Music contest winner says, ‘I’m addicted to K-Pop’

The winner of the 2013 New York K-Pop Festival said Tuesday that Korean pop music helped her open her eyes to Korean culture.

“My first love with K-Pop was the ‘Chocolate Love’ of Girls’ Generation that I happened to hear on YouTube thanks to my friend five years ago,” said Arnelle Nonon, 16, who grabbed the first prize at the festival, which was held Tuesday at the New York University Skirball Center for Performing Arts.

Among about 70 teams participated in the third annual event, nine made it to the final after preliminary online contest. Around 700 audience, most of whom were of non-Korean ethnicity, sang together with each contestant. The nine finalists showed off their singing and dancing talent, performing songs of Korean idol stars such as 2NE1, SHINee, Miss A, After School, and Rain, among others.

The winner, who made it to the finals in “American Idol Season 10,” a popular U.S. audition program, performed Lee Hi’s “1, 2, 3, 4” with her Korean pronunciation as perfect as that of Korean speakers. She also won round-trip tickets to Korea and will participate in the K-Pop World Festival to be held in Korea in October.