Khalil Fong, born July 14, 1983, is a soul singer-songwriter signed to the Warner Music label in Hong Kong.

Biography

Fong was born in Hawaii and his family moved to Shanghai when he was 6. His father, Les Fong (an American-born Chinese from San Francisco, California), wanted Khalil to learn more about Chinese culture. Six years later, they moved to Guangzhou and lived there for about 2 years. Afterwards, they moved to Hong Kong. When he was 16, he sent demos, which he had written, to music producers. Four years later, Warner Music Hong Kong finally recruited him as their producer. Khalil is a Bahá'í. His first language is English and he can speak Mandarin, Shanghainese, Hawaiian Pidgin English, and Cantonese.

Career

Khalil released his first album Soul Boy on September 18, 2005. He has won a number of awards, including a silver award for New Male Artist at Commercial Radio. He released his second album "This Love" in December 2006. It featured one of his more popular song Love Love Love. Love Love Love wasn't an immediate hit, though. It turned out to be a sleeper hit, only gaining recognition after his third album Wonderland was launched. Wonderland's music style marked a leave from his previous albums. It featured funkier tunes rather than the slower ballads of his previous albums. Khalil's fourth album Orange Moon was released in December 2008. It featured slower, more conventional love ballads. In an interview Khalil said that this album (Orange Moon) was meant to be a more romantic album, with most of the songs love themed. Khalil released a cover album Timeless in August 2009. It featured songs by various singers which, according to him, influenced his music. Among the songs are You are the Sunshine of My Life by his childhood idol Stevie Wonder and Bad by the late Michael Jackson. Although based in Hong Kong, his career and popularity was first grown in Taiwan. This is because his songs are sung in Mandarin rather than Cantonese. When asked, Khalil explained that Mandarin was his second language, next to English, and that he could express himself better in Mandarin rather than Cantonese.