Digital Cover: Kire on coming out tops in a tricky industry

With street smarts, shrewd social skills, singing ability, and star power, Kire Yung has overcome a tough childhood and a tricky industry to come out tops. He tells David Ho about his journey

Kire is a prime example of making it your own way at your own time. These days, the Taiwanese-American R&B star is one to watch out for. He has amassed over half a million followers on Instagram alone, and his fanbase spans the globe, as evident from his concerts across Asia, the U.S., Australia, and Europe.

Kire, whose first name is Erik, tells us about his distinctive stage name. “The name Kire is Erik flipped backwards, because I’m a Gemini!” he half-jokingly explains, before continuing in a more serious tone. “But I created this identity to sort of protect myself in this world and face what I need to face. Yet, this identity I’ve created is very authentic too. It’s a whole other side of me that I thought the world might like.”

It’s been four years since his first single under the Kire name, “Beautiful”. In that time, he has released two albums, Ikarus in 2022 and Eros in 2024. One of his biggest breakthroughs to date is when he opened for K-pop boyband Stray Kids on the final day of the British Summer Time Hyde Park Music Festival in London last year.

The name change seems to have changed his fortunes for the better, and he wouldn’t be the first to find success with a catchier name—just think of music legends from Eminem and Tina Turner to Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga. Kire shows himself to be a true child of the Internet by revealing that social media was a big consideration for his name change. It seems having an alter ego helps with letting loose on the Internet and on stage.

“Take, for example, the way I do social media. I don’t think I have a filter when it comes to what I want to say. There are a lot of artists that are signed to a company, and maybe they feel like there are things that they can’t say or should say. When you have that kind of assumption, you are already blocking yourself from being your true self,” he says.

A look at Kire’s Instagram shows the star living his best life, from thirst traps and pole dancing routines to saucy fit checks and funny skits (with one even seeing him nip Tyson Yoshi in the nipples!). It’s easy to see how he wins over fans online with his colourful digital presence, a far cry from the carefully curated and purposefully bland pages of some of his more managed peers.

But he is not just peacocking on there, as Kire is pretty tuned in to how important social media is in growing a music artist’s career today, especially for an independent act like himself. In fact, he is rather shrewd with how he tackles social media and creates content. “You have to find what people want but have not yet seen. There’s a formula called MAYA, which stands for ‘most advanced, yet acceptable’. That’s what a lot of brands are trying to do, which is not go too far, but far enough to wow people,” he explains.

For two years, Kire set himself the goal of posting content every day, even if the numbers were not good or the algorithm was against him. “But I still kept on doing it because I wanted to create a habit of creating content,” he says. “People’s attention spans have gotten so much shorter. I analysed the way I use social media and the things I like to watch, and I just incorporated that with my authenticity to connect with others. I think I sort of became an escape for people to have some fun. But it’s also fun for me; that’s why I do it.”

“I studied a lot about short-form content, like how to capture their attention in the first three seconds and then after five seconds what you have to do, what kind of text you need to type, how do you get them to share, and so on. All my videos are basically between 15 to 30 seconds, and in that time, I need to tell you everything I want to tell you. But it has to be fun, exciting, and make someone want to share it to get eyeballs outside your fan base, right? So that’s how, like, within a year, I grew my Instagram in one year.”

Kire is aware that just releasing music alone is not going to cut it. “As an artist these days, it’s hard to be the five percent, the ones that already made it. There are a hundred thousand songs on Spotify every day. How do you get that one song that pops out? You have to find ways to put it together uniquely, and the way to do that is by finding that quirkiness in yourself and incorporating that into your art,” he says. “If you see Picasso, he’s the only one that’s doing that kind of art. As a musician, you have to find your niche, that special art in you that you want to put out that no one has seen, so it’s the most advanced yet acceptable MAYA formula.”

Both authenticity and originality are important to Kire. “I think everyone’s doing pretty much the same thing. It’s even harder these days to build something original. That goes for everybody, not just artists, but also brands, you know, clothes, and the like. Even with movies, we’re just doing sequels or prequels. But to be that ‘five percent’, you have to be original, to be that zero to one,” says Kire.

Kire also encourages his followers to strive for authenticity in their lives. “I think everybody should embrace their own quirkiness and the things they like, like a lot of my fans. One of my fans told me that her family doesn’t know that she’s been twerking for so many years, and she even went to competitions and placed top eight. Yet, her family still doesn’t know, and she never posts any videos on her social media. I’m like, you have to get on stage right now! And she got on stage, and I think she was really good!”

Kire’s own stage performances are known for being as scintillating as his brand of sensual R&B, sung in a mix of Mandarin and English. He has given some sexy fan service on stage to lucky audience members, tying them up and grinding on them as he sings—but not before they sign a consent form.

“Maybe some people would say, the way he performs is a little bit weird or like a little bit too sexual. But you know, I’m serving a small community that needs this. They need someone to go out there first and be the first one out there to fight the battle, so they can be themselves,” he explains.

It’s little wonder that his musical influencers are pioneers like Elvis, Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, and even Kanye West. “I want everybody to be able to embrace what they love and what they want to do. Ultimately, I think that one of my goals as an artist is to inspire other people.”

“We’re all just trying to reach for the sun and see how far we can go. We don’t want to be ‘normal’!”

CREDITS

Photographer: Buffacow
Photography assistant: Sing
Videographer: Jessica Chan
Stylist: Kellie Chan
Styling assistant: Kasey Ho
Hair and make-up: Ayano
Watch: Hublot
Wardrobe: Acne Studios, Our Legacy, Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, Emporio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Bottega Veneta

Also see: Inside Cover: Amy Lo on finding her place and staying creative