Benjamin Kheng
Benjamin Kheng is the vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist of The Sam Willows. He is a former radio DJ for Lush 99.5FM and was a national swimmer. He is known for starring in a number of plays and movies, and has also collaborated with many other content creators on Youtube both internationally and locally.[1] Additionally, Benjamin Kheng has his own Youtube channel (Youtube channel) where he occasionally uploads music related content. His most viewed videos are his original spoken piece ‘Father, Father’ featuring Gentle Bones and a collaboration cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ with Singapore Singer Tabitha Nauser.
Career highlights
The Intruder (2019)
Benjamin Kheng starred in a local television series ‘The Intruder’ (Toggle series), where he plays one of the main characters - Adam. The drama follows a group of friends who have gone on a holiday together. Filled with manipulation and sinister plot twists, the story takes a turn for the worse when ‘The Intruder’ interrupts their fun.[2]
Wonderboy (2017)
Wonderboy (Wonderboy trailer) is a local film directed by Dick Lee and Daniel Yam. The coming-of-age movie features a main character inspired by Dick Lee’s teenage years and is set in the 70s. The story follows a student named Richard Lee, played by Benjamin Kheng, as he faces problems with friendship and disapproval from his parents along his journey to become a singer-songwriter.
TEDxYouth@Singapore (2014)
During his talk titled "Walk With Your Mind; Run With Your Heart" (Youtube video), Benjamin Kheng spoke about his anxiety disorder during his younger days and how he had overcome the challenge. He had started off with a story about how he was bullied in high school for being short and went on to share about his late mother and other pivotal experiences he had growing up. He went on to stress that in order to reach greater heights, there is a need to embrace personal demons. The theme for TedxYouth in 2014 was “REGENERATION” and it aimed to change mindsets of Singaporean youth and empower them.[3]
Plays
| Year | Director | Play | Character/Role |
| 2013 | Derrick Chew | Edges The Musical (Sight Line Productions) | Main Character |
| 2012 | Ong Keng Sen | National Broadway Company (Theatreworks) | Dick Lee |
| - | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry[4] | The Little Prince (Act 3 International) | Titular Character |
| 2013[5] | Nell Ng | Romeo & Juliet (Toy Factory Singapore) | Romeo |
| 2014 | Beatrice Chia-Richmond[6] | Ah Boys To Men: The Musical (Running Into The Sun) | Ken Chow |
Song Collaborations[7]
Kurt & Company (2015)
In 2015, Benjamin Kheng collaborated with American musician and Youtuber Kurt Hugo Schneider to produce a cover of Rachel Platten’s ‘Fight Song’ and Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’ which featured American singer Macy Kate as well. They had also filmed videos for both songs with Kurt’s popular “One Take” style where the whole video was filmed with one take.
28th SEA Games (2015)
Benjamin Kheng had released a song, ‘A Love Song - Unbreakable’, under the compilation album for the 28th SEA Games titled ‘Songs Of The Games’.
Debra Khng (2015)
Benjamin collaborated with Singaporean singer-songwriter Debra Khng to release a song titled ‘Strangers’ under her album ‘Wolves in The Night’.
ShiGGa Shay (2015)
Benjamin Kheng has featured in Singaporean rapper ShiGGa Shay’s Album titled ‘ShiGGa Shay’ as they worked together on the song ‘Red & Blue’.
THELIONCITYBOY (2016)
Benjamin Kheng has featured in Singaporean rapper THELIONCITYBOY’s single ‘YAYA’.
Bittymacbeth (2016)
Benjamin had collaborated with several artists in 2 songs for Singaporean singer-songwriter Bittymacbeth’s ‘Beauty for Ashes’ album. They collaborated to produce the song ‘Comfortable’ and worked with another Singaporean artist, Tim De Cotta, to produce ‘Blank’.
The Apex Project (2016)
Benjamin Kheng worked with local acapella group, The Apex Project, in their Christmas single ‘I Got All I Need (This Christmas)’.
Evanturetime (Evan Low) (2017)
Benjamin had collaborated with Jonathan Chua (JX) and local singer Nathan Hartono to produce a song, ‘Sober’, with local producer and multi-instrumentalist Eventuretime.
Other Collaborations
The BenZi project (November 2018 - Present)
Benjamin Kheng collaborated with Hirzi Zulkiflie to produce a comedy sketch channel on Youtube called The BenZi Project (youtube channel). In the series, they produce and act out comedy skits on localised Singaporean topics such as "Paiseh Piece" (youtube video) and "Code-Switching"(youtube video). The series also stars other known individuals in the media industry, such as fellow band member Sandra Riley Tang.
The Smart Local (TSL)
Between 2015 and 2018, Benjamin Kheng had been a special guest on The Smart Local’s Youtube videos such as ‘The Price is Right Challenge’ (youtube video) and ‘The Whisper Challenge’ (youtube video). Benjamin Kheng had also appeared on TSL Acoustic Sessions twice. In July 2015, he performed his original song ‘In Time (Acoustic)’ (youtube video). In July 2016, he joined THELIONCITYBOY in performing his new single ‘YAYA (acoustic) feat. Benjamin Kheng’ (youtube video).
FATHER, FATHER Spoken Word ft. Gentle bones (2014)
Benjamin Kheng released a spoken piece titled "FATHER, FATHER" (youtube video) with the intent to relay his message to his father. The video was directed by band member, Sandra Riley Tang. The music and lyrics were written in collaboration with Joel Tan (Gentle Bones). The director of photography was Benjamin Ong and choreography was done by Gino Flordeliza Babagay.[8]
‘Can You Not?!’ By Tree Potatoes
Benjamin Kheng had starred in a web series titled ‘Can You Not?!’ produced by Singaporean Youtubers Tree Potatoes. The series stars Janice Chiang, Nathan Hartono, Nicholas Bloodworth and Loo Le En as well. The plot follows Janice’s character, Beth, as she finds love in her workplace.[9]
Toggle Original Series: ‘The Breakup List’ by Tree Potatoes
Benjamin Kheng starred in another web series produced by Tree Potatoes as well, titled ‘The Breakup List’. The show centred around Luke Wong, played by Benjamin Kheng, and Joe Khoo, played by Elliot Tan, as they figure out singlehood together. The show also featured main characters played by Jannassa Neo and Janice Chiang
Vidi Aldiano ‘2017 Billboards Hits Mashup feat. Benjamin Kheng’
Benjamin Kheng had collaborated with Indonesian artist Vidi Aldiano in a mashup of monthly Billboard hits from 2017.
Radio DJ (May 2008 - November 2010)
Benjamin Kheng started his journey in the entertainment industry as a radio DJ for Lush 99.5FM with two recurring programmes ‘The Art Of Lush’ and ‘The Lush Lab’.[10]
Social Causes
Benjamin Kheng is a regular advocate for the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS). He had been volunteering for SCS since 2016 and has performed at many of their events including the ‘Relay for Life’, a marathon event, with his sister.[11]
References / Citation
- ↑ “Benjamin Kheng”. Fly Entertainment. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: http://fly.com.sg/fly-artistes/fly-male-artistes/benjamin-kheng/
- ↑ “The Intruder”. Toggle. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://tv.toggle.sg/en/shows/the-intruder/info
- ↑ TEDxYouth. “Walk With Your Mind; Run With Your Heart: Benjamin Kheng at TEDxYouth@Singapore”. Youtube. February 4, 2014. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04-JxYnzcq0
- ↑ Ang, Sunny. Act 3 International. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: http://act3international.com.sg/author/mambo/
- ↑ Pham, Larry. “It Is My Lady - A Song From Romeo & Juliet by Toy Factory Productions”. Youtube. January 28, 2014. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyqpFSqxR5A&feature=youtu.be
- ↑ Ng, Gwendolyn. “Hit local military movie Ah Boys To Men to become musical”. The Straits Times. February 5, 2014. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/hit-local-military-movie-ah-boys-to-men-to-become-musical
- ↑ “Benjamin Kheng”. Spotify. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://open.spotify.com/artist/53GouHDfCfsBJIn1OjYmPO
- ↑ Kheng, Benjamin. “FATHER, FATHER || Spoken Word || Benjamin Kheng x Gentle Bones”. Youtube. December 22, 2014. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY64nFtVcyI
- ↑ TreePotatoes. “Can You Not?! - The Full Webseries”. Youtube. September 1, 2016. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfzkqRS9zPs&t=2399s
- ↑ “Benjamin Kheng”. Celebs Money. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Accessed on: https://www.celebsmoney.com/net-worth/benjamin-kheng/
- ↑ Tay, Winston. “A cause close to Benjamin Kheng's heart”. Youth.sg. February 2, 2014. Accessed on 11 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.youth.sg/Spotted/People/2018/2/A-cause-close-to-Benjamin-Kheng-heart