WITH his vernacular Chinese education and a love for music, singer-songwriter Firdhaus Farmizi did not expect that he would inevitably end up as a music sensation.
When the 22-year-old released his single Gulf of Alaska in the middle of last year, the song turned out to be a huge hit on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, with over 170 million views. The song has chalked up more than 3.5 million views on YouTube.
“When I wrote it, I thought it was a good song. But I never really thought it would be such a big deal in China, and I’m very grateful for it,” Firdhaus told theSun.
He explained that learning Chinese was initially his father’s interest, but due to time constraints, his father could not learn the language.
“At that point, he was working and did not have a lot of time to study Chinese. He did not want the same thing to happen to me, so he sent me to a Chinese school”.
You mentioned Jay Chou was your inspiration. What drew you to his music, and not other Chinese artistes?
When I was 12 years old, a friend of mine was a big Jay Chou fan. He kind of let me into his world, and recommended a few songs. That was like the first Chinese singer I was exposed to. Before that, I never really listened to any Chinese music.
The thing with Jay Chou is that he writes his own songs, which amazed me, and that drew me to his music.
What made you pursue singing as a career?
I’ve always had this passion for music but after secondary school, it was not something that I had in mind. I felt that I would do my best and if it does not work out, then it’s alright. Like, I would sing songs on Instagram, but I was not like chasing it every day trying to be something.
After finishing secondary school, I did not go into music straight away. I worked at a market, and even at an Apple Store. Then, I had the chance to sing at pubs or restaurants through friends I knew. Then, I started singing a lot more and it became my full-time job. Then, I was scouted by Loolala Music.
Why do you think the song was a bigger hit with listeners in China compared to here? Do they click with the melody or the lyrics more?
In Malaysia, it caught up slowly. Because here, Chinese listeners tend to follow what China offers. In China, there’s Douyin, and there are a lot of songs that are a hit on that platform, and Chinese listeners in Malaysia love that. It was not that it was a bigger hit in China or whatever, it was more that the song blew up in China first.
For the melody and lyrics, I think the lyrics are simple and I think a lot of people related to it, which is why I think a lot of them liked it.
Will you be focusing on releasing more original songs in Chinese, or will you be incorporating multiple languages?
I think for now, I will be releasing a lot more original songs in Chinese. But I think in future, if there is an opportunity to put out songs in multiple languages, it would be a cool thing to do. For now, I’m focused on my Chinese songs.
Any future projects or songs your fans can look forward to?
The music video for Gulf of Alaska will be released soon. By the end of next month, there will also be a new single, and a music performance. More updates will be on my Instagram.
