South Korean singer-songwriter Shaun talks favourite anime songs and Singapore delicacies

For Korean artists who have played in Singapore, a common food on their wish list would be chilli crab.

But for Kim Yun-ho, who’s more commonly known as Shaun, there’s another type of crab he’d like to try — butter crab.

The 33-year-old singer-songwriter was previously in Singapore to play at the Sundown Festival, held at the Pasir Panjang Power Station. Prior to his show, he also tried other delicacies like the Hainanese Chicken Rice.

“What other dishes do you recommend that I should try?”, he spontaneously asked during a closed-door press session, held a day after his show.

I was racking my brain to think of dishes that best represented our country as a food haven. So I suggested that he try dishes like Char Kway Teow and Laksa.

It’s his first time in Singapore after ten years, so he’s taking recommendations seriously.

He told the crowd at the festival that Singapore’s a “beautiful city, (with) beautiful people”. But we got him to summarise the city-state in three words.

Shaun took a long pause and pondered hard about how he’d describe Singapore. Seemingly satisfied with his response, he said that Singapore is “organised, harmonious and intelligent”.

He’s best known for his breakout song Way Back Home (2018). But for Shaun, he’s “someone who focuses on the process rather than the result”.

“I am basically a studio rat,” he confessed.

And we can’t help but get curious about what songs are on repeat on his playlist, given that most of his time is spent in the music studio.

Without hesitation, he immediately pulled out his Spotify app on his phone, enthusiastically scrolling through his playlists. And he also played some of his favourites.

“I like animation (anime) opening songs, like those from (Japanese music duo) Yoasobi”, he said.

But other “animes like Oshi no Ko were too popular,” he added. So he’s selective on the titles to watch.

Apart from the songs from anime series, “I also tune in to EDM (electronic dance music) and songs that are trending currently”, he shared. “The title of one of my favourite playlists on Spotify is Brain Food, and you should check it out”.

Reflecting on his career thus far, Shaun said: “I am thankful for all the support from all the people out here and from fans from Singapore. I really wanted to come one day, and it might be a little late, but having the opportunity to perform here was amazing”.

He also promised to work hard, to continue pushing out good music and shows.