Hear how Spotify's Radar programme has helped expose home-grown singer-songwriter Hongjoin. Synopsis (headphones recommended): Each month, The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio. In the 13th episode of Music Lab, ST’s music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts Singaporean singer-songwriter Hongjoin. The 22-year-old, whose music encompasses genres ranging from R&B and indie-pop, is based in Boston, United States, and is trying to make his mark in the US music scene while studying there. He has regular shows in various US cities and has been highlighted by Spotify as a Radar artist, a program that highlights rising talents from around the world. He recently returned to Singapore to do two concerts - a solo headlining show at the Esplanade in June, and as the opening act for US singer-songwriter Ricky Montgomery’s show at the Pasir Panjang Power Station in May. Like many singers from his generation, he is active on TikTok and Instagram, which has helped him build up an audience in regional countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines. In this episode, he also sings a live rendition of the title track from his sophomore album released recently, Komorebi. Highlights (click/tap above): 0:55 How he ended up as a musician in the US 8:11 His solo show in Singapore was sold out 13:38 On tapping into his Japanese roots for his new album 15:50 How the pandemic led to his decision to take music seriously 22:08 On how TikTok and Instagram helped him find an audience in Indonesia and the Philippines 23:32 Taking a break from school to focus on music full-time 25:42 His plans to return to Singapore and contribute to the music scene here Listen to Hongjoin’s live performance of Komorebi here: https://str.sg/ejzw Discover home-grown artiste Hongjoin at: YouTube: https://str.sg/o9mTN Spotify: https://str.sg/pQwe Instagram: https://str.sg/apXW Produced by: Eddino Abdul Hadi ([email protected]), Ernest Luis, Eden Soh, Hadyu Rahim & Amirul Karim Recorded by: ST Podcast Team & Studio+65 Edited by: Hadyu Rahim Follow Music Lab Podcast here every month: Channel: https://str.sg/w9TX Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/w9TB Spotify: https://str.sg/w9T6 SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: [email protected] Read Eddino Hadi's articles: https://str.sg/wFVa --- Discover more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7  The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX --- ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX #musiclab See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.