POP CULTURE

Ryan Henderlin on Confidence, Music, and the Art of Allure

Discover Sri Lankan singer Ryan Henderlin’s take on music, confidence, love, and allure. In this interview, he reveals the energy behind his performances and the calm that defines him off stage.

BY SARAH JAUFER|PUBLISHED: SEP 26, 2025

When Ryan Henderlin is on stage in the height of performance energy, things might look chaotic, but he isn’t in a rush. Off stage, it’s the same thing. He speaks in a slow, measured tone, quiet and steady. A total contrast to his aura on stage. To him, seduction is in calmness, easy rhythm, and strong self-assurance. “There’s something about a very understated and subtly confident vibe that’s very seductive to me,” he says quietly.

When he takes the stage, Henderlin is the spotlight, moving and grooving with never-ending energy, belting out notes from top to bottom as if you’re privy to some charged secret. It’s a sight to behold. But for him, this state of being isn’t a performance; it’s a magnified part of who he is. “It has to be me,” he confirms. “If I put on a persona, the performance would be fake. Being on stage makes me feel raw, open. It’s the freest version of me, just amplified!”

He’s got a natural choreography. When caught in the dance, he swings fluidly, intuitively, and you can tell it’s coming from a place of joy. I ask him if it’s rehearsed, and he smiles: “No, but it changes with the energy of the room. If the crowd is shy and closed off, I like to ease things with a little softness. But if they’re wild and ready to get dancing, I adjust the tempo accordingly. I can’t help it, it just happens.”

And when it comes to Ryan’s performances, the vibe is almost always influenced heavily by the women. “Feminine energy has a lot of layers, I think,” he says. “It’s not just one thing. Sometimes they’re reserved, sometimes they demand more from me. Masculine energy is straightforward at an event. Feminine energy is like… a chat. It’s a conversation of auras, interchanging between me, the music, the performance, the cheers, and the crowd.”

In that way, every Ryan Henderlin show is independent and alive. It’s a breathing exchange built out of dances, pitches, shrill ‘woohoos’ and ‘encores!’ Henderlin doesn’t see himself as the centre, but as the vessel, or medium, through which the energy of the night is channelled. “I’m just the voice,” he says. “The music does all the talking.”

For someone so immersed in passionate energy, heat and electricity, it’s a surprise that Henderlin returns to quietude and stillness. It’s his natural state, and how he chooses to measure love: in soft glances, subtlety, the spaces between words. "I always do a double-take when I see someone lost in their own world. Someone who’s focused, who’s comfortable with themselves, whether they’re dancing alone at a show or working on something they love. That kind of energy is rare… You can’t fake it.” His love language, he says, is physical touch. But not the kind that gets feathers ruffled, rather the soft kind. “It calms me,” he says. “Soothing. Reminds me to breathe.”

When I asked him how he sings about love, how he channels feelings of heartbreak, yearning, the ache of wanting, he says it’s never a performance. “I like to dive in deep and feel those emotions even though I don’t wish for heartbreak or sorrow. I have to believe it, that’s how I keep my performances authentic. If you don’t believe in your own voice, who else will?”

Unsurprisingly, Henderlin is a Pisces: the sign of dreamers, romantics, people who love deeply. Still, despite his wild spark, there’s a groundedness that counters the stereotype of typically upbeat people. Chivalry definitely exists and works according to him. “But only if it’s organic and real. Not ego-driven. And I believe it works both ways, too,” he says, smiling. When asked if it was a person or music that holds his heart, he scoffs, “That’s a tough question! You can’t separate the two. If someone loves me for who I am, they’ll automatically love the music too.”

Ryan Henderlin isn’t acting out a fantasy. He’s not interested in doing rehearsed or choreographed shows. This is how he approaches love and life in general. In his magnetism is a slow, soft reverb, which isn’t a very obvious tell for people who don’t look beneath the surface. It’s the sign of someone who knows exactly who he is, and he recommends that if you pay close enough attention, you’ll see it too.

Location: Bonobo Karaoke Bar