PUBLISHED ONOctober 02, 2024 10:19 AMByKwok Kar PengTasha Low, Ferlyn Wong, Elaine Wong and Alfred Sng. These are the Singaporeans who took their shot at the K-pop industry. Would Yang Yan be the next?
The 23-year-old actor was earlier this week announced as one of 69 trainees selected to compete in the upcoming iQiyi survival competition Starlight Boys, where a few will be chosen to make their K-pop debut.
AsiaOne spoke with veteran showbiz personality Dasmond Koh, who discovered Yang Yan four years ago and signed him to his label NoonTalk Media, on whether he thinks the latter has got what it takes to be an idol and also his advice to the aspiring star.
Dasmond, 52, said Yang Yan went through several rounds of auditions for the show and although he's starred in the Mediacorp drama Stranger in the Dark (2023), he's actually more interested in music than acting.
When asked what he thinks about Yang Yan's singing and dancing abilities, he said: "To be frank, I would say very beginner. As we know, kids in Singapore are not that well exposed to dancing, singing, songwriting and instrument-playing, unless they go full force in learning music.
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"Most people here still lean towards the academics and he's a normal Singaporean. This is unlike South Korea or Japan where if someone wants to be a performer, they might spend years training to be one. Yang Yan doesn't have that, and he spends his own time and effort to get exposed to a lot of things he likes."
Yang Yan is currently at a boot camp in South Korea and Dasmond hasn't been in contact with him for a month. He doesn't know if his protege has improved since and is eager to see him in the show.
The K-pop boy band industry is notoriously tough to enter and survive in and we wonder if Yang Yan has got the steely resolve to do it.
Dasmond believes the young man has a good fighting chance: "He's very focused, to the extent that he can be obstinate to do what he wants and how to achieve it. He can spend a lot of time to prep himself. He's got resilience and he knows how to make his way out of negativity and be positive.
"But sometimes, to break into a tough industry, willpower needs to be accompanied by talent. Whether he has the mark to make it, maybe the show and the boot camp would propel him to greater heights."
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He also told us he didn't give Yang Yan any advice before he left for the competition; since Dasmond cannot be there and help with situation analyses, the hard truth is that Yang Yan is on his own.
He did tell him, though, it would be enough if he tries his best with his own wisdom and understanding.
"As long as his mindset stays positive, anything can be overcome and this applies to everybody," Dasmond added.
What's more important than making his K-pop debut, Dasmond feels, is the opportunity to be exposed to the global industry and returning home with the valuable experience because the showbiz industry here isn't vibrant enough.
"It will humble them and show them they need to be work really hard. Let them know, if they think they are good-looking and talented, the industry outside has more people who are better than them," he elaborated.
"It's very important to acquire as much skills as possible and learn to be a better artiste. What you pick up during the journey and whether you make use of it is more important."
Starlight Boys, which will stream on iQiyi from October, features 69 trainees from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Canada and the United States.
Actress Lee Sung-kyung is the MC and celebrities such as Lee Seung-gi, BigBang's Daesung, Choi Young-joon, Hanhae, Kwon Eun-bi, Pentagon's Hui, The Boyz's Eric and Stayc's Yoon will also appear on the show.
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kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com
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