Tat Tong; born Tong Hong Tat;[1] is a Singaporean record producer and songwriter who is based in Los Angeles. His discography has gone 80× platinum, with over 20 #1 hits out of over 60 Top 20 hits worldwide,[2] and he is a member of production-writing duo The Swaggernautz with American Idol Season 10 alumnus Jovany Javier.[2] He is presently signed to Universal Music Publishing.[3]

Tat Tong
唐达
Background information
Birth nameTong Hong Tat
BornSingapore
GenresPop, rock, R&B, dance, Hip hop
OccupationsSongwriter, record producer, music executive

Early life edit

Growing up in Singapore, Tong studied piano and composition at Yamaha Music Foundation.[4] In 2001, he accepted a scholarship from the Singapore Armed Forces to study Computer Science at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and following that, served his scholarship bond in the Republic of Singapore Navy for 6 years[5] before transitioning into a full-time music career in 2011.[6] At Cornell, Tong sang in the Cornell University Glee Club.

Current career edit

As a producer-songwriter, Tong's discography spans North America, Central/South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, including artists like Luis Fonsi, Troye Sivan, Hailee Steinfeld, Monsta X, Kaskade, CNCO, Sebastian Yatra, CD9, Aitana, ShiNEE, JJ Lin, Vanness Wu, and Wang Lee Hom.[1][7]

Tong co-produced and co-wrote Troye Sivan's "Happy Little Pill"[8] from his 2014 TRXYE album, which was certified Gold in Australia,[9] charted at #1 on iTunes in 55 countries,[10] and reached #5 on the Billboard 200 chart,[11] making him the first Singaporean to have an entry in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200.[12] He also cowrote American DJ Elephante's single "Age Of Innocence" featuring Trouze and Damon Sharpe which charted in the Top 20 on the Billboard Dance charts.[13]

In the Latin music space, Tong co-produced and co-wrote the Mandarin remix of "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi featuring JJ Lin.[14][15][16][17][18] He also co-wrote "Apaga La Luz"[19] from Fonsi's 2019 album "Vida" which was nominated for Best Latin Pop Album in the 62nd Grammy Awards,[20] reached #1 on Billboard's US Top Latin Albums and US Latin Pop Albums, #18 on the Billboard 200, and was certified 22× platinum in the United States.[21][22] He co-wrote and co-produced "Estoy Enamorado De Ti"[23] from CNCO's self-titled 2018 album which reached #1 on Billboard's US Top Latin Albums, #33 on the Billboard 200, and was certified platinum in the United States.[24][25][26][27][28][29] He also co-produced and co-wrote CD9's 2016 album "Evolution" with Jovany Javier as well as Luis Salazar of The Dro1dz,[30] which was certified platinum[31] and charted at #1 in Mexico.[32]

Tong's global credits with The Swaggernautz also include work with Santana, Pitbull, Project 46, A-mei, Karen Mok, Show Lo, 2PM, Vanness Wu, Coco Lee, JJ Lin, and Kit Chan.[2][6][13]

Tong is also a speaker and co-host of the Gamechangers Music Seminar series,[33] and is a noted producer in the contemporary a cappella community.[34]

Awards edit

Partial discography edit

[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Repertoire Search". BMI.com. BMI.com. [permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c Tan, Dylan (July 1, 2016). "Playing to a global beat". The Business Times. Singapore Press Holdings.
  3. ^ Gwee, Karen (2018-04-24). "An interview with the Singaporean songwriter-producer behind hits by SHINee, Show Luo, Troye Sivan and more". An interview with the Singaporean songwriter-producer behind hits by SHINee, Show Luo, Troye Sivan and more | Articles | Hear65 - Home for Singaporean Music. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  4. ^ HypnoticAsia (2014-06-02). "[EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW] Tat Tong Of T2 Productions". HYPNOTICASIA. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  5. ^ "The Most Successful Singaporean Songwriter You've Never Heard Of". The Most Successful Singaporean Songwriter You’ve Never Heard Of | Bandwagon | Music media championing and spotlighting music in Asia. 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  6. ^ a b Mathews, Kevin (February 26, 2016). "Local music producer-songwriter Tat Tong and DJ Declan Ee find success in US". TODAYOnline. Singapore Press Holdings.
  7. ^ "Wapea, el dúo multicultural que busca su inspiración en la diversidad". www.laconexionusa.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  8. ^ Malinda-White, Kyle. "Troye Sivan's Debut Single Is Composed By A Singaporean". PopSpoken. PopSpoken.
  9. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2014 Singles". ARIA. Australia Recording Industry Association.
  10. ^ Stern, Bradley. "Troye Sivan Shoots To #1 On iTunes (In 55 Countries!) With Debut EP, 'TRXYE'". Idolator.com. Idolator.
  11. ^ Benjamin, Jeff. "Troye Sivan's 'Youth' soars into Top 40". FUSE. fuse.tv.
  12. ^ Mathews, Kevin (November 19, 2014). "Six tips to get that No 1 hit". TODAYOnline. Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Tan, Dylan (December 4, 2015). "Making the Cut". The Business Times. Singapore Press Holdings.
  14. ^ Fonseca, Selma (November 20, 2017). "Luis Fonsi and JJ Lin Team Up for 'Despacito' In Mandarin and Spanish: Exclusive". Billboard.
  15. ^ "Listen to Luis Fonsi's 'Despacito' Spanish-Mandarin Version with JJ Lin". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  16. ^ "Dance hit 'Despacito' now remixed as a Mandarin-Spanish song". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  17. ^ 台灣英文新聞. "林俊傑與馮西合作推出洗腦神曲《Despacito》中文版《緩緩》正式上線". 台灣英文新聞. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  18. ^ Comercial, Rádio. "Luis Fonsi canta 'Despacito' em mandarim". Rádio Comercial (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  19. ^ "Apaga la Luz - Luis Fonsi | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  20. ^ "Luis Fonsi". GRAMMY.com. 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  21. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  22. ^ "Luis Fonsi Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  23. ^ "Estoy Enamorado De Ti - CNCO | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  24. ^ "CNCO Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  25. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  26. ^ "CNCO compone nuevo álbum". Diario La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  27. ^ Tecnólogicas, Data Page-Soluções (2018-04-07). "CNCO estreia novo álbum". DM Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  28. ^ Ecuador, Metro. "CNCO lanza hoy su nuevo álbum a nivel mundial". Metro Ecuador (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  29. ^ Brasil, Redação LatinPop (2018-03-22). "CNCO e Luan Santana anunciam lançamento de Mamita". LatinPop Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  30. ^ "CD9 regresa con fuerza con "Evolution"". Vivelo Hoy (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  31. ^ "CD9: new album Revolution is out now". Juice or Cider. Juice or Cider. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  32. ^ "Puesto #1 del #Top100MX del 18 al 24 de marzo 2016..." (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Twitter. April 27, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  33. ^ "BMI Writers Talk Business at Gamechangers Music Seminar in Beverly Hills". BMI. BMI.
  34. ^ Rapkin, Mickey (2008). Pitch Perfect: The Quest for A Cappella Glory. Penguin. p. 86. ISBN 9781592403769. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  35. ^ Zachariah, Natasha Ann (September 25, 2016). "Gentle Bones wins two prizes at Compass Awards". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings.
  36. ^ Chen, James (September 12, 2017). "Results from the 22nd COMPASS Awards". MusicAsia.
  37. ^ ""行走的CD"再上线 林俊杰携JFJ团队亮相《天生是优我》 _音乐要闻_娱乐频道". ent.rednet.cn. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  38. ^ Notimex (2016-08-03). "CD9 cantará en Boca del Río, Veracruz, como parte de "Evolution Tour"". HoyTamaulipas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  39. ^ México, LOS40 (2016-04-11). "¡CD9 el fenómeno!". LOS40MX (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-12-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)