comes to the fore. I give the question one more shot: Where does Iman Fandi see herself in 10 years?
“Where do I see myself ? I’m going to be touring like Taylor Swift, having my babies follow me around, and doing my side business of jewellery,” she says. Willow would not have it any other way.
Fashion Direction: JOHNNY KHOO
Art Direction: AUDREY CHAN
Photography: JOEL LOW
Fashion Styling: JACQUIE ANG
Hair: MICHAEL CHIEW/HAIRFORM SALON using KMS HAIR and GOLDWELL
Make-up: WEE MING using CHANEL BEAUTY
Photography Assistance: EDDIE TEO
Fashion Assistance: KHONG YAWEN
Location: LABRADOR VILLA
Outfits and Accessories: CHANEL
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
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