RAVE of the week: Lin Yu-chun stuns on talent show

The new Susan Boyle has arrived and taken the form of Taiwanese man Lin Yu-chun. Lin performed a jaw-dropping performance of the Whitney Houston version of “I Will Always Love You” on Taiwan’s “Avenue to Stardom” talent show. While he looks like a prepubescent boy, Lin is actually 24 years old and has become an internet sensation garnering close to 5 million YouTube hits of his rendition of the pop classic. Similar to Boyle, Lin is not the most aesthetically pleasing person to look at. However, his voice is breathtaking and hits all the right notes. Lin sports a bowl hair cut and spiffy red bow-time to accompany the performance. Prior to his breakout on “Avenue to Stardom,” Lin appeared on another Taiwanese talent show to less than stellar results. Lin was criticized for his looks and high-pitched voice, according to Annie Huang from the AP. Since Boyle’s time on “Britain’s Got Talent” last spring, she released her debut album, “I Dream a Dream,” which has sold over three million albums in the United States alone per Billboard. Lin will likely follow suit and reach the masses. If Susan Boyle is any indication, one does not have to look like a Hollywood crack job to be successful in the entertainment industry. Hopefully, Lin will stay the way he is and not undergo any massive make over. He is unique and special just the way he is. That voice of his is one to listen to. –MB

WRECK of the week: Bloom done with ‘Pirates’

Orlando Bloom is retiring his sword and pirate hat once and for all. The heartthrob recently announced he would not be returning for the fourth installment, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” which is scheduled for release on May 20, 2011. Keira Knightley told producers in 2006 that she didn’t want to participate in more sequels. Newcomers Max Irons and Sam Claflin are the frontrunners to take the place of Bloom’s role as eye candy. Irons is the son of actor Jeremy Irons, and in addition to modeling for Burberry, he has appeared in movies like “Being Julia” and “Dorian Gray.” Claflin is currently filming “The Pillars of the Earth,” a British television series. Ironically, Claflin and Irons are also competing for the role of “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwick’s “The Girl with the Red Riding Hood,” also starring Amanda Seyfried. Instead of filming “Pirates of the Caribbean 4,” Bloom is scheduled to star in the drama “Albert Nobbs,” along with Glenn Close, Amanda Seyfried and Jonathan Rhys-Myers. Although fans will miss Bloom’s soft voice and swashbuckling skills, Johnny Depp will return as Captain Jack Sparrow and Penélope Cruz has joined the cast as Blackbeard’s daughter. In the film, Jack Sparrow teams up with Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in search for the fountain of youth. Along the way, they discover that Blackbeard (Ian McShane) is also in search of the fountain. Although the ‘pirate’ saga lives on, it’s no longer a pirate’s life for Orlando. –NF