Charles Lim, better known as Charlie Lim, is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, musician, producer and artist.
Early life and education
Charles Lim was exposed to music from a young age, as his mother taught the piano.[1] He started singing and playing the piano in church and in school bands, learning how to play by ear. He was educated at Victoria School where he was with the school choir which came in second at the Singapore Youth Festival. At 14, he moved to Melbourne, Australia, and wanted to pursue medicine or journalism, but "music got the better of him".[2]
In 2005, he topped the state of Victoria for music performance and was selected by VCE's Season of Excellence to perform at Melbourne's Hamer Hall.[3][4]
He later returned to Singapore to serve National Service, during which he joined the Singapore Armed Forces Music & Drama Company as their frontman for the combo band, which involved performing for foreign dignitaries, army recruits, black tie events, as well as goodwill tours in Australia and Brunei.[5]
Lim continued his studies at Monash University in 2008 to complete his Bachelor's degree in Music. He currently shuttles between Singapore, Melbourne and London.[1][4]
Lim released TIME/SPACE in 2015, an introspective and melancholic double EP that explores "different polarities" of his musical interests,[7] with TIME reflecting his folkier, singer-songwriter sensibilities and SPACE a manifestation of his DIY approach to experimental pop production.[1] The album went to #1 on Singapore's iTunes charts within an hour of its release.[8]The Straits Times gave it a glowing review of 4.5/5 stars,[9] and awarded it the Best Pop Album of 2015.[10] Popular media outlets such as Today,[11] Popspoken,[12] Beehype[13][14] and Juice,[15] also considered the record as one of the best music releases of the year.[16]
In late 2016, Lim signed his first major record deal with Universal Music Singapore[19] and released his sophomore album CHECK-HOOK in 2018,[20] which was heavily influenced by UK garage and electronic dance music. The album also clinched a #1 spot on the iTunes chart and was awarded Best Song of The Year by Apple Music.[21]
For the 2018 Singapore National Day Parade, Lim updated and performed the classic 1987 National Day song, "We Are Singapore".[22][23] His prelude was then turned into a full song, "Room at the Table". It was the opening song for 2020 National Day Parade, with proceeds donated to charities supporting migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]
In 2021, Lim received the Young Artist Award conferred by the National Arts Council,[25] Singapore's highest award for arts practitioners aged 35 and below.[26] He is currently[when?] music director of Indiego, a local internet radio station and platform supporting local and independent music.[27]
