There’s always an unexplainable sense of pride from knowing that you came from the same school as a celebrity. But to see them casually ordering drinks at your school canteen during your recess time…
Recently, Chinese singer Curley Gao, aka Xilinnayi Gao, shared in a vlog on Weibo that she was in Singapore for a work trip.
“This vlog is going to be completely in Singlish,” said the 26-year-old, who admitted that it does feel “weird to be speaking it without her friends”.
Curley came to Singapore with her parents at nine and studied at Macpherson Primary School.
She also attended Dunman High School (DHS) before going to the United States to attend the Berklee College of Music.
After taking part in Sing! China in 2017, she joined Chinese girl group competition Produce Camp 2020, where she finished first and debuted as part of BonBon Girls 303.
In her vlog, Curley shared she had visited a few places in Singapore this time, including Causeway Point where she met her secondary school best friend for a meal at Pho Street.
Curley also took the train to Bugis and recounted how she auditioned for Sing! China at Bugis Junction in 2016.
While Curley wasn’t successful then, she tried out again in 2017 and made it to the final showdown performances under Na Ying’s team before getting eliminated.
Curley’s final stop for the day was her alma mater, Dunman High School.
Fun fact: This was also a trip down memory lane for this writer, who was also from DHS. I even got to catch Curley, who was a year my junior, perform at our school’s annual singing competition, Centerstage, twice before she returned to China to pursue her dream.
Though her vocals were already impeccable at that time, she came across shy when she performed on stage for the first time in 2015.
Who would have thought that she would one day blossom into such a huge star in China?
When Curley got off at Mountbatten MRT station, she was greeted by waves of DHS students. “They are all wearing the uniform from my school. This feels too familiar,” she said.
Curley made a detour to the nearby Kallang McDonald’s to grab some fries. ANyone who has studied in the area before would know that’s the ultimate after school hangout spot.
Upon reaching DHS, Curley headed for the canteen where she recognised the drink stall tenants, one of whom offered to treat her to a drink.
She declined the offer saying it’s been a long time since she paid for anything in Singapore dollars.
She was also approached by a few of her juniors.
One girl, who didn’t expect to see Curley, went up to her and said: “You look like a certain Chinese singer, Xilinnayi Gao.”
When Curley nodded, the girl and her friend squealed before asking her for a photo.
Curley then brought her team around the school, and to the classrooms where she saw her mathematics teacher, Ms Fang.
She was initially worried Ms Fang would not recognise her — she looks very different now — but all her worries were for naught.
Ms Fang immediately ran to give her a hug before telling her that she’s “doing really well”.
We know Ms Fang is known for being very strict about the length of skirts for female students in DHS. And with Curley sharing that she used to secretly fold up her skirt in school, we wonder if this was another reason she left such a deep impression on her teacher?