COURAGE TO EXCEL
Nathan Hartono
Singer, songwriter and actor
With his latest EP, Edge of Days, Nathan Hartono, 30, reveals an artist who is not afraid to experiment and try something a little off‑centre. “I’ve always loved unpredictability and I feel like the idea of me has gone a little stale. I’m looking to shake it up a little,” is how he puts it. Hartono debuted as a singer in 2005 and, in 2016, became the first Singaporean to make it to the finals of Chinese singing competition Sing! China. His powerhouse performances won him second place and new fans all over Asia, thrusting him into the spotlight. He was nominated as Most Popular Overseas Singer at the 2017 MTV Global Chinese Music Awards, was chosen to sing the theme song for the 2020 National Day Parade, and landed a clutch of high‑profile partnerships with brands such as Amazon, Disney and the Singapore Tourism Board. “I’m just liking myself more as a musician. I’m either getting better or more confident, or more delusional. I’m loving the journey though,” he says wryly. “I have plans to do a lot more within the music community to jump‑start the arts scene. The last couple of years have left the industry quite fragmented, but it’ll be fun to put those pieces back together in new and interesting configurations.”
Race and Rhonda Wong
PropTech entrepreneurs
She used to
