Thank you to all 678 people who sent me this... The new season of American Idol has begun, and we are on our way to see who will be the regular Joe or Jane plucked from obscurity to become America's next TV pop star.
The early audition episodes, of course, would not be complete without a William Hung-esque Asian guy making a fool of himself. Right?
But wait! Enter Heejun Han, a 22-year-old Korean American nonprofit organizer from Flushing, with a soulful rendition of "How Am I Suppose to Live Without You." And this guy definitely ain't no William Hung:
It's still pretty early on in this process, so I wouldn't pin all your pop hopes on this cat just yet. But general fan reaction seems fairly positive thus far. And in the clip, judge Steven Tyler even says Heejun (after clarifying how to pronounce his name) could be the next "American Idol."
We've actually seen our share of promising Asian American male Idol contestants over the years -- Paul Kim, John Park, Jose "Sway" Penala, to name a few -- but it's been damn hard to shake the spectre of William Hung. I don't know how many times I've heard Randy express surprise when a seemingly awkward Asian dude strolls into the audition and can actually sing.
But hey, you might just need someone to attract that growing K-pop fan contingent everybody's been talking about these days.
So how will Heejun fare in Hollywood? We shall see!