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The LA-based, music production/management company Xperimental Entertainment is trying to break the William Hung stigma attached to Asian American pop singers by conducting its own American Idol-type contest on its website.
The site features live performances of 10 Asian American singer/musician finalists. Voters can cast ballots once every 24 hours for their favs. Unlike its AI counterpart, there isn’t a Ryan Seacrest in sight, and some of the contestants choose to accompany themselves with piano or guitar and sing original material (which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t).
What’s similar between the two contests is the cheesiness factor of song selection. The singers who pick covers choose the same old songs – Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools,” Stevie Wonder’s “Lately,” John Lennon’s “Imagine” and a lot of power ballads. But hey, all of them sound a heck of a lot better than that Bucky dude still on AI right now.
The new Asian American pop star winner will be announced on the night of May 6 at the finale at the Scottish Rite Auditorium – without a William Hung in sight.