Mediacorp has quite a few new parents among its Deejays. Congratulations to all the new parents! Our team speaks to Kenneth Kong, LOVE 97.2FM Deejay, a loving father of a four years old boy and a pair of twins (a boy and a girl) of 22 months. Kenneth shares with us the joy of being a father, his parenting journey, his work at LOVE 97.2FM and more.
Kenneth came out champion in a DJ competition debuted as a radio DJ in 2001. With his clear and booming voice, Kenneth hosted several major shows. Over the years, Kenneth has gained the audience recognition and has won broadcast awards with his popularity and ability. Besides having a great talent in radio, Kenneth also participates in creative writing, editing and post production work. In 2013, Kenneth ventured into news reporting and hosted Mediacorp Channel 8 news shows, “Good Morning Singapore” and “Hello Singapore”.
Exclusive Interview with Kenneth Kong 江坚文, LOVE 最爱97.2FM Deejay
1. Please share with us more about your background and what made you decide to be a radio deejay?
Kenneth: I started hosting radio shows long before I graduated as a Mechanical Engineering Bachelor. It all started with a DJ Hunt. My friend needed a companion to boost her morale taking part in a DJ scouting competition, but fate took a twist, I was the one who went through the prelims, but she did not. I ended up the champion for the competition and got myself a part time DJ contract as I was still pursuing my degree. I love the job, I had turned full time right after I graduated, and never practice as an engineer.
2. What is your typical daily schedule like?
Kenneth: Listeners always thought radio deejay is easy, talk for a few hours, and work is done for the day. Well, it is way more than that. My schedule is usually hectic, hard to follow, and always subject to changes. But typically, a couple of hours preparing for the daily show, another couple of hours recording or producing program after the show, added up to at least 8 hours of work daily. My weekends were usually packed with roadshows and events. Due to the pandemic, it all turned online. So a few more hours into work over a typical weekend.
3. Congratulations on being a father! How do you prepare for the birth of your twins?
Kenneth: The twins are our second born. My eldest son, Kyler, is four years older than them. So technically, we are more prepared than the first born. But double the joy, came more than double the preparation. We went from planning the baby room, to arranging logistics support among the family members, sorting out clothes and toys blessed by our circle of friends, and so much more. But the very first thing we arranged upon confirming the arrival of a twin is to secure a maternity nanny that was willing to take care of a twin.
4. How do you juggle work and family life especially now that you have three children?
Kenneth: The silver lining out of the COVID-19 pandemic is a much slower pace of life. With most of the economy was put on hold, I have amber time to focus on family. My wife was working from home too, so it was quality family bonding for the past months. But things got a little tricky as the measures was slowly loosening up. Workloads are now pouring in, so I am again divided between the kids and work. Yet, online meetings and telecommute is really the norm now, most of the time, I can still be physically at home, looking out for my little ones.
5. How do you prepare your older child for the new babies?
Kenneth: We were very worried about how to break the news to Kyler. We brought him to the gynae checkups, let him see the ultrasound scan himself and let him hear his siblings’ heartbeat. We took the opportunity to explain how he was born. We quickly acted like there was already 3 kids around even when my wife was pregnant. Kyler will then greet his siblings, he interacted with them, talked to them when they were still inside mummy’s tummy. On labour day, Kyler received a gift from the twins! Haha, of course it was prepared by us. We just wanted him to understand that the twins are blessings to share joy, not to divide his love from us.
All the images credit to Kenneth Kong 江坚文
6. What are some of the best parenting advices/tips that you have received and experienced that you would like to share with our mummy and daddy readers?
Kenneth: This may sound crude, but one of the most impactful advice I’ve got before the twins are born was: REMEMBER, THE BABIES ARE NOT HUMAN YET. Let me explain. The true meaning behind this is, we should still focus more on the older child when the newborns are still simply “milk-drinking creatures”, while the older child has developed his habit and character. Guide the older child in how to accept the new members in the family.
7. What is it like to be a radio deejay for LOVE 972? What is the profile of your listeners like at LOVE 972?
Kenneth: Deejay-ing in LOVE 972 is fun! We have highly creative DJs always coming up with engaging ideas. And birds of same feather flock together, our listeners are very responsive to our initiative, be it online or offline, which makes hosting much enjoyable. The Gen-X are our core listeners, with substantial support coming from the Gen-Y too. From homemakers to highly skilled professionals, our mass approach makes it easy to reach out to a vast variety of the public.
8. Can you share more about your work at LOVE 972 and what projects are you currently working on?
Kenneth: I am now in the 5th year with LOVE 972. Since day 1, I have been hosting the evening show. Currently, our radio evening show has turned into a LIVE TV show. It was a unique format, as we are going LIVE on multiple platforms, crossing conventional media and digital media. I also produces Singapore True Crime Podcasts.
9. How can one become a radio deejay in Singapore and what’s your advice to someone who aspires to be a radio deejay?
Kenneth: There are radio stations in all four official languages in Singapore, so if you’re eloquent in any of them, and you are a people person, then radio deejay might be the job for you. Besides the command of languages, having an open mind is also crucial to becoming a radio deejay. We will cross path with all walks of life when we are hosting our shows, and we should not be domineering our views.
10. Lastly, any interesting stories you would like to share about your children and what are some of the favourite things that you like to do with them?
Kenneth: Are fraternal twins really different from one another? Between the twins, the girl Karys is the tough one; while the boy Kobey is a softee. The twins will always seek each other’s presence, if they are separated, they will look for the other half. And the big brother will never agree to letting the twins to have a night out elsewhere, not even at grandma’s. COVID-19 has spoilt our family trips and outings in many ways, but we found a way to have fun together at home. We will inflate a rubber pool, fill it with water, and hold a pool party every now and then. Best entertainment we came up with during the Circuit Breaker.
Thank you Kenneth Kong for taking our interview!
Catch Kenneth on LOVE 972 with his co-host, Lina every weekday from 5-8pm!
Listeners to LOVE 972 can also play the radio game that is currently ongoing. Six celebs will say a word each to form a sentence. Each question will be thematic, for example, Taiwanese singers or Hong Kong comperes. Listeners just need to guess one voice correctly in order to win $88 cash. All six winners will then enter into a lucky draw where they stand to win the grand prize of $8,888! Contest runs 10 times a day, Monday to Friday. Tune in to LOVE 972 and catch Kenneth Kong live on air!
