What’s your current job?
I retired early from the military about one year ago. After that, I opened my own pub called Gin Lao at Ramintra. So right now I’m taking care of—and singing at—the pub.

Why did you decide to enter the contest?
The major reason was I thought it’d be interesting. Besides, my friends told me that the project was a great opportunity to show my talent, both in singing Thai and international songs. And it offers people the chance to become famous.

Had you entered other singing contests before that?
Yes, in 1998 I won Thailand’s five-zone competition. But that was a national championship competition, not international like this one.

Why do you think you won?
Actually I think every contestant was excellent that day—so good that I got scared. Then I thought maybe the organizers wanted a courageous person to win, so I tried to come up with a fresh concept, something that the others wouldn’t do. Maybe that’s the reason why I was picked.

What did you perform that day?
For the first round I chose the song “Wind Beneath My Wings.” It’s a very high song because it was originally written for a woman, but I knew that my voice could reach that scale. In the final round I sang Crescendo’s “Kwam Jing Nai Jai” for male and Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” for female voice. Also, when I switched from Crescendo to Whitney, I took off my hat and revealed a wig beneath it.

Do you think you’ll win the World Championship contest, too?
I’ll try my best. Khun Saisunee Sukrit performed a really fantastic show in the previous contest; I will try to follow her footsteps.

Who’s your idol?
I admire many singers, but the most amazing person would be Thongchai McIntyre. I’ve liked him ever since I was a kid.

Do you have any suggestions for those wanting to enter a singing contest?
The one and only most important thing is that the person deeply loves music. The next crucial thing is practice. When I was a kid, I used to stand on tanks and sing out loud; practicing like that worked as ear training for me. Anyway, fully giving your heart to music and practicing a lot are all that matter.