saw the rise of rock bands such as Sweet Charity fronted by the vocalist Ramli Sarip. The band had such an influence in the Singapore and Malaysia music scene that it later led to a rock explosion in the mid 1980s. Singapore also emerged as a centre of local Chinese recording industry in the 1960s, producing Chinese pop music in Mandarin with local singers. From the 60s to the 80s, local stars such as Chang Siao Ying (張小英), Sakura Teng (樱花), Rita Chao (凌雲), and Lena Lim (林竹君) were popular in Singapore and Malaysia. A few, such as Lena Lim, also had some success outside the region. The pop music industry thrived by the 1980s, with several recording companies producing Chinese records by local as well as Taiwanese singers. Starting in the mid 1980s, a genre of Mandarin ballads called xinyao began to emerge with singers and/or songwriters such as Liang Wern Fook, Lee Shih Shiong, and Billy Koh. Local music labels such as Ocean Butterflies International and Hype Records were established. From the 1990s onwards, many Singaporean singers such as Kit Chan, Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, Tanya Chua, Corrinne May, Fann Wong, and Mavis Hee had achieved wider success outside of Singapore. There are also a number artists from Singapore who work primarily in the English language, some such as singer-songwriter Sophie Koh are active outside of Singapore. In the 2010s, Singapore has seen a rise in home-grown acts like Charlie Lim, The Sam Willows, Gentle Bones, The Steve McQueens, Pleasantry, MYRNE, HubbaBubbas, Sam Rui, Leon Markcus, Scarlet Avenue and Nathan Hartono. Ethnic traditions Chinese There are speakers of various dialects amongst the Chinese population, such as Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, and Teochew, and different dialect speakers may have their own clan associations which support their respective forms of opera. Opera troupes were first formed by amateur music clubs; the earliest amateur music club in Singapore is the Er Woo Amateur Music & Dramatic Association (馀娱儒乐社) set up in 1912 by Teochew businessmen, initially to promote music of the Hakkas (Hanju opera and Handiao music), later also Teochew opera. A number of recordings of Hanju opera performed by Er Woo were made in the 1920s and 1930s. Many professional and amateur opera troupes that performed in various dialects were later established. These opera troupes typically perform during festivals and national events, and may also hold regular small-scale performances, or large-scale