Chinese American sensation Leehom Wang fills soccer stadiums with his concerts in China. His face is plastered all over on billboards for products he endorses. Women swoon over him.
Wang was born in Rochester, NY and the 38-year old didn’t learn to speak Mandarin until his college years.
The Los Angeles Times calls him the “biggest American star America has never heard of.”
Hopefully that will soon change.
He recently made his debut in Los Angeles with a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and Michale Mann has cast Wang in a cyber thriller alongside Thor star Chris Hemsworth.
Wang was discovered when he entered a singing contest during a visit to Taiwan. He didn’t win, but got the attention of a record executive who signed him
Mann thinks Wang has cross over appeal to make it on both continents–Asia and North America. Wang agrees.
“I think the time is right” for material with global resonance, he said. “The content doesn’t yet exist, but the stage is set.”
Wang has worked with Ang Lee in his movie Lust, Caution. You can read Lee’s thoughts on Wang as well as Michael Mann’s in the Los Angeles Times.
RE: Chinese American superstar on the verge of making it big in US: You forgot to mention Wang Leehom went to Eastman School of Music, Williams College and Berklee College of Music. He’s a true talent. I’ve been a fan of him for quite a while now.