After attending the recent ABS-CBN Ball 2018 in a dashing Bessie Besana suit, Daryl Ong said he was happy to get the chance to mingle with his fellow artists on a relaxed night. “Pag sa ASAP kasi may kasamang work, so kinakabahan kami sa prod. Pero pag ganitong ball, sobrang enjoy lang, sobrang ni-lu-look forward ko talaga maka-bonding yung mga kasama ko sa ASAP,” he explained.

Last year, Daryl sang the English version of the song “Beautiful” by Crush which was part of the hit koreanovela series Goblin. This year, he proudly shared that he released another international single in Korea. “Last September 24, kaka-release lang sa Korea ng second international single ko called ‘Even if It Hurts.’ Sinama siya sa isang K-Pop album under Warner Music Korea. So kakalabas lang nun and itong mga parating na buwan meron kaming nilulutong show ni Bugoy Drilon at Michael Pangilinan so I’m sure yung mga fans aabangan nila yun,” he shared.

The talented singer said there is pressure to impress the audience in Korea. “Yes of course kasi iba sila eh. Iba din kasi tratuhin yung music sa kanila. Lahat sila well-trained, lahat sila alam ko parang two years naka-lock lang sila parang may school sila for performing arts so nakaka-pressure. And at the same time alam mo yung mga producers dun, yung mga fans dun, mataas yung standards nila sa singers,” he explained.

Although Daryl said he has no plans yet to visit Korea soon, he plans to visit next year especially after hearing the warm reception his newest single has gotten among Koreans. “Nakaka-chat ko yung album producer. Masaya siya kasi maraming Korean na fans yung nag-re-repost nung song. Meron pa siyang sinend sa akin na merong isang Korean fan na naggawa siya ng slide show ng mga pictures niyatapos yung background music yung kanta ko,” he said.

With his Asian looks, Daryl said he has been mistaken more for Chinese than Korean or Filipino. “Hindi pa naman ako napapagkamalang Koreano (laughs). Kadalasan china-Chinese ako. Akala nila fluent ako mag-Chinese. Hindi nila alam peke akong Chinese (laughs),” he added.