Singapore’s next wave of musicians is not just playing the game, they’re rewriting the score. Bold, genre-blurring and unapologetically themselves, this year’s Bright Young Things are changing the way we hear—and feel—music. Together, these six musicians represent the pulse of a generation: Regina Song, Joyy, Layyi, Estelle Fly, Jasmine Sokko, and Jean Seizure.
Masked musicians often inspire intrigue—and in Jasmine Sokko’s case, discovering the woman behind the mask only makes her more fascinating. The 29-year-old musician first made waves in 2016 with her self-released viral single 1057. For nearly a decade, the self-taught producer has built a bold sonic and visual universe, defined by her unique electronic sound and futuristic aesthetic—and the rest of the world has taken notice. In 2019, she became the first Singaporean artist to win Best Southeast Asia Act at the MTV EMAs. After opening for Coldplay’s sold-out shows in Singapore last year, Sokko is set to hit a new high in 2025 with the release of her debut full-length album, Burnout Dynasty.
GRAZIA Singapore (GS): How would you describe your sound in three words—and what do those words say about you?
Jasmine Sokko (JS): Alien, liquid, curious. I’ve never felt like I fit the shape of the world, so I started building my own through sound. My music is a fictional universe where I shapeshift, slip between terrains, and tell stories that can’t exist anywhere else.
GS: Growing up in Singapore, how did your environment shape your relationship with music?
JS: I grew up in a household where pragmatism ran deep. Music felt like a forbidden fruit—so naturally, I wanted it. Pursuing music while studying business became my quiet rebellion, a small act of resistance against the gravity of my environment.
GS: How does your cultural background inform your artistry?
JS: Burnout Dynasty is stitched from my Singaporean upbringing and my love for sci-fi. Traditional Asian instruments pulse beneath cyberpunk synths; philosophy and folklore collide with visions of the future. It’s my way of reclaiming identity, culture and self—and building a universe bigger than myself.
GS: What inspires you to break the mould?
JS: I don’t aim to break the mould. I follow my curiosities until they shape something that feels honest to the odd contours of my mind. In a male-dominated field, I’ve often been dismissed as “just the singer-songwriter,” with my production work overlooked because I’m a woman. The traditional setup has long been male producers and female-fronted acts. While that’s changing, I’m intentional about surrounding myself with women who lift one another up.
GS: What does being young mean to you right now?
JS: Being young means giving yourself permission—permission to fail, to play, to risk. To admit you don’t know everything—and maybe never will—and still be at peace with that.
GS: Do you ever feel underestimated because of your age—or empowered by it?
JS: Always empowered. But that power doesn’t come from how others see me. It’s internal. It’s mine.
GS: Who do you make music for—and who are you speaking to?
JS: I make music for the misfits, the geeks, the quiet aliens who keep folding themselves smaller just to fit. In that, I’m also making music for my younger self—the one who took a leap of faith into something unorthodox and never looked back.
GS: Was there a defining moment when you knew music was your calling?
JS: Opening for Coldplay. On the final night, during my last song, I broke down mid-performance and cried. All my life, I’d kept a certain distance—robotic, precise, unbothered. But under that galaxy of lights, something cracked open. I felt deeply human—and completely certain of why I do what I do.
PHOTOGRAPHY ZANTZ HAN
CREATIVE DIRECTION KELLY HSU
PRODUCER CHERYL LAI-LIM
STYLING TOK WEI LUN
HAIR JUNZ LOKE
MAKEUP LARRY YEO
VIDEOGRAPHERS JAYA KHIDIR AND SHERMAN SEE-THO
STYLING ASSISTANT CRYSTAL LIM
PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS MICHELLE YAP AND PENG SHENG
READ MORE
Regina Song Is the Voice of a New Generation
Joyy Is Exploring The Many Dimensions Of Music
Safe In Sound: How Jean Seizure’s Music Brings People Together