America’s Got Talent video: Mike Yung takes on ‘Unchained Melody’ after viral success
The 57-year old performer went viral late last year when he took on “Unchained Melody” in the New York City subway, and on this show he’s going to be doing the same thing. It’s not the sort of song that anyone can do, mostly because it requires a certain degree of soul and heartache. You need to know what the lyrics mean, and how to portray them to an audience. You’ve gotta feel them deep down. It is a dated song, but there is something about the way Yung sings it that makes it feel a little bit more current.
This isn’t the only major TV performance from Yung this past year — he also briefly appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden last year after the video went viral. For the record, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with him being “discovered” given that finding people who haven’t been on the internet or on television with a significant talent these days is exceedingly rare.
For the record, we know that Heidi Klum is going to be pushing her golden buzzer on tonight’s episode of the show, so could Mike be the guy who gets it? It’s possible, though we’d be shocked just on the basis of the fact that we haven’t seen a single golden buzzer recipient this season teased in any of the promos.
What the path ahead for Mike looks like
We do firmly believe that Yung will make it to the next round, which is of course the Judge Cuts where he will perform in front of the group once more with a guest judge thrown in there. This is one of our personal favorite rounds of the competition just because everyone is still very good. There are no duds, and nobody to be altogether bored by. If he advances from there, he then moves on to the live show.
Here’s the clear struggle for Mike: We don’t have any problem with him doing older songs, given that it’s clearly what he connects to on some level. They just need to be songs that he feels some sort of organic connection to. He can’t just go up there and do the same thing all over again; he has to be innovative while also not go beyond himself and take on a song that doesn’t feel right. Don’t force the issue when it comes to a current hit.
We don’t think that Mike’s the sort of singer who’s ever going to have top-40 radio hits. However, he’s got a future selling albums of songs that he connects to, whether it be originals or covers. That’s what he should strive to on the show this season.
Want to preview some other acts?
We suggest that you head over here to see a really entertaining acrobatic duo that’s going to be appearing over the course of the episode tonight! (Photo: NBC, video via People.)