Gentle Bones announces his return; to release new single on Feb 10

Local artiste Gentle Bones announced his return to the music industry just seven months after his retirement.

The singer-songwriter, whose real name is Joel Tan, also took it to his Instagram account on Thursday (Feb 2) to share the news with fans.

“I’ve recently signed a record deal with Warner Music Asia, who reached out because they have come to love and want to add to the growth of this musical movement that we all here have created together the past years,” he said.

His announcement follows a press release on Wednesday (Feb 1) by Warner Music Asia. The label stated that it will work closely with the singer to grow his fan base in “key markets outside of Singapore”. 

Joel also shared that he will release a new single titled The Right Words on Feb 10, under his Gentle Bones moniker. The song will be part of an upcoming four-track EP set to be released in the third quarter of 2023.

In July 2022, he had declared the retirement of the Gentle Bones project from the local scene. Following his announcement, he held his “last ever concert in Singapore” at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands on Jul 22, 2022, alongside acts like JJ Lin and Tay Kewei.

He addressed fans in an Instagram post: “I’d be lying if I said that the accompanying successes hadn’t rubbed off on me in inefficient ways for all and so I believe it is time for me to no longer be involved in Singapore as Gentle Bones, a recording artiste.

“By the end of the year, GB will no longer be performing or participating in any activities locally, and I’ll be officially retiring Gentle Bones in Singapore.”

Joel was first discovered through his covers on YouTube, before he released multiple chart-topping singles like Until We Die, Save Me, and Elusive. He is also the first Singaporean to be listed on the inaugural Forbes 30-Under-30 in 2016.

He signed with Universal Music Singapore in 2015 before going on to found his own label Yung Lee Records in 2019.