Student from Hunan Province brings love of singing to University of Minnesota

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Published on Tuesday, 27 January 2009 03:31

     
Zhang YuXin loves singing and is very good at it. [In December], her talent shone through even thousands of miles away from home.

A native of Hunan Province--Mao Zedong's home province--Zhang is a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. On Dec. 5, she won a singing contest at the U of M Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars (FACSS) 24th anniversary party at Coffman Union.

Zhang has been singing since she was little and loves to be on a stage, being the center of attention and performing in front of an audience.

Zhang YuXin loves singing and is very good at it. [In December], her talent shone through even thousands of miles away from home.

A native of Hunan Province--Mao Zedong's home province--Zhang is a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. On Dec. 5, she won a singing contest at the U of M Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars (FACSS) 24th anniversary party at Coffman Union.

Zhang has been singing since she was little and loves to be on a stage, being the center of attention and performing in front of an audience.

“I never learned singing but I really like singing,” she said. “When I was very young I entered a lot of singing contests. I really like the feeling when I am standing on the stage.”

Last year, Zhang recorded some songs on her home computer and sent them to a talent agency in China. The agency felt she is very talented but suggested she go to Beijing for more professional training. Zhang pondered that option, but when the chance to come to the United States to study materialized, Zhang decided to attend the University of Minnesota this fall. She is undecided about her major but is interested in public relations.

“I think the school is good and the people are very friendly,” Zhang said of U of M. “But I hate the weather here. It’s very cold. Yes, my teacher noticed me that before I came here, but the school took me and I took this school so I came here.”

 Zhang entered the FACSS singing contest at the urging of friends. An audition was held in November and Zhang was one of six finalists to perform on Dec. 5. She sang a popular Chinese song, “As it Turns Out, You Don’t Want Anything” [at] the audition. For the final, she sang Hilary Dufff’s hit, “Someone's Watching Over Me.”

”My friends said I would win but I was not sure,” recalled Zhang, who was also the MC for the event.

Zhang knew she nailed the song but she did not know how the judges would respond to her singing an English song. But when the announcement was made, Zhang emerged the winner.

”It was a lot of fun,” Zhang said.

Zhang loves singing and will continue to sing while she pursues her education at the U of M. She has recorded about 12 of her songs on her IPHONE and is open to sing at local events if her schedule allows.