The 23-year-old Korean Han Hee-jun, who was one of the top ten participants of American Idol Season 11, is poised to make his debut in the U.S. music market.

Han made the top 9 of American Idol last year, which was a first in the show’s history for an Asian. Han has made a contract with Korean agency Polaris Entertainment, and is ready to release his first single in the U.S. It has been reported that Han is going to work with famous agent Max Gousse, who used to manage many big stars such as Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, and Usher, making the possibility of Han’s success in the U.S. stronger.

According to the Korean daily newspaper Chosun Ilbo, Han was contacted by at least 100 agents after the show, but he decided to choose a Korean agent because he wanted to stick to his Korean background.

When Han participated in American Idol last year, he was one of the most popular contestants in terms of Internet voting score. He said, “I think using a chest voice made me popular because that was little bit unique compared to other participants who were using either a head voice or a nasal sound.”

Han participated in American Idol to raise awareness about the disabled at a missionary organization in New York, where he is working as a volunteer.

“I used to suffer from severe depression. I was getting vocal training from some agency in Korea for two years to become a professional singer from 2010, but it didn’t work well. I also participated in a Korean singing competition show, but I didn’t make it. These failures put me a depressing situation,” Han told the Chosun Ilbo.

Han added, “I happened to visit a missionary organization in New York and meet about 200 disabled people there. I saw them happy by singing and playing music instruments together. It opened my eyes and made me decide to participate in American Idol because once I make it up to 24 people, I will have a chance to talk about my personal life story, and I thought if I can let people know about these disabled people’s story, they can get more help from here and there.”

His goal has been achieved. After getting exposure on national television, the missionary organization and the disabled received many donations from across the U.S.

Han has an English name, “Dante.” However, he always goes with his Korean name “Hee-jun.” That is because Han’s goal is to be a famous singer in the U.S. as a Korean, just like Psy.

Image Courtesy : Heejun Han Fan Page

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

Tae-jun Kang
Tae-jun Kang graduated from Korea University with a business degree as well as a minor in Russian language and literature. He had worked as a riot police in Korea for 2 years before he started his degree. This gave him an opportunity to focus on the social issues which he overlooked before, and spiked his interest in the field of journalism. In 2011, he worked for Voice of America Seoul News Center for nine months as an intern, building his goal to become an international journalist. You can reach him by sending an email to taejun.kang@toonarimedia.com

Related Posts

Mariah Carey Signs on As American Idol Judge

Mariah Carey, five time Grammy winner, has announced that she will be the newest “American Idol” judge. After meeting with FOX executives on Monday, July 23, Carey joined in a phone press conference to confirm the news. Steven...

Jon Bon Jovi Raised U$ 1 Million For The Tiger Woods Foundation

Las Vegas, U.S.A.- Fourteen years later, and Tiger Jam has yet to skip a beat! This past Saturday, Tiger Jam 2012 again rocked the Las Vegas strip, bringing host Tiger Woods and talents including Jon Bon Jovi and Friends and...

American Idol Live! Returns for 2012 Tour

Los Angeles, U.S.A. - American Idol LIVE! returns this summer for another hit tour to showcase this season's talented top 10 finalists. Launching the careers of many, the American Idol LIVE! Tour is the first chance to see your...