A private has amazed his supervisors - and the general public - as a video clip of his lyrical tribute to a late great king goes viral.
Private Kiatisak Romsanthia's performance - already compared to that of famous artists - received nearly 1 million views and was shared more than 19,000 times in 24 hours after the 2nd Army posted the 3-minute video clip on its Facebook page on Saturday evening.
The clip - embedded below - captures the private singing the sepha ballad on the life of King Naresuan the Great, who is considered to be the father of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. The performance came after a military parade at the Suranaree Camp in Nakhon Ratchasima province on Jan 18, Royal Thai Armed Forces Day.
Maj Gen Pao Po-ngern, commander of the 2nd Army Support Command, said Private Kiatisak, 22, was drafted to the Command last November. His skills were first witnessed by other privates during their leisure time, when he sang for colleagues.
Private Kiatisak graduated from Nakhon Ratchasima College of Dramatic Arts and then Bunditpatanasilpa Institute. He went on to become an official of the Office of Performing Arts of the Fine Arts Department, and was drafted after postponing his conscription for one year.
During an internal event organised by the 2nd Army on Jan 15, his performance impressed Lt Gen Krit Pew-ngern, deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command's northeastern region, who invited Private Kiatisak to recite the ballad on the life of king Naresuan the Great on Jan 18.