10 notable S’poreans who have launched their own NFT collections
NFTs have exploded in popularity in recent years. Last year, the global NFT market size was already USD 4.36 billion and this is expected to reach USD 19.57 by 2028.
Popular NFT series such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), once reserved for crypto fanatics, are now owned by celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Madonna, Neymar and Steve Aoki.
The NFT hype has already reached Singapore – prominent celebrities such as local rapper Yung Raja are already known collectors of NFTs, and there have even been disputes over NFTs that have been settled by the Singapore High Court.
With all the attention coming to NFTs, and the potential profits that NFTs can bring to creators, it should come as no surprise that many local celebrities have also launched their own NFT collections. So who are these celebrities and what can you make up?
1. JJ Lin
Most Singaporeans would associate JJ Lin with his music. After all, his rise to fame has mostly been due to his popularity as a singer and songwriter. Apart from the many albums he has released, Lin also sang the National Day Theme Song in 2015.
But Lin has also been active in the business scene, opening her own fashion label, starting an e-sports team and venturing into the F&B industry. Several months ago, he joined Kiat Lim and Elroy Cheo as the third co-founder of ARC, Asia’s first app-based tokenized community, which also has an NFT membership.
Earlier in September of this year, Lin teamed up with GRAYCRAFT founder Kevin Wu to launch his own NFT project, GC-SMG Mechs. According to Lin, GC-SMG Mechs is “about the inclusion of the voices of our community of owners and fans”.
The collection will feature 8,888 avatars in total, including 24 base variants that can then be randomized to form unique combinations.
2. Dharni Ng
Another local musician who has jumped aboard the NFT train is Dharni Ng, a beatboxing champion and performer.
In 2021, Dharni, along with his friend Kenneth, founded Tezarekt, a company originally intended to help the beatboxing community and its artists.
As part of this launch, Tezarekt also launched its own NFT collection series, offering exclusive benefits to buyers. These include merchandise, hotel stays and discounts for events.
Known as the GBB Allstar NFT Collection, it allowed fans to own digital trading cards of their favorite beatboxers, as well as mix and match different cards to create new ones. The project’s income will be shared between the featured Beatboxer, Swiss Beatbox, the card designer, and Tezarekt.
3. Edmund Chen
Former actor Edmund Chen has also jumped on board the NFT scene, when he auctioned off an NFT painting, titled ‘Spring – Cherish the Moment’, for 15 Ether earlier this year.
Sold to local entrepreneur Queenie Yang, the painting was based on an earlier piece of art that Edmund had created, titled “Cherish the Moment”.
The original painting was used as a blueprint, and Edmund used part of the painting for the NFT. According to Edmund, the NFT will be one of four that will be based on the original painting, and each NFT painting will be named after a different season.
“When the four paintings are finished, they will form a long painting that has a high collecting potential, and will be a rare set of NFTs.”
4. Mark Lee
Local film veteran Mark Lee has also launched his own set of NFTs earlier this year, under the banner of his production company, King Kong Media Productions.
The collection, known as the Kong Collective, is hosted on the Ethereum blockchain, and contains 444 unique collectibles, each with a coin price of 1.5 Ether.
Each NFT will act as a lifetime pass to premium membership with the company, and will reportedly include VIP tickets to concerts, film galas, meet-and-greet sessions and more.
According to Lee, the NFT collection is an experiment in fan engagement, and how the company can provide value for NFT owners.
King Kong Media Productions, in turn, manages artists such as Henry Thia and Marcus Chin.
5. Tay Kexin
Local singer and performer Tay Kexin has also launched his own collection of NFTs, known as Party Time Kex. The collection contains a total of 60 NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain.
Created in May, the NFT collection was launched in June, during MetaJam Asia 2022.
But unlike many of the other NFTs that feature static images, each of the Party Time Kex NFTs includes an audio segment from one of Tay’s songs, with an animated character dancing along.
There are several different versions of Kex available, including Party Time Yogi Kex, Party Time Angel Kex, Party Time Disco Kex.
6. Titus Low
Digital creator and entrepreneur Titus Low has also launched his own collection of NFTs.
He rose to fame through his successful OnlyFans channel, becoming one of the top creators on the platform before being ordered to stop accessing the platform by the police.
Despite being banned from accessing OnlyFans, Low still has access to other forms of social media, and in February of this year he released a collection of 222 NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain.
The NFTs in Low’s collection all feature pictures of him, and often include popular phrases from the cryptocurrency community. NFT titled Tituslow #91, for example, shows Titus standing next to his AMG-Mercedes, with the caption “having fun being poor,” a phrase often used to disparage cryptocurrency skeptics.
Currently, more than a hundred different wallets own at least one NFT from Low’s collection.
7. Irene Zhao
Irene Zhao first made waves as a model, but her forays into cryptocurrency have also made her one of Singapore’s best-known crypto-influencers.
Earlier this year, she launched her own NFT collection to great success – the collection recorded S$7.5 million in trading volume in its first week.
These NFTs, similar to Titus’ feature images of Irene with phrases commonly found in the cryptocurrency community.
The collection, known as IreneDAO, contains 1,106 unique NFTs, and actually began as a Telegram sticker pack. It was only after a fan suggested she turn the sticker packs into an NFT collection that they were minted and put on the Ethereum blockchain.
So far, her NFTs have been purchased by other celebrities such as YouTuber Logan Paul, as well as billionaire investor Mike Novogratz.
8. Shigga Shay
Pek Jin Shen, better known as Shigga Shay, is a homegrown rapper best known for his music, but he’s also released perhaps one of the most successful NFT compilations to date.
His NFT collection, called SPACEBARS, was launched in April this year and sold out within four minutes. The collection itself features illustrations of Shigga Shay as an astronaut, and like Tay Kexins, each also has an audio segment. This time, Shigga Shay recorded a 16-bar verse specifically for the NFT compilation.
The collection totals 999 animated NFT cards, of which 900 of these NFTs are common, 90 rare and nine ultra rare cards.
In an interview with Crypto.com NFT, Shigga Shay gave some insight into what he saw as the future of the music and NFT industry.
“What’s fascinating to me is how NFTs and blockchain technology are going to change the music industry. I am so excited about the limitless possibilities that are going to happen with music in the NFT space.”
9. Shavonne Wong
Award-winning fashion photographer Shavonne Wong has also launched her own NFT collection, and one of those NFTs was actually purchased by actor Idris Elba.
So far, Wong has released two different NFT collections. The first, titled ‘By Proxy’, was a collaboration between Wong and her friend, Lenne Chai. It consisted of a 60-piece 3D/photographic art project that sold out on Quantum Art in a minute.
The second project was a more ambitious 500-piece art project listed at Opensea, titled “Love is Love”, and the collection also sold out within an hour. It was this collection that Idris Elba bought his first NFTs from, as he purchased three items from this collection.
10. Tammy Tay
Singaporean influencer Tammy Tay has also launched her own collection of NFTs, known as TTTreasuresDAO. Each NFT can be minted for 0.1 Eth, but unlike influencers like Titus Low or Irene Zhao, TTTreasuresDAO NFTs will not contain images of the influencer themselves.
To explain why, Tammy pointed out that many DAOs are simple DAOs fronted by girls who have “little to no knowledge of the NFT space” and that, at 31, she felt that “there are a lot of fresh faces there out that are much more interesting”.
For TTTreasuresDAO, Tammy hopes to build a community for members interested in learning more about cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and the metaverse.
For a country often criticized for not having much artistic talent, Singapore seems to have many budding NFT artists – and successful ones.
The rise of NFT artists
Beyond just pushing out NFTs for the sake of it, many Singaporeans have found a way to actually make their NFTs mean something beyond the monetary amounts they exchange for: Irene and Titus use their NFTs as a way to better connect with their fans, Shavonne and Dharni use NFTs to promote causes they believe in, and Mark uses NFTs as a way to give his fans utility and engagement.
NFTs may be touted as the future of the creative industry, but it takes effort and work to get there. And these Singaporeans certainly show how NFTs can help the creative industry, in their own way.
Featured Image Credit: Titus Low, Irene Zhao, Sleek Magazine
