Wiltay is a singer and songwriter from Singapore who is a superstar in his home country and is quickly gaining acclaim in America now that he lives in Los Angeles, California. He recently featured on the cover of "Men's Health" and his latest song called "Fly High" was just released.
Wiltay is only 28-years-old and is already regaled for his album "WTF" which was released in 2014 and named the “Best Pop Album of the Year” at the Hollywood F.A.M.E Awards.
"Fly High" is about embracing the future and letting go of the past, although Wiltay's past is essential to his current life. He has been performing on stage since he was a preteen and many of his songs are directly inspired by past loves and other love experiences.
Wiltay’s real name is Willie Tay, but he prefers to be known by his professional name of “Wiltay, performed” and he recently took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss his career as an entertainer in an exclusive Interview.
Music
Blasting News (BN): What prompted you to enter the field of music and how did you evolve your style?
Wiltay: When I was still in school I performed for a talent contest, and people laughed at how horrifying my voice was. I thought to myself: “If I could make people laugh through music, I wonder if I could make them cry.” I took a year to learn the guitar and attended the talent contest in school the following year and, had performed, many cried.
I knew from that moment that music had to be part of my life in connecting with other people. I was always fascinated by doctors when I was a kid, especially in their abilities to help people resolve their health problems to become better. I decided that I’d become a doctor through music - making people feel better through song!
BN: How did you manage to get your music heard and how did you ride to such fame in Singapore?
Wiltay: I got them heard through digital platforms like iTunes/Spotify. I’m grateful that Singapore has been very supportive of my overseas endeavors. I put all my experiences back in my music and share it back home. The radio stations, TV shows, news and magazine publications have been very keen to share my experience with the people back in Asia. It’s like we’re on this journey around the world together through music.
BN: You now live in the USA, so what major differences have you seen between the music scene here and the one in Singapore?
Wiltay: The USA music scene is large in diversity. I’m in love with the depth of knowledge in different genres of music. It’s like being in a library filled with books, and you can never stop reading and learning more about it.
In Singapore, we’re a fairly new country. Thus a lot of our musical influences are mixed between the east and the west. Our depth in eastern music creates this interesting mix of east and western culture.
Songs
BN: Your latest single "Fly High" is about embracing the future, so what are some of your other songs about?
Wiltay: That’s right! Another song of mine named “Shooting Stars” is about being in the moment, connecting with the love around us and being one with the universe. We should live our lives like shooting stars, bringing light to the things around us during our lifetime and shining as brightly as possible before the end.
BN: What are your next big performances or projects and what are your biggest goals regarding your career?
Wiltay: I’ve some interesting projects in Taiwan and China that I’m about to embark on that’s still confidential. I’m really excited, though, because it’s going to bridge the gap between the East and the West and I’m so glad to see how receptive Hollywood has been. It seems they’re as eager to embark on this journey as much as Asia has been.
There is a collective awareness of connecting the entertainment culture between the East and the West. We will see many emerging artists being aided in this process. The world needs a lot of love. There’s no better time than now for all forms of art to come together in making this happen.
I love life so much, and I love to see people happy. The biggest goal in my career is to make people feel better about themselves through entertainment. I often tear up when I see the people that I love do well in life!