13-Year-Old Guitar Prodigy Shreds at Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony
The Winter Olympics are finished, but one more star was made during last night’s Closing Ceremony. 13-year-old guitar prodigy Yang Tae-Hwan took to the world’s stage to shred a piece of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.”
People flipped out to Tae-Hwan’s incredible playing and his prowess. The Olympics had been tinged with rock twice, with a figure skating duo performing a routine to Disturbed’s “The Sound of Silence” cover and a solo figure skater turning heads with an AC/DC run while wearing leather and an Angus Young back patch.
As for Tae-Hwan, he first rose to prominence on South Korean TV talent show Star King. Since 2013, the young shredder has been uploading videos onto his YouTube channel, with his most successful clip showcasing a masterful cover of Dream Theater’s “The Best of Times.” Yang Tae-Hwan also released his own album in 2015, at the age of 10.
Like with most Olympics footage, it’s tough to find full pro-shot clips of anything, but NBC tweeted out a 30-second clip of Yang Tae-Hwan, which got everyone who didn’t catch the Closing Ceremony live on TV. The tiny axemaster played a section of the “Winter” portion of the “Four Seasons,” backed up by an orchestra and an army of dancers. It was quite the spectacle, as the guitarist did his thing right under the Olympic flame.
Watch Yang Tae-Hwan rip at the Winter Olympics in the clip above and watch his Dream Theater cover in the video below.
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