Patrick Brasca Reflects On His Rise To Fame And Teases What’s Next

Patrick Brasca was only eight years old when he first performed on television. Four years later, he caught the attention of Jay Chou—Taiwanese singer and musician often referred to as the “King of Mandopop”—when he participated in a variety show hosted by Harlem Yu. 

“He reached out to my Facebook fan page, which was handled by my mum at the time,” he recalls. “He said that he wanted to meet me, and I thought that he just wanted me to be his backup dancer. I was like 12 years old at the time, and it was so surreal meeting him because I grew up listening to his music,” he adds. One thing led to another and Chou eventually signed Brasca to his record label JVR Music where the 24-year-old has been making music since.

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The King of Mandopop’s eye for talent proved to be on the money. Since signing on as a recording artist, Brasca has produced hit after hit. In 2015, the Canadian-Taiwanese pop singer and songwriter’s single “I Can’t Love You Now” became part of the soundtrack of popular Taiwanese television series Love or Spend. The following year, Brasca struck gold with the opportunity to be part of Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016),  an American-Chinese computer-animated action-comedy martial arts film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Oriental DreamWorks, together with Chou. They sang the bilingual theme song “Try” where Brasca sang in English while Chou performed the Mandarin parts. The soundtrack album launched in January 2016, with their song as its title track. 

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Fast forward to 2024, Brasca’s star continues to rise with no signs of slowing down. He recently released his latest single titled “I Hate Myself Sometimes”, which speaks to his feelings of loneliness and regrets as well as notion of nostalgia. Following its release in December 2023, fans have been petitioning for the release of the full version on his social media channels, which prompted the young musician to release the full version within a week. Featuring fellow Taiwanese singer Howard Lee, the song is currently in the number one spot on Spotify’s Top 50 chart in Taiwan, and its music video has garnered over 1.3 million views on YouTube. 

Brasca was last in Singapore in December 2023 for a one-day only live showcase where he performed for his fans. While he was here, we caught up with him for an exclusive interview on all things music, style and more.

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What was it like meeting Jay Chou and getting signed by him?

I remember him saying, “we should meet up in my studio and talk about music. I’ve got to teach you some stuff.” Also, I remember singing some of his demos in front of him in the studio and then I got signed to his label to start learning how to actually make music. For the first couple of years I was taking vocal lessons and learning how to play certain instruments. When I was 14 years old, I learned how to arrange music and write songs. 

What is your creative process like when it comes to songwriting and how has it evolved over the years?

I started off just making music with a guitar and writing, which is pretty much how my first single came to be. Then when I was about 16 years old, I had the opportunity to write a song for Kung Fu Panda 3. For this, I had to fly to Los Angeles to record the song at Han Zimmer’s recording studio. It was a really cool experience—especially at that age. After that, I started producing my own music as a way to find my style. I was inspired to do it because a lot of the artists I like, such as Charlie Puth and Lauv, all have a very particular style of music and I wanted to discover my own.

Tell us more about working on the soundtrack for Kung Fu Panda 3.

I remember writing a couple of demos and it was funny how I wrote the song "Try". I came up with the melody for the song while I was showering. And that’s how I normally come up with melodies and have ideas—during the most random times. For this reason, I always have my phone nearby so I can record bits of melodies as they come to mind. Then I get into the studio and organise the melodies. 

I wrote a couple of demos, out of which they liked “Try”. So we got Vincent Fang, a famous songwriter whom Jay Chou uses, and he wrote the Mandarin lyrics. Jay was really excited when he first heard the song, and the rest is history. Oh and I got to meet Jack Black during the press conference in Shanghai. It was a really cool experience. 

Who inspires your music?

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I like Charlie Puth and Lauv. I’ve always been a big fan of these creative artists. I also remember the time when Justin Bieber came into the music scene and was hugely popular, even in Taiwan. I was singing his song “Baby” when I was on the television variety show—the one Jay Chou saw me singing on. So I’d say these artists inspire me. 

What is one song you wish you wrote?

There’s plenty. “Stay” by Kid Laroi for one, because I’m a huge fan of his music. 

How did you get into producing for other artists?

I used to just write songs and go into the studio to record them. But, like I said, I was always trying to find my own sound, which I was only able to do when I started producing music. I started setting aside time to learn how to produce by watching YouTube videos and using other online resources. I then started writing demos and had artists that I met asking me if I had any songs they could sing. I showed them songs of my materials and they sang it, and that’s how I started writing for other artists. Somehow I ended up writing a song called “Playlist” for SHOU, a Taiwanese artist. After listening to it, he asked me to produce his entire album, which was also the first time I worked on someone’s whole album. We actually just finished it recently. 

How would you describe your style and what are some of your favourite brands?

I would say that I’m pretty much into streetwear. I like the swag, the cool factor it offers. I really like Japanese streetwear brands like Kapital and Humanmade. I also really like Louis Vuitton and Rick Owens. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I’m usually in the studio producing for someone or myself, so when I do get a break, I like to play video games like APEX Legends but at the same time, I do like to shop in Taipei for streetwear or even online.

You recently performed for your fans in Singapore. What was that experience like?

I was really happy to see everybody in person because there’s a lot of Singaporean fans who are always sending me direct messages (DMs)on Instagram asking when I’d be performing in Singapore and when they can see me. It was really fun to have a fan meeting here and to see everyone. I can’t wait to come back.

What can we expect from you in the near future?

There are hopefully some collaborations and new music, including English tracks, that you can expect. I also can’t wait to hold more concerts here.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Photographer: Lawrence Teo
Stylist: Jeffrey Yan
Producer: Navin Pillay
Hair: Jimmy Yap
Makeup: Jane Lau
Stylist’s Assistant: Joelle Iong