After 23 years, Rui En's 2003 classic hit 'Tao Yan' is getting a resurgence, and it comes with a new surprise that even fans of the song may not have known before.

Recently, local singer-songwriter Jim Lim, 55, shared on Instagram a cover of 'Tao Yan' he recorded with fellow MengFM members, Mediacorp actor Cavin Soh, 55, and local singer Ric Liu.

"'Tao Yan', a song I wrote and produced for Rui En many year back, decided to do a fun version by us MengFm, hope you guys like it," the co-founder of FM Pop Music School wrote.

Needless to say, the local boyband, which debuted in 1997, went on hiatus in 2003 and reunited in 2019, serenaded fans with their alluring vocals, delivering a brand-new rendition of the popular R&B song.

Many local singers, including Joanna Dong, who left three fire emojis, Chen Diya (“urghhhhh”), and Tay Kewei (“classic!”), chimed in with excited comments, while the OG singer showed her support by liking the post.

Fans also flocked to the comments to sing (ha, get it?) praises of the members, with one even dubbing the group “Singapore’s top-tier group.”

“My childhood favourites are still perfectly amazing,” one fan gushed.

If you’re wondering what prompted them to do this cover, it appears that the song has recently resurfaced as a trending audio.

An excited fan even left a message on the actress’ Instagram, saying: “Rui En! ‘Tao Yan’ became popular again!!!!”

Rui En’s response? 

“Yas I know, but not exactly sure what to do with that information,” she mused.

Others also urged on Jim’s IG reel for the actress to do a collab with MengFM.

A handful of netizens, however, expressed surprise that the song was actually written by Jim.

“This song by Rui En was my favourite when I was a kid. Turns out it was written by you,” wrote one fan.

Another quipped, with a heart-eyes emoji: “Why does it feel like every song in this world is written by Teacher Lim?”

Other classics written by Jim include Fish Leong’s 'Acceptance' (2004), Stefanie Sun’s 'My Love' (2004) and 'Invisible' (2005), as well as A-Mei’s 'I Want Happiness?' (2006).

Photos: Jim Lim/Instagram, Youtube