Singer Khalil Fong, 41, Passes Away

Battling illness in recent years, Hong Kong singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at age 41, according to his record label Fu Music. An award-winning singer, Khalil had nabbed the Best Mandarin Male Singer at Taiwan’s prestigious Golden Melody Awards in 2017.

Cause of Death is Pneumothorax

The statement read, “Facing a disease with a positive attitude for 5 years, Fong left this world peacefully and serenely on the morning of Feb 21, 2025, heading to another realm of life to continue his mission and dream. The music and graphic novels that he left behind will be our forever spiritual wealth.” His manager also responded to public curiosity over the cause of his death and his afterlife matters, thanking everyone for their concern and support while requesting for space and privacy for his family.

Khalil had struggled with pneumothorax, a life-threatening lung disorder, since first being diagnosed in 2010, and took a step back from music in 2016 to focus on his health.

There was speculation that he had cancer, with one netizen even obtained a conversation between the singer and his manager which revealed that he suffered from severe fibrosis of the lungs at the time of death, leaving him with only 890ml lung capacity, equivalent to that of a five-year-old. Responding to the rumors, Khalil’s manager expressed that Khalil was a very low-profile person, and requested for the public to respect what he would have wished by refraining from discussing further details on the circumstances of his passing.

Widely Mourned by Industry Singer & Friends

Approached by the media, good friend and actor Louis Cheung (張繼聰) said he was too upset and later uploaded a full-black photograph on his socials, writing “Love u so much bro So much…see you next time, I will surely hug you very tightly…” Louis’ wife, singer Kay Tse (謝安琪), posted a scenery photo as tribute and wrote, “You didn’t keep your promises bro,” while actress Crystal Cheung (張紋嘉) said, “I received the news a minute ago, he is my idol and this has made me so sad, life is so fragile”.

Sharing a photo taken with Khalil where they performed his single “If Love” (如果愛) on stage, singer Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄) wrote “The forever musical genius in my heart, thank you for your invite, we have written the lyrics together, it is music that leaves this with this beautiful memory. Always remember your gentle mannerisms and may you continue to make music happily in heaven, if one day we meet (there), hope we can sing this song which we wrote together,”

Dee Hsu (徐熙娣), still in grief over her sister’s passing, also dedicated a post to Khalil with an “R.I.P” visual on her socials, while singer Leehom Wang (王力宏) remembered him with a lengthy post in which he wrote, “The world lost a special ray of light when Khalil left”.

Singer Pakho Chau (周柏豪) wrote, “Hurts a lot, I’ve not accepted this as I still remember back then when our colleagues addressed us as ‘Four Gems of Warner’, he was a very important singer on my journey of growth and now I feel like something precious is missing…thanks Khalil for bringing us so much good music,” Good friend Shiga Lin (連詩雅) wrote, “It’s really so sudden and unbelievable, Khalil is a very kind, talented and good person, and a friend I had known since young, he was also the one to write me with my first song since entering showbiz. These few years we got busy with our lives so we lost contact, this news was too sudden for me and I can only hope he rests in peace, I will remember him forever,”

Looked Frail But In Good Spirits in Last Appearance

Fans reacted to the news of the 41-year-old’s passing with disbelief and sadness. While he was visibly thinner in a last video posted last year, Khalil appeared in good spirits and shared that he had been sick for a long time, which was why he had been inactive, which he also described as taking a retreat. “I am on the road to recovery,” he had said.

While he has disappeared from the public eye, Khalil shared that inspiration did not elude him, and these would “turn into ideas for songs, that inspired me to create a new album, called “The Dreamer” (夢想家),” “I will meet everyone through these works,” he said. In October of 2024, Khalil released his album “The Dreamer”, and in January 2025, “Emi The Dreamer Catcher Graphic Novels 1-6 Mini Album”, which became his last work.

Source: 1