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A Basingstoke teenager has become an overnight pop star in the Far East after posting a video of herself singing in Korean. Rebecca Strachan, 19, received over 130,000 hits when she uploaded a video of her and a friend singing in Korean on YouTube. The video has become so popular that record executives have even offered the pair a series of gigs in the South Korean capital Seoul. Rebecca will fly out in February for expert singing and dancing lessons before playing her first concert at a festival in May. She said: "I can't believe the amount of interest we've received in Korea and the whole thing seems like a dream. When I posted the video, I was totally unprepared for all the attention. "My family don't know what to make of it and my friends have been really supportive. I can't wait to go out there and, hopefully, with a bit of luck and hard work, I can make it as a star." Rebecca's love of Asian music began in 2003 after searching for the soundtrack to her favourite computer game Final Fantasy. She began studying Japanese at college and taught herself Korean. Her success story began when she and friend Sharon Schilperoord, 18, who lives in Holland, posted a video of themselves singing a popular Korean song. Within five days of being uploaded, the video received more than 65,000 hits and hundreds of people were leaving comments about how well the western pair had performed tricky pronunciation. Her mum, Rosemarie, 41, said: "When she said how many hits it had received and that people wanted to fly her out there, I couldn't believe it. I've checked out that everything is legitimate and fully support her." Kyu Sub Choi, chief executive of Gypsii, said: "Rebecca is a very talented and highly-motivated young lady. Her cover versions of Korean pop songs have attracted tremendous attention on YouTube and Korean websites and, globally, more than a million people have viewed her video. "She is a raw diamond and we intend to make her a singing sensation in Korea."
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