PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburghers have enjoyed doo-wop for more than 50 years.

But the original groups are fading away and the audiences are aging, leaving baby boomers to wonder if there soon will be anyone left to care about their music.

If one young man has anything to do with it, there will be.

Kyle Flandrau, 12, of New Jersey, is known on stage as Kid Kyle. Some have compared him to former 14-year-old superstar Frankie Lymon.

"If he continues the way he's going, he should be another Elvis Presley," doo-wop fan Joe Ciaramella said.

Flandrau may not be the next king of rock and roll, but he might be the current prince of doo-wop.

"I've always loved this music since I was a little kid," he said. "I sang my first song when I was about 2. It was Frankie Valli's 'Sherry,' and ever since then, I've loved this music."

Baby boomers love this music because it takes them back to a more innocent time.

When Flandrau serenaded a couple married 62 years, he brought some women in the audience to tears. And when he handed the wife some flowers, she said she wished she was the boy's age again.

Flandrau is backed on stage by the Kool Kats, some doo-wop veterans who are a living classroom for the king in training.

Flandrau is from New Jersey, but Pittsburgh audiences have adopted him.

"I love going here in Pittsburgh," he said. "It's the best place. People are so nice."

In February, Flandrau played the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Last month, he sold out Jimmy G's in Sharpsburg.

"He just wins you over. The first time you see him, you just want to see him again and again," doo-wop fan Jane Ciaramella said.

Most of the women in a Kid Kyle audience are older than his mother.

Wouldn't he rather see some screaming 12-year-old girls instead?

"That's funny," he said. "I have a lot of young fans in my fan club and all that. It's great that they acknowledge what you're trying to keep alive, you know."

Flandrau's mother, Donna, said Kyle does everything a normal 12-year-old would do -- "public school, friends, text messaging, computer, e-mail."

But he's also cutting two CDs and trying to land a major record deal.

"It's great. I mean, when you're on stage, and there's people looking at you and clapping and standing, it's the best," he said.

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