SINGAPORE, May 22 — Korean-American singer-songwriter David Choi loves Singapore so much, he wrote a song called Dempsey Hill. The song, which is on his fourth and latest album, Stories Of You’s And Me, was inspired by a dinner Choi had with a girl in a restaurant at Dempsey Hill during one of his recent visits to Singapore. Yet, if he had to move here, Choi admitted that he would probably opt to stay only for a month.

“It’s just too hot, it’s way too hot,” he quipped. In any case, the 29-year-old rarely stays at home for long. In the last few years, Choi, who has been a YouTube sensation since 2008, has headlined his own tours across the United States, Asia and Australia. His songs have also been used in several popular Korean dramas (including Secret Garden, My Princess and All My Love), although Choi said he often does not find out these things until his fans tell him about it.

“Korea is a little weird, the industry is not cool,” Choi said. “They are allowed to just use any song they want. It’s kind of complicated, but basically they don’t need permission.”

As for the royalties, Choi said the amount was “extremely, extremely little”.

It’s not as if he really needs a lot of help boosting his profile, though. His YouTube videos, which include songs like That Girl, By My Side and Missing Piece, have accumulated more than 125 million views. Interestingly, the musician says he has only recently learned to be more comfortable with the public’s attention.

“I think it takes time to be comfortable onstage,” said Choi, who started out wanting to be a songwriter rather than a performer. “Ultimately, it’s about being comfortable with yourself. That is the most important thing — accepting yourself for all your flaws, so that you can be comfortable as a human being, and even more comfortable when you are on stage and there are people staring at you.”

David Choi’s Stories Of You’s And Me is now available for streaming and digital download. — TODAY