Early life and education
Khalil Fong was born on 14 July 1983 inCareer
Early beginnings: Before being a musician
When Fong was 12, the family moved to Guangzhou and he would frequently accompany his father to sing at different bars. When he was 14, after moving to Hong Kong, he started writing over 100 tunes for his mother's English language education company, forming part of the company's audio learning resources. He started to self learn to play guitar when he was 15 and piano when he was 18, and subsequently sent many demos to different record companies at the age of 17. However due to his relatively young age and changes in the management of the recording company,2005–2008: ''Soulboy'', ''This Love'', ''Wonderland'', and ''Orange Moon''
In 2005, Fong finally signed a recording contract with Warner Records. He then debuted with the release of his first album, ''Soulboy''. ''Soulboy'' is largely a soul and R&B album, which genres were rare in the Chinese music industry then. The album won him several awards such as IFPI Hong Kong's 2005 Top 3 Best Selling Male Local Newcomers and CRHK's Chik Chak New Male Singer Silver award in 2006. In 2006, Fong released '' This Love'' album, which continued to receive positive reviews from the media. As with ''Soulboy'', this album received awards for being one of the top 10 selling Mandarin albums for the year, and as well as its titular track, Popular Mandarin Song awards from 2007 Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards and 2006 Metro Radio Music Awards. In 2007, Fong held his first concert, "This Love Live 2007" at Hong Kong Arts Centre from 1–3 February, a live album of the performance was released on 23 August. On 28 December, Fong released his third album, ''Wonderland'', which was the first album to be released in Taiwan as well. With love and environmental protection as its theme, the blue coloured album cover had two holes on the sides of the ears of Fong's portrait printed on it. The blue colour would represent Earth while the holes represented the ozone layer, bringing awareness to the holes in the ozone layer. Record label Warner Music Hong Kong specially chose to radio2009–2012: ''Timeless'', ''15'', and ''Back to Wonderland''
In 2009, Fong released his fifth studio album and first cover album '' Timeless'' on 11 August, it contained songs in Mandarin and English that had inspired him to pursue music. In support of the album, Fong held concerts in 2009 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 27–29 August, a live album of his performance was released on 27 November. For his work on this album, Fong received his second Golden Melody Award nomination. In 2010, Fong had a cameo appearance in Love in Disguise, directed and written by Fong's good friend Wang Leehom. Same year, Fong was hospitalized multiple times due to pneumothorax. In February 2011, Fong made his debut at the CMG New Year's Gala, performing "This Love" with Jam Hsiao and Li Jian. On 21 April, he released his sixth studio album '' 15'', the title was to commemorate the age when he first learned the guitar. ''15'' received mixed reviews for Fong's attempt to integrate blues, rock, soul, and R&B as well as the shift toward more plainspoken lyrics; likely anticipating the reaction, Fong stated this was "a challenge for me in terms of music and the stories or thoughts I want to share with everyone, and it will also be a challenge for the audience." Fong won Best R&B/Soul Artist at the 12th Chinese Music Media Award for his work on this album. From August 2011 to December 2012, Fong embarked on his first concert tour "15方大同Khalil Fong" with 15 stops spanning Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, and Macau. The live album of the Hong Kong concert was released on 23 December 2011. On 12 December 2012, Fong released his seventh studio album '' Back to Wonderland'', a callback to his third studio album ''Wonderland''. The album was a "collage of Fong's past music elements", returning to his earlier R&B and soul music styles and incorporating the experiments in his last three albums.2013–2017: ''Dangerous World'' and ''Journey to the West''
In 2013, Fong's contract with Warner Records ended in July and he signed with Gold Typhoon in August. In November, Fong embarked on his second concert tour "Soulboy Lights Up"; the stage design concept was specifically inspired by the three characters of his name: "" for the square-shaped stage, "" for the large-scaled musical feast, and "" for the use triangular iron frames. The concert tour began in Hong Kong on 30 November to 2 December 2013 and continued through most of 2014. In 2014, Fong released his eighth studio album '' Dangerous World'', it earned him his third Golden Melody Awards nomination. In 2016, Fong launched the music label FU MUSIC () on 28 April. Fong released his ninth studio album ''Journey to the West'' on 28 September; the album contained two discs, one gold and one black: the style of the black disc is more modern and contemporary while the style of the "gold disc" is more classic. For this album, Fong received four nominations from Golden Melody Awards, bringing up his total to seven, and won his first Golden Melody Award for Best Male Artist. In 2017, Fong stepped back from making music due to health concerns. Same year, he was named Billboard Radio China’s artist of the year.2018–2024: Declining health, ''Emi The Dream Catcher #1'', ''Home Sweet Home'', and ''The Dreamer''
In 2018, Fong released three bilingual children's graphic novels, ''The Secret of the Golden Bricks'', ''Saving Snowy'' and ''The Tree of Life,'' under the series title ''Emi The Dream Catcher''. , about a girl who goes on adventures with whimsical creatures in her dreams. On 13 July, he released the extended play ''Emi The Dream Catcher #1''. In 2020, he released another three, ''The Champion Spirit ,Mr Inspiration and The Master of Darkness''. All books were written by Fong and he oversaw their art direction and put out accompanying theme songs for each book. Writing the children's graphic novels are Fong's imaginative stories which honours a promise he made to his mother more than 10 years ago, that he would come up with a new method to convey the same principles and concepts (by promoting 3Q - Intelligence Quotient, Emotional Quotient and Virtue Quotient) his mother presented in her previous children's education programme before helping him as his business manager. Fong hoped that the protagonist, Emi would inspire the young readers to develop empathy, curiosity, imagination as well as care and service for the community, and explore their innate instincts and potentials, through her nature of truth, kindness and courage in her adventures. “I think these stories are a reminder to myself and others of the things we should be mindful of, to create a better society for future generations,” he said in an interview at the time. Throughout 2018–2019, Fong continued releasing singles such as "Dear Ocean" featuring Diana Wang, "Fake Monk", and "White Hair". The latter won Fong Best Male Singer of the Year and Golden Song of the Year at the Global Chinese Pop Chart Awards (华人歌曲音乐盛典). In 2020, Fong released the extended play ''Home Sweet Home'' on 19 June, which included the song "Noodles" that won Fong his second Golden Melody Awards for Best Single Producer. In 2021, Fong produced the science fiction romance ''Guidance'', directed by Neysan Sobhani. In 2024, Fong posted on his Weibo account that he had been "recovering from health issues" and throughout the journey, "found numerous moments of inspiration that have resulted in a new album". On 18 October, Fong released his tenth album ''The Dreamer,'' which he literally dubbed as a "sick" one because most songs were produced and arranged at his dining table at home with a handheld microphone during various stages of his illness. The album was deemed as “memoirs of this journey.” It was both a challenge and a relief from the rather tedious circumstance he was in then. However, through making the album, he encouraged his listeners not to forget how to be dreamers despite being faced with challenges in life. “I wanted to turn my weakness into strength and create an album that I can be proud of,” Fong said.Personal life
Fong was a member of theIllness and death
Fong was reportedly diagnosed with pneumothorax since 2010, and struggled with it over the years. Fong died peacefully on 21 February 2025, at the age of 41 from an unspecified illness that affected him over the previous five years. A private funeral had been held and he was cremated and ashes scattered in Dali on 1 March 2025. His label FU MUSIC announced his death on 1 March 2025 through Facebook and Weibo. Fong left behind words of inspiration as follows for fans to embrace life’s challenges and hold on to their dreams. “Time waits for no one. As we age, we come to understand more deeply the duality of time – its reality and its illusion. Life presents us with countless twists and challenges, yet I believe one of our goals should be to navigate its path with grace and dignity,” Fong wrote. “At this particular moment in my life, where everything seems to stand still, I am granted ample time to reflect on the past, contemplate the present with sincerity, and dream of the future. “The name ''The Dreamer'' symbolizes that even in the face of illness and life’s many trials, I remain here, filled with creative vision and boundless dreams,” he added, referring to his latest 10-track album, which carried a similar message. “May you, in the days to come, continue to hold fast to your dreams, persevere in your efforts, grow, evolve and fully realize your potential at every stage of life.”Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Extended plays
Filmography
Television series
* CRHK ''Love Park'' ()Film
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
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