Freddie Mercury, Lalisa Manoban of BLACKPINK and Johnny Cash are among the artists being honored by the Asian Hall of Fame in 2023. The Hall of Fame honors people of Asian descent across a variety of disciplines.
Known as the frontman of Queen, Mercury’s parents were descendants of the Parsi community in West India. Parsis are a small ethnic group with roots in South Asia. Manoban is currently a member of the most successful South Korean girl group, BLACKPINK. She was born in Thailand and has spent her 20s touring the world with the group that made history for having the best-selling album of all time by a female act in South Korea with their 2022 album, Born Pink. Both Mercury and Manoban are being honored as cultural icons.
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Meanwhile, Cash, who is not Asian, is being recognized as an artist ambassador. The late music legend is known for his popularized version of Peter La Farge’s classic folk song, “The Ballad of Ira Hayes,” about a real-life soldier named Ira Hayes, a Native American who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He is one of the soldiers in the famous photo that showed them raising the flag after the battle was won. The song told the story of the struggles Hayes faced when he returned home to the U.S. and died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 32. Cash’s rendition was a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1961.
“Inductees and artist ambassadors inspire courage, character, and service for the betterment of our country and humanity,” President and CEO of the Asian Hall of Fame Maki Hsieh said in a press statement. Other nominees include EDM producer Jennifer Lee, trio Far East Movement and Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
The induction ceremony will take place on October 21 in Los Angeles.
Photo by Pete Still/Redferns
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