Manila in William Singe’s six-month world tour

INTERNET sensation Singe

For William Singe, leaving The Collective (the pop quintet formed by “X Factor Australia” in 2012), boiled down to one very simple reason: He wanted to do the kind of music he loves—not what other people want.

“I’ve already given three to four years of my time for the group, so in the end, it wasn’t such a hard decision to make,” Singe, in a recent phone interview with the Inquirer, said of his departure from The Collective last year, to pursue a solo career.

Like many aspiring music artists, the 23-year-old singer-songwriter turned to various online platforms to put out his work.

His smooth and sensuous covers, remixes and mash-ups of R&B hits have collectively amassed hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and Facebook.

On Spotify, his take on Drake’s “Hotline Bling” topped the US Viral 50 chart.

Singe did all of these in less than a year.

“‘X Factor’ did a lot for me, but things truly started to take off for me when I went to social media,” he said. “My career has been going better than expected, and I’m grateful. I will continue to work hard until I get to where I want to be.”

Now, he’s set to go on a six-month world tour, with one of the stops being Manila for a concert that will also feature different musical acts.

The one-night show, “The Vamps with Before You Exit, The Tide, William Singe and Jayda Avanzado,” mounted by MMI Live, will be held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Jan. 30. (Call SM Tickets at 4702222.)

“I see a lot of Filipino fans supporting me, so I want to give back the love,” said Singe, who’s based in Sydney. “I’ll perform my popular covers, as well as original material that no one has heard yet… I look forward to seeing them!”

Excerpts from the interview:

How does it feel to gain a considerable following in such a short span of time?

I was just making song covers in my bedroom—that’s what I usually do in my down time. People started taking notice when I did Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen.” My version sounds different, and I got good feedback. And now, it’s crazy and surreal.

Your cover of “Hotline Bling” became very popular.

I think the reason it was received so well is because it’s the one I love most. I just love the song, and I was feeling it during recording. I was surprised, because I wasn’t expecting it to have that kind of success!

What did you learn from your stint in “X Factor” and with the band?

I learned a lot of things about how the industry works—that’s my biggest takeaway from the experience. It was eye-opening!

Do artists have it easier or harder now with social media?

It has become easier to share your music with people, but it’s now harder to stick around. It’s going to take a lot of hard work for your name to be remembered.

You’re writing more original material these days and working on an album. What are your expectations?

It’s an entirely different ball game, that’s for sure. I just want the original music to be much better than the covers—that’s my main goal. I’m still writing, recording and producing… I’m putting a lot of work into this—and I hope the album does well!

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