When Regina Song went to bed after posting a video of herself singing live on TikTok, she didn't expect to wake up as a viral sensation. The clip had garnered about 200,000 views overnight and hit 1 million views by the end of the day.Her 2024 clip introduced listeners to her catchy original song The Cutest Pair, which has since amassed more than 65 million streams on Spotify.This growing popularity saw her become Spotify's most-streamed Singaporean artiste in 2024, and she now has more than 700,000 monthly listeners on the platform.Over the last two years, the Singaporean singer-songwriter has toured Southeast Asia, accumulated more than 90 million Spotify streams across her music and became the only Singaporean nominated at the inaugural Music Awards Japan in 2025.Despite her relative success in the region, the 22-year-old is not a household name like Stefanie Sun or JJ Lin.In fact, she still receives messages from Singaporeans surprised to discover that she is local."I've seen comments from fellow locals saying: 'I just found out you're Singaporean, that's crazy'," said Song, who started recording and composing music when she was 16.Singapore is home to other musicians who, like Song, have built substantial audiences overseas, but are receiving less recognition in their home base. While their reception at home is not necessarily poor, it varies across age groups and music communities. Song for instance has a loyal fan base among Gen Zs, though her name may be less familiar to older Singaporeans.Overseas though, these artistes have attracted repeat crowds and found more regular performance opportunities in neighbouring markets or even toured extensively across North America and East Asia.Others have found through their streaming and social media data that much of their fan base comes from outside Singapore.Many said the enthusiasm, opportunities and recognition they receive overseas can be difficult to replicate here. Some also felt that local music continues to carry a stigma, with Singaporean artistes taken more seriously only after gaining recognition abroad.