Born in Nanaimo and raised in Qualicum Beach,[2] he signed a contract with Sony Music Hong Kong in 2009.

He rose to fame in Hong Kong in 2014 with the song Hills and Valleys (Chinese: 高山低谷), which earned him a Top 20 Gold Song Award in the 2014 Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation.

In September 2010, Phil Lam finally debuted and released his first Mandarin song, Rain Fell on the Ground (Chinese: 雨落大地) .

One of the song in the album, Once in a Blue Moon (Chinese: 難得一遇) became a top hit on the radio and the music video got more than a million views on YouTube.

He also released an EP at the end of that year, My Taste of Life, and held the Grassland Concert (Chinese: 草原音樂會).