"Taiwan's Susan Boyle" gets record deal

(2010 YouTube, LLC)

Lin Yu-Chun, whose performance of "I Will Always Love You" on a Taiwanese TV talent show became a viral hit, has signed a record deal, announced Sony Music Entertainment on May 13.

Twenty-four-year-old Lin performed the song on Taiwan's Avenue to Stardom in early April. A video of his rendition, eerily similiar to Whitney Houston's, became a web sensation and earned him comparisons to Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer who rose to stardom after performing on Britain's Got Talent. Lin was voted off the show soon after, when his performance of a Mandarin song failed to impress the judges.

Lin's debut album is due out in July. Sony did not indicate whether Dolly Porton's "I Will Always Love You" would be featured on the album, but did say that both English and Mandarin songs would be included.