Cavin Soh muses on recent China concert tour where fans say they know his music because of their grandmothers

Life has its ways of reminding you that you're getting old, and for Cavin Soh, his fans are the messengers.

The local singer-actor, who is in the band MengFM, also known as Dreamz FM, was at the press conference for his upcoming drama The Leftovers on Oct 29.

In an interview with AsiaOne, he talked about the band's first China tour held this year.

The 55-year-old and members Jim Lim, 51, and Ric Liu, 53, performed in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing.

Cavin said a fan recognised him while he was walking around the streets of Guangzhou.

"He was like, 'Can I take a picture with you? I want to show this to my grandmother.' Like, walao," he mused.

At the VIP photo-taking session after one of their shows, Cavin said a fan had told him in Mandarin: "I am year one one."

He said it took a couple of seconds for him to understand what the teen was saying.

"Then I realised, damn, he was born in 2011. That's my son's age leh," he animatedly recounted.

After they took the photos, Cavin asked the fan how he knew the band's songs.

The 15-year-old then told him: "My grandmother listens to you."

"Oh my. That's a lot of generations… Last time, people would tell me, 'I listened to your songs when I was growing up.' Now it's their grandmothers," said Cavin, before resigning with a "Okay lah, can lah."

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'I would always cry'

MengFM was formed in 1997 under the Chinese name Meng Fei Chuan (translated as Dream Airship).

Their first album was a hit in China, and one of its tracks Baby Come Back is still one of their most beloved songs to this day.

They suspended activities in 2003 before reuniting in 2020, announcing their new band name and releasing the single Tears the following year.

Cavin told us they now go by MengFM due to copyright issues as they're no longer with the label they were formed under.

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Their China tour happened because an organiser had reached out to him via Instagram direct message to pitch the idea.

The band decided on smaller venues with maximum capacities of 2,000 pax, declining the organiser's offers to go bigger.

"We totally love the intimate setting. We cannot imagine how JJ Lin does it with 50,000 to 70,000 fans. The people you see look so small," he remarked.

"Two thousand people are enough. We can still see their eyes and they don't have to be too far away."

They were also unsure if they could sell out, hence taking the "easy" route with a smaller venue.

We asked him how it was like touring China for the first time in their career.

"After every show, I would always cry because I was sad to leave the stage," he said.

During one of the shows, Cavin said he thought he had lost his voice because he couldn't hear himself.

When the concert ended, he realised that wasn't the case - it was because the fans were loud.

"There were no lyrics on the wall behind us, but they were singing every song, every word with us. That really melted my heart," he said.

Compared to audiences in Singapore, Cavin said fans in China held their phone up to record the entire show.

They were also willing to queue over eight hours just to get a good spot for the free-standing shows.

They performed during winter in Hangzhou when the temperatures were as low as two degrees Celsius, but fans were willing to withstand the cold.

"They came in at 7.30pm, and then they stood during our concert, all the way until we finished, which was about two-and-a-half to three hours. After that they had to wait to take pictures with us. So they were standing for 12 to 14 hours. That was so amazing," he said.

To celebrate their 30th anniversary next year, MengFM will be holding a concert at Esplanade.

Watch for our next article where Cavin talks about his role in The Leftovers!

The Leftovers also stars Li Nanxing, Jesseca Liu, Zhang Zetong, Cheryl Chou, James Seah, Jeremy Chan, Desmond Tan, Zoe Tay, Xiang Yun and Chen Liping.

The first season of The Leftovers will be premiering on Mewatch Prime and Netflix on Nov 9, followed by on Mewatch and Channel 8 on Nov 16, airing weekdays at 9pm.

Season two and three are expected to premiere in 2027.

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