South Korea’s Yoon sings ‘American Pie’ at White House state dinner, stunning Biden and guests

Joe Biden told Yoon he had ‘no damn idea’ he could sing, and then presented him with a guitar signed by Don McLean, who wrote the song ‘American Pie’
It is not Yoon’s first time singing in public. On the campaign trail in 2021, he appeared on a famous South Korean TV show and sang a K-pop ballad

South Korea

Agence France-Presse

Published: 2:14pm, 27 Apr 2023

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From discussing nuclear war to belting out a beloved hit: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s White House visit ended on a high note when he sang Don McLean’s American Pie to great applause.

Yoon is on a six-day state visit to Washington, where he discussed with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday “the end” of any North Korean regime that used nuclear weapons against the allies.

But the two leaders had more cheerful topics on the agenda at the White House state dinner in Yoon’s honour later that day, with the South Korean leader – who is known at home to be something of a karaoke buff – sharing his love of American music.

“We know this is one of your favourite songs, American Pie,” Biden said to Yoon, having pulled him up onto the stage at the end of the evening to listen to singers perform the classic.

“Yes, that’s true,” the 62-year-old Yoon admitted, saying that he had loved the Don McLean song, released in 1971, since he was at school.

“We want to hear you sing it,” said Biden.

“It’s been a while but …” Yoon responded, offering only token resistance as he took the microphone.

President Joe Biden surprises South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol with a guitar signed by Don McLean in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, following the State Dinner. American Pie, by McLean, is one of Yoon’s favourite songs. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Yoon belted out the first few lines of the song a cappella, triggering rapturous applause from the crowd and delighting Biden and the First Lady.

“The next state dinner we’re going to have, you’re looking at the entertainment,” Biden told the crowd, referring to Yoon.

Then he turned to the South Korean president and said: “I had no damn idea you could sing.”

Biden told Yoon that McLean could not be at the White House to join them but had sent a signed guitar, which the US president gifted to the South Korean leader.

President Joe Biden reacts after South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol sings the song American Pie by Don Mclean in the State Dining Room of the White House. Photo: AP

“Yoon literally tore up the stage and White House!” one Twitter user wrote in Korean in reply to a video of the president singing.

“Yoon has revealed his hidden singing talent,” another commenter wrote, also in Korean, resharing the video.

It is not Yoon’s first time singing in public.

On the campaign trail in 2021, he appeared on the famous South Korean TV show “All the Butlers”, wowing its celebrity hosts with a sparkling rendition of the K-pop ballad “No one else” by Lee Seung-chul.

Additional reporting by Reuters