I got the chance to speak to rookie local singer-songwriter Kenny Khoo just before he hit the stage at the Super and AMPed “Storey Telling” showcase at Beep Studios last Friday, 8 August 2014.

And here’s how it went down:

When did you decided that you wanted to become a singer?

I have always wanted to be a singer since I was a kid but I only seriously considered becoming a singer when I was in the army. I was probably around 21 years old then and after watching the Stereophonics concert I thought that I would like to give this career path a shot.

You mentioned in a previous interview that you will give yourself 5 years in this business…

Yes.

So what is the criteria that you will use to evaluate yourself after 5 years and to decide if you will continue on this journey or not?

Of course it’s really simple: if I can make a living or not. *laughs* and if anyone hires me for performances and such.

That is being very realistic.

The key point is being able to survive and if I can, then it’ll be great.

That said, I read about how your debut album “Ten Storeys” debut at #1 on the Taiwan G-Music sales chart and it kept Eason Chan from the #1 spot. That is something really awesome for a rookie. How do you feel about that?

Firstly, I feel really honoured but I feel that it was mostly luck as well. The Taiwanese fans are really passionate and supportive. Their support made me feel that I had definitely made the right choice to walk on this path of becoming a singer. I will continue to work hard.

I know that your fans call themselves “Barbies” because you are “Ken”. How do you feel about it?

I think it’s really cute.

But don’t you think that being called “Ken” and “Barbie” has the implication of being “plastic”?

Nah, I don’t think so. I still think it’s cute and it’s nice to have a fandom name.

Indeed. So who would you most like to collaborate with?

Not really, I’m happy to collaborate with anyone. As long as the person is passionate about music, I’m more than happy to work together with them.

But surely there has to be someone that you would really like to work with?

Whoa there really is a lot of them…

How about if I say that you can only choose to work with one person that you can work with, who will you choose?

I’ll pick JJ Lin since we’re both Singaporeans and it would be cool to do something together.

Do you have a role model?

There are a few because different singers have their speciality, like for example Jay Chou, he is very particular and meticulous about his music and there are many variety to his musical styles. I also like Show Luo’s hosting and variety skills. 

So will you ever do an English song or an English album?

I don’t think I’ll do an English album but one English song in an album of 10 songs is definitely a possibility. I used to do a lot of English songs when I was on the pub circuit so I hope that I’ll be able to do something in the future.

That’s all from me.

Really? 🙁 Thank you for the questions! 🙂

My heart broke a little when Kenny gave me that “really?” response when the interview was over. He is so endearing. It sure was nice to talk to him despite my limited and crappy Mandarin. LOL. I was well aware that my 10 minutes was almost up and I didn’t want to keep him any longer than I needed to. More of the behind story here.

So there you have it, the full transcript of my interview/chat with Kenny Khoo.

Here are the photos which I took at the interview session. Enjoy!