On January 28, 2021, Sơn Tùng M-TP officially released the music video for Skyler, his first single of the year. This also marked the start of a major collaboration with the world’s most popular mobile game, Garena Free Fire.
The song Skyler is another original by Sơn Tùng M-TP. With catchy hip-hop beats and confident rap verses that fit his “entertainment boss” persona, the MV stands out by featuring familiar Free Fire game imagery loved by the streaming community. Garena’s team put great care and creativity into every frame to highlight a Sơn Tùng who feels both approachable and cutting-edge.
The MV explores the strong duality within a person. This contrast is so intense it creates two distinct personalities sharing the same charisma, achievements, and crowd. These two sides sometimes listen to each other, sometimes clash, but ultimately merge into one unique identity: Sơn Tùng M-TP.
Throughout the MV, Skyler, the in-game character inspired by Sơn Tùng M-TP, represents these two sides. In a sharp white suit, Skyler looks like a cool entertainment mogul. In streetwear, he’s an artist driven to innovate and carve his own path. Whether as a businessman or musician, he leads the way, aiming to discover and support new artistic talents.
To make Skyler resonate with fans, Sơn Tùng and the Free Fire creative team worked closely together, brainstorming and co-creating smoothly. Sơn Tùng shared, “In recent years, I’ve connected with fans through music, film, and fashion. Gaming is a new entertainment field I wanted to try. Why not? I’m a gamer myself.”
“When Free Fire’s representatives invited me to collaborate on the first Vietnamese character released globally in a game with over 100 million daily players, I had to say YES. It just felt right, right person, right time.”
“Even the character’s name is meant as a tribute, a gift for all my fans,” Sơn Tùng added.
From the early teasers to expensive billboards in city centers flashing “Skyler” and the dedicated website skyler.vn, the launch was grand and carefully crafted for fans. The response exceeded expectations, with excitement and buzz growing daily around this new project.
However, the MV also sparked drama. Bình Gold, a rapper born in 1997, expressed frustration after watching streamer ViruSs’s reaction to Skyler. ViruSs criticized Sơn Tùng’s rap skills, saying, “I’ve never rated Sơn Tùng’s rap highly. He’s not suited for rap, and it hasn’t improved over time.” ViruSs even predicted backlash from the community after posting his reaction.
Bình Gold fired back, writing, “ViruSs is really a virus. What does he know about rap? People watching YouTube should wear masks. This new virus strain is hard to cure. Vaccines won’t be ready in time.” This exchange officially kicked off a heated drama between the two.
