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The name Boon Hui Lu may or may not ring a bell, but you would have most probably heard her singing covers before.
The 29-year-old singer shot to fame five years ago with the video of her covering the song "漂向北方 Stranger In The North" by Malaysian singer Namewee.
The cover has since amassed over 54 million views and remains as Boon's best-performing video on her YouTube channel.
She decided to move to Taiwan in 2016 to pursue her musical dreams.
Mothership spoke to the singer to find out more about how the would-be-accountant changed paths to pursue her passion away from home.
A girl with big dreams
Like many Singaporeans, studies were always a priority for Boon during her youth.
She graduated from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) with a degree in accountancy and was offered a place in a major accounting firm -- but decided against joining the corporate world two weeks before she was scheduled to start working there.
"I think I sort of took a chance with that lah, took a leap of faith and I just like you know, went forward with doing music first and see. If it doesn't work out, maybe I can switch to doing a normal career. That was what I was thinking of at the time," she laughs.
Striking a deal
Boon's parents were "not against" her decision to pursue music overseas.
However, they were initially hesitant to the idea, especially after hearing how she had turned down a job at such a big firm.
Determined to chase her dreams, she negotiated a deal with her parents: she had three years to pursue music in Taiwan.
If her career did not take off by then, she would return home.
It was only when Boon was offered a recording deal with a record label in Taiwan did her parents finally acknowledge this as a career path she could continue pursuing.
Finding love away from home
Her choice also proved to be one that would impact her love life.
Boon first met her fiancé, music producer Cheong Waii Hoong, in a music elective at NTU.
When she first moved to Taiwan, she encouraged her good friend to move there was well to work on music.
He did so after graduation.
After spending time and working on music together in Taiwan, love blossomed between them.
They got engaged last July after dating for about five years.
Boon let on that they are in the midst of planning their wedding, which will "hopefully" take place before Dec. 11, 2023 -- her 30th birthday.
Work-relationship balance
Boon describes working with her fiancé to be "mostly enjoyable", although it also comes with difficulties.
This mainly stems from how comfortable the couple are with working with each other, which sometimes might be too direct and "unfiltered" at times, leading to some feelings getting hurt during the process.
However, this also allows them to pour their true feelings into creating the music, which Boon shared would be harder if working with another music producer.
Despite the occasional squabble, the couple has learnt to navigate how to work effectively together and is able to produce music that is authentic and reflect what they intend to convey.
A new chapter
Six years after moving away from home to pursue her musical dreams, Boon hopes to take a break in the next year as she turns 30.
She hopes to take this time to further her studies overseas. And she doesn't have accountancy nor music on her mind, as she is likely to read architecture.
She reasons, "I think it's quite nice to have some alone time with yourself, where you go and you know, explore something else."
Top images from Boon Hui Lu's Instagram/ YouTube