Using his song for TikTok videos

How he made his song half of my heart go viral

His hit song is inspired on his first love

On his musical theatre background

His beginnings as a songwriter

He used to make music to become famous

Home-grown singer and songwriter Josh Makazo tells us about his breakout year in 2023.

Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio.

In this ninth episode of Music Lab, ST's music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts home-grown singer, songwriter, and producer Josh Makazo.

A rising name in the home-grown music scene, he is one of the most popular artists on TikTok in Singapore in 2023.

While he was still serving national service, he released his song - half of my heart - which went viral on TikTok and has since racked up over 5.3 million views.

Makazo discusses how his strategy of targeting the fanbase of artistes that he was inspired by, such as Korean-Australian singer DPR Ian, helped his music blow up on TikTok. The two versions of the song that he released on Spotify have also clocked over 6 million streams in all. 

In November, Makazo, 20, released his debut album, Gradient, and it has already gained over 10 million streams across various platforms.

In this episode of Music Lab, he sings a live rendition of half of my heart, which is also in his new album.

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:59 K-pop fans are using his song to soundtrack their TikTok videos

5:42 How he made his song half of my heart go viral

8:20 His hit song inspired by his first love

14:01 On his musical theatre background and acting in hit musical The Sound Of Music

16:47 His beginnings as a songwriter

21:17 How he used to make music to become famous

Listen to Josh's live performance here: https://str.sg/iYCk

Discover Singaporean artiste Josh Makazo at:

YouTube: https://str.sg/iY96

Spotify: https://str.sg/iY9u

Instagram: https://str.sg/iY9L

Produced by: Eddino Abdul Hadi (dinohadi@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim,  Eden Soh & Amirul Karim

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim

Follow Music Lab Podcast episodes here every month:

Channel: https://str.sg/w9TX

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/w9TB

Spotify: https://str.sg/w9T6

SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read Eddino Hadi's articles: https://str.sg/wFVa

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Discover more ST podcast channels:

COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE

In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt

Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7

Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN

Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf

Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m

ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE

#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad

Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX

Discover ST Podcasts: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

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Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

---

Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts!

#musiclab

Home-grown singer and songwriter Josh Makazo tells us about his breakout year in 2023.
Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio.
In this ninth episode of Music Lab, ST's music correspondent Eddino Abdul Hadi hosts home-grown singer, songwriter, and producer Josh Makazo.
A rising name in the home-grown music scene, he is one of the most popular artists on TikTok in Singapore in 2023.
While he was still serving national service, he released his song - half of my heart - which went viral on TikTok and has since racked up over 5.3 million views.
Makazo discusses how his strategy of targeting the fanbase of artistes that he was inspired by, such as Korean-Australian singer DPR Ian, helped his music blow up on TikTok. The two versions of the song that he released on Spotify have also clocked over 6 million streams in all. 
In November, Makazo, 20, released his debut album, Gradient, and it has already gained over 10 million streams across various platforms.
In this episode of Music Lab, he sings a live rendition of half of my heart, which is also in his new album.
Highlights (click/tap above):
3:59 K-pop fans are using his song to soundtrack their TikTok videos
5:42 How he made his song half of my heart go viral
8:20 His hit song inspired by his first love
14:01 On his musical theatre background and acting in hit musical The Sound Of Music
16:47 His beginnings as a songwriter
21:17 How he used to make music to become famous
Listen to Josh's live performance here: <a href="https://str.sg/iYCk">https://str.sg/iYCk</a>
Discover Singaporean artiste Josh Makazo at:
YouTube: <a href="https://str.sg/iY96">https://str.sg/iY96</a>
Spotify: <a href="https://str.sg/iY9u">https://str.sg/iY9u</a>
Instagram: <a href="https://str.sg/iY9L">https://str.sg/iY9L</a>
Produced by: Eddino Abdul Hadi (<a href="mailto:dinohadi@sph.com.sg">dinohadi@sph.com.sg</a>), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim,  Eden Soh &amp; Amirul Karim
Edited by: Hadyu Rahim
Follow Music Lab Podcast episodes here every month:
Channel: <a href="https://str.sg/w9TX" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/w9TX&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw17HIPHFBLovwnbjnl2Sc9R">https://str.sg/w9TX</a>
Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://str.sg/w9TB" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/w9TB&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2llCcypwJtZi7mnK05X036">https://str.sg/w9TB</a>
Spotify: <a href="https://str.sg/w9T6" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/w9T6&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2VX9BkVZFzxCSz5rtVld2K">https://str.sg/w9T6</a>
SPH Awedio app:<a href="https://www.awedio.sg/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.awedio.sg/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2zrWLTUep5bQeUwmNdGEc7"> https://www.awedio.sg/</a>
Website: <a href="http://str.sg/stpodcasts" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://str.sg/stpodcasts&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1j7vBPhanT0Rx3_Bbcb_sH">http://str.sg/stpodcasts</a>
Feedback to: <a href="mailto:podcast@sph.com.sg">podcast@sph.com.sg</a>
Read Eddino Hadi's articles: <a href="https://str.sg/wFVa" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/wFVa&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2s_vGmeiZpGVF0Jm7PlK3O">https://str.sg/wFVa</a>
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
COE Watch: <a href="https://str.sg/iTtE">https://str.sg/iTtE</a>
In Your Opinion: <a href="https://str.sg/w7Qt" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/w7Qt&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3I-_17jS97sPws_TGqZ0kS">https://str.sg/w7Qt</a>
Asian Insider: <a href="https://str.sg/JWa7" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/JWa7&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ifMNDmqAroq8Co04zL4rQ">https://str.sg/JWa7</a>
Health Check: <a href="https://str.sg/JWaN" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/JWaN&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3nnpH6H9Nq1W1EnsOokofR">https://str.sg/JWaN</a>
Green Pulse: <a href="https://str.sg/JWaf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/JWaf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2hwsncDahFoz7J_Qf_ZZHd">https://str.sg/JWaf</a>
Your Money &amp; Career: <a href="https://str.sg/wB2m" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/wB2m&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939126000&amp;usg=AOvVaw20gAWS952JqKQd_pqrgUga">https://str.sg/wB2m</a>
ST Sports Talk: <a href="https://str.sg/JWRE" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/JWRE&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939127000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1t_7H3DBXq3jTHJ5ZdZx03">https://str.sg/JWRE</a>
#PopVultures: <a href="https://str.sg/JWad" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/JWad&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939127000&amp;usg=AOvVaw20O4TVQNpr8Xu4U_P_k0zp">https://str.sg/JWad</a>
Music Lab: <a href="https://str.sg/w9TX" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/w9TX&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939127000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3lmPS6dLTX6cn0xcmoM7Me">https://str.sg/w9TX</a>
Discover ST Podcasts: <a href="http://str.sg/stpodcasts" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://str.sg/stpodcasts&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939127000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3NuQM-shK_V4ss-YXFVbmH">http://str.sg/stpodcasts</a>
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): <a href="https://str.sg/i44T">https://str.sg/i44T</a>
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): <a href="https://str.sg/wuZ2" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/wuZ2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939127000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3LdENm9ylMv_LgnX-HiaG9">https://str.sg/wuZ2</a>
Invisible Asia (9 eps): <a href="https://str.sg/wuZn" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/wuZn&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939127000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1zRBoo5u8f2HAk7FlEALQp">https://str.sg/wuZn</a>
Stop Scams (10 eps): <a href="https://str.sg/wuZB" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/wuZB&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939127000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Zq1KamQUI3YyWnB4801f8">https://str.sg/wuZB</a>
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): <a href="https://str.sg/wuJa" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://str.sg/wuJa&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1679465939127000&amp;usg=AOvVaw20a-_uyFYScl00wi3c310e">https://str.sg/wuJa</a>
---
Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts!
#musiclab

Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio.

Produced by podcast editor Ernest Luis & The Straits Times, SPH Media Trust.

Synopsis: Each month, The Straits Times invites music acts to its podcast studio.
Produced by podcast editor Ernest Luis &amp; The Straits Times, SPH Media Trust.

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