Raymond (Dancing Singapore Man On TikTok)
Raymond is a local TikTok personality, also known as the Dancing Singapore Man who rose to fame after videos of his catchy dance routine across various MRT stations in Singapore went viral.[1] His TikTok account (@raymondl88) has over 29.7k followers, and his videos have amassed over 545.2k likes as of 13 May 2022.[2]
Background
In a livestream on his TikTok channel, Raymond revealed that he first came to Singapore from China in 1998.[3]
TikTok Fame
Raymond has been on TikTok since 2020.[4] While his initial posts were skit videos, his rise to fame only started in April 2022, when he started posting quirky dance videos taken at various MRT stations throughout Singapore. The videos are accompanied by a remix of a Chinese song by Hong Kong artiste Faye Wong, called 百年孤寂 (Century of Solitude).[5]
One of his first videos to go viral was a video of him breaking into his iconic dance routine at a traffic crossing at Ang Mo Kio.[1] The video has since attracted over 619k views, as of 13 May 2022.[2]
In an interview, Raymond shared that he first started this dance trend out of boredom. He added that when the outdoor mask restrictions were eased in Singapore in April 2022, he thought it would be a good opportunity to go out and dance to make people happy and that he also wanted to make new friends.[3]
Since gaining popularity, Raymond has amassed a fan base that would track his location down and request to join him in his video.[1] He has since included other people in his dance videos, such as teens, students and other random members of the public. At times, he would also post a schedule of the times and locations he would be at for the day.[1]
Praised for helping an elderly man
In one of his videos, Raymond was recording himself dancing at a bus stop along Orchard Road, when he noticed an elderly man behind him struggling to board a bus.[6] He immediately stopped his video and proceeded to assist the elderly man to get onto the bus. This act earned him the praise of TikTok users, who lauded him for his kind act.[6]
References / Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hayat, Iqmall. “Dancing S’pore Man Becomes TikTok Sensation For His Good Vibes, Fans Gamely Join In”. MustShare News. May 7, 2022. Accessed 13 May 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 raymondl88. “@raymondl88”. TikTok. n.d. Accessed 13 May 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tan, Amanda. “Everyone loves Raymond on TikTok, and this is why he dances”. Youthopia. May 5, 2022. Accessed 12 May 2022.
- ↑ Ching, Shi Jie. “Who is this TikTok star dancing at random MRT stations and why are the young people following him?”. AsiaOne. May 6, 2022. Accessed 12 May 2022.
- ↑ Gan, Zhen Yin. “Here’s Who Raymond, The Latest TikTok Star, is & What The Song is All About”. GoodyFeed. n.d. Accessed 12 May 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 MustShare News. “Dancing S’pore Man Stops TikTok Recording To Help Senior Get On Bus In Orchard”. MustShare News. May 11, 2022. Accessed 13 May 2022.