Jeff Ng
Jeffrey Ng Chang Jun (‘黄長俊’), better known as Jeff Ng, is a Singaporean music instructor and busker. He is best known for his regular performances on Saturday evenings outside The Cathay, where he attracts large crowds. He rose to fame through his TikTok and Instagram (@jeffhellomusic), where he has over 29.3k and 45.5k followers respectively.[1][2]
Background
Personal Life
Jeff studied at Montfort Secondary School, before moving on to study digital media at Nanyang Polytechnic.[3] His parents run a shop selling prayer offerings.[3]
In an interview with 8 Days, Jeff said that he didn’t enjoy singing growing up, and instead preferred basketball.[3] He was later inspired by his teacher who sang at a music café at night.[3]
In June 2021, Jeff got married to his partner Zona Ng.[4] On his TikTok, he has published videos of him and Zona performing various covers, such as a Christmas medley in December 2021.
Professional Career
Part-time waiter at a music café
While he was waiting for his Poly term to start, Jeff worked as a part-time waiter at the same music café where his teacher sang at.[3] While working there, he realised how much he loved singing, after finding himself singing along to those performing.[3] When he turned 18, he successfully auditioned for a job to perform at the café.[3]
Participation in Voice of China
In 2014, Jeff participated in reality television singing show The Voice of China, and eventually finished within the Top 22.[4]
Music instructor
In addition to his busking, Jeff works as a freelance music instructor with Ark Music School.[4]
When Jeff was first starting out in his singing career, he revealed that he subconsciously imitated professional singers JJ Lin and Jay Chou's singing styles because he really liked them.[3] In particular, he adopts a slurring style similar to Jay Chou’s, though he’s since made his pronunciation clearer after becoming a music instructor.[3]
Professional busker
Jeff is best known for being a professional busker, having used to perform at the now-defunct Chinatown Food Street.[5] He was first approached by the Chinatown Food Street Organisation and Singapore Tourism Board, who invited him to sing at a busking event.[3] He has been busking since 2018, though he had to stop his performances when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.[6] He regularly covers famous Mandopop songs by singers like Jay Chou and JJ Lin, of which his singing style has been likened to.[4]
Prior to busking, he performed at bars, weddings and corporate events.[3]
Attracting large crowds outside the Cathay
When public performances were allowed in Singapore again, Jeff resumed busking at the public area outside The Cathay. From May-June 2022, Jeff’s weekly performances every Saturday evening outside The Cathay attracted large crowds in attendance.
According to MustShareNews, Jeff grew in fame when a video of his busking sessions went viral on TikTok, on 12 June 2022.[7] A couple of weeks later, the crowd had swelled considerably, so much so that it was reported there “seemed to be barely any space to sit on the ground, with people even standing in the bushes.”[6]
It is unclear if he will be continuing his weekly performances at The Cathay after his last planned performance on 25 June 2022.[6]
Concert planned for August 2022
During his 25 June 2022 performance, Jeff announced that he will be hosting a “real concert” in August.[8] Details are unknown for now. Jeff also revealed that he has been approached by record labels, both local and overseas.[3]
References / Citations
- ↑ Ng, Jeff. “Jeff Ng TikTok”. TikTok. n.d. Accessed 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Ng, Jeff. “Jeff Ng Instagram”. Instagram. n.d. Accessed 27 June 2022.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Koh, Jiamun. “Jeff Ng, The Cathay Busker Who Went Viral, Realised He Loved Singing When He Worked As A Waiter In A Café”. 8 Days. June 23, 2022. Accessed 27 June 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Gan, Zhen Yin. “Everything You Need to Know About Jeff Ng, the Cathay Busker Who Has Gone as Viral as Uncle Raymond”. GoodyFeed. n.d. Accessed 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Yeo, Ruth. “#trending: Musician's busking performances at The Cathay turn into mini concerts”. Today Online. June 21, 2022. Accessed 27 June 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chew, Eileen and Leo, Lakeisha. “Large crowds outside The Cathay as people gather to watch busker perform”. CNA. June 25, 2022. Accessed 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Lee, Jeremy. “Large Crowd Turns Up For Cathay Busker At Last June Show, Might Be Biggest Yet”. MustShareNews. June 25, 2022. Accessed 27 June 2022.
- ↑ Zheng, Zhangxin. “Busker Jeff Ng draws massive crowd to The Cathay on Saturday”. Mothership. June 26, 2022. Accessed 27 June 2022.