Singapore’s alt-pop boundary-pusher yeule has officially made history. The acclaimed singer-songwriter and producer is now the first Singaporean artist to perform an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, marking a major milestone not just for their career, but for Singapore’s music scene at large.
Filmed inside NPR’s Washington, D.C. office, yeule’s Tiny Desk set leaned into intimacy and restraint. Stripping away the dense effects and digital maximalism often associated with their work, the performance foregrounded raw vocals and emotional clarity — offering a rare, close-up look at the heart of yeule’s songwriting.
The four-song set spanned different eras of yeule’s catalogue. They opened with ‘Dudu’ and ‘VV’ from Evangelic Girl Is a Gun, before revisiting softscars with ‘dazies’. The session closed with a reimagined, bowed-guitar rendition of ‘sulky baby’, a moment that underscored how the Tiny Desk format can completely reframe familiar material.
Backed by a tight live band, yeule’s performance felt deliberately unguarded — trading glitchy distortion for warmth, space, and vulnerability. The pared-back arrangements allowed the emotional throughline across their body of work to surface clearly, reinforcing why their music resonates so deeply with listeners.
View this post on Instagram
Long regarded as a cultural benchmark, NPR’s Tiny Desk series has hosted artists like Billie Eilish, Tyler, The Creator, and Mitski at pivotal moments in their careers. For yeule, this appearance isn’t just a personal achievement — it’s a landmark moment for Singaporean music stepping onto one of the world’s most respected live platforms.
