Ken Lim

Ken Lim (born 1964) is an album producer, composer, publisher, artist manager, concert promoter and a communications strategist from Singapore. He came under the spotlight in 2004 as a chief judge of the Singapore Idol[1] series. His remarks and deadpan expressions invariably drew attention with his comments.

Ken has appeared in numerous magazine covers and press articles over the years. He is a respected and well-known all-rounder entertainment icon in the Singapore music industry. Known to be honest and direct with his comments, he excels not only in one but in many areas of the music and entertainment industry. He is famous for being very particular on the delivery of his task, he has had more than two decades of significant contribution with regards to the development of Singapore's pop culture.

He currently runs one of Singapore's most established record companies, Hype Records,[2] a set-up that does PR & Campaign conceptualization, Concert Promotions, Artiste & Music Promotions across Asia Pacific region, Record Production, Recording Facilities, Artiste Management, Music Publishing, TV & film productions.

Reputed to be a godfather to the local music and entertainment industry since the 80s, Ken represented Singapore in numerous song festivals and competition since he was 16. Amongst them, Asia Song Contest, Seoul Song Festival, World Popular Song Festival.

It is known that during the first Asian Idol competition in Jakarta, Indonesia, Ken being the last judge, predicted the unlikely victory of Hady Mirza while the other judges were praising other contestants to win. In another occasion, during the audition rounds of the third season of Singapore Idol, Ken despite opposition from the other judges, accurately foretold that one of the contestants, Sylvia, would be amongst the top 10 out of the thousands of participants that auditioned.

Ken is married to Judy Hsu, a Taiwanese Canadian and Singaporean PR who is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bank Asia & Singapore. They met while she was a successful recording artiste more than 34 years ago. They have two young boys, Jax, and Kaz attending Anglo Chinese School.

Timeline of achievements

  • 1977 – Started career at the young age of 13 when he was awarded a scholarship from The Yamaha School of Music. Participated actively in concerts and performances all over Asia;[3]
  • 1978 – An engineer and record producer at EMI Recording Studios while still attending school
  • 1978 – Started to produce recording artiste like Sudirman, Tracy Huang, Sarah Chang, et cetera
  • 1981 – Awarded 'The Most Outstanding Composition Award' at the Asia Popular Song Festival at the age of 17;
  • 1984 – Represented Singapore at the Seoul Song Festival held in Korea with composition 'I Live in the past';
  • 1985 – Awarded the 'Most Outstanding Television Theme Song' for 2 consecutive years;
  • 1987 – Composition featured in Miss Universe International Pageant opening segment hosted by Singapore;
  • 1991 – Commissioned to produce the official theme songs for the XI Asian Games in Beijing;
  • 1991 – Promoted Hideki Saijo's Concert
  • 1992 – Promoted Rollins Band Concert
  • 1993 – Commissioned to produce XVII Sea Games in Singapore;
  • 1994 – Released self-debut album entitled 'Empyrean' under the EMI International label. Was not successful;
  • 1995 – Wrote songs for Sandy Lam, Stella Chang, Power Station, Linda Lan, et cetera
  • 1995 – Secured a record-breaking recording contract for Stella Chang Chin Fang with EMI International;
  • 1996 – Produced Fann Wong's debut album, Fanntasy, which spearheaded her entry into regional Asian showbiz;
  • 1998 – Commissioned by the Television Corporation of Singapore to write, produce & brand its channel with the theme 'Your World at Home on 5';
  • 1999 – Executive Producer and wrote the National Song 'Together'. The MV was directed by Tsui Hark
  • 2000 – Executive Producer for the TV series 'Chemistry'
  • 1999 – Composed the movie soundtrack for the Hong Kong films The Truth About Jane and Sam and When I Fall in Love... with Both, each starring Fann Wong.[4] and won Best Movie Theme Song at Compass.[5]
  • 1999 – Wrote the National Song 'Together'
  • 2000 – Produced Singapore's millennium song Moments of Magic, starring Fann Wong, Tanya Chua and Elsa Lin.
  • 2001 – Commissioned by Ministry of Information and the Arts to produce the new version of the National Anthem of Singapore, 'Majulah Singapura'[6]
  • 2001 – Wrote 'The 'V’ in you' (performed by Dreamz FM, a local pop group), to commemorate the international year of volunteers'’ (Was the first Asian composition to be presented and performed at the United Nations Assembly in New York. This invitation was both Singapore's and Asia's first cultural presence at the United Nations);
  • 2001 – Promoted Buena Vista Social Club's Concert
  • 2002 – Partnered Tsui Hark, Hong Kong's top film director, and produced the world's first cyber recording artistes, AM FM[7] and won the Siggraph awards in New Orleans.
  • 2002 – Promoted F4's Concert
  • 2003 – Consultant producer – 'True Hearts Charity Show' for Community Chest.
  • 2004 – Became a Judge of Singapore Idol[8]
  • 2004 – Promoted Kazumasa Oda's Concert
  • 2004 – Promoted Faye Wong's Concert
  • 2004 – Consultant producer – 2nd 'True Hearts Charity Show' for Community Chest.
  • 2005 – Executive Producer for the TV Series 'Shooting Star"
  • 2005 – Appointed Starhub's Ambassador
  • 2005 – Produced Taufik and Olinda's albums
  • 2005 – Produced the National Song "Reach out for the Skies"
  • 2005 – Named "Music Producer & Extraordinaire " in the Singapore Book of Records 2005
  • 2006 – Returned as judge for Singapore Idol season 2
  • 2007 – Promoted Olivia Newton-John's concert
  • 2007 – Was one of 2 primary judges alongside Dick Lee for reality show "Live The Dream"
  • 2007 – Became a Judge of Asian Idol, representing Singapore.
  • 2008 – Promoted Lee Hom's Concert
  • 2008 – Promoted Jay Chou and Lee Hom's concerts
  • 2009 – Appointed 7–11 Spokesperson
  • 2009 – Promoted Eason Chan's Concert
  • 2009 – Consultant producer – 3rd'True Hearts Charity Show' for Community Chest
  • 2009 – Promoted Grasshopper's Concert
  • 2009 – Returned as chief judge for Singapore Idol Season 3 & wrote the winning song 'Touched by an angel".
  • 2010 – Promoted first ever public concert at Resort World with US artiste "Boys Likes Girls"
  • 2010 – Executive Producer and songwriter of Everyone – 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games theme song performed by Jody Williams, Jessica Mauboy, Tabitha Nauser, Steve Appleton (musician) and Sean Kingston.
  • 2010 – Promoted Eason Chan's Duo Concert
  • 2010 – Promoted Rainie Yang's 1st Concert in Singapore
  • 2010 – Promoted Anzenchitai's Concert in Singapore
  • 2010 – Promoted Fong Fei Fei's Concert in Singapore
  • 2010 – Promoted Grasshopper's Concert in Singapore
  • 2011 – Promoted 2 P.M's Concert in Singapore
  • 2011 – Promoted The Cranberries' concert in Singapore
  • 2011 – Promoted B.O.B's Concert in Singapore
  • 2011 – Promoted Good Charlotte's Concert in Singapore
  • 2011 – Music Changes Life Event
  • 2011 – Consultant producer – 'True Hearts Youth Charity Show' for Community Chest.
  • 2012 – Promoted Amei's Concert in Singapore
  • 2012 – Promoted LeeHom's Concert in Singapore
  • 2013 – Creator and Judge of The Final 1 (Season 1)
  • 2013 – Promoted Amei's Concert in Singapore
  • 2013 – Promoted Adam Lambert's concert in Singapore
  • 2014 – Promoted Il Divo's Concert in Singapore
  • 2014 – Promoted Siti Nurhaliza's Concerti n Singapore
  • 2015 – Promoted Anuar Zain's Concert in Singapore
  • 2015 – Executive Producer and producer for Let's Think About It Season 1 (Social Cohesion/Manpower Concerns/Future as a Global City)
  • 2015 – Executive Producer, Producer & Judge for The Final 1 (Season 2)
  • 2015 – Executive Producer and producer for Let's Think About It Season 2 (Retirement/Population/Education)
  • 2016 – Promoted Zhang Qing Fang's Concert in Singapore
  • 2016 – Promoted Il Divo's Concert in Singapore
  • 2016 – Executive Producer and producer for Let's Think About It Season 3 (SkillsFuture)
  • 2016 - Executive Producer and producer for Let's Think About It Season 4 (Multiculturalism)
  • 2017 - Executive Producer and producer for Let's Think About It Season 5 (Committee on Future Economy)
  • 2017 - Executive Producer and producer for Let's Think About It Season 6 (Preschool Education)
  • 2018 - Produced Lee Kuan Yew Bilingual Fund Languages Campaign
  • 2018 - Promoted Boyce Avenue's Concert in Singapore
  • 2018 - Promoted Halsey's Concert in Singapore

Grooming of local talents

Discovered and developed numerous talents in the likes of Stella Chang Chin Fang, Rui En, Jeanette Aw, Taufik Batisah etc. & also responsible for exporting many local artistes Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and China.

References

  1. ↑ Mediacorp Forum Archived 22 April 2007 at Archive.is
  2. ↑ Hype Records
  3. ↑ Singapore Entrepreneurs Archived 24 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ The Truth About Jane and Sam
  5. ↑ The Truth About Jane and Sam
  6. ↑ Majulah Singapura#Arrangements and recordings
  7. ↑ AM/FM Bio Archived 5 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ Singapore Idol
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