More than tips: Buskers want applause and real connection

On a Friday evening in July, Valerie Su set up her sound system and a tip box in front of Wisma Atria mall on Orchard Road in Singapore. The 33-year-old freestyle footballer balanced, rolled, and flicked a ball in tricky sequences while smiling at the passing crowd. She earned just $7 in tips after an hour — but she was not disappointed. Su and other buskers across Singapore say they want more than money. They want audiences to stop, watch, smile, and talk.

Su is known as Singapore's first female freestyle footballer. She had not busked for eight years before returning to the street. She says busking lets her share a hobby she loves with everyday people. "I like busking more than staged performances, even though those pay a lot more. I find joy in it. I can joke with the crowd and I like the human interaction," she says. Su coaches football to students of all ages, from young children to young adults.

Other performers feel the same way. Aqeel Sidek Tyebally is a 26-year-old university student who sometimes busks as a circus performer at East Coast Park. He juggles and does unicycle tricks for passersby. He says it takes a long time to build even a small crowd. "We don't seem to have a culture of wanting to engage publicly with someone," he says.

Aqeel notices that people often hold back even when they are curious. He thinks many people in Singapore do not want to feel like the odd one out. He says that by the time he is packing up, one or two people will finally come over to chat. He feels encouraged every time that happens.

Arts educator Audrey Wong says many Singaporeans feel uneasy doing anything in public that seems out of the ordinary. She teaches at Lasalle College of the Arts and says people worry about standing out or being stared at. Some people are also unsure what they are allowed to do in public spaces. "If a busker asks you to interact with him, other passersby will also be looking at you," she explains.

Busking in Singapore is managed by the National Arts Council, or NAC. Performers do not need a public entertainment licence to busk, but they must perform at official spots and show a Letter of Endorsement. Buskers get this letter by passing an audition held four times a year. There are now more than 500 endorsed busking acts in Singapore, from musicians to bubble artists to poets who type custom poems on vintage typewriters. Since 2024, busking has expanded to more than 40 new locations, including hawker centres and the Night Safari.

Tan Chu Yuan is a 34-year-old guzheng player who busks a few times a week near MRT stations and hawker centres. He always wears a suit during his performances, even on hot days. He says the suit brings a concert-hall feeling to public spaces. "It's also a form of respect towards myself and the audience," he says. He started busking in November 2022 and earns around $300 per session.

Tan plays the guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument. He says not many people get to hear it live, since concert tickets can cost around $100. He wants to bring that music to everyone for free. He once saw a child empty a whole wallet of coins into his tip container. Tan also teaches at his father's music school in Tampines and has a degree in music education.

Some performers use busking to grow their fan base online. Grid is an all-male K-pop dance crew with 15 members. They perform in public twice a month and record their performances to post on YouTube. A recent video of them dancing at Bugis Junction got at least 2,700 views. Member Jayden Lee, 26, says the performance is really about capturing it on film for their online audience.

Researchers say street performance is good for communities. Hoe Su Fern is a cultural researcher at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. She says busking turns everyday spaces, like walkways and shopping areas, into places where people can pause and enjoy the arts together. She also notes that the internet has made busking reach further than ever before. In 2022, Singaporeans mourned online when a beloved 80-year-old busker known as "Beads Uncle" passed away.

Performers ask for simple things from the public. Su says even a smile or a thumbs-up from someone who cannot stop to watch means a lot. Chen Jingjie, 25, who leads the dance crew Grid, hopes more people will come up and chat after a show. Tips are welcome too, but connection is what keeps buskers going back to the street. As Su puts it, "It's good to have verbal encouragement and having people just stand for 30 seconds to watch a single freestyle football stunt."