It may take years, decades, even a lifetime to witness an astronomical wonder. Likewise, The Star's flamboyant judge and famed makeup artist Ornapa Krisadee said that since '60s luk krung star Suthep Wongkamhaeng, she hasn't seen a songster with such a heavenly voice until Gun and his spellbinding singing swept her off her feet.
The new Thai idol, Napat ‘Gun’ Injaiuea.
With a caramel complexion and smiling eyes, Napat 'Gun' Injaiuea also won the audience's hearts, and in the final two weeks ago he received 61.12 percent of the popular vote to take home the Star 6 title. During the three-month competition, the rather shy 19-year-old contestant reversed the trend, away from kimchi pop to Thai pop and further back to luk krung, and he showed youngsters how cool it is to croon luk krung.
Among a big crowd of fans waiting to get to see the Star 6 champion at last Sunday's Money Expo, teenybopper Kanlayakorn Parsatarporn was crazy about K-pop and the boy band Super Junior before falling for the charming Gun.
"He's my idol because of his superb and versatile singing. P'Gun also made me appreciate golden oldies and I would like to try singing Nam Ta Saeng Tai too," said the mathayom 1 student.
Last year, at The Star 5 auditions, Gun's luk krung style failed him because it wasn't marketable compared to pop music. Not giving up, he took singing lessons and added pop songs to his repertoire, with Boy-Peacemaker and Aof- Pongsak as his role models, to prepare himself for The Star 6.
The Star 6 ’s versatile winner.
This season, the Suphan Buri boy wooed the audience with pop numbers, although it was the enchanting luk thung and luk krung performances that earned him standing ovations. He made many Thais, seniors and juniors alike, itch to hear more golden oldies, whether luk thung or luk krung.
The opposing music genres originated in the 1960s. Luk thung, translated as "child of the fields", expresses rural personality or lifestyle, while luk krung, "child of the city", tends to be urban ballads with poetic lyrics.
"Luk thung was my first love. At the age of seven, I was hooked on the soap opera Saneh Luk Thung and began belting out its song in the bathroom," recalled Gun. "My father heard me singing, and he became my first vocal coach."
Believing that his little boy had real talent, Chamnan Injaiuea, a civil servant, coached his son for luk thung contests, later winning the KPN Junior Award 2000 when the luk thung prodigy was nine.
Gun's luk thung idol is Got-Jakrapan and his luk krung idol, is neither Charin Nanthanakhon nor Suthep Wongkamhaeng, but his father.
Gun enchanting the audience with his luk thung singing.
Yard Phetch, featuring his dad, was one of the highlights of a 30-minute concert that attracted enough SMS votes to make Gun overwhelmingly win The Star 6.
It was a dream for the country boy to go on The Star since the TV show's first season. Then a mathayom student at Suankularb Wittayalai School, he was too young and so he focused on studying instead and became the school's outstanding student in many aspects, including Thai classical music.
The pop, luk thung and luk krung charmer also likes to sing Westlife's hits. Does he hit any snags when switching music styles?
"One hurdle is my Suphan accent and that may result in 'Suphanised' pop and luk krung songs," said Gun, now a freshman at Kasetsart University's Faculty of Economics.
"It's stimulating to sing a variety of styles. Pop songs are challenging in employing techniques like improvisation and expressing emotions, and I still have to develop myself in singing this genre, as well as keep on polishing my luk krung and luk thung performances."
The Star 6 album, to be released on May 27, includes the pop number, Raya Tham Jai, Gun's first song as a signed artist.
"It's more than a dream come true to become a recording artist. My father has always wanted to be a singer too and I'm so happy to have made two dreams come true," said the new Thai idol.
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