Being an introvert might lead one to shy away from the spotlight, but this isn't the case for Alfred Sun, who has competed in global audition programs and is now making a splash with his music in Singapore.

In 2010, the 31-year-old was one of the few along with actress and good friend, Tasha Low, to be selected during JYP and Alpha Entertainment's talent search in Singapore. He then moved to Korea to train for a possible debut.

While that did not come to fruition, he went on to compete in "The Voice Singapore and Malaysia" in 2017, as well as in Chinese survival program "We Are Young" in 2020.

While he did not win any of the competitions, Sun came back home to Singapore filled with invaluable experience and made his official debut in Singapore with his single "Vampire" in 2022.

Sun shares more with Mothership on his experiences and striving for his dreams.

A shy start

Sun has always been inclined towards the arts and music since he was younger but being a shy person impeded him from pursuing them actively.

He shared an anecdote on how he ran away from his first piano examination, sometime around the ages of seven to eight years old.

"I freaked out. I told the instructor [that] I was going to the bathroom, and I left and never went back."

This incident made him realise his fear of performing in front of people, and he doubted if this was something he could explore.

However, the excitement he had for music outweighed this fear, and he pushed himself to pick up music.

Getting more exposure to music while growing up eventually solidified his artistic aspirations.

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A post shared by Alfred Sun 孙英豪 (@sealfred)

He started off by picking up musical instruments because he felt that they were a better fit for his personality.

"It's not like demanding for attention," he explained.

However, he eventually felt that he wanted to challenge himself more and decided to pick up dance classes  — although he would start out by dancing at the back of classes.

"When the dance instructor asked me to come in front and dance, I'll be like, 'No, no.' I'll always be hiding at the back."

A leap of faith

Sun's first foray into showbiz was when he challenged himself to take part in the JYP and Alpha Entertainment auditions held in Singapore in 2010.

This decision surprised his mother, who found it amusing coming from someone who used to sleep during family karaoke sessions as he was too embarrassed to sing.

The night before the audition would be the first time she'd heard him sing.

"She said, 'I'm going to hear you sing if you're going to sing in front of people.'

So I went all the way to the other side of the room, facing the curtain, so it's like back facing [her] and I started [to sing] very badly, and then I think, she didn't know how to react."

Eventually, Sun's mother encouraged him to give the audition a go to "have fun" and gain experience.

Stepping out of his comfort zone was ultimately a good decision for him as he was selected and went on to train in Korea.

Life as a K-pop trainee

Being in Korea was an eye-opening experience for Sun.

When he first reached Korea, he was uncertain about what moving there could do for his career.

While he had always dreamt of performing on stage, he had not imagined that he would be training in Korea, let alone with the potential of becoming a K-pop idol.

The reality only hit him as time went by.

"Because getting to do [music], like, every single day as a routine allows you to envision that as a job," he said.

At that point, he was convinced that a career in the music industry was sustainable.

For his mother, however, she had her reservations.

Sun shared:

"I will say, any mum, you know, especially Asian parents, they will be a bit worried. So, she wasn't the most supportive in me going to Korea to pursue this training program."

It did not help that he had to put his studies on hold as he was in midst of getting his diploma from a polytechnic.

While he felt uneasy about temporarily pausing his studies, his passion for pursuing a career in singing and dancing ultimately prevailed.

Pragmatism vs Dreams

Passion however, was not enough for Sun to achieve his performer dreams as he had to return to Singapore shortly after to serve his National Service (NS).

His company applied for a deferment on his behalf; they felt that it was important for him to debut while he was still young.

However, they were unsuccessful.

Sun, on the other hand, did not want to defer.

"I felt okay to complete my NS and return," he said.

He was originally slated to continue his traineeship in Korea after completing his NS.

However, two years of interacting with people from other walks of life shifted his thinking and beliefs.

"A lot of [guys] are wired [to think] that we have to be earning a certain amount, or [have] a certain kind of job the moment we finish our military service."

His mother also shared this belief, telling him that a guy of certain age in Singapore should be doing something presumably pragmatic.

That wasn't all.

Sun was also taken aback when he learned more about a K-pop idol's hectic work schedule, courtesy of Low who was from the same Korean company.

"So that kind of scared me a little bit actually," he admitted.

He was unsure if he was ready for an idol lifestyle and was apprehensive about job security in Korea as well.

Sun then decided to pursue a degree in design in favour of doing something stereotypically pragmatic that is in line with something he enjoys — art.

Going back to music after graduation and a realisation

Upon graduation however, he realised that something was missing.

"I think the moment that really hit me was when I was setting up my graduation booth.

And then you see all this name cards of the companies that you have been eyeing, like those design agencies.

I wasn't exactly happy. I felt like it's becoming so real.

And if I really wanted to, there will be a good chance that I end up working with my dream agency."

Instead, he wanted to get out of his comfort zone.

This was the point that he started his venture into audition programmes and competitions.

Sun joined "The Voice Singapore and Malaysia" in 2017.

Taking part in the competition made him feel alive, he said.

"It's just the kind of joy and the kind of like, adrenaline I get, that is unlike anything that I've done."

Participating in competitions also made his mother more receptive to the idea of him being a singer, as she became more assured by his determination to achieve his goals.

His family now supports him fully, after seeing years of his hard work.

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A post shared by Alfred Sun 孙英豪 (@sealfred)

Integrating his love for design, art and music has been "extremely rewarding"

While he kept a lookout for more competitions, he also took up freelance designing jobs to help sustain himself financially.

The multi-talented artist explained that he loves integrating his love for design, art and music together.

"So I think the challenge in the past two years after I came to Singapore has been trying to find my footing as an independent artist.

So I learned to kind of, put in all the energy and my love for my creative side into my own music and the production, which I feel has been extremely rewarding for me."

However, taking part in various aspects of the music production prolongs the completion of his work.

"Like with my first MV, I took 10 months," Sun said.

He shared that when he listens to a song, he asks himself several questions:

"What are the visuals that come to my mind first?

And then what are the kind of like movements, the choreography that I envisioned for this song?

And then what is the message?"

There are many things that he takes into consideration when producing music, and digesting all these things take time.

The self-professed perfectionist said he is learning to accept that there is beauty in the rawness of certain things.

"Having done three songs now, each time I'm actually very unhappy with certain parts of the production.

I will tell myself I wanted to do this or I practiced this expression multiple times in the mirror, and it's not there.

But I realise a lot of times [although] it is imperfect in my [point of view], it's really inspiring so many more people that are looking at it."

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A post shared by Alfred Sun 孙英豪 (@sealfred)

The differences between Singapore and other countries

Now that Sun is back in Singapore, he noticed some differences in the music industry in other cities versus Singapore.

Other than Korea, Sun has also worked in Taipei and Changsha in pursuing music.

The music community in Singapore is quite tight-knit, he noted.

"It is not as saturated but at the same time it's conflicting because we have this pool of people and it's either this person or that person; you are always put in comparison," he said.

Whereas in other cities, he felt that if one works hard and is good at what they do, they will get their "small portion of pie".

The trainees he has worked with in Taipei and Changsha were go-getters who inspired him to be more pro-active in expressing what he wants.

"You can see like 17-year-old trainees, they're like, 'Oh, I'm going to be the best way.'

And you can see how committed they were when they say all these things."

The energy was so infectious that the introvert who used to hide at the back of dance classes found himself aiming to stand in front during his classes overseas.

Back home in Singapore, Sun said that he tends to be a lot more "quiet"and "introverted."

However, he ultimately decided to base himself in Singapore as he felt that there is potential in popularising Chinese pop within the music industry in Southeast Asia.

"I feel that [Singapore] has a lot of amazing artists that are so good at storytelling, or like, you know, allowing people like audiences to resonate with their song.

But I feel that my passion has always been in performance and dance, and it's something that I think I'm better at."

Having trained overseas for a long time, he felt that he could now make a conscious effort to pursue dance pop in Singapore.

But that is not to say that he wants to challenge the norm in the industry.

Sun said that he is always doing his reseach on local artists and what they have done.

He then asks himself what he can do to explore diverse aspects of music and challenge himself on what he can do within Singapore's landscape.

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A post shared by Alfred Sun 孙英豪 (@sealfred)

Dealing with criticism on social media

Talking more on social media, Sun also shared the online backlash he received back in 2010.

Many thought that Singaporeans attempting to venture into K-pop was "funny", and Low and him suffered similar kind of backlash, he shared.

It affected him to the point that he felt uneasy talking about his dreams to his friends.

"When they found out, they were teasing me a bit, and I felt so ashamed and embarrassed."

Even when he was competing in "We Are Young", he was unable to freely express his interests, he said.

One of the common comments he had was about his "round face", in relation to his weight gain.

While these comments affected him when he was younger, he now tries to ignore any negative comments.

"I just learned to just try to ignore it. But I think the key word is I tried to ignore it, it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. And I'm aware of it."

Other than ignoring, he also learned to take constructive feedback. He looks at comments to see if there is anything about his work that he can resonate with that he needs to work on.

"But if generally is you know, certain things, I feel like it's misunderstood or a certain kind of hate, I just learned to just take it very, very lightly."

Hopes for the future

Sun's big dream is to be able to express himself through his performances.

However, he knows the importance of being an all-rounder in Singapore, and has dabbled in acting and creating content on social media.

"You can't just be a one trick pony. Everything's integrated, you know — how social media content is, how we consume entertainment."

Despite exploring different areas of the industry, Sun admits that he always hope to be a creative who has his ideas and opinions reflected in his productions.

His directorial participation in the production of his latest music video for his single "Eyes On Me", shows this tenacity and passion for creative involvement that he wishes to attain.

Top photos by Lee Wei Lin & from Alfred Sun's Instagram