Launched in late 2011, MINI Singapore wondered how they could make traffic jams a little more bearable. The Solution? Take one of the hottest bands and an equally hot MINI Cabriolet and you get MINI Traffic Jamming!

Local Singaporean band, SIXX, piled themselves into a MINI Cabriolet together with their instruments and took to the streets of Singapore, injecting a little fun into the local mundane daily commute. The MINI Traffic Jamming campaign’s success put Singapore on the MINI Map as the first local campaign to be aired on MINI TV.

The MINI Mob team met up with lead singer, Aarika Lee to find out more about her MINI Traffic Jamming experience.

How did the whole MINI Traffic Jamming project come about and what inspired it?

SIXX hit the streets some time last year with the intention of bringing a bit of the NY/London/Paris busking spirit back to Singapore. We wanted to do more than just perform along the busy streets; we wanted to push the boundaries by going into MRT stations, buses and trains and entertaining commuters on their weekend train ride!

The initiative was a huge success and generated quite a bit of buzz. When MINI Singapore created the traffic jamming campaign, we were the band that came to mind!

What were your first thoughts when you first saw the car you’d be driving around in?

I was very excited that we’d be zipping around in a stylish MINI Cabriolet, but I was concerned about how Joe (Our drummer, he’s a big guy!) was going to fit in the back seat with his Djembe drum.

Turns out everyone managed to fit into that baby comfortably with our instruments.

You were on the road for quite a bit, how was your experience singing while cruising around in the MINI Cabriolet?

It was definitely different from anything we had ever done before. It wasn’t like a live show, and it wasn’t like our busking experiences. It was actually a lot more challenging trying to get people’s attention, by getting them to wind down their car windows and listen to what we were playing.

It was much easier grabbing the attention of pedestrians; we even went to a McDonald’s drive-thru and got the crew to sing along with us. That was awesome.

What do you personally like best about MINI?

I love how MINI dares to be adventurous and stays open-minded to do things out of the ordinary, like the MINI Traffic Jamming campaign for example, and their ‘BE’ campaign.

Which MINI model describes you best and why?

I think the MINI that best represents me would be the Mini Cooper S Cabriolet! It’s outdoorsy, fun and zippy! If you’re up to braving the wind in your hair and feeling the sun shine on your skin, it can only promise you an adventure ride. I love the idea of letting my hair down and leaving spontaneity in charge, and the Mini Cooper S Cabriolet gives off that exact energy!

What can we expect from you and SIXX in 2012?

2012 is looking like an exciting year for SIXX! We’re headed to France at the end of the month to be part of the Midem Festival in Cannes, right after we release our debut single Supersonic as well as more music throughout the rest of the year.

Personally, there are a couple of projects that I want to get my hands into as well so I’m excited for all that! It’s going to be a busy year, but it’s going to be a fun one! -

Catch Aarika and The Next Movement (a subsidiary of SIXX) live at these venues every week:

Monday: Wala Walas, Holland Village, 930pm-1am
Wednesday: Hard Rock Cafe, 830pm-12mn
Friday: CM-PB, Dempsey, 930pm-1am
Saturday: Balaclava, 930pm-1am

- The MINI Mob Team