Inch Chua facts for kids

Inch Chua (born Chua Yun Juan; 22 December 1988), also known as iNCH, is a talented singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and actress from Singapore. She used to live in Los Angeles and New York. Inch became famous in Singapore's growing indie music scene as the lead singer of the rock band Allura. Later, she started making her own music. Her style mixes acoustic folk with alternative rock, electronic music, jazz, and pop sounds. When Inch Chua performs live, she is often joined by her band, The Metric System.

About Inch Chua's Life

When Inch Chua was a child, she got the nickname "Inch." This happened because her given name, Yun Juan, sounded like "Inch" when spoken quickly.

At 10 years old, a dog bit Inch on her face. She needed 135 stitches, and the bite left some scars. This made her feel a bit alone at her all-girls' school. Inch described herself as different from the other kids. She said, "I was the one digging for worms in the mud." She also mentioned that while others used a compass to draw perfect circles, she would just draw them freehand. She believed not everything had to be perfect.

Inch Chua's Music Journey

Inch Chua did not have any formal music training when she was young. She got involved in the rock music scene in Singapore during an exciting time. New and different artists were starting to become popular.

Rock and roll music in Singapore began in the 1960s. For many years, the local music scene was not very edgy. Even in the 2000s, popular music was mostly from Western and Asian artists. Local musicians often stayed in the underground scene. But Inch loved this small alternative music world. From age 14, she went to gigs and wanted to be part of it.

Inch Chua's first band formed online. She answered a request for a singer and became the lead singer for Auburn's Epiphany at 16.

From Auburn's Epiphany to Allura

In 2007, Auburn's Epiphany was chosen to play at the Baybeats Festival. This was Singapore's main summer music event. Just before the show, the band's founder fired all the other members, including Inch. Inch and her bandmates tried to cancel their performance. However, it was too late.

So, they quickly wrote new songs without their founder. They changed their name to Allura and performed at the festival. Singapore's Allura became very popular in the local rock scene. They gained many fans because of their energetic shows and Inch's powerful, jazz-like singing. The band released their first EP, Wake Up and Smell the Seaweed, in 2008.

But Allura broke up when they were about to record a full album. The male members of the band had to join Singapore's compulsory National Service. The band members remained friends and played their last live show in 2010.

Inch Chua's Solo Career

While still with Allura, Inch Chua studied at Singapore's La Salle College of the Arts. She started recording music in her bedroom using an acoustic guitar. She taught herself how to use music software like Garageband and Reason.

Inch was also one of the first artists in Singapore to share her music online directly. She posted her own songs and many cover songs on YouTube. After the Bandcamp website started, Inch shared her studio recordings there. Her 2009 EP, The Bedroom, was available for free or for fans to "pay what they want." This way of sharing music got her some attention in Singapore.

When songs from The Bedroom were featured on international music blogs, she became even more known. Inch Chua was the first Singaporean solo artist invited to play at a major US festival. This was South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. Later that year, she was also invited to represent Singapore at the Shanghai Expo in China.

Wallflower Album

In 2010, after these international performances, Inch released her first full album, Wallflower. People described her music as a mix of thoughtful acoustic songs, lively electronic sounds, and personal lyrics.

The title song, "Wallflower," was inspired by her feelings of loneliness as a child. Inch said she used to create art privately before sharing it with others. The single from the album, "Hurt," was a song she wrote to remember a lost friend.

After Wallflower gained international attention, Inch worked with other artists. These included singer Nathan Hartono and rapper Shigga Shay. She also collaborated with David Choi, a popular YouTube artist from Los Angeles.

Even though she had many fans in Asia, Inch did not sign with a big record label. She preferred to talk directly to her fans through social media. She focused on performing concerts instead of selling recorded albums in stores.

MasterChef Singapore

In 2021, Inch Chua took part in the second season of the cooking reality show MasterChef Singapore. She was eliminated in the second week of the competition.

Moving to Los Angeles

In late 2011, Inch Chua decided to move to the US for a while. She wanted to challenge herself in a new environment. Singapore's indie music scene was comfortable, but touring was harder there. In December 2012, she was asked to perform at the global TEDxWomen Conference in Washington D.C.

Inch started writing more raw songs with a stronger rock sound. This was different from the softer style of her first solo album.

Inch wrote many songs for her second album, Bumfuzzle, while living in Los Angeles. She played small shows across North America. This album was another DIY (Do It Yourself) project. It was recorded in Singapore and mixed in the US. Fans helped fund the album through the Indiegogo website. This allowed Inch to release her music on CDs and vinyl records for the first time. She also included her own artwork in the physical copies. The album came out on August 26, 2013. A single called "The Artful Dodger" was released before it on March 5.

Inch Chua's Music Releases

With Allura

• Wake Up and Smell the Seaweed EP (2008)
• 1832 EP (2015)

Solo Albums and EPs

• The Bedroom EP (2009)
• Peace, Love & Mistletoe EP (2009)
• Wallflower (2010)
• Bumfuzzle (2013)
• Letters To Ubin EP (2015)

Solo Singles

• "Aqueous Oblivion" (2009)
• "Rule The World" (2010)
• "The More We Get Together" (2011)
• "The Artful Dodger" (2013)
• "MouseDeer" (2015)
• "Dust That Moves" (2016)
• "Sun & Moon" (2019)
• "Flags" Ft. Shigga Shay (2020)

Music Videos

Inch Chua has also released several music videos for her songs:

• "Devotion in Reality" (2009)
• "Rule The World" (2010)
• "Hurt" (2011)
• "Artful Dodger" (2013)
• "Mousedeer" (2013)
• "Simple Kind of Life" (2017)
• "Sun & Moon" (2019)

Cover Songs

Inch Chua has recorded many cover versions of songs by other artists. She has covered songs by Shiina Ringo, Britney Spears, Radiohead, Bruno Mars, David Bowie, Nat King Cole, Ming Bridges, Death Cab for Cutie, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Paul McCartney, Air, Beck, David Choi, Bright Eyes, and Leonard Cohen. She even covered "Rubber Duckie" from Sesame Street!

See also

In Spanish: Inch Chua para niños