Dawen

Who is Dawen?

Dawen, is an American singer and songwriter. He gained prominence when he won Kollaboration Acoustic 4. Dawen’s first single “Wake Up”, deals with Asian American stereotypes and prejudice towards minorities, and is especially popular among high school and college students. Known for his socio-politically conscious music, Dawen’s material is a staple of Asian American Studies departments all over universities across the US, frequently performing and speaking at various panels and conferences.

Dawen has recently become popular for translating famous popular songs into Chinese on YouTube, with his Mandarin cover of Rebecca Black's "Friday" becoming a viral runaway hit garnering much media attention including Carson Daly, exposure on AMP Radio and the Kevin and Bean Show on KROQ in Los Angeles and other online publications. Subsequently, Dawen’s Mandarin covers have become widely popular among Chinese language classes everywhere and often used in lesson plans as examples to learn Mandarin. Some of his translated covers include the aforementioned “Friday” by Rebecca Black, Backstreet Boys, "I Want It That Way", and the 2012 summer smash "Call Me Maybe", by Carly Rae Jepsen.