You might have heard the single, Called it Love by Singaporean R&B singer-songwriter Gen Neo. He has amassed over 320,000 followers on Instagram and cultivated an international fanbase even before his first-ever headline concert in Singapore.

Transitioning from a Seoul-based producer to a solo career, Neo has worked with top K-pop acts such as Super Junior, GOT7, f(x), Amber Liu and Henry Lau. He then dabbled into Mandopop with hits such as 从今以后 and Stop Sugar before releasing songs in English. He has two successful self-produced R&B albums under his belt.

The humble singer-songwriter writes from the heart and draws his inspiration from sounds from the 1990s to the 2000s. At that period, R&B was dominated by big names such as Omarion, Mario, Janet Jackson, TLC and Boyz II Men. So you might get hints of those sounds in his music.

As he is based in Seoul, Singaporeans might not find him familiar. Hence, he recommended them to listen to his viral hit, Called it Love. Neo added “That song represents my current work, on themes such as being sad, romantic, toxic, relationships, and its emotional kind of R&B ballads.”

Neo has recently released his EP Push&Pull. The EP combines tunes which have dynamic highs and lows of romantic relationships, with his distinctive, soulful voice bringing raw emotion and depth to each song. In conjunction with his new EP, Neo returned to Singapore and performed to his fans at Esplanade Annexe Studio on 30 November 2024.

DJ Dee and Lovlaine warmed up the night while Riaan and Dane performed as special guests. Neo performed thirteen tracks and added a special arrangement that attendees were lucky enough to witness. Neo was ready to groove into the night with his seductive moves, and fans were singing along. A female fan was even serenaded on stage! If I were, to sum up the concert in three words, it would be “dark sexy R&B”!

Neo’s future projects are still under wraps however, he shared that he hopes to explore songs in other genres while retaining R&B in his music. Given the chance, Neo would love to work with local rappers Fariz Jabba and Yung Raja. Fingers crossed for this collaboration!

Stay connected to Neo’s social media accounts; Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to see what new music is brewing and his thought process.

The Fifth Parlour would like to thank Gen Neo for the interview and Narratology for coordinating the interview.