Owl City returns to Hong Kong with live act credentials

ADAM YOUNG'S RISE to pop stardom from the basement of his parents' home is an inspiration to all bedroom musical wannabes. But turning a couple of hit songs produced on a laptop into a career that includes travelling the globe with a powerful live show is perhaps the more remarkable achievement.

A reviewer once described the sweet, childlike songs of Owl City - the name the American performs under - as "so insubstantial they practically float".

But the singer credits Hong Kong with playing a big part in his coming of age - as he proves that his songs as a stage performer have more heft than his saccharine vocals suggest. Outside of Canada, his first international concerts came during a tour to this city, Shanghai, Beijing and Wuhan in 2009.

And his return to Hong Kong and the mainland this month brings back good memories. "I got off the plane in Hong Kong and it was a whole new world for me," he recalls. "I hadn't done much travelling and performing, but the crowds were amazing. I'm looking forward to coming back."

Young's cheerful music certainly has a global resonance. The top-rated fans on his MySpace page include teenagers from as far flung as India, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Japan. Since he started out, he has made connecting with his audience a priority, regularly adding music posts and blogs, plus personally messaging as many fans as he can.

A multi-instrumentalist, Young started writing songs in the basement of his family's home in Minnesota, finding music an escape from the dull reality of his day job loading trucks. He soon won a following after uploading them to MySpace.