Person To Watch

A Google search of the name Eric Nam reveals his Twitter handle, his Facebook page, a few photos, as well as a few of his YouTube videos, which include his rendition of Jason Mraz’s “ I Won’t Give Up” and 2NE1’s “Lonely.” These videos have garnered over 50,000 hits each and have had Asian Americans buzzing about his talents. Suffice to say, he is on the cusp of riding the K-pop (Korean popular music) wave.

At first glance, Nam seems like just any other college graduate. At Boston College, he was active in many different clubs, such as UGBC and Shaw Leadership Committee. In addition, he helped bring Kollaboration Boston to BC: the Asian-American talent show with an aim to empower and enrich the music industry. In 2011, Nam left Chestnut Hill with a B.A. in International Studies, and friends at the school who remember him with fondness. So it is no surprise, considering his leadership, interest in music, and effusive personality, that Nam decided to try out for MBC’s Star Audition via YouTube.

Before graduating BC, Nam had a few hobbies, including making YouTube videos covering artists such as 2NE1 and Adele. After graduation, he invested much time into auditioning and campaigning for votes on his submission to MBC’s Star Audition. He reached out to his fan base and made it grow through his efforts via social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Because of his talents, his motivation, and his willingness to connect with others, he was able to gain enough votes to advance to the next round. He was flown to Korea for more auditioning. He deferred his acceptance into Deloitte Consulting and flew to Korea. He says that he thought there was no time like the present to follow his dreams—which were to see how far he could get with his singing talents, as well as to motivate others to pursue their own dreams.

He eventually placed fifth in the competition and was chosen by Loen Entertainment to release a single called “The Blue Moon of Jeju.”

Nam is currently finishing up his promotions for his song and is preparing to sign with an entertainment company for a formal debut into the Korean pop music industry. He is preparing to take the music world by storm, and while doing that, he is hoping that his successes will give others, especially immigrant children, motivation to follow their dreams.