He made his K-pop debut at 34. Meet Singaporean businessman David Yong, a CEO and singer with 10 million views on YouTube
- David Yong is the chief executive of Singapore-based company Evergreen Group Holdings and runs more than 15 businesses. Now he is also a K-pop singer
- ‘Today, a doctor is not just a doctor and a lawyer is not just a lawyer,’ he says of dabbling in the entertainment industry. ‘We should all become multiplayers’
By Dong Sun-hwa
David Yong burst onto the K-pop scene on July 5 this year with his hip-hop flavoured debut track In My Pocket, which features high-profile Korean rapper Kid Milli.
Although there are plenty of non-Korean singers in the K-pop universe, Yong – a Singaporean – is unlike any other.
The 34-year-old, who worked as a trainee lawyer until 2014, is the chief executive of Singapore-based company Evergreen Group Holdings and runs more than 15 businesses in sectors ranging from timber to finance.
The news of the businessman’s singing debut took many people by surprise – they did not expect that he would branch out into a totally new field.
However, it has been Yong’s long-time dream to find a way to bridge the gap between K-pop and Southeast Asia, to promote Korean content and to bring talented Southeast Asian musicians onto the Korean music scene.
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The CEO believes he can further explore the K-pop world by becoming a singer himself and he hopes he can use his experience to expand his K-pop business.
“I think being an influencer CEO is like being a top leader who inspires the next generation,” says Yong.
“This allows me to share my experience with young people in Southeast Asia and [show] how we should not confine ourselves to only one boundary. We should open up our minds to try different things in life without limiting ourselves to just one role.
“Today, a doctor is not just a doctor and a lawyer is not just a lawyer. Things have evolved in this way and we should all become multiplayers.”
Yong had to deal with a number of hurdles in his quest to become a singer – for example, when he was gearing up for his debut a few months ago, his biggest barrier was language.
“Most producers and artists only communicate in Korean,” he recalls. “When I first came here, it was pretty difficult to learn Korean fast enough to be able to communicate efficiently and properly with my producers. So I had to cram everything in a short period of time ― maybe about two to four months.
“It was quite intense to train and learn the language and culture of Korea at the same time.”
“I and RBW first started off by discussing possible partnerships that we could do to target the Southeast Asian music market, as both of us were very keen on exporting Korean content,” Yong says.
“As we talked about different business projects, RBW found that I had the potential to become an influencer CEO, instead of just handling the business. So I got to showcase my own music after signing a contract with RBW.”
The In My Pocket music video has, as of November 8, had more than 10 million views on YouTube.
“Both Kid Milli and Jeon were really kind,” Yong says. “In the case of Jeon, who has many years of singing experience, [she] helped me with some training, too. She guided me and taught me a lot of different techniques that I have to be aware of as a K-pop singer.”
At the moment, Yong has a lot of things on his plate.
“Next year, I will start a lot of entertainment-related projects,” he says. “I am planning to hold a K-pop music festival concert in Southeast Asia and open a pop-up for K-pop training in Singapore.
“I am also looking forward to doing more collaborations with established K-pop artists and putting out a new release in 2023.”
