Since 2008 Dartmouth College’s center for the arts has hosted the annual Dartmouth Idol contest. Based on the television show American Idol Dartmouth Idol is a singing competition in which students compete to be judged the school’s most talented singer. Unlike on the show, winning the Dartmouth Idol contest carries no implied promise of pop stardom. The winner of the 2009 contest, Michael Odokara-Okigbo, is now merely a Dartmouth sophomore majoring in sociology.
But this year’s Dartmouth Idol contest featured a surprise guest. In the performance surrounding the contest the college decided, fittingly, to perform a musical tribute to Michael Jackson. This is the musical tribute:
And that special, leather jacket-clad guest who makes his appearance at 2:01? That’s Jim Yong Kim, the president of Dartmouth College.
While I guess the president as video star is now sort of familiar, the appearance of Dr. Kim is, as Jackson might say, a sight that almost stops your heart. And not really in a good way.
