Spring 2014

About the Magazine

Northwestern is the quarterly alumni magazine for Northwestern University.
Contact or contribute to the magazine.

Campus Life

Engineer Pursues Pop Stardom in China

Story Tools

Share this story

Facebook  Facebook
Twitter  Twitter
Email  Email

Print this story

Watch Harris' interview with Sinovision, a Chinese language news organization, about Harris' experience at Northwestern and in China.

Tell us what you think. E-mail comments or questions to the editors at letters@northwestern.edu.

Ever wonder about those strange designations we use throughout Northwestern to identify alumni of the various schools of the University? See the complete list.

Find Us on Social Media

Facebook  Twitter  Twitter

David Harris rocks on Chinese singing competition show.

Fifth-year senior David Harris leads a dual life: In the United States he studies industrial engineering and Mandarin Chinese, but in China he was a singing star on the popular American Idol–like Chinese TV show Xing Guang Da Dao.

While studying abroad and then working at the U.S. Embassy in China in 2012, Harris played guitar and sang — in Chinese —with his neighbor and friend, Dali, in his free time. One day Dali brought Harris to the auditions for Xing Guang Da Dao. Months later, after Harris had returned to the States, Dali called to tell him he had been selected to compete.

The South Bend, Ind., native returned to China last summer for the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship. He also appeared on several other Chinese shows before filming Xing Guang Da Dao.

During fall quarter he spent a week in Beijing to film the show. Harris made it through the first round but was cut in the second (check out his performance at the 24-minute mark in this YouTube video). He returned to China during winter quarter to film a new show.

“Luckily my teachers have been very understanding, but it’s not easy,” he says. “The jet lag is the hardest part.”