MANILA, Philippines — His massive viral hit Scars has made Keenan Te one of the fastest-rising music artists from the Land Down Under.
A song about opening up again to love after being hurt in the past, Scars was only released last month and yet it has earned over 2.8 million streams on Spotify, with its lyric video generating over a million views on YouTube and over two billion plays on TikTok in less than 12 days.
The song’s success has allowed the Aussie TikTok sensation to travel to other countries, like the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, to further promote his music.
During a recent interview with The STAR and a few other press, Keenan shared his wish list of Filipino artists he wants to collaborate with in the future. He specifically named Inigo Pascual and Zack Tabudlo.
“(Inigo) dueted on one of my videos on TikTok and sang with me which was super cool and we spoke a little bit as well,” the 22-year-old explained. “And I really am a big fan of Zack Tabudlo. I think he’s so talented.”
During his recent visit, Keenan expressed how grateful he was for his Filipino followers, whose appreciation he has truly felt online.
“I want to come back to the Philippines and definitely do a tour and concerts, stuff like that. It was a very quick trip. We are already planning to come back as soon as possible and meet as many fans as I can,” Keenan said.
“I would not have this career without my Filipino fans. So, I wanna be able to give back and perform and sing with them.”
Keenan can easily be mistaken for Pinoy, but he’s actually part-Vietnamese and part-Cambodian.
Asked how challenging it has been working as an artist with Asian ethnicity in Australia, he readily admitted: “Yes, I do think that as an Asian growing up in a Western country, unfortunately, sometimes you have to work twice as hard for the same option as the other people.”
Nevertheless, he credited his team and family for helping him go after his music goals no matter what.
“I’m very, very fortunate to have an amazing support system in Australia in the music industry. I have a lot of friends there that are really supportive.
“Unfortunately, it’s just a thing, I guess? With the majority of the audience in Australia… They like a certain type of music so that makes it a lot harder but honestly, the love that I got from my friends and fans from like overseas, it is just incredible that it doesn’t bother me that I have to work twice as hard.
“I also like a challenge. So, I kinda want to see that as another hurdle that I need to get over.”
While Keenan has traveled to other Asian countries during this brief tour, he’d like to visit the countries of his immigrant parents in the future.
“It would be nice to see where (they come from) and get to do some shows there,” he said.
“Watching my parents work so hard is so inspiring for me and for my career. To see that work ethic, I feel like it’s something that I got from them. They’re very supportive of my career as well, it’s amazing.”