Mike Yung is a 57-year-old man, who has been singing in New York subways for decades. He actually became internet famous in 2016, when he performed the song “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers in the subway at the station on 23rd and Sixth Avenue. After a video of him singing was posted on YouTube, it went viral. Now, Yung is a contestant on America’s Got Talent and this is not his first time on television. When his viral video was at its peak online, he appeared on James Corden‘s The Late Late Show.
Over this past year, Yung has been trying to sing on the subways less and follow his dreams of becoming a recording artist. With the financial help of others, he has provided for his family while pursuing his music career. Unfortunately, Yung recently fell on hard times and earlier this month, he posted a GoFundMe Page in hopes of earning money for a place to live for his family. On the page, he wrote:
As hard as this is, I am reaching out to you because I have no other choice. I haven’t been able to sleep much the past few nights thinking about what I am about to say.
The house my family lives in was foreclosed on and we received court papers to vacate the premises. I do not have the money to pay first months rent , or the deposit for a new place.
Since last Sept I have been getting help financially from two young guys who have become my managers. They have been able to help me take care of my family, pay each months rent, as well as wipe our overdue utility bills in the winter to keep the heat and lights on. This has allowed me to spend time away from the subway and start getting into studios to begin writing original records for my debut album. However, after almost a year of receiving assistance and help from them …they too have completely exhausted their own life savings to keep my dreams alive.
He then continued:
I am skeptical to ask for help from anyone, its just the way I am and was raised. I have been fighting my managers about publicly coming out about my situation for almost a month now but I don’t know what else to do as we have passed the court order date to vacate the premises (7/31). Its taken a lot for me to publicly come out like this. I don’t want anyone to think I’m putting my family’s well being second to myself and my career. Chasing my dream is something I’ve been waiting for my whole life but making sure my kids and grandkids have a home is more important than anything else.
Yung’s goal was to raise $10,000 and he has exceeded his goal. If you would like to check out his GoFundMe page or donate to Yung, click here.
Once upon a time, Yung was signed to RCA and CBS, before ending up at the label T-Electric. Now he hopes to better his career by being on AGT.