A projected image of two glowing neon circles appears on the screen. Then, a montage of clips plays with muffled audio. A demonic voice cuts through: “You just gotta go for it. And you might think, what if I fall? Well, what if you don’t? What if you fly?” The music fades. The lights go dark. Suddenly, his cover song “Burn” starts playing, and BoyWithUke appears out of thin air. The crowd roars as his face is shielded behind a pair of sunglasses amidst all the flashing red lights. Standing centered at the front of the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco, I was struck by how someone so hidden could make everyone feel so seen.
“Sorry, please excuse me for my mess, my heart’s been pouring through my chest,” is one of his most well-known lyrics. Written and sung by Charley Yang, more famously known by his stage name BoyWithUke, the line clearly captures the emotional vulnerability that defines his music. If these somber lyrics resonate with you, you’re not alone. BoyWithUke’s music seamlessly blends indie pop and acoustic textures, topped off with his signature ukulele embedded throughout most of his songs.
Yang’s rise to fame can be interpreted as an overnight phenomenon, but it was far from accidental. Near the end of 2021, he signed with Republic Records after gaining traction on TikTok, where he posted music while wearing a digital mask to conceal his identity. His first viral hit, “Toxic,” spread like wildfire, eventually earning over a billion streams. His anonymity gave him freedom to freely express himself and led listeners to only focus on his music rather than his appearance. In March 2022, Yang released his single “IDGAF” featuring Blackbear, the cover song for his major-label debut album Serotonin Dreams. Their collaboration’s success brought them to No.7 on multiple Billboard charts, namely Billboard 200 and Billboard Alternative Airplay charts. Within the span of a year, Yang joined AJR on tour as their opener on tour for OK Orchestra, further promoting his music to broader audiences. By late 2023, Yang had over 7 million TikTok followers and more than 2 billion Spotify streams. He later continued to pump out music with his February release of his EP Antisocial. In April of the same year, Yang released “Out of Reach,” which gained extreme popularity after he performed on a virtual Roblox concert, expanding his reach to more platforms.
What makes Yang’s music stand out is how the rawness of his indie style makes listeners feel even more connected to him. For years, fans only knew Yang as the silhouette with glowing blue eyes and a ukulele slung across his back; however, that anonymity allowed him to showcase his authentic craft, touching on sensitive themes of loneliness, anxiety, and heartbreak in every piece. Viewers enjoyed how he lets his vulnerability shine through his songs, leaving listeners feeling more connected. In an interview with the US Sun, Yang reveals how his initial approach to masking his identity has allowed him to share his music without fear of judgment, as he wanted listeners to be captivated by only the music itself.
2023 marked the biggest turning point in his career: his face reveal. On October 9th, Yang removed his mask for the first time at the end of his music video for “Homesick.” In his Instagram post, he mentioned how he initially kept his identity hidden so people could focus on just the music, but now, he is ready to embark on new beginnings in his own free spirit, where he doesn’t need to stay in hiding any longer.
In 2024, Yang released another hit album, Lucid Dreams, containing themes from his childhood. He followed with a complete thematic shift when he released Burnout, a bold new beginning and a new era to his music, showcasing the range of styles he is capable of producing. In one of Burnout’s music videos, “Pitfall,” the name Chandol flashes briefly, unveiling the beginning of something new. Later on his YouTube channel, Yang reassured confused fans that this album wasn’t abandoning his past ones, but rather reclaiming his future.
At the Warfield Theatre that night, the crowd was not just singing along to heartfelt lyrics; they were celebrating someone who had helped them feel seen, understood, and unafraid to acknowledge their feelings in one way or another. Surrounded by a sea of echoing voices, the power of his music to connect people was indescribable.
