PUBLISHED ONJune 30, 2025 4:25 AMBySyarifah NadhirahFor nearly five months, Singaporean singer-songwriter WhyLucas was in Thailand competing for a spot in a boy group on the Asian survival show Chuang Asia Season 2.
Though he didn't make the debut, he told AsiaOne in a recent interview that the experience was "life-changing".
Filmed in Bangkok, the show started with 60 male contestants from China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the US and Canada competing to land a spot in the final seven-member group.
A total of 21 trainees made it to the finals, including WhyLucas, who was the only Singaporean on the show.
"I feel like my life has changed because I got a lot more confident in my craft and my decision to be a professional musician and singer," said the 22-year-old, who took a semester-long leave of absence from his studies in the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School to participate in the competition.
"I also got added exposure... It's really hard to turn heads over here in Singapore, and I'm quite happy that I managed to do so because of this programme and gain fans overseas."
He revealed that he initially didn't want to join the show: "My friend from NUS - his name is Jack - he told me that this programme is quite big in China and to give it a shot. I guess I got motivated by him."
After making it through three rounds of auditions, his training officially started on Nov 20, 2024.
"Once we reached Bangkok, we started preparing by going for classes every day to drill our fundamental skills. I danced every day ever since I joined the programme, and sang every other day as well, because we have singing lessons too," he said, telling us how it was "daunting" to learn dance from scratch.
"When you're in a competition, as much as you're there to learn new stuff, there is the pressure to do well in it... I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with my peers, so I did a lot of extra training myself. I think I danced like seven to 10 hours daily for the first two months of Chuang. Some days it was five, but I tried to occupy myself with as much dance as possible."
Messing up on stage was the last thing he wanted, he said.
The "bootcamp" lasted for three to four weeks, and the show aired its first episode on Feb 2, 2025, on WeTV.
"When it first started, I was just scared to go home in the first round. I think Singaporeans just want results, and I really wanted results," he said.
His confidence kicked in after he was put in the A class - the highest grade - in episode two, where he sung his original song Oh Krissy Baby while playing an electric guitar.
The YouTube clip of his performance has received over 45,000 views.
"I was surprised that guitar and singing could take me somewhere... I thought, 'You know what? Maybe this might be for me,' because I was doing something so different [from what I usually do], and I'm actually getting A class among all these other talented trainees," he recalled.
When asked about difficulties he experienced during the show, WhyLucas talked about having an image to keep up.
"There are a lot of times when you have to present your best image. Even though you're not really yourself that day, or you're having a bad day, you still have to do so," he explained.
"I think over the few months of doing that constantly - because there are cameras everywhere, even in your rooms - I felt like sometimes I was losing myself a bit. People also told me I'm not as bubbly and charismatic compared to when they first met me."
He also mentioned how his "solo artist instincts" occasionally did not translate to group dynamics. As a solo artist, he could do things his way but, in a group, there are bound to be differing opinions and ideas.
He brought up a question that one of the mentors on the show, The8 from the K-pop idol group Seventeen, asked.
"The8 asked me, 'How do you feel about being in a boy group, because your personal shine might be tamed?' He told me how he sees that my style on the stage is pretty prominent and established. So if I join a boy group, everything has balance and is less dynamic. So how do I feel about that?
"And I think that question, throughout the later part of the show, kept reverberating in my head."
He then realised being in a boy group might not be the best calling for him.
He learned later that "everything happens for a reason": "It's about balance because if I didn't lose myself, I probably wouldn't have found myself. I had to lose myself so that when I found myself, the comeback would be greater."
The8's comment wasn't the one that lingered on his mind. He talked about more from two other celebrity mentors.
In episode two, BamBam from the K-pop boy group Got7 cheekily said: "I now know why you're WhyLucas. Because dude, you're good man."
WhyLucas said it was a compliment he'll "remember forever".
"The fact that someone as established as BamBam said something like that about me, or just the fact that this panel of talented and established judges are caring about me, I think that was a win for me already."
The other comment wasn't all positive, but it motivated him to improve himself.
Chinese singer Tia Ray had remarked how she felt WhyLucas was "a little weak" when he performs without his guitar.
"That was something that triggered something in me to really work towards being not just a guitar guy. Because if I want to be a singer, I can't just keep holding my guitar. It's cool, it's my style. But I think if Tia Ray spotted that without the guitar, I'm less confident, then I feel that it's something that I really have to work on," he said.
Besides getting placed in the A class from episode two, another favourite memory of his was the Trainees Fan Meeting in Malaysia.
"It was such a good break from all the practices and waiting time that we had in Chuang. It made me feel really rewarded for the work that I had done, and it was also my first time seeing people queue up to take a picture with me," he recalled, adding he was thankful for the "great experience".
He also fondly recalled having hotpot with his roommates Hikaru, Bian and Jackson along with three other trainees, Hikari, Shoya and Liu. "Haidilao (a hotpot restaurant chain) is a supper place you go to in Singapore after you go to parties or hangout with a friend. Having it in Bangkok really made me miss home."
When he was eliminated, WhyLucas told us he was sad the experience was done, and he had to part with the other trainees.
"I was sad that it was over because it was a very fulfilling programme, and I felt like my life had changed. Whether or not I debuted wasn't the main thing on my mind," he said.
"I was just a little sad that I had to say goodbye to my friends and sort of go back to reality because everything felt like a dream. To have this opportunity to perform for this amount of people, and just being overseas and chasing a dream, not a lot of Singaporeans or people in general, get to do that and walk all the way to the end."
Despite being countries apart now, he said he still keeps in contact with the friends he made on the show: "We occasionally still talk on WhatsApp, TikTok and Instagram. We join each other's livestreams, to catch up with one another. Sometimes we also plan content with each other."
From having fans book the same flight as him to the Malaysia fanmeet to others sending him off at the airport when he headed home, WhyLucas had some stories to tell about his encounters with his supporters.
But one which touched him is a letter from an Indonesian fan that he has placed on his desk in his room.
"This person said, 'No matter what happens, please remember you are never alone in this journey. Keep shining, keep making music, keep being the amazing artist that you are.' It's really heartwarming to know that someone actually treats me like an artist, and that's what I want for myself," he shared.
He told us how he feels it's surreal that he's gained fans abroad.
"If I had a gig before Chuang and I posted about it on my social media, I wouldn't have been sure how many, or if anyone, would come... It's a very enriching experience to know that, 'These are the people that can support me and will support me.'"
Being styled and dressed well is a big part of being an idol, and WhyLucas admitted this was something he didn't pay attention to until joining Chuang.
"I've learned to care more about the way I present myself. Before Chuang, I was very much a dude - I didn't care about the way I looked," he told us.
He recalled being taken aback by his appearance after his first hair and make-up session: "I was like, damn, 'I can look like that.'"
As there were occasional shoots with no hair and makeup provided, he gradually learned to carry himself differently. The professional setting, with training managers and structured plans, also led him to taking himself more seriously.
"Especially in this journey as a professional musician that I want to walk on, I feel like I have to start viewing everything from a bigger scale of things and not just be trapped in a very close-minded and myopic view," he added.
"Back then I was like, 'Oh, small problem, small problem. How do I fix this? How do I fix that?' But I think now, I learnt that if you view everything from a top-down angle, and you have your angle in mind, you start to not get affected by small things."
We asked if he would participate in a survival show again.
"For now, I'm not close off to any options but I really have to evaluate the choices and see what's best for my next step. So, I haven't decided on anything," he said.
So, with that comes the question: What's next for solo artiste WhyLucas?
"I would love to have a break, but I don't think I would let myself do that because I have to release music as soon as possible as I don't want to let the fans down. So I am working on new stuff. They will be out very, very soon."
WhyLucas has signed with Singapore music label Cross Ratio Entertainment and has just released his new single Tiara.
He will be performing at the Skechers Sundown Festival on July 4 and Waterbomb Festival on Aug 30.
No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
For more original AsiaOne articles, visit here.
