Singapore nurse gets on stage with Ne-Yo and slays it
Watching Ne-Yo’s first solo concert at The Star Theatre in 2023, Nur Syarafana Mohamed Salleh saw fans dancing on stage with the American R&B star. She said to her friend: “Oh my god, we should have been on stage, we would slay it.”
Little did she know that just over a year later, videos of her stealing the singer-songwriter’s spotlight at his return gig in Singapore at the same venue as part of his Champagne & Roses tour would take social media by storm.
Ms Syarafana shocked the crowd and the three-time Grammy winner with her confidence and “killer aura” at his show on Nov 6.
Dressed in a burgundy and black ensemble to match the singer’s concert theme, the 23-year-old – or “Contestant Number Three”, as she is better known to netizens – took to the stage at of the sold-out show as one of three winners of an audience contest, dancing to the singer’s 2018 hit, Push Back.
Clips of her performance went viral on social media platforms such as TikTok, inspiring quips from netizens like “So nice of Ne-Yo to be attending your concert”.
The Singaporean, who works as a nurse at Changi General Hospital and is pursuing a work-study diploma in nursing at ITE College East, almost did not make it – she was the last contestant to be picked to dance with Ne-Yo on stage at a pre-selection session before the concert.
“They picked out two already... so there was only one person left,” she recalled.
When it was her turn at the selections, Ms Syarafana said she just went for it.
“I just knew I wanted to dance on stage, and it was my first time with a celebrity. I just thought, Yolo (you only live once), when will I get to do this again?”
If there is one thing she remembers about getting “closer” to the silky smooth R&B star, it would be how he smelled so expensive.
“I don’t know how to describe it, but you know a good cologne when you smell one,” she said.
“He was really nice too. He respected my space and kept smiling through the whole thing.”
She won Ne-Yo’s iconic red fedora at the concert, which she wore while performing an encore at the concert after being presented with it
Ms Syarafana said she was a little rusty at the selections, having last danced regularly in her co-curricular activity (CCA) during her time at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) four years ago.
“I started learning (dance) from K-pop, and I decided to join a dance CCA when I was studying full-time in ITE,” she said. “I didn’t continue dancing after I graduated – I just started working straight away.”
The only dancing she does now is TikTok dances in her room.
Naturally, she was “overwhelmed” by the love she received.
“I didn’t mean to steal his (Ne-Yo’s) spotlight. I was just so in the zone, and the song is my (favourite) type of song, so I (went) crazy,” she said.
She has seen almost 40 videos of her performance on TikTok alone.
“When I came to school, (all my classmates) cheered for me and played the song again,” she said sheepishly. “I only danced a bit, because I’m shy, but when I was on stage, I was just thinking, it’s just me. Just me and Ne-Yo!”
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