Khalil Fong Tai Tung (Chinese: 方大同; 14 July 1983 – 21 February 2025) was an American singer-songwriter and producer.
Fong was notable for introducing a more sophisticated R&B and soul sound to the Chinese music market, drawing inspiration from artists like Stevie Wonder, Musiq Soulchild and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Khalil Fong was born on 14 July 1983[2] in Hawaii, United States,[3] to an American-Chinese father, a drummer, and Hong Kong mother, Leung Yu-laam (梁茹嵐), an English language educator,[3] who would later be Fong's lyricist under the pen name Rulan (茹嵐).
[16][17] With love and environmental protection as its theme, the blue coloured album cover had two holes on the sides of the ears of Fong's portrait printed on it.
[18] Record label Warner Music Hong Kong specially chose to radio broadcast "Love Song" on major radio stations on 14 February 2008 as a special music theme for Valentine's Day in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, bringing listeners into love theme.
[35] In February 2011, Fong made his debut at the CMG New Year's Gala, performing "This Love" with Jam Hsiao and Li Jian.
[43] In November, Fong embarked on his second concert tour "Soulboy Lights Up"; the stage design concept was specifically inspired by the three characters of his name: "方" for the square-shaped stage, "大" for the large-scaled musical feast, and "同" for the use triangular iron frames.
[45] In 2014, Fong released his eighth studio album Dangerous World, it earned him his third Golden Melody Awards nomination.
[51] In 2018, Fong released three bilingual children's graphic novels, The Secret of the Golden Bricks, Saving Snowy and The Tree of Life, under the series title Emi The Dream Catcher.
Throughout 2018–2019, Fong continued releasing singles such as "Dear Ocean" featuring Diana Wang,[53] "Fake Monk",[54] and "White Hair".
[58] In 2024, Fong posted on his Weibo account that he had been "recovering from health issues" and throughout the journey, "found numerous moments of inspiration that have resulted in a new album".
[61] Fong enjoyed a close friendship with fellow record artiste, Fiona Sit from when he entered the music industry.
[62] Fong died in Dali, Yunnan, China on 21 February 2025,[a] at the age of 41 from an unspecified illness that affected him over the previous five years.