Their song, “Set Me Free”, achieved international success, reaching number 1 on the Canadian pop chart.
Long before his music reached listeners on multiple continents, Yichao Liualso known as YI, was a young guitar student growing up in Qinhuangdao, a coastal city in China. At the time, a career in music seemed far away. There were classes to attend, exams to prepare for, and expectations to meet. Like many children in China, he followed the path laid out before him without knowing exactly where it would take him.
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Today, YI is a singer-songwriter, music producer and guitarist living in Los Angeles. His songs have been played on radio stations in countries such as the United States, Canada and Argentina. Their recent release, Set Me Free, charted on iTunes in both Canada and the UK, reaching #1 on the Canadian Pop Chart and also entering the overall chart. He has collaborated with respected producers, songwriters and musicians whose work has shaped mainstream music for years.
The journey that took him there spanned three countries and required more than a decade of perseverance, learning, and faith in a dream that many people around him could not yet see.
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Finding confidence through music
Growing up, YI often felt different from the people around him.
He remembers being teased at school because his skin tone was darker than many of his classmates. While other students seemed to fit naturally into social groups and sports teams, he often felt left out. Those experiences stayed with him and shaped much of his early life.
At home, however, his parents made sure he had opportunities to explore different interests. They enrolled him in several extracurricular activities, including English lessons, dance classes, and music instruction. Among all of them, little by little one activity began to stand out.
At age 7, YI began studying classical guitar and what started as a childhood lesson slowly turned into a passion.
Over the years, he expanded beyond classical music and became interested in fingerstyle guitar and popular music. He spent countless hours practicing, learning songs, and developing his skills.
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His dedication soon produced results.
Under the guidance of his teacher, Hao Tian, he began performing at local festivals and competitions. He won the championship at a local KAWAI music contest in his hometown and then took second prize in the Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitar category at the 2019 Qingdao International Guitar Festival.
For the first time, music was giving him something he had struggled to find elsewhere: confidence.
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A difficult conversation about the future
Success in competitions didn’t automatically make pursuing music an easy choice.
Like many parents, YI’s family valued education and stability. They wanted him to build a secure future and perform well academically. While they supported his musical interests, they were not immediately convinced that music should become a profession. YI understood their concerns, but he also knew that music had become much more than a hobby.
For more than three years he continued to discuss the possibility of attending music school. It wasn’t a single conversation, but an ongoing effort to show his parents how serious he was about his future.
In the end, his determination paid off. His parents agreed to support his decision to pursue music professionally, opening the door to a whole new chapter in his life.
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Building a new life in Thailand
That chapter began in Thailand.
YI enrolled in the Faculty of Music at Mahidol University, where he studied classical guitar and jazz guitar. Leaving China was a major adjustment, but it also introduced him to new experiences, new cultures, and a broader understanding of music.
His stay in Thailand became an important period of growth.
He performed with bands such as Tea-quila and Haggai’s Boy and gained experience performing in professional settings. In 2023, he performed at the Thailand International Jazz Conference, one of the largest jazz festivals in Asia. He also performed with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra as part of a choir, adding another significant experience to his growing musical background.
Outside the classroom and the stage, another interest was quietly developing.
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For years, YI had been creating melodies in his mind. During walks home from school, song ideas would appear unexpectedly. While studying in Thailand, he began to take songwriting more seriously and began working on original projects. Those early songs were far from perfect, but they represented an important step toward discovering his own artistic identity.
Why Los Angeles changed everything
Although Thailand helped him grow as a musician, YI was drawn to a broader goal.
I wanted to be closer to the center of the global music industry.
In 2023, he transferred to the Musicians Institute of Los Angeles, where he completed his Bachelor of Music. The move represented another leap into the unknown, but it would become one of the most important decisions of his career.
In Los Angeles, YI’s understanding of music expanded dramatically.
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As a guitarist, I already knew how to play. What fascinated him now was the process of making records. Music arranging and production courses introduced him to the countless decisions involved in transforming a simple melody into a fully realized song.
He became increasingly interested in production, studying everything from orchestration and arranging to sound design and recording techniques. The deeper he dug, the more he realized that producing music gave him the same thrill he felt when he first picked up a guitar.
Coming out from behind the scenes
As his skills developed, so did the opportunities around him.
Working under his former artist name, Pivotor, YI began producing and writing music for other artists. One of his projects, “You are not the One”, recorded by American singer Leanna Baxter, reached the semi-finals of the 2026 International Songwriting Competition and became part of his growing catalogue.
At the same time, he began collaborating with highly respected professionals in the music industry.
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Over the years, she has worked with Grammy-winning audio engineer Francis Buckley, producer John Ho, whose credits include Demi Lovato, Chlöe and Mark Ronson, songwriter and producer Leah Haywood, known for working with Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, as well as producer Trey Vittetoe and touring vocalist Ameera Perkins.
Those collaborations provided YI with more than just industry recognition. They allowed him to learn directly from professionals operating at the highest level of music production. Finally, he decided it was time to introduce himself not only as a producer and songwriter but also as an artist.
Adopting the name YI, she released her debut single, “Just Give Me Something to Believe,” marking the first time she publicly presented herself as the voice behind her own music.
The next chapter
Since then, YI has continued to gain momentum as a producer and recording artist.
Their recent release, “Set Me Free”, achieved international chart success, reaching No. 1 on the Canadian pop chart and appearing on charts in both Canada and the United Kingdom. His music has received radio airplay in North and South America, which has helped introduce his work to new audiences around the world.
However, despite the achievements, YI sees its current success as part of a much larger journey.
His long-term ambition is not simply to release songs or get chart spots. He hopes to contribute to the future direction of popular music, becoming one of the producers helping shape the sound of the next generation.
Looking back, it is remarkable to see how far the journey has taken him. From a young guitarist in Qinhuangdao to a student in Thailand and now a producer and artist in Los Angeles, each step required patience, commitment and a willingness to keep moving forward even when the outcome was uncertain.
For YI, the story has never been about taking the easy path, but about following the one that feels right to us, no matter how far it takes us from home.
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