Korean singer Roy Kim serenades fans with Mandarin and English songs

“The sky is dark, it’s going to rain…” Korean singer-songwriter Roy Kim softly crooned to his crowd of fans during his recent showcase at Paradigm Mall, Malaysia.

The South Korean singer recently visited the country for his first ever showcase, organised by Warner Music Malaysia, also marking his first time to venture into Southeast Asia for an event.

The winner of Mnet's Superstar K4 not only got to show off his musical prowess to his Malaysian fans, but also his language skills as he sang songs in Mandarin, Korean and English. He even conversed with his fans in all three languages, much to the delight of the multiracial crowd, especially during the interview segment of the show.

The showcase on 26 August may have been held in Malaysia but there were fans from Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam mixed into the excited crowd. Language was no barrier to these fans, the moment their superstar started singing, they were one in their fanchants. 

A guitar was brought onstage for his second song. Strumming the upbeat sound of “Love Love Love”,  his face brightened up with a smile as the fanchants turned louder and fans even started singing along to the song.

He segued into “Pinocchio”, a soundtrack he contributed to the popular Korean drama of the same name, before taking a short break for a little Q&A with the host of the evening, MY FM DJ, Peace.

“I should come here more,” said the singer when asked of his first impression of Malaysia, admitting that he loved the local food, having had four meals of it two days in a row, and even named “sambal kangkung and rice” as his favourite.

The bashful singer paused with a surprised look on his face as one little movement he did onstage –taking off his jacket – elicited screams from his fans, prompting the host to joke, “I can be your coat hanger, you can take off your shirt too.”

When told that some view him as the Asian version of Damien Rice, and fans describe him as “handsome, cute and smart”, the 23-year-old shook his head and said, “I’m just an ordinary person who likes to sing.” However, he added that he does feel happy with the compliments.

“I feel loved. I wasn’t expecting this big of a crowd when I was first invited to Malaysia,” said the singer as he thanked everyone for coming.

If there’s one thing fans can relate to with the singer, it’s Pokemon Go. Even Roy Kim has jumped on the latest craze and excitedly stated, “I’ve caught at least 20 or 30 in Malaysia!”

Talking about his music, the singer admitted that his mother’s love for folk music was his biggest influence in becoming a folk pop singer and no, he did not have an obsession with repeating his song titles. Referring to one of his songs, he explained with a grin, “I used the title “Bom Bom Bom” (Bom means Spring in Korean) because I did not want to simply call it Spring. It was surprisingly well-received in Korea so I tried it again with “Love Love Love” but that didn’t work, so I decided not to do it again.”

After the interview, Roy picked up his guitar again for his next song, “Home”. He then wrapped up his performance with the aforementioned “Love Love Love”.

Wanting more, the crowd shouted out “We want Roy Kim” to bring the singer back onstage for an encore, a request which he willingly obliged to.

“What song do you want me to play?”

With a smile, the singer decided to go with an English song, Damien Rice’s “The Blower’s Daughter”.

Saying that this would be his last show before he returns to the US for his studies, he admitted that he is happy he made it in Malaysia.

“Thanks again. My first impression of Malaysia is only greatness. I’ll be back!” the singer promised before parting with his fans.

A Meet & Greet and an autograph session were held earlier prior to the showcase, while after, some of the lucky fans had the chance to receive special photocards onstage from the singer himself.

(Photo source: Warner Music Malaysia’s Facebook)