'World Idol' redux? Lin Yu Chun of Taiwan could face off against Susan Boyle.

Bring on World Idol Redux.

With 'American Idol'-style competitions thriving around the world, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan are the most recent countries to produce their own unassuming stars.

Lin Yu-chun, an unassuming kid with a bowl-cut, belted out Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' – hitting every high note, and even getting a little Motown growl into the song. His pitch-perfect version won him first place – and $1 million – on Taiwanese talent show "Avenue to Stardom" a week ago, and his performance has already been viewed more than 1.3 million times online.

"This is absolutly UNBELIEVABLE!!!" enthused one person on Twitter, who can be forgiven for letting his excitement get the better of his spelling.

Teased, he found solace in singing

A chubby 24-year-old, Mr. Lin told The Associated Press that he always lacked confidence because of his weight, and to cope with the teasing growing up he locked himself in his room and sang along to songs by Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, and most of all to Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You.'

"Being fat draws a lot of mockery in our society," he told the AP. "I now have more confidence in pursuing a singing career. You don't have to be a good-looking man or woman to succeed. Just be yourself and try your best."

From Boyle to Bedouin poetry

Lin could have learned as much from the rise of Susan Boyle. A middle-aged Scot with unruly hair and a spinster image, she endured bullying as a girl and as she grew up attracted taunts from local children. Audiences initially expected the dowdy Scott to "squawk like a duck," as The Washington Post put it. Instead, Ms. Boyle stunned listeners with her performance of 'I Dreamed a Dream' from the production Les Misérables – a performance that ultimately garnered tens of millions of views on YouTube.

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