By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“I want to be a famous pop star,” Genelia Lai told the Northwest Asian Weekly.
The Chinese Indian American teen from Whidbey Island has the vocal guns to back up her dream. Invited to sing the National Anthem at the United States Postal Service (USPS)’s Bruce Lee stamp unveiling in February, Genelia’s incredible voice impressed everyone in attendance.
Genelia Lai, far left. Courtesy of Andrew Lai.
“Shannon Lee just shared one of Genelia’s Spotify songs to Bruce’s Instagram story,” proud father, Andrew Lai, told us after the event. “The Lee family is beyond amazing.”
This father-daughter duo has been working hard to reach this well-deserved, yet unexpected, point in Genelia’s budding singing trajectory. Andrew plays the music, while Genelia does the singing. Along with covers, Genelia posts her own original songs to social media. Her dad used to help with the lyrics, until she began insisting on writing them herself.
Genelia knows her worth and she is not shy. She has always loved singing. Last year, she started formal singing lessons, in addition to already participating in her school choir. Her inclusion in the Bruce Lee stamp ceremony was a “happy accident,” as she and her dad describe it. A friend pointed out the upcoming event, and so the Lais sent a demo of Genelia’s singing to the USPS.
They pitched singing the National Anthem, a famously difficult song to sing, although they were open to singing any song, or even writing a special song for the event. Through a series of emails, the Lais found out that new stamps are a big deal.
Andrew Lai, left, and Genelia Lai. Courtesy of Andrew Lai.
“They’re really on top of it,” said Andrew. “Anytime there’s a stamp reveal, they work hard on it and they’re very professional. They do such a good job with it.”
Before they knew what was happening, the Lais received notice that they were invited to the ceremony—and that Genelia was invited to sing the National Anthem on the stage as part of the unveiling.
At the ceremony, this plucky seventh grader rubbed elbows with the who’s who of Bruce Lee’s family, including Lee’s daughter, Shannon, and Shannon’s mom, Linda Lee Caldwell.
“My dad has been a really big fan of [Bruce Lee] for a long time and recently, he started teaching me martial arts,” said Genelia, a straight-A student whose excellence extends to all of her school work, even in the subjects she doesn’t like much, like math. She’s a hard worker, her dad said.
The stamp unveiling naturally piqued their interest.
“I’ve looked up to Bruce Lee as a role model because he really brought Asian culture out there,” Andrew explained. “He was a pioneer of the leading man in media for Asian people.”
Even at her young age, Genelia is not unaware of the racism that surrounded—and still surrounds—the portrayal of Asians in media. She and her dad were able together to mention unflattering depictions of Asians in cinema, such as the unattractively stereotyped Asian character in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” who was played by a white actor.
Genalia herself has already been a victim of racism online when she tried her hand at singing country music. A fan of Taylor Swift, she and her family thought this might be a good genre to explore. Instead, netizens didn’t hesitate to criticize even a young girl for trying to sing a country song.
“I used to try to sing country and that definitely didn’t work out,” Genelia said. “There was always racism going around.”
Serendipitously perhaps, in conjunction with her role at the Bruce Lee stamp unveiling, Genelia said that she has become more and more focused on her own Asian culture, cultivating a love of K-pop and Eastern martial arts. “Her mom, Eve, is East Indian, and has also been teaching Genelia Bollywood-style dance moves.
Andrew credits his and Eve’s interest in their cultures as part of what brought him and Eve together. At home, they teach Genelia not to be ashamed of her multicultural background. Andrew came from a fairly traditional background and originally went into dentistry, but decided to leave that field in order to support Genelia in her singing. He acts as Genelia’s manager and also teaches piano as a profession. Eve works as a manager in an office on Whidbey. The family lives in Oak Harbor.
Genelia Lai, left. Courtesy of Andrew Lai.
Genelia can be seen and heard on YouTube, Spotify, and TikTok. On these sites, you will find her covers, as well as original music, either presented with a classy background, or with Genelia herself confidently singing to the camera. Her voice is powerful and already well trained. If you didn’t see her on the screen, you wouldn’t believe this young girl’s singing could pack such a punch.
In addition to the above-mentioned forays into country music, she has covers of Ariana Grande—a current favorite singer of hers—Billie Eilish, and Ed Sheeran. She also introduces more than one original song.
Notably, a song Genelia posted called “Pretty” tells a story of a girl who thinks the opposite—that she is not pretty. Many teens with Asian heritage will surely relate to the lyrics that discuss the efforts that the girl makes to be pretty, which she believes are unsuccessful. In the song, she calls herself dark and compares herself to people who are white.
“We’re flexible. Whatever she wants to do. She keeps her options open,” said Andrew of his and Eve’s parenting style with their potential superstar singer daughter. They have set up a home studio for Genelia’s singing and create the music with the newest technology available to them.
For now, Genelia continues to explore her culture, her culture’s music, and to hone her very pretty voice.
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.
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