04

So, two distinct voices, Elliot James Reay and Shila Amzah, took the stage on China’s “Singer 2026” television competition on the night of the 3rd of July 2026, thanks to synchronized timing of the broadcast between Malaysia and China. They both are from England and Malaysia respectively, making them have different yet similar musical experiences, as one is a millennial and the other is from Gen Z. Yet, like most powerful music, it can bring us together, despite challenges and variations. At the same time, Malaysia was a former British colony, so English songs shouldn’t be a surprise. The challenge that had been presented to them was to make an oldie sound relevant for a variety of audiences, while making sure there’s no overpowering each other.

For now, you can find snippets of the duet on social media, where the two braved “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” using their own voices and styles. Elliot James Reay may only be in his 20s, but, damn, he brings you back to the ‘50s, and yet has his way of making the beat of the song modern and appealing to the younger generation. Written in E flat major, before cleverly transitioning to F major, also his debut single, is “I Think They Call This Love”, which has been covered by Malaysian-Nordic artist Matthew Ifield. And so, of course, taking on “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is within his capacity and up his alley, being an Elvis Presley classic. After all, Elliot James Reay has done a solo cover on his YouTube channel and TikTok account, which were his starting points. A tenor, Elliot James Reay blends his signature tenor voice and soaring, emotive falsettos.

Based on the snippet on her own Instagram account, you can see that perhaps, Shila Amzah was slightly nervous. I mean, who wouldn’t be? Being born to Malay-speaking parents, and more well-known in the Chinese pop circle, with a number of Malay and English songs (to cater to a wider audience in her homeland), this is one of her rare moments with an international singer from the English-speaking world. Note her vocal breaks, done intentionally.

In another snippet on another platform, which shows a different portion, you will find both of them pacing to the beat of the song, which adds to their presence on stage. Then, you also get to the ending where Elliot does a run, while Shila shows her creativity and more of her vocal breaks.

One of her memorable duets was with fellow Mandopop singer-songwriter Firdhaus when they decided to do a special performance of “Divorce in Ghana” during Firdhaus’ tour in Singapore, a song which is highly popular amongst the Taiwanese. Another was with Shila Amzah’s own childhood idol, Wang Leehom, when he was in Kuala Lumpur. Shila Amzah attended a Chinese-medium primary school, and later continued in a Malay-medium secondary school, making her achieve a certain level of proficiency in the Chinese language, then heading over to China to try out in several competitions, where she also took the opportunity to use and improve on her Chinese enunciation, given her heightened exposure to and immersion into the language. In 2012, Shila Amzah made international news by becoming the first non-Chinese contestant to win a major competition in China, where it was held in Shanghai. That television competition was called “Asian Wave”.

The duet was part of Episode 7 of “Singer 2026”. Shila Amzah had been part of the show 12 years ago. Among the tracks she performed were “Xiang Ni De Ye” and “YangCong”, done with the right amount of emotion and conviction, therefore making her even more well-known in Malaysia as well as amongst the Chinese audience/market. So, it’s understandable that she was both nervous and excited about her return. This time, she came back as a guest artist to help out Elliot James Reay.

It seems that Elliot James Reay has been a contestant since Episode 5 of the show as a wildcard singer. That may explain why he was pretty relaxed about the performance, despite it being his rare few moments of doing a duet with someone on a stage both outside his home country.

The show was held in Changsha, while also broadcast live to viewers of subscription-based satellite television in Malaysia on a Chinese-oriented programming channel.

China’s Hunan TV has been broadcasting “Singer 2026”, which has this special episode, while Mango TV has been the official streaming partner.

Notes: “Singer 2026” was originally known as “I Am A Singer”.

The melody of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” was inspired by a 1784 French love song, composed by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, known as “Plaisir d’amour”.  The song was written from the perspective of a woman.