Karaoke - aka 'KTV' - is a much-loved form of entertainment for millions of Chinese. Although it is not the activity of choice for most of China's international population, there are some foreigners who can tear it up in the baofang.

Kunming resident Steph Jensen alerted us to the story of Mike Alpert, an American who decided to try his luck in a national karaoke competition:

"In the middle of May, Mike was selected from over 1,000 hopefuls as one of twelve finalists to compete in a provincewide karaoke competition. Mike, known in Chinese as Xiangzi (祥子), registered when he saw an ad for the competition at his gym. He was the only foreigner to enter, and though he did not have the best singing voice, his enthusiasm won the judges over in the preliminary round."

"He advanced to the next round of 50 singers, eventually earning a spot in the finals with 11 other talented local singers. In the finals, Mike chose to sing " 恋爱ing" by Mayday (五月天). This YouTube video, filmed and created by one of Mike's fans, documents the competition and its outcome."

Does Mike win the Yunnan provincial karaoke championships and continue on to the national competition in Shanghai? Watch the video to find out.

GoKunming thanks Steph Jensen for her contribution. If you have a story you'd like to share with GoKunming readers, please contact us via our contact form.

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