Cover Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
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A singer-songwriter, actor, entrepreneur and Valentino ambassador—and all before turning 30. But Thai star Jeff Satur is far from done: he plans to take things to new heights this year, beginning with the launch of his first English EP
A soulful voice echoed around Kai Tak Arena, singing the opening line from Hong Kong boyband Mirror member Anson Lo’s 2020 song The Best Teammates in perfect Cantonese. It sent the audience into a frenzy—not only because of the song choice but also because the singer, Worakamol Satoe, doesn’t speak any Cantonese.
Such is the charisma—and dedication—of the Thai star, who performs professionally under the name Jeff Satur. For this performance, at the Chill Music Festival in December last year that celebrated singer-songwriters and bands from Hong Kong and Thailand, he rehearsed the song and practised the pronunciation until it was perfect. Lo then joined him onstage to deliver a heartwarming duet version of the number, perfectly representing the song title and delighting the T-pop—the nickname given to Thai pop, which is increasing in popularity, much like K-pop—singer. “It was a wonderful experience to go there and meet [my] fans and Anson’s fans and everybody [else]’s fans,” he tells Tatler. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
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Above Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
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Back in Bangkok, where he is based, Satur is working on his first English EP, slated for release in late June. “It’s about [creating] new things from old things,” he says. It continues the themes explored in his first, 18-track, Thai studio album Space Shuttle No 8, released in February last year: work, life, relationships and the myriad emotions that come with those things. It won Best Album of the Year at the Spotify Wrapped Live Awards in 2024, further solidifying his name in the Thai music industry, where he has been celebrated for his crisp vocals and knockout performances since his 2013 debut.
The EP is a progression of those themes. “This EP continues from [Space Shuttle No 8] into my new chapter,” he says. He describes his new musical goal as “exploring some new sounds and new territories” and “reaching out to a global audience and new countries that I haven’t reached yet”—hence the English songs. As well as recording music, he hopes to be able to go on a
world tour this year.
Above The album cover of ’Ride or Die’ (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
The album cover of ’Ride or Die’ (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
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Satur’s desire to make globally relevant music is perhaps unsurprising given both his heritage—his father has Thai, Italian and Indian blood, and his mother is of Thai-Chinese descent—and his exposure to music from various cultures. As well as traditional Thai instruments and molam—a form of music from Laos and northeastern Thailand which a Lao friend introduced him to—Satur also listened to music of a variety of genres and origins. “I love artists from every country because they have a distinct flavour to their work. I listened to as many tracks as possible,” he says. This had a huge influence on the unique sound of his music, which is a blend of western pop, rock, R&B and hip-hop, as well as the instruments and pentatonic scale found in traditional Thai and Lao music.
Born in 1995, Satur first took an interest in music as a nine-year-old after watching a video of someone playing the guitar. “It was so cool, so I took [lessons],” he recalls. But the teacher recommended he learn the classical style, rather than the pop he’d been drawn to. So, after six months, “I learnt to play pop and folk guitar by myself.”
He found his calling as a singer when he fronted a band at secondary school. In 2013, he auditioned for and signed with teen music label Kamikaze and released his first single Lok Teak, an acoustic pop track. But the next six years didn’t bring him his hoped-for success. Disheartened by singing at shopping malls and the traditional marketing cycle that left him with little creative freedom, he quit the entertainment industry and worked for his family’s business.
Above Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
Above Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
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One upside during that time: Satur was able to educate himself on music production and had an opportunity to act in and write music for the series KinnPorsche (2022). It is in the BL genre of fiction which depicts often homoerotic relationships between male characters in manga, anime, fanfiction and drama. He also signed with Warner Music Thailand during that time. The show was also popular in mainland China, and Satur found himself internationally recognised.
In 2023, he broke into China’s music industry after winning two awards on Chinese singing reality show Call Me by Fire. Next came the release of his 2024 singles Fade and Ghost, which both topped Spotify’s Top 200 list in Thailand, paving the way for Space Shuttle No 8 and his 2024 Asia tour. At the time of writing this article, his tracks have amassed almost 235 million total plays on Spotify.
Above Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
Jeff Satur (Image: courtesy of Warner Music Asia)
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He has also made waves outside the music industry, last December becoming the first Thai star to be named a brand ambassador for Valentino. Currently, he is also an ambassador for Cartier and Ray Ban.
Satur is proud to be contributing to putting Thai music on the world map. “Ten years ago, we only played in the country, making music for only Thai people. Now, we have an audience all over the world. [T-pop] has a real market around the world. Some bands are famous outside Thailand; others have fans only outside of Thailand. It’s so fun [to see],” he says. “It would be great if the T-pop industry could grow even more. This is just the beginning and I feel there can be more unique Thai artists on the global stage.”
And he has been doing his part to make this happen. In 2023, he founded his own agency, Studio on Saturn (SOS), and has produced a series called Happy Ending (2024), which featured and promoted fellow Thai actors and singers such as Barcode and Jorin from 4Eve. Last year, he was a mentor on reality talent show Chuang Asia, alongside rapper and singer BamBam and actor Yaya Urassaya.
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Above Jeff Satur as ambassador of Valentino (Image: Instagram/@jeffsatur)
Jeff Satur as ambassador of Valentino (Image: Instagram/@jeffsatur)
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Despite his meteoric rise, the 30-year-old remains humble. Of founding SOS, for example, he says he didn’t do it to add to his already long list of achievements but to provide “a safe space for the fans and [me] to be together. I’d like to [show my] most authentic side, the real me … not someone that you cannot [access]. I want people to see that this is me, Jeff Satur.”
And once he’s taken on the English-language pop market, he has plans to add dancing and voice acting to his repertoire. “I try to break new boundaries all the time,” he says, adding that while his original aspiration was to be a musician, he embraces all his achievements: acting, modelling, mentoring people or running a studio. “I love every part of it, and all of it is storytelling. If you ask me to choose only one [focus], I would say that I love storytelling in all its forms.”
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
