ABOUT

Serene Koong 龚芝怡 is a Mandarin-English singer, songwriter and producer from Singapore who has been acclaimed in the music industry with 9 major career awards, including the Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards, Singapore Hit Awards, and most recently, the 2021 Asian Academy Creative Awards.

She entered the scene with the ballad “明知我爱你” and her debut album received 5 nominations at the Singapore Hit Awards, a notable achievement for a newcomer.

Driven by her dedication to her craft and the desire to remain authentic as an artist, she subsequently stepped up to the role of producer for her works in 2013 and rose to prominence with her break out hit “幸福不难”, (Theme Song for "志在四方 The Dream Makers") which remains one of television's most memorable theme songs. 

ARTISTRY

Music has to come from a place within us that is honest and real. Her artistry is best described by the title of her sold out 2022 concert “亲爱的你 Letters To You” as she describes her music and songwriting as a journey where journals of love, life and relationships take shape in every song she has written, each like a personal letter to her listeners.

This is evident in works such as “当世界只剩下我一个人” and “When It Leads Me Back To You”. Her music is compelling and raw, unafraid to express her life experiences and emotions. Her works exude vulnerability and hope; creating a musical space in which her fans can relate with their own stories.

Over the years, she has forged her identity as a female singer, songwriter and producer. Her works have been featured on television and film and have received nods at prestigious award ceremonies both in Singapore and in the region. Most recently, she was awared the National Winner - Best Theme Song at the “2021 Asian Academy Creative Awards”.

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THE BIG LEAP TO FILM

Serene wrote, performed and produced the theme song 心肝 ("Precious") for Kelvin Tong's film in the SG 50 Anthology "7 Letters", a film by seven award winning Singaporean film makers (Boo Junfeng, Eric Khoo, K Rajagopal, Jack Neo, Tan Pin Pin, Royston Tan and Kelvin Tong) to celebrate Singapore's Golden Jubilee. She joined the company of prolific Singaporean musicians who have had their work featured in "7 Letters", including Golden Horse Award winner Ricky Ho as well as Dick Lee's composition "Bunga Sayang". The acclaimed SG50 anthology made its international debut at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival.

REGIONAL STAGE

Backed by the success of "The Dream Makers" and its theme song (幸福不难), Serene was invited to work with the sequel to this award winning drama series. She wrote, performed and produced the Ending Theme Song "All Alone" (当世界只剩下我一个人）for "The Dream Makers 2" which won big at the 2016 Star Awards including "Best Drama Series". 

The song held the year to date record for the longest chart history on the "Chinese Golden Charts (全球流行音乐金榜）" and Serene was amongst the three Singaporean artists whose works charted on the Global Chinese Golden Chart Top 20 songs of (Q1 - 2 of 2016), next to Stefanie Sun and JJ Lin. Serene received two awards at the Global Chinese Golden Chart Award Ceremony which was held at Beijing’s LeSports Centre and performed her winning work《当世界只剩下我一个人》at the ceremony which featured performing artistes from around the region including MayDay, LION狮子合唱团，William Wei, PowerStation, Della Ding Dang, Jacky Xue, and Angela Zhang. 

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NURTURING YOUNG GENERATION ARTISTS

Serene has played an active role in nurturing younger artists in recent years. She was Mentor (歌唱导师）to the Top 20 finalists on MediaCorp’s highly televised Singing Competition “SPOP Sing!”, alongside well-known music veterans Billy Koh and Lee Shih Shiong (judges), Nathan Hartono, Joanna Dong and Boon Hui Loo (Ambassadors) , Jim Lim (Music Director) and other prominent Singaporean artists and producers in the search for the next homegrown talent.

She mentored all 20 contestants through three stages of the competition up to the Grand Finals. A total of 1.7 million viewers tuned in to the competition on Mediacorp’s free-to-air Channel 8 since it first aired on 9 August 2018.

Passionate about continuing her mentoring work for new generation musicians, Serene has also served as ambassador, guest speaker and judge on the nationwide mandarin-pop songwriting festival SG:SW I Write The Songs. 

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WORKING WITH OTHER ARTISTS

 Artists who have recorded and performed Serene’s works include Valen Hsu 许如云 and Janice Vidal. She has also worked on the post production team for the album for Jam Hsiao’s band - LION 狮子合唱团 titled “Replay”.

She remains driven by her passion for creating impactful “Made in Singapore” music. 

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