On the Bil board

FOR LOCAL songstress Nabilah Musa, known professionally under the moniker Bil Musa, being part of the line-up at next weekend's
Good Vibes Festival means more than just scoring a gig at one of the country's biggest events.
The 24-year-old missed the festival two years ago as she was overseas, and when she finally went last year, she and her "friends talked about it for months" afterwards.
"I think I squealed," said Bil in a recent interview, as she recalled the time her manager first told her about performing at the festival.
"It's really significant for me because I like the vibe of the whole festival, and also the people that they [usually] call are people that I actually listen to," the Yuna Room Records artiste added.
Although she claims she hasn't decided on the set list yet, she says her mind first drifted to what songs in her repertoire would best suit the crowd at the large outdoor venue.
What's for certain, however, is the addition of No More Excuses, a single off of her debut album, Young Adults.
The song which, oozes a 'just do it' message, was initially inspired by a situation in which Bil was "ticked off" with a person she knew, but soon evolved into something more meaningful that young adults, like herself, can relate to.
"In the song, it says: 'You think that nobody loves you … you blame everything on everyone', [which] I think everybody who is my age, at some point, feels that way.
"It's really a reflection of myself, in the end, instead of being about other people."
She added that she feels confident about the crowd, "like, it's going to be a good crowd because I was the crowd last year".
Agreeing that music festivals and shows are a good way of discovering new acts, the singer also wants to catch some of her musician friends perform, and is hoping that her set doesn't clash with theirs.
"One of the people that I'm quite excited to see this year is Lunadira," said Bil, who first met the Forever's Not Our Thing singer half a year ago.
"I spoke to her and everything, and then found out she was [also] a musician and checked out her music. It's really good, so I'm really excited to see her this year."
Bil also revealed that her latest single, Sejarah – the music video was released on July 2 – actually bears a bittersweet story.
Inspired by a long-term relationship that ended on good terms last year, she sings soothingly about the unexpected friendship she gained from her erstwhile-partner.
She said: "I'm still friends with him now and it was really like, unexpectedly smooth sailing after the breakup and stuff.
"That's why in the song, instead of me being bitter about this relationship, it's me talking about how I gained a friend.
"It talks about a relationship that ended, but [which] ended well."
Like most young adults, it's easy to doubt yourself when it comes to having a career, especially one in the music industry, but what really motivates Bil are the little moments of validation she gets from fans.
"I get tonnes of DMs (direct messages) saying: 'Oh, your music has touched me … I can really relate to this song', and that to me is like motivation.
"This [music] is something [that's] reaching people, so that's like encouragement for me."