At the age of 10, Yohan Kim was already uploading videos of his piano-playing on YouTube. At 13, he went viral with his sensational rendition of “Bad” by Michael Jackson. The video received 2.4 million views on YouTube. The popularity of the video led to notable and well-earned recognition. Kim was featured on Michael Jackson’s official website and was also recognized on Ellen Tube, the website of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
As shown in the video below and several others in his YouTube video portfolio, Kim has a clear affinity for jazz, R&B, and soul. Here, Kim plays a stunning cover of Stevie Wonder’s 1976 classic, “Isn’t She Lovely.” The video amassed an eye-popping 4.3 million views on YouTube since posting two years ago.
Kim, who is said to have the ability to replicate any melody on the piano after hearing it only once, began playing piano at just 3 years old. Born in South Korea, Kim learned how to play by simply imitating what he heard.
In 2015, Kim appeared on a Korean television called Discovery of the Gifted, further expanding his popularity. To date, Kim has nearly 350K subscribers to his YouTube channel, nearly 40K followers on his Instagram account (@yohankimmusic), and is followed by over 160,000 people on Facebook.
Kim plays a Roland keyboard. In 2015, he became PR ambassador for Roland-Korea. Another way that Kim has made a name for himself on YouTube is by posting extraordinary videos of his fast fingers at work – playing drums on the keyboard. He has even posted collaborations with other musicians to demonstrate how his keyboard drumming compares to that of a drummer playing a real drum kit.
With the holiday season upon us after a difficult year for many, now is the time to visit Kim’s YouTube channel. In recent videos, he shows the ability to reign in his frenetic jazz stylings for more peaceful and gentle melodies such as “Silent Night” and “First Noel.”
If you want keep up-to-date with videos from this incredible musician, subscribe to his YouTube channel or follow his Facebook page.