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As Katy Perry’s “Firework” verse “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag” played during Andrew Zheng’s Mr. ASIA competition video, the Syracuse University freshman let go of a plastic bag — which then blew in the wind. In the bloopers, the audience saw Zheng chasing the bag.

A Mr. ASIA panelist, SU sophomore Thomas Cheng, commented in the chat, “Environmentally concerned, talented, and he can code — a true renaissance man.”

In addition to Zheng, three other students submitted two videos that showcased them redefining masculinity and performing talents — like taekwondo and a comedy sketch — in the hopes of being crowned the next Mr. ASIA on Friday evening. The Asian Students in America organization hosted the fourth Mr. ASIA 2021 pageant via Zoom.

Along with the four-person pageant, YouTube influencers CantoMando dropped into the Zoom event. The group of three Asian Canadian YouTube influencers answered questions from the panelists and audience members and announced the runner-up and winner of Mr. ASIA 2021.

While previous years’ contestants introduced themselves in person and performed for live crowds, this year, the contestants — Zheng, SU sophomore Win Tran, SU junior David Lee and SU senior Asif Mohammed — submitted videos of two talents for a panel containing most of ASIA’s executive board and CantoMando to judge.

For the first round of videos, the four students lip-synced a song that redefined their masculinity. For Lee’s performance, he completed the TikTok dance for the song “Weak” by Larissa Lambert. One audience member commented, “is that David D’Amelio.”

The last lip-sync and dance came from Mohammed, who chose Thundercat’s “Dragonball Durag.” Mohammed’s video contained jump cuts around different parts of the room it was shot in, close-up face shots and at least four different wardrobe changes.

After his performance, the evening’s host — ASIA’s cultural director and political education chair Brandon Lau complimented Mohammed for his timely lip-syncing and the multiple outfits he wore throughout the video. But it was in the second round of videos that the contestants got to show their true talents that would grab the judges’ attention.

Two of the contestants, Zheng and Lee, performed separate martial arts routines. Zheng performed his routine entirely on his own and used an umbrella in lieu of a sword. Lee performed taekwondo with a black belt. While he started out solo, halfway through his performance, Lee started kicking through wooden planks held by friends, then finished by breaking a few layers of planks sitting on two concrete blocks.

Tran, who lip-synced “Nice Guys” by Ryan Higa, Chester See and Kevin Wu, showed off his talent of shooting his shot — in pong. Throughout the video, Tran took “trick shots” with ping-pong balls — throwing the ball on the roof or rolling it on the table — before replaying the same clip of the ball falling into a red Solo cup.

After Tran’s video ended, the show shifted to a Q&A section with CantoMando. In line with the theme of defying Asian male masculinity, the influencers try to make content that defies Asian stereotypes that are often perpetuated in the media.

Part of this task is creating content that is not pigeonholed for Asian audiences, the group said. An example they spoke about was the use of the angry Asain mother character in content curation. While it’s relatable to many Asian viewers, it’s not content that will help to propel the careers of Asian influencers.

Early in the Q&A, Lau asked the three influencers — Sheldon Ho, Mike Wu and Edward Leung — how they would describe CantoMando to an alien.

“We want to make (an) Asian American/Chinese social hub,” Leung said.

Before announcing the winner, the influencers also spoke about the recent uptick in hate crimes against Asian Canadians and Asian Americans. Lueng said the events show that there still is a stigma toward Asian people in Canada and the United States, but Ho took a more positive outlook and reminded the audience about the progress Asian individuals have made in North America.

After answering a few more questions from the audience and Lau, the trio announced the runner-up, Mohammed, and the winner, Win Tran. The group laughed as they realized Win had won the competition — a fitting outcome given his first name.

“It was destined to be,” Leung said.

Published on April 10, 2021 at 12:32 am

Contact Louis: louis@dailyorange.com | @JBL__98