"Regardless of skin color or age or gender, everyone can hear their favorite music and I would like to communicate with my fans through that kind of music." These are the words of up and coming Asian American star Clara Chung. At age 22, Clara has been singing professionally for less than a year and has yet to sign with a label, but she has already landed an album deal! It shouldn't come as a big surprise though; Clara's achievements include winning the huge Asian American talent contest, Kollaboration and being the JC Penny Breakout Performer for the International Secret Agents concert in California this past year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOkFs6isQxw Her Youtube account has over 30 thousand subscribers and every video that she puts out gets an average of 40 thousand views. She very recently worked with Jay Park and Dumbfounded on a collaboration song titled Clouds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NRnQWsvvK4 Wherever Clara goes, she seems to make tons of fans along the way. Not only is she vocally gifted, but she also plays a wide variety of instruments. She often breaks out some of her more unusual instruments during her live performances, most notably her signature melodica. And it can't be said that Ms. Chung hasn't been recognized on a national scale. She was recently invited to perform at a White House sanctioned event for the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month. Her invitation came as a result of a recommendation from actor Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iKpFYevW8g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AUxw37ws88 Clara was born in New York but grew up in sunny Los Angeles and recently graduated UC Irvine with a degree in psychology. "It's only been 8 months since I started my career as a professional musician and I've only been recording my first album for 3 weeks now and so I'm very thankful for this experience." Clara's album is due for release in the summer of 2010. Be sure to keep up with her as she gives her fans a glimpse into the studio through her Youtube account, ClaraCMusic. With this album deal under her belt, we can only wonder what's in store. An official artist label? Future collaborations? Only time will tell! As always, stay tuned to allkpop as we continue following Clara's venture into the music industry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr8Wa1yAN5k