Benjamin Sum

The Myanmar Army issued his seizure under the Penal Code of 1861 which would lead to years of imprisonment.

From Falam, where he was living at the time, he fled to India with his ailing mother in March 2021.

After three days of journey, he and his mother joined his grandparents who had settled in Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram.

Living in Mizoram as a foreigner, he found it hard to make earning to support his family performing at various venues, and then decided to start a YouTube channel.

To attract Mizo viewers, he had to learn the dialect used in Mizoram, which is distinct from his native dialect.

After mastering the Mizo dialect, he released his first cover "Chhailai Di Lenna", a Mizo love song written by Lalthangliana Pautu and polularised by Lalsangzuali Sailo.

Made in collaboration with a fellow Burmese musician, Thangbawiha Chhakchhuak, it was dedicated for charity for civilians in Myanmar.

This was the turning point of his career in the Mizo music industry, and became a "recognisable celebrity."

A fan-based account "Summers" was opened in an Instagram through which his song earned further popularity.

He later donated all the money received from the song through YouTube and contributions from Summers to the Burmese refugees.

Sum then proceeded to make a music video "Tunah Erawh Zawng" from which he was noticed by a Mizo producer, RPa Ralte and got connected via YouTube comments.

Since then, he has been performing in various platforms and even won the "Best Male Artist" in Ṭhazual and Lelte Awards in 2021, the very same year he fled from Myanmar to Mizoram.

Benjamin Sum (ဘင်ဂျမင်ဆုမ်း; born 27 November 2000) is a Burmese singer of ethnic Chin descent.

He rose to public recognition following his finish as the runner-up on the fourth season of Myanmar Idol.

However, his rose to stardom is attributed to his cover of a Mizo love song "Chhailai Di Lenna" on YouTube in 2021.

Following threats from the Myanmar Army after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Sum became a refugee in Mizoram, India.

Adapting to the Mizo dialect, his first song earned him "Best Male Artist" awards at Ṭhazual and "Singer of the Year (Male)" at Lelte Awards in 2021.

In 2023, he was surrounded by a controversy as he was found to possess forged Indian documents including birth certificate, electoral voter identity, Aadhaar and driving license.

Investigations led to uncovering other cases of counterfeit documents among the refugees in Mizoram.

Upon public pressure, Sum surrendered all his Indian documents to the Government of Mizoram.

Benjamin Sum was born on 27 November 2000 in Kalay, Sagaing Region, Myanmar.

His father, Lalhmuaklian was a Christian missionary and died when he was four years old.

His younger sister, eight years his junior, died at age four when, at the same time his mother, Laldinpari was diagnosed with cancer stage three when he was in middle school.

Ben started performing in public in 2018.

He wanted to pursue a career in music, and so he auditioned for the fourth season of Myanmar Idol.

Finally, he was selected in Top 11 finalists.

His life story shocked the Myanmar audience as he stepped into Myanmar Idol 2019 as a contestant.

He is currently studying Computer Science at the University of Computer Studies, Kalay.

He made the grand final on the weekend of 28 December 2019, alongside Esther Dawt Chin Sung and Aye Mya Phyu.

After Esther was declared the winner, he finished as the runner-up with over 50% of the public vote.

During his homecoming to Kalay, a huge crowd of thousand fans gathered.

After competing Myanmar Idol, he started his tour to different cities in Myanmar.

He began shooting for commercial advertisements, stage performances, and preparing to record his first solo album.

On 18 May 2020, he released a single song called "Pyan Twae Mae Yat" MV on his Facebook page which earned one million views within 24 hours and then two million views in 5 days.

Also it has long been number one on Joox's top 100 chart.

He also went to Australia to help the victims of the Australia bushfires and raised a charity for them just before the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020.

During the pandemic, he spent his days making songs and released a few of them which got charted No.1 in Joox.

Despite his passion for making more music, he wasn't able to produce it due to the military regime.

In February 2021, a military coup overtook the government of Myanmar and the country came under a military regime.

Sum was involved in the protest against the new government which exercised martial law on its citizens, and became one of the key figures in the civilian activism.