When Benji Schwartz competed on the "Super Idol" show, he sang every week and survived several elimination rounds. He ended up in the top 10.
On Sundays, the 27-year-old returned missionary played the piano in Primary for the international ward in Taipei, Taiwan. It's a calling he's had in both Taiwan and China.
"I go to Primary every week and play the Primary songs for the kids," said Schwartz, who is visiting family in Bountiful, Utah. "That's been fun."
Schwartz says he is "having a blast" in the adventure of pursuing his dream of being an American pop star in China.
"I'm a person who really follows my heart in how I lead life," said Schwartz, whose Chinese name is Pan Jie-ming. "It was an 'aha' moment, a moment of inspiration that I just saw myself going to China and pursuing a career in entertainment."
He lived for two years in Shanghai, where he was on a reality television show like "The Apprentice" and in was in the top six.
That gave him the exposure he needed to be noticed by both directors and television audiences, he said. From there, he guest-starred on sitcoms and had roles in other television series.
He has lived in Taipei for about a year, where he is pursuing a music career. During the "Super Idol" competition, which is similar to "American Idol," he had weekly voice lessons from Dean Kaelin via iChat. He also uses the Web chatting program to get in touch with his parents, who live in Bountiful, Utah.
"I've always grown up loving performing — singing, dancing and acting," Schwartz said. "When I served a Chinese-speaking mission and then toured China, I had the idea of combining my two loves and my new love of Chinese culture and Chinese language and my love of performing, that I'd go to China and pursue my dreams."
Schwartz is the third of seven children and has lived in Denver, Delaware, Utah and England, and graduated from high school in Pennsylvania while his father was a mission president there. He went to Brigham Young University, where he had been accepted to the music dance theatre program before switching to accounting.
"I decided to switch to accounting to be more well-rounded," he said, adding that he had done well academically in school. "I really enjoyed my accounting classes."
He served a mission to the Australia Melbourne West Mission, Mandarin-speaking, from mid-2001 to mid-2003. After serving, Schwartz was part of BYU's performing group, the Young Ambassadors, when they went to Brazil and the following year in China and Korea. He was president of the group when they went to China in 2005. The following year, he moved to Shanghai.
"He's trying to live his dream," said his mother, Barbara Schwartz. "He'll never spend the rest of his life wondering what might have happened if he went to China."
For the most part, being Mormon doesn't come up. In China, religion isn't discussed publicly or on air, Schwartz said. In Taiwan, his religion has only come up in passing.
"In private circles with directors it would come up, when they realize that I'm from Utah and went to BYU," he said.
For the most part, the projects he is a part of don't require him to work on Sundays.
For now, he has several projects he is working on in Taiwan, including acting and songwriting.
"I really follow my heart on things and trust that as inspiration," Schwartz said. "I hope to be an influence in the world and spiritual living and just enjoying life."
Samples of Schwartz's music are online at www.benji2u.com.
e-mail: crappleye@desnews.com