Rising Star Yang Yan On His Pursuit Of The Extraordinary

It’s hard not to root for Yang Yan.

Even when he’s clearly not feeling his best—slumped quietly in the makeup room of the photo studio on a rainy Friday—there’s a kind of determined glow about him. At 24, the Singaporean actor is still a relative newcomer in the entertainment scene, but already, he’s giving the sense that he’s in it for the long haul.

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During our BAZAAR Man cover shoot, he never once whinges, pushing through frame after frame in front of the camera. He’s relentlessly focused. Every adjustment, every expression, every angle feels intentional for someone still finding his footing in the entertainment world. He sits quietly in front of the camera while the team buzzes around him, observing. And when we finally sit down to talk, he’s disarmingly self-deprecating, and so effortlessly charming that you almost forget he spent the last two hours silently powering through discomfort and being poked by thorny flowers.

“I think I just really hate the idea of regret,” he tells me, with a small laugh. “If I want something, I’d rather try and fail than not try at all.”

That mindset has been something of a personal mantra for Yang, ever since he pivoted from a path that looked far more conventional on paper. “I was studying business in polytechnic,” he says, nodding. “Did pretty okay, too. I even thought I’d go into economics for my university studies.” But performing had already planted its seed—first through school theatre, then music, then a growing obsession with any form of creative expression. “At some point, I just realised I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t at least give this a shot.” And so, he jumped into acting and music; and most unexpectedly, into the emotionally and physically brutal world of K-pop survival shows.

If you know Yang Yan, then chances are you probably know him from Starlight Boys, the South Korean-Chinese reality competition series that’s been compared to Produce 101. He was the only Singaporean contestant on the show, and the odds weren’t exactly in his favour. He didn’t grow up as a dancer. He wasn’t trained to belt out power notes while doing synchronised choreography in double-time. “That whole thing was really out of my comfort zone,” he says, laughing at the memory. “I was dancing until midnight; sometimes 10 hours a day. It wasn’t just tiring—it was exhausting.”

More than the physical toll, it was the mental strain that hit hardest. Cut off from the outside world, navigating language barriers and intense competition, Yang had to dig deep just to stay afloat. “I was lucky because I’d already done NS (national service), where I was in the naval diving unit,” he says, half-jokingly. “But this was harder in a different way.

There’s no guarantee you’ll make it. And you don’t have your phone, so you don’t have your family. You’re just constantly being judged.” Still, what he remembers most isn’t the pressure or the fear. It’s the people. “All of us—from Canada, China, Japan, wherever—were chasing the same thing. Sitting around eating ramen with my classmates after a long day gave me that feeling of shared purpose with them. That’s what stayed with me.”

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That desire to connect—with people, with purpose, with his own instincts—is something that comes up again and again throughout our chat. In spite of his relatively young age, Yang speaks like someone who’s thought deeply about why he does what he does, but also someone who knows not to over-intellectualise it.

“I’m an ENFP,” he grins, like that explains everything. “I go by feeling. I follow my heart.” He pauses. “When you’re young, you can do that more, right? Follow what makes you happy before you get too caught up chasing money or security. I think that’s what I want people to take from what I do—that it’s okay to try.”

He tries, there’s no doubt. After his stint in Korea, he is focusing on acting again, with a role in the upcoming local Chinese production titled The Gift of Time. “I’m using this year to grow,” he says seriously. “I don’t need big roles. I just want to be better.” It’s a refreshingly humble take, especially in a time when most fresh-faced actors are clamouring for leads, endorsements and screen time. “I spend a lot of time just watching,” he admits. “Even if I’m not filming that day, I’ll go to the set to observe. I learn a lot from the veterans.”

Off-camera, Yang describes himself as a bit of a hermit. “I used to be super outdoorsy. I loved hiking, travelling, and being out with friends. Now? I hide in my room,” he jokes. “It’s like my social battery is permanently dead.” Despite identifying as an extrovert, he relishes his alone time—and it’s in that solitude that he cultivates his other creative interests.

Fashion, for example, is a newer exploration. “It actually started from Photoshop,” he says. “I was 17, learning how to edit photos in poly, and it opened this whole world to me. I realised how much you can express with just colour, shape and light.” These days, his Instagram feed reflects that curiosity: moody visuals, chic styling, and a slow but steady honing of his personal aesthetic. “I’m still figuring out my style. But I want to reach a point where I feel good about how I present and dress myself, and where every shot, every look pushes me more creatively.”

That same energy of exploration spills into his approach to music. While acting is the main focus this year, music remains a side passion—something he turns to when the schedule allows. Earlier in February, the budding singer released his new single, “I Think That I Like You”, a boppy pop-rock track that was dropped to coincide with Valentine’s Day.

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“I made promises to friends I met on Starlight Boys that we’d make music together,” he says earnestly. “And I want to keep that.” For now, though, he’s content to let that evolve slowly. “Music and acting feel like different creative avenues, but they both come from the same place,” he reflects. “It’s all about creating something that makes people feel something. That’s the goal.”

When asked about his future, Yang doesn’t give a boilerplate answer about dream roles or global superstardom. Instead, he admits, “I really don’t know. Last year I thought I’d be performing in a boy band. This year I thought I’d be acting. Things change so fast,” he shrugs. “I don’t have the answers, but I think if I just keep going in the right direction—keep doing things that feel right—something will call out to me. I’ll figure it out as I go along.”

And maybe that’s what makes him so compelling. He doesn’t pretend to have it all together. Yang is still experimenting and calibrating, but he’s doing it with his whole heart. “To be great, you have to do things most people won’t or might be scared to do,” he says with dogged determination in his eyes. “Otherwise, you’re just ordinary. And I don’t want to be ordinary.”

Editor-In-Chief: Kenneth Goh
Stylist: Aaron Kok
Photographer: Joel Low
Hair: Christvian Goh using Dyson
Makeup: Lydia Thong/ Makeup Entourage, using Burberry Beauty
Floral design: Form Of Mondays
Photographer’s assistant: Eddie Low
Stylist’s assistant: Laila Mishazira