Sunny Lukas is riding high. The Chinese pop sensation and multi-instrumentalist has just dropped ‘DEJA VU’ — a nostalgic Y2K R&B jam that captures the ache of a one-of-a-kind love. Built on early 2000s guitar riffs and melodic hooks, it’s an emotional rollercoaster in smooth, shimmering motion.
Before racking up over 30 million streams and 1 billion social views on the back of hits like 'SITUATIONSHIP' and 'ROLEMODEL', Sunny was a national-level athlete in football, basketball, tennis, and golf — and that same drive now fuels his music. Whether it's pre-show push-ups or crafting tracks with collaborators across continents, the Berklee graduate is building a sound and story as expansive as his 10-language vocabulary.
We caught up with Sunny ahead of his sophomore album to talk about the making of ‘DEJA VU’, his creative process, and the big dreams that keep him moving.
‘DEJA VU’ blends Y2K R&B vibes with deep emotional storytelling — what was the spark behind this track?
It's about self-growth, personal reflection, looking back and reminiscing about the past. It’s also about love, about being just a person — and I feel like it's important to realise that not all bad things are bad. Sometimes failure can shape you into who you are today and make you a better person.
‘Deja Vu’ is kind of like a feeling that I get constantly, and it just feels good.
You crafted ‘DEJA VU’ across Beijing and New Zealand — how did that global creative process shape the final sound?
It's so funny because my producers are both from New Zealand, but they live in Shanghai. We were about to do a session, and I just called one of my songwriter friends in Beijing, who’s one of my classmates from Berklee — and he flew over. Actually, the first couple of lines that he laid down were the main melody of ‘Deja Vu’, and that's when everything just came together.
The song took around six to seven months to make because everybody was so busy, so we were just scattered all over. But in the end, it turned out really, really well. And I just really, really love the song.
You play five instruments and speak 10 languages — how does this multicultural, multi-instrumental background influence your songwriting?
I think it's really important to learn as much as you can at a young age. Don't limit yourself from creativity — whether it's instruments, language, or any creative outlet. It just really made me more knowledgeable as a musician.
It made me know what type of tools to use when it comes to my approach in songwriting, which gave me a lot of confidence when it comes to writing a song or producing a song — not only for myself, but for other people.
You’ve described your creative process as “more about feeling than formulas” — has this intuition-first approach ever surprised you during a session?
Yeah, the feeling — I really believe in the moment, the present. Working with other people sometimes helps to initiate and just stimulate something new, and you learn so much more about yourself.
I think collaboration is so important because you start doing things that are so new, and you start discovering new things that you don't know about yourself. Just being lost in a moment, lost in time when I'm in the studio, staying focused and locked in — I think the whole creative process has just been such a unique experience for me, and that constantly motivates me to do more music. Super inspiring.
You once trained in national-level basketball, tennis, and golf — how has that athlete mindset carried over to your music career?
It taught me discipline. It taught me how to take care of my body and take care of my health. Just like every performance or every stage that I need to prepare for — it's the same as going onto the field or onto the court and just preparing for a match.
It's all about rhythm. It's all about teaching yourself discipline, being patient in trusting the process and knowing that practice makes perfect. Repetition is really important, and it just helps me build more confidence.
Sometimes working with teammates teaches you how to be more open to collaboration. Working with people that you've never worked with before — whether you like it or not — pushes you to work outside your comfort zone.
Your performances are high-energy and intense — do you have any pre-show rituals that mirror your athlete days?
I do a prayer to God always, and I try to drink as much water to stay hydrated. I like to get my heart rate up, so I do a lot of push-ups and some cardio workout — I go to the gym before the show.
I don’t usually have an appetite before shows.
You’ve worked with Grammy-winning names and brands like Louis Vuitton — how do you stay grounded while moving through such different creative worlds?
Knowing why you started doing all of this is really important — no matter what brand is attached to your name, or what label you have.
I feel like it's really important to show the world your most vulnerable side and who you truly are. I want to show people that I'm just a regular kid who likes to dance and sing in the living room or in the shower. Just naked and with zero guard up — entirely being myself!
My youthfulness is really important. The brands are just an indication of my accomplishment — they keep me motivated and on my toes.
With fans across China, Southeast Asia, and beyond, how do you tailor your sound and visuals to connect across languages and cultures?
I try to learn as many languages as I can because, first of all, I'm super passionate about learning different cultures. Most importantly, I feel like it's so important to learn these languages to have a deeper connection with the fans.
They don't necessarily know how to speak your language — in my case, English or Chinese — so I don't want to assume things. I want to appreciate their culture, where they came from, and just learn more about them.
It helps with a lot of my musical inspirations because it makes the music more exotic, diverse, and gives it more personality by being open-minded with a different perspective.
With your sophomore album on the horizon, what new themes or sounds can fans expect to hear?
With the whole global sound, I'm going to be collaborating with a lot of different artists from different regions and parts of the world — Korea, Thailand, hopefully the Philippines.
There’s going to be different cultural elements in my music — more exotic pop R&B with different languages meshed together. Just bringing in that diversity, the different colours around the world, and showing people the new Sunny Lukas and what I can do and everything that I've learned in the past.
I'm more involved in songwriting, producing, and A&R-ing the entire album. It's just a whole new beginning and a new chapter for me — and I'm really, really excited for what’s to come.
If you could bring ‘DEJA VU’ to life on any global stage or festival, where would it be — and what would your dream performance look like?
For sure, it’s definitely Coachella. Coachella is one of my biggest dreams because it's where different worlds collide. It's a huge melting pot, and I just love the whole experience. I feel like they have such a great history, and they’re constantly showcasing amazing talent from artists all over the globe. I would love to perform ‘Deja Vu’ there.
My dream performance would look like a very big stage with a lot of dancing elements, and I would really like to use visuals to convey the whole vibe of the entire set. There’s going to be a lot of choreography, set design, and a lot of action. I definitely want to incorporate some sports elements into it, and bring some fans on stage, which would be very interactive and technological too.
Like what you read? Show our writer some love!
-