Thai T’s viral birthday serenades showcase the rising musician’s stage presence

The ‘Birthday Sex’ guy on his recent social media fame and budding music career 

By LAILA AZHAR — features@theaggie.org

Trevor Thai, a fourth-year global disease biology major better known as Thai T, can be found anywhere from Giedt Hall to the dorm rooms to Woodstock’s Pizza, wearing a tuxedo and holding a speaker, dancing and singing along to the 2009 classic, “Birthday Sex” by Jeremih. 

His first “Birthday Sex” serenade took place in the basement of Shields Library on his friend’s birthday. 

“I just thought it would be the funniest thing ever, because my friend does not get embarrassed easily and I love knowing the fact that I can embarrass him,” Thai said. 

When Thai saw a video of a student on the Boston University campus singing the song to students, he knew he had to bring the trend to UC Davis. 

“I put up flyers around campus and I started off charging like $5,” Thai said. “My first gig was for this girl’s birthday. I did it, they recorded it, I posted it online. It got a couple likes, and I did probably four more after that, and that’s when it started really ramping up, like ‘Oh this guy’s doing this in Davis, maybe we should hire him for our birthday too.’ I think I’ve done damn near 80 so far.”

Videos of his serenades have garnered hundreds of thousands of views on social media, making Thai a recognizable figure on the UC Davis campus. 

“Wherever I walk, even when I’m not in the tux and the whole getup, people notice who I am,” Thai said. “Like oh, I’m the ‘Birthday Sex’ guy.” 

For most people, performing in public would be nerve-wracking, but Thai embraces the silliness.

“I consider myself a pretty extroverted person, but my first couple of gigs, I was definitely nervous,” Thai said. “I didn’t have good control of my voice. If people were to go back to my first videos they would notice it. But after a while, I got into the mindset of, ‘You know what, I’m doing this for fun, like this is for someone’s birthday, no one’s here to judge.’ And then I just feel like myself, so there’s no pressure on me and I genuinely have a good time.” 

Thai isn’t the only one enjoying the performances — his crowds do, too. Nicholas Mui, a fourth-year human biology major, recalled seeing one of Thai’s serenades live.

“It was my friend’s birthday, and he wanted to go to Yoloberry,” Mui said. “We went to Yoloberry at night when it was really busy, and, out of nowhere, Thai T just walks out of the closet and starts performing ‘Birthday Sex.’ The way everyone stopped scooping froyo toppings and turned around with their phones recording was so cool. Thai T has so much presence that you can’t help but stop and notice when he steps in a room.”

Alongside being a campus social media phenomenon, Thai T is also a musician. He began playing the piano at age 7, the bass in third grade, the guitar in sixth grade and the saxophone in ninth grade. During his early high school years, he was introduced to digital music production, and since then, he has been producing and releasing his own music. 

Thai described his work as a blend of several distinct sounds. 

“Right now, I’m balancing two genres: the underground sound and the West Coast sound,” Thai said. “When I started off making music, a lot of my biggest influences [were] Michael Jackson and a lot of 1990s and 2000s R&B artists, like TLC, SWV, Whitney Houston [and] Mariah Carey.” 

Thai recently released a music video for his newest track, “DE$iGNER!” A highlight of his career so far, he noted, was his performance at the 2025 Sunset Fest, when he opened for Blxst and Lyn Lapid. 

“[Sunset Fest] was my first time performing as an artist,” Thai said. “That was probably my biggest stepping stone — of going from just making music in my bedroom, not really knowing where it goes, to ‘Oh, I have these couple hundred people in front of me that are actually liking my sound.’” 

Thai brought the same energy of his “Birthday Sex” serenades to his Sunset Fest set, students recalled. 

“I remember in fall quarter, when he was an opener in Sunset Fest, he had so much stage presence,” Mui said. “I don’t think a lot of people knew him at that time, but the way he got people to chant with him was just so cool to see.” 

For Aaron Nguyen, a fourth-year molecular and medical microbiology major, the performance of Thai’s song “VVSsence” was a highlight of the show. 

“Even though I was tired, Thai T’s ‘VVSsence’ performance at Sunset Fest brought out the raw energy in me,” Nguyen said. 

Thai is continuing to perform his music live, opening for DaBoii at Wunderbar on April 9. Looking to the future, he hopes to continue furthering his music career. 

“Dream scenario is probably I get signed to a big [record] deal, or I just blow up [and] people like my stuff and I can stay independent too,” Thai said. “But hopefully something like that, and getting my entire family to a place where I want them to be.” 

Those interested in keeping up with Thai T’s music projects — or booking him to sing at a birthday — can stay up-to-date through his Instagram, @thaiteezyy. 

Written by: Laila Azhar — features@theaggie.org