The Sam Willows

2011–2013: Formation, The Sam Willows

The Sam Willows were formed in December 2011 by founding members: Benjamin Kheng, Jonathan Chua, Narelle Kheng, and Sandra Riley Tang.

Barely a year after they formed, the quartet launched their debut EP The Sam Willows, with a distribution deal with Warner Music Singapore, and made their international debut in 2013 at the annual South by Southwest music festival in Texas. The band continued on a North American Tour, Korean Tour, and represented Singapore for the Western Australian Music Festival (WAM) in Perth.

In April 2013, the Singaporean quartet entered the studio with Steve Lillywhite for a week-long production session, organized by Singapore Music Society (SG MUSO). The result was a reworking of their track "Glasshouse" (Lillywhite edition); released as the band’s latest single at the time. In August 2013, the band released their "Glasshouse" music video.

2015-present: Take Heart

The band signed to Sony Music Singapore on a 360 deal in January 2015. In February 2015, The Sam Willows embarked on their journey to Stockholm, Sweden to record their debut album, Take Heart, with Producer Harry Sommerdahl.

In the same year, the Sam Willows recorded three songs, "Flags Up", "Ordinary" and "Champion", for the compilation album, Songs of the Games for the 2015 Southeast Asian Games. On 20 May, they released the first single from their album, "Take Heart".

The band was the Opening act for The Script at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in April 2015.

The Sam Willows performed the song "Home" during the National Day Parade 2015.

The music video for their first single and the title track of their new album "Take Heart" was released in July 2015. The music video for their second single "For Love" was released in early October 2015. The single "Rest Of Your Life" was released in October 2015.

On April 2016, the band released their music video for their song "All Time High".

The Sam Willows supported Little Mix on their The Get Weird Tour in Manila and Singapore.

Benjamin Kheng

Benjamin Kheng (Chinese: 金文明 (Jin Wen-ming) was born on (1990-08-15) August 15, 1990 in Singapore. He is the keyboardist, rhythm guitarist and vocalist. He was a former national youth swimmer, having trained since he was 6. He attended Anglo-Chinese School (Primary), Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Singapore Sports School and has a diploma in Arts and Theatre Management from Republic Polytechnic.

Jonathan Chua

Jonathan Chua (Chinese: 蔡坚信 (Cai Jian Xin) was born on (1990-02-12) February 12, 1990 in Singapore. He is the lead guitarist and vocalist.

Narelle Kheng

Narelle Kheng (Chinese: 金颂旖 (Jin Song-yi) was born on (1993-09-24) September 24, 1993 in Singapore. She is the bass guitarist and vocalist. She was a former national youth swimmer, having trained since she was 6. She attended Methodist Girls' School, Singapore, Anglo-Chinese Junior College and Singapore Sports School, and took Communication Studies as her major in Nanyang Technological University. She had cameo roles in drama serials Zero Calling and Against The Tide, and starred in a Channel 5 show, Do It Yourself.

Sandra Riley Tang

Sandra Riley Tang was born on (1990-12-25) December 25, 1990 in Singapore. She is the keyboardist, percussionist and vocalist. In 2012, she started RileyArt, which showcased and sold her handmade accessories, art and calligraphy. In 2015, she co-founded her yoga studio, The Yoga Collective.

Albums

Extended plays