Eric Nam wins prestigious TIME100 Impact Award in Singapore

South Korea-based American singer-songwriter Eric Nam was recently in town.

He was in Singapore to catch the F1 Singapore Grand Prix over the weekend. But he was also here to receive the prestigious TIME100 Impact Award.

 

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The TIME100 Impact Award celebrates and recognises individuals who have made a significant impact on their industries, or the world.

In his acceptance speech, Nam touched on a topic close to his heart — mental health.

“Building a career in entertainment has been anything but easy,” he said.

He shared that earlier on in his career when he reached out to get help for anxiety, panic attacks and forms of depression, he was told that his career may be jeopardised.

But “fast forward to today, and I am receiving a TIME100 Impact Award for being open and honest about something that I believe we can all be open and honest about our mental health”.

Nam previously touched on the topic of mental health in his songs too, like I Wish I Wasn’t Me (2023).

Outside of his professional career, he has been breaking the taboo around mental health. Alongside his brother Brian Nam, they pushed out a mobile application named Mindset, which offers a range of self-care tools and resources.

He also invites other artists to share their personal stories and lessons learned. Some guests who have been on the show include Epik High’s Tablo, KARD’s BM and Jae of Day6.

While Nam has been fronting these large-scale projects, he wants everyone to know that these efforts can also start small.

“We do not all need to create platforms, [or] be musicians, actors, CEOs, or public figures to create impact,” he said.

“Being and embracing our best and most authentic selves—with all of our beauty and our flaws—is where we can begin”.