Clara Chung performs at USC's Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival
Last night, several noteworthy Asian-American artists performed at the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival Kick-off Concert at the University of Southern California's Bovard Auditorium, to celebrate Asian-American culture and promote awareness within the community.
The festival began with three songs by Oak and Gorski, comprised of cellist and vocalist Ken Oak and rhythm guitarist Ed Gorski. The California-based folk-music group has been featured on the OST for the major motion picture "She's the Man" as well as in Far East Movement's song "Smile".
Next up was YouTube artist Jason Chen, who sang Bruno Mars' hit songs "Grenade" and "Just the Way You Are". He also graced the audience with a performance of his original song "Just For A Moment", which came out last month.
Dance crew Heavy Impact, who competed on the fifth season of America's Best Dance Crew, also performed at the festival. They pumped up the crowd with their swift, sharp movements and charismatic moves.
Jason Yang, the winner of the 2010 Verizon Choice Awards, was next in line. He awed the audience with his talented electric violin playing.
YouTube artist Joseph Vincent, who has performed on "The Ellen Degeneres Show", performed a medley of Top 40 songs.
Clara Chung began her performance with "Loveprint", a song from her album "Art in My Heart". She and her band were very enthusiastic about performing; they joked around with each other and danced around stage.
She described her next song as a tune "about how rejection sucks," and even in the worst situations, people should attempt to make lemonade out of lemons. Clara then said a joke about opening up a lemonade stand. She said, "If I handed you a glass of lemonade, wouldn't it make your day?" From there, she launched into "The Camel Song", another song from her album.
Next, Clara performed the Beatles' "Blackbird", linking it to her own original song "Hum". "Heartstrings" from her album was also performed during the show. During the festival, Clara gave away a melodica to a lucky fan. The instrument, a wind instrument that is a cross between an accordion and a harmonica, is featured on her album. Next, Clara sang her album's title track, "Offbeat", the song that launched her music career.
Between songs, Clara showed her gratitude to her fans. She expressed, "I'm living my dream. Your being here is supporting my dream. I don't know if you understand how important that is to someone's soul, but thank you."
Clara has named Coldplay, Sara Bareilles, and Feist as a few of her musical inspirations. However, a few of those who attended the festival spoke of her vocal style as similar to that of Regina Spektor's.
Clara nailed every note effortlessly with her smooth, warm vocals. Attendees said of Clara, "Her YouTube videos don't do her justice." They praised her freely, implying that Clara is significantly better as a live performer, however impressive her videos are.
The festival was followed by a meet-and-greet outside of Bovard Auditorium. Oak and Gorski, Jason Chen, Jason Yang, and Clara met with fans. During this time, they answered questions and took pictures with fans. Clara signed CDs for those who bought "Offbeat" at her merchandise booth.
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Clara Chung's the best!