Shilu and I both started playing piano at a young age. We grew up with music in our families all our lives, with our parents being avid singers. Music has always been second nature to us and we don't think either of us would be able to live without it.

We met at a gig many years ago! I (Corey) was the music director for GoForTea in Markham when they were still open. I was looking for singers when I found Shilu's instagram page. I was a fan immediately and asked if she would do a night. It was love at first sight on our first rehearsal, and now we're getting married this summer!

Everytime when Shilu and I step on stage. It's a blessing to do the thing that you love most with the person that you love the most.

Our thing has always been taking something familiar and putting a twist on it. We didn't just want to be a typical piano+vocal cover duo. I play different keyboard sounds, bass parts with my left hand and beatbox. That way I can back-up Shilu's amazing vocal arrangements with the feel of a whole band. We take songs that everyone has heard a million times and put twists on it to make it ours and something only we can do.

Shilu and I are both performers at heart, and have performed on so many big and small stages that we never get nervous for performances. I think my advice for people that get performance anxiety is to really focus on enjoying yourself on stage. I think sometimes performers get nervous and worry too much about not making mistakes, they forget to enjoy themselves on stage. If you're confident and have a good time, you'll be surprised every time the result you get from your audience.

Having performed at Night It Up! for a decade, it really is a show about culture and community. We try to pump as much excitement and audience engagement in our performance to match the atmosphere of the event. When you go to Night It Up!, you want to eat great food, and you wanna scream and jump to the music being performed by up and coming talent. We arrange our performances in a way to make a lasting impression on first-timers to the event, and to exceed expectations of people that have come to Night It Up! for as long as we have performed at the event.

Shilu and I are truly grateful for being performers at this event. For us, Night It Up! is the flagship summer event of Markham and we are honored to be able to showcase our talent on this stage year after year. Hoping to see everyone soon!

We all met at various points in our musical careers. Some of us go as far back as elementary school, some of us became friends while attending the same high school music programs, and many of us met while completing our Bachelor of Music at the University of Toronto. Some of us are even related! We all connected through our passion for music, our love of good food, and our commitment to maintaining the best vibes whenever we hang out. We've been so lucky to grow up together and share in our deep appreciation for music.

The name "Sweet & Sour" is a tribute to our two great loves: music and food. Our taste in music is sweet and soulful with a little bit of kick from the funky grooves. In addition, as a predominantly East Asian band, we wanted to pay homage to a classic Asian flavour blend. We try to avoid taking ourselves too seriously, so this slightly silly name truly represents who we are as musicians and who we are as a band.

In our band, everyone plays a key role. To quote the wisest member of our band, Jimmy Teh, "When we play music with the band, our goal is to make sure everyone gets a chance to shine." That philosophy has really set the tone for how we approach our rehearsals and performances. We make sure everyone gets their moment in the spotlight because every band member brings a special and unique flavour to the band. In celebrating our individuality, we are uplifting the band as a whole. All in all, it's a beautiful experience.

Honestly, the list goes on and on and on. Some key figures that stand out: Cory Wong, Jacob Collier, John Mayer, Anderson .Paak, Bruno Mars, Emily Browning, Esperanza Spalding, and so many more! These are some of our major inspirations and if one day we are lucky enough to share the stage with even just one of them, I think we'd all have a bit of a meltdown.

Over the years, we have all grown as individuals and as musicians. Many of us have branched off into different, sometimes even unexpected, career paths but as always, we return to each other through our musical connection. The special thing about Sweet & Sour is that our band is constantly in flux. Rather than being a traditional "band", Sweet & Sour is a more of a collective that features rotating band members, predominantly of Asian descent. There have been several iterations of the band, sometimes a smaller group, sometimes a 10-piece band, but our values, goals, and overall energy remain the same. We've definitely taken on more challenging repertoire as we've matured together as a band and expanding the band membership has been a very exciting new venture for us. For the future, we are looking forward to bringing more Asian artists into the band, featuring and uplifting young Asian musicians who are new to the music scene, and playing in larger venues.

For many of us, we've been attending NIU! since it first began. It's a celebration of Asian culture that feels like tradition to us. More importantly, after a very difficult few years that saw a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and racial discrimination, we feel that coming together not only as a band but as a community is both empowering and necessary. We love performing at NIU! because it's a super fun time and because we want to provide young Asian artists with representation. Growing up, there weren't many Asian artists and bands. Thankfully, we've seen a significant increase of Asian artists in pop culture, with 88rising, Shang Chi in the Marvel Universe, BTS' international stardom, and countless other groups. We want to contribute to this celebration of our culture and inspire young artists to persevere in their artistic careers and continue with their creative endeavours.

While Sweet & Sour is a musical band, we are also just a group of really close friends. We'd like to thank NIU! for providing us with the space and platform to celebrate our cultural identity, our love for music, and our friendship. Looking forward to an awesome night of performances and delicious food!

I started music at a really young age when I was 4. I first learned classical piano then the drums. But it wasn't until when I was in high school, when I found my passion through singing, songwriting and performing. I studied vocal performance at York University and when I graduated, I worked behind the scenes at music festivals/shows. In 2019, I released my first original song "Intruder" and I've been committed to being a full time musician ever since. And I've never looked back!

When I songwrite, I always start with a theme or song title. Everything else will follow that theme. I'm ultimately a storyteller. So whatever I decide to write about, will reflect in the lyrics, music production and visuals. I start my writing process with just me and the piano. Then I work with a producer to add some pop elements to it!

I want to connect with as many people as I can through my music! My goal is continue writing, creating and performing music for people, to connect with them and help them in any way. I also want to continue collaborating with other musicians and creatives. Music is my entire life but it's nothing without emotion and being able to connect with people.

Trust me, I still get nervous before performing! One thing that really helped me is to focus on the emotion of the song. I believe performers get nervous because we're worried about what people think. I'm practicing to shift my focus away from that and instead, focus on the song's feeling. This helps me to enjoy the song, enjoy performing and ultimately, lets the audience enjoy it with you too!

I love to write songs about empowerment, self growth and songs that help us overcome things we struggle with, like mental health and heartbreak.

I performed at Night It Up! back in 2019 and I had such an amazing time! There's so much energy in the atmosphere - from the performers, to the lively crowds, to the food vendors. I always love coming back to Night It Up! and I'm so glad it's back this year!

I'm releasing new music this year and starting to perform more shows too! If you want to listen to my music or follow my music journey, you can find me anywhere on social media @vickilovelee