By Jessie Yeung, CNN
American singer-songwriter Don McLean joked Thursday that he planned to sing his iconic “American Pie” with the South Korean president, after the frontman entertained US President Joe Biden with a karaoke rendition of the song.
the two leaders met on Wednesday at the State Dinner at the White Housea glamorous event attended by stars like Angelina Jolie and Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Chloe Kim.
after observing At several musical performances, Biden told the crowd a story about how his children sang McLean’s 1971 hit “American Pie” as they drove to school.
“We know this is one of your favorite songs,” he told Yoon, who drew cheers from the crowd as he launched into the classic lyrics.
Yoon received a standing ovation. for your efforts before Biden presented him with a guitar signed by McLean.
The legendary singer later told CNN that he had big plans for the South Korean leader.
“I plan to go to South Korea next year and sing it with the president, so it will probably be another story,” McLean joked Thursday. “He wanted me at the White House to sing the song, but now I’m in Australia on tour.”
McLean also discussed the song’s enduring legacy, which at 8 minutes and 37 seconds held the record for the longest song on tops the Billboard Hot 100 chartuntil Taylor Swift re-released her hit “All Too Well” in 2021.
Of “American Pie,” McLean said, “It’s got a melody to it that’s pretty hard to find these days, and that’s just the opening part of the song—I mean, the song is eight and a half minutes long, and it’s an American Pie song. Rock And Roll”.
“I love the fact that the song is still alive,” he added. “Musicians deal with something called alchemy, we deal with magic, and some of the things we do fall right in their faces, and some, if we’re very lucky, are magical and live forever.”
The events on Wednesday mark only the second state visit of the Biden presidency (Biden hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte in December 2022).
At the bilateral meeting on Wednesday, the two leaders announced a key new deal to deter North Korean aggression, including a new commitment by the United States to deploy a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time since the early 1980s.
Yoon also addressed Congress in a speech on Thursday, criticizing North Korea for its human rights violations and condemning the war in Ukraine.
The CNN Wire
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