The New York Times on Sunday carried an extensive story about South Korean singer Rain ahead of his concerts in New York this week, calling him a “pan-Asian heartthrob.”
Under the heading “The Ambassador,” it said in a culture-leisure section lead story, “the Korean Justin Timberlake and the Korean Usher, is a serious and driven performer.”
The paper said, “He wants nothing less than to break down barriers, build cultural bridges and become the first Asian pop star to succeed in America.”

Rain is scheduled to hold two concerts at Madison Square Garden on Thursday and Friday.
“I would really like to see an Asian make it there (in the U.S. music market). I would like that Asian to be me. That's why I'm studying the language, reading up on the culture and practicing every day to correct my weaknesses,” Rain, 23, was quoted as telling the daily through an interpreter.

The paper said Rain “had been dreaming about Madison Square Garden since he was a child imitating Michael Jackson's moves.” It also relayed the moving tale of his acceptance by management firm JYP Entertainment run by singer Park Jin-young when his mother was already very ill and had to miss her son’s debut. Park told the daily the singer was motivated by a sense of obligation to his late mother. “He promised his mom that he was going to be the no. 1 singer in the whole world," it quoted Park as saying. "That's why he never parties, never drinks, never goes out and practices hours every day."