A former cover band vocalist in his early 20s, belting out hits of Michael Jackson, Queen, and Toto, to name a few, Patrick Dang is now a respected college president of British Columbia’s biggest and oldest private college. Despite already establishing a name in the education sector, the 59-year-old singer-musician is not about to put his microphone down just yet as he will be representing Canada in the largest and most prestigious karaoke competition in the world.
In the 1970s, Dang was the lead singer of Vision, a rock ‘n’ roll band in Johannesburg that played covers in weddings and other gigs. After the group got disbanded when he was 24 years old, the singer continued with his life, got married, and started a family of four.
In the mid-1990s, Dang and his family immigrated to Canada. Setting aside his professional music career, he pursued a job in the corporate world, worked his way up, and eventually became the president of B.C.’s Sprott Shaw College. Still with an undying passion for music, Dang built a studio in his home’s basement, complete with a drum kit, guitars, and some amplifiers as well. He managed the school during the day and sang his heart out at night.
“During the day, I’m 150 percent involved in what I do as President at Sprott Shaw. And once I get home, I would go into my studio and spend a couple hours just enjoying and being myself,” he shared in a CTV News report.
Learning about the qualifying round of the annual B.C. Karaoke Championships, Dang decided to go back to the music world by joining the 10 week-long competition. He made it as far as the semifinals in his first attempt and reached the national competition in his second. For the third time around, the rock star finally won Men’s Champion on July 7 at Vancouver’s Two Lions Public House and got a spot to compete in the finals, impressing the judges and audience alike with his renditions of Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever,” Seal’s “Love’s Divine,” and One Republic’s “Secrets”.
“Mick Jagger hasn’t retired. And so, why shouldn’t we come back and do the same thing? I decided, there’s never a better time to go back and express myself through my music,” he said in the same report.
It wasn’t easy for Dang at first, but he was determined to compete even with the younger group of singers and step up his performances with every song he sang.
“I got up, sang a few notes, I remember thinking to myself, that was way more difficult than it was supposed to be,” he recalled.
With the 14th Karaoke World Championships (KWC) to be held in Canada’s Edgewater Casino on November 1 to 6, Dang will be up against other amateur singers from the United States, Spain, Panama, Singapore, and the Philippines, among other participating countries. The other Canadians who will compete in the KWC are Allison Cociani (Ladies’ Champion), and Daniel and Burnaby Escobar (Duet Champions).
“I always wanted to pursue music… Now in my 50’s, I decided to go back to my love of music. KWC has allowed me to relive my younger years and make up for lost time. I love it and feel that singing is truly an extension of who I am as a person,” the singer said.
If Dang wins the international competition finals, will he take the spotlight again and give his music career a second try?
“If the right opportunity came… I’m 59. What are you going to do one day when you look back? I don’t want to say ‘I wish I had.’”
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Tickets, VIP passes and hotel packages for KWC Vancouver 2016 are available at kwcvancouver2016.com.