YTOTW: Jon Liddell, The Ang Moh Guy With The Heart Of A Malaysian

Darian: "When did you start your YouTube channel and how did it start?"

Jon: "I started my channel back in 2010. Where I made some very mediocre cover videos using nothing but a Macbook, my guitar and myself."

Darian: "What inspired you to make videos?"

Jon: "I used to watch YouTube musicians such as Boyce Avenue, Tyler Ward and David Choi and I thought to myself, if they can do it, why can’t I? It all started as a way of sharing my renditions of pop songs with my friends."

Darian: "That Ed Sheeran video. Tell us about it! Did you get tickets?"

Jon: "All I can say is – Ed Sheeran is easily one of my top 2 favourite artists at the moment but still no tickets! Have you got any?"

Darian: "Tell us more about you! Your hobbies and maybe a secret talent?"

Jon: "I was born in the UK and moved here a long long time ago (around 1995) because of my dad's job. Then we never left haha. So I'm happy to call this place my home!"

Jon: "A lot of people don’t know this about me but I’m actually a HUGE petrol head. I used to race go karts semi professionally for about 10 years. So I guess you could say driving is my secret talent but that’s boring right? I can juggle?"

Jon: "I wish I could say something fancy here but what you see is what you get haha. I like to put my own little twist on pop songs. You’ll also come across a couple of originals every now and then. There’s so much more to come. Oh and I did a cover of a Malay song!"

Darian: "What's the one thing you want to achieve for 2015?"

Jon: "For me 2015 is all about my original music. There will still be covers here and there but I think its time for me to share more original content and I can’t wait to see how that pans out."

Jon: "I’ve recently teamed up with a few local musicians and I plan to do a few more collaborations this year. But I’m definitely looking to expand my channel with vlogs, behind the scenes videos and maybe some fun challenges."

Darian: "Which was your favourite video to make and why?"

Jon: "Definitely the music video for my recently released single ‘Make It Right’. This one means a lot to me. It all started with a concept that I put down and then I gathered a bunch of friends and we filmed for 3 days straight. 3 full days of hard work and never ending jokes. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience!"

Darian: "Tell us what is your first single about! How was it inspired from and what was the process like?"

Jon: "The story behind my new single was largely inspired by one of my past experiences. The idea of trying to fix a failing relationship. I won’t go too much in to it but I guess it’s safe to say that everything I write is based on something that has happened in my life. The song writing process is pretty much the same for me every time. It all starts with a small idea, in this case, I wrote the chorus and built the rest of the song around that."

P.S. Can you spot Jenn Chia in that music video? She was our YTOTW previously!

Darian: "Do you feel it's hard to break out from that "Cover singer on YouTube" mold?"

Jon: "I guess it is hard to break out of that mould for any musician but I don’t really see myself as a cover artist. I put more time in to my original music and there is a lot more to come, trust me! I cover songs that I enjoy listening to and songs that I want to cover."

Darian: "What's the biggest challenge you currently face as a YouTuber?"

Jon: "I find the biggest challenge for any Youtuber is sticking to a schedule. Its not easy putting out videos every week or every other week. There’s a lot of work that goes in to each video."

Darian: "Do you feel making videos is a 'chore' now that you depend on it for content?"

Jon: "It’s definitely not a chore. I enjoy making videos and it’s something that I think I will continue to do for the rest of my music career. Youtube is a great way to express yourself. There’s so much enjoyment linked to each video release that it drives you to keep making new content."

Darian: "What would you say to someone who is aspiring to be a YouTuber?"

Jon: "All I can say is keep making content. Don’t give up. I look back at my first year of making videos till now and its crazy how much I have learned!"

Jon: "For me, the journey has been a massive roller coaster. I go through YouTube phases. I find that inspiration and I dedicate myself to it but then something always gets in the way and I end up neglecting the service. But the one experience I will never forget is the day I woke up to over 100 emails in my inbox because Tyler Ward (YouTube Musician) had shared one of my cover videos. I was then lucky enough to meet him a few times and thank him personally. It gave me a huge boost of encouragement and motivation and I think its safe to say that that’s most probably why I’m still doing this."

Darian: Any future projects or videos that's coming up soon?

Jon: Of course, there’s definitely more to come. You’ll have to wait and see and subscribe to find out more!