While the rest of the world was using YouTube to watch and upload funny or embarrassing life moments years ago, pioneering musicians like David Choi recognized the potential of online video-sharing to launch their careers. Virtually overnight, David’s video for the humorous “YouTube (A Love Song)” transformed him from little-known songwriter/producer to an Internet sensation.
With more than 900,000 subscribers and 12 million channel views, David has gone on four tours across the United States and Asia in two years. He will be releasing his third album “Forever and Ever” in …

I love Hatsune Miku. My boyfriend actually introduced me to this wonder of technology and pop culture, and I was skeptical at first. According to Wikipedia, Miku “is a synthesizer voice application with a female persona,” which makes her sound extremely boring. But unboxed, Miku is so much more than that. She is a phenomenon in Japan and already going international, having performed her first U.S. concert in Los Angeles in early July.

MTV’s latest series, “Awkward,” is a quirky and welcome departure from the likes of “Jersey Shore” (no offense to any fans out there). I’ve long been a fan of high school comedies, especially the offbeat kind. “Awkward” falls somewhere between “Easy A” and “My So-Called Life,” with a dose of “Mean Girls”—a winning combination in my book.

In early June, the Chinese American rapping trio Model Minority released a song for their newest mixtape, “The Tiger Sons.” Model Minority is made up of veteran emcees Jason “Grandmaster” Chu, Andrew “Inglish” Chu, and David “D-One” Fung. They say “The Tiger Sons” tape was developed “in the hopes of continuing to use music to educate our listeners and friends about the struggles and victories of Asians in America.”

Summer is the perfect time to crack open a new book and immerse yourself in different worlds and exciting adventures. If you can’t get away, take your mind there. This season, escape your job blues with a cross-country circus tour, a mysterious romp in the Brazilian Amazon, or a journey into the mind of an unusual five year-old boy. Here are my three top picks for summer reading: