Season 12 of America’s Got Talent has given, not just the United States but the whole world, amazing artists and performers, like Grand winner 12-year-old (at the time) ventriloquist and singer Darci Lynne and second runner up seven-year-old (at the time) child singer Angelica Hale. What’s great about the show is that not only the winners get the chance to start their careers, a lot of other performers get recognized just by performing on the stage.
One such artist is the American singer that hales from New York City, Michael Young or more famously known as Mike Yung. For his audition, he performed Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” with his guitarist Shunta Sakamoto making him advance to the Judges Cut, where he sang Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come.” He continued on to the quarterfinals where his performance of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” got him into the Semis. He was unfortunately eliminated in the semifinals.
Despite being eliminated so far into the talent show, Yung continued his singing career. On January 12, 2018, together with a lyric video, he released his first single titled “Alright.” In August of the same year, Dutch DJ and producer Martin Garrix worked with Yung on a new song titled “Dreamer,” which was released on November 1, 2018. “Dreamer” was Yung’s tribute to his later wife, Lydia, who had died earlier the same year.
Unbeknown to most, though, back in the 70s, Mike was signed to a label under the tutelage of Teddy Van. Unfortunately, things did not work as planned, and the release of his album never happened. “Nothing came of that. But you continue to do what you can do to pay your bills and keep your head from going insane,” he said. He has made a living by performing in the New York City subway since then, which is also where he was rediscovered thanks to a viral video of him singing “Unchained Melody.” Watch the amazing video below.
Like Mike, never let unfortunate events stop you from doing what you love best.
