Singer-songwriter yung kai is more than ready for musical success
The 22-year-old talks K-dramas, Laufey, and album plans in his first-ever written interview
yung kai started posting covers on TikTok in 2023 and has blown up on social media in recent months.
Matt Solie
Words by Hannah Abraham
“Cos you’re alllll that I waaant this liiife…” Admit it—your brain just went “I’LL imagine we fell in looove” right after that line. Such is the allure of yung kai’s lover-boy earworms, which have dominated TikTok and Instagram “For You” pages for months now.
His viral single “blue” has more than 300 million streams on Spotify, and 92 million views on YouTube. The song has also been used more than one million times on TikTok, usually layered over video montages of dreamy moments spent with a loved one. His other songs “wildflower” and most recent release, “do you think you could love me,” follow the similar tone of nostalgic yearning that has begun to characterize kai’s brand of music.
The 22-year-old, who started out posting covers on TikTok in 2023, still can’t believe this is all happening. Born in Canada, he grew up in Shanghai and moved back to Vancouver, British Columbia for university, which he’s finishing up alongside the flurry of opportunities currently coming his way. The latter includes performances in various festivals in Asia, a surprise feature on Indonesian Idol, a coveted slot in 88rising’s Head in the Clouds festival from May 31to June 1, and several headlining shows to come.
Despite the Internet fame, kai has clearly not integrated into the TikTok-to-corporate label conveyor belt yet, as is evident from the fact that his studio is still his bedroom, he retains full creative control over his music, and that he asks me how I’m doing and actually waits for a proper reply.
In his first-ever written interview, kai and I chat about K-dramas, Laufey, and album plans.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
yung kai is currently balancing university and his music career.
Matt Solie
Hannah Abraham: Busy week, huh?
yung kai: I’m literally leaving for Asia today to get ready for festivals. How are you?
HA: I’m doing pretty great, thanks! How crazy is it that you’re jetting off to play all these arenas? How are you feeling?
YK: It was such a big change, I feel like I haven’t even processed it yet because it happened so fast. Last year at this time, I was literally just another school kid, and music was maybe five percent of my time. And then my life completely turned around in less than half a year. Now school is only five percent of my time [Laughs]. I still try to do my homework, but I don’t try that hard, I just turn in whatever.
HA: I’m Indian, so I know my parents wouldn’t let me drop out no matter how famous I got.
YK: That’s literally why I’m in school right now! If it was just for me I would have dropped out a while ago, but anything to make my parents happy, you know?
HA: So you’re going to a bunch of festivals, there’s Head in the Clouds in May; who are you most excited to sing alongside?
YK: I’m so excited for Dean, Rich Brian, Higher Brothers—they’re all people I listened to a lot back in high school. It’s crazy to be performing alongside them on the same stage. I’m gonna shake their hand and never wash my hand again.
HA: When is the earliest you remember loving music?
YK: This has always been my dream, honestly. I first learned the drums, then learned piano after a bit. In high school, I started trying to produce music and fell in love with it. So I made beats every day and posted it on YouTube. That’s when I started thinking, “Damn, I want to do music for a living if I can!” At the time though, I thought I’d make it as a producer, not a singer-songwriter, because I wasn’t good at singing then. I didn’t know how to sing—I still don’t.
HA: I feel like a few million people on the Internet would differ, but okay.
YK: [Laughs] I know a little more now for sure, compared to high school.
HA: Was there a moment when you woke up and thought “Whoa, this is happening?”
YK: I remember in 2023, my fourth cover ever blew up on TikTok. It was a cover of “Novocaine” by Shiloh Dynasty, and I posted it thinking “Ah, it’s nothing,” but then I woke up and it was at 20,000 views. It just kept going from there, and I’ll never forget that moment. I remember reading through all the comments, and I liked and replied to all of them. I had created a new TikTok account and hidden it from my family till it became big, but I showed my baby cousin when I got 100k followers. She freaked out, I will never forget that moment.
HA: All your songs so far have talked about yearning. Is it true you got your inspiration from Asian dramas?
YK: Yes, “blue” came after I watched a Chinese drama, When I Fly Towards You, on Discord with a girl I was crushing on. I wrote my newest song, “do you think you could love me,” way before “blue”—sometime around when I wrote “wildflower.” It was the peak of K-drama and C-drama for me; I don’t even remember which specific one inspired this song because I watched so many.
yung kai often draws inspiration from Asian dramas.
Matt Solie
HA: Do you have any favorites?
YK: Obviously When I Fly Towards You, which is a Chinese drama, and then I absolutely love Twenty Five, Twenty One, and Twentieth Century Girl, which are Korean.
HA: Wow, tearjerkers all of them.
YK: Yes, they wrecked me. I know some people who just start crying with all the edits online; I don’t, but I love those videos and spam my friends with them, and they’re all like “Kai, why would you do this?”
HA: Do you see yourself continuing to make this kind of music for the next bit?
YK: I really like writing about longing for love. Whenever I listen to a beat a producer sends me or an instrumental, I always turn out a very nostalgic-sounding, bittersweet kind of song, so I think I’ll stick with it for a bit. I’m working on releasing a full album by the end of the year, actually.
HA: What does it feel like to be Chinese and achieve this level of Internet fame globally? Do you ever feel pressured to represent?
YK: I’ve never felt any pressure, but it really feels great to represent China. I feel like there aren’t many Chinese American or Chinese Canadian artists in the mainstream. My songs are about universal emotions anyway, so everyone can relate.
At only 22 years old, yung kai has a huge career ahead of him.
Matt Solie
HA: Now you’re at the beginning of what looks to be a huge career, are there any bucket list things you’d like to do?
YK: To be honest, I’m already living the dream so when I get asked that, it’s hard because I’ve achieved so much more than I could have ever imagined. That being said, I’d love to make a song with Keshi or Laufey, or even produce for them.
Also, I’m from Vancouver and I’ve been to so many concerts in the Rogers Arena. I’d like to think I’ll play there one day.
HA: Or maybe something completely random, like a cameo in a drama.
YK: Oh, that would be insane actually! I like that. In high school I made films for my French class and I did win “Best French Actor” so watch out!
Published on April 2, 2025