Rising Stars: World’s Worst Musical

It’s been a few months since I added to this particular series, but the wait has been worth it. If you’ve been following this blog at all in the last few weeks, you’ll have learned all about my Starkid obsession. I promised I’d go about a week without talking about them, and I’ve held up my end of the bargain. Now it’s no holds barred.

Sort of.

See, I’m not exactly talking about Starkid this time around. I’m talking about something else: The World’s Worst Musical. It’s actually a web-series created by Molly Scanlon, Marty Scanlon, and Corey Lubowich. (Corey has been working with Starkid for a while, mostly as a set and costume designer, but also as other things. He wears a lot of hats.)

The premise of this 10-episode web series is this:

World’s Worst Musical is an original musical webseries that follows one writer struggling through his terrible ideas to write an amazing musical. As his ideas come to life he reaches the same conclusion again and again… this is the worst!

The idea is kind of cool, but the execution is even better. I’m always wary of webseries because I’m afraid I’ll waste my time watching something filmed on a cell phone and acted out by twelve year olds with no thespian bones in their body.

Not to worry! These videos are in “glorious HD” and are full of really funny and wondrous moments, all brought to you by people who can act, but can also dance and sing as well.

Here’s the first episode, in case you’re interested:

 
Some of the episodes are a little hit or miss for me. That’s not to say that they aren’t good and weren’t put together with love and attention, but I just didn’t connect with all of them. Hey, it happens.

But, here’s the redeeming episode. Episode 2 is by far the best (in my opinion of course). Every other day I have to watch it again because it’s just so good. And it helps that one of the newest Starkids, Jeff Blim, knocked this role out of the park just as well as he did playing Sweet Tooth in Holy Musical B@tman!.

 
I really do need to download this song.

If you want to watch the rest of the videos, simply go here. Half of them are out and more are coming soon! I can’t wait to see the rest of them, as I’m sure there are some more gems in store. I’m particularly fond of episode 4, because I wish I had a singing driving instructor when I was trying to get my license (especially if he was Dylan Saunders in disguise!).

But, honestly, coolest thing about this is the fact that these people are just regular Joe Schmoes. They’re pretty popular on the web, but they don’t have international stardom or anything. They’re normal people. They’re artists who make art simply because they want to. They even had a Kickstarter campaign to help them raise money in order to film. They’re connected with their audience, who in turn is incredibly loyal to them.

Hey, doesn’t that sound like something that we as writers get told to do all the time? This is just one more example of how it works. (And if you’ve never heard of Kickstarter before, Google it! It might just become your new best friend.)

Check them out all across the internet, if you’re interested:

Website

Twitter

YouTube

Facebook

How I Survived the End of the World with Starkid

It started out with sheer disappointment. It was October 2011 and Team Starkid was going to be going on tour. They had never done this before. Who knows if they would do it again? It was an experiment to see if it would work out. I wanted tickets so bad. But I’d have to find a way to New York City. Find a place to stay. Find a way for my BFF (and fellow Starkid) to get a couple days off work (which was pretty much impossible at her last job). And actually scrape together a couple hundred dollars to do it.

No chance.

The date to buy tickets came and went, and I was surprised by how sad I felt. I mean, I was really, really sad. It was the kind of disappointment where you shake your head and say, “What was I thinking? That could’ve been a once in a life time opportunity.”

So, I sat by and watched YouTube videos of the concert. I bought the DVD. I think I was unbearable for at least a couple of weeks, wishing that I could’ve been there. Talking about it every day. Playing their music over and over and over again.

Not that those things aren’t daily occurrences for me anyway.

Enter Spring of 2012. They had another tour planned. This time it was going to be for the West Coast. Great. There goes any hope. As much as I’d love to hop a plane to go see them in California, there’s no way that’s happening.

But wait! What do you mean they’re coming back to a few cities on the East Coast? They’re going to be in New York City again!? But…but it’s so expensive. I don’t know if I can do that. Wait – what was that? Silver Spring? They were there last time too. Hang on a second – isn’t that near Baltimore? I have a friend in Baltimore who happens to have a very, very comfortable couch.

To make a long story only slightly shorter, I threw caution to the wind and ordered tickets. And not just any tickets – Golden Idol VIP tickets. Now we’re talking!

So I planned the trip. We’d arrive in Silver Spring in time for the concert, then we’d crash on our friend’s couch and spend the rest of the weekend with her, touring Baltimore and catching up (it’d been six months since we last saw her).

Perfect!

And you know what? It was perfect!

Here are some pictures from the concert. I know that most of you have no idea who these people are, but just revel in my bliss with me, ‘kay?

Golden Idol VIP tickets meant we got to get their autographs!

Charlene Kaye was their opening act and she was seriously amazing.

The premise behind the show was that the Starkids accidentally woke up/angered a Mayan god and brought about the beginning of the Apocalypse. Oops.

Here’s the Mayan god.

Even though it is very, VERY hard for me to choose my favorites, there are two Starkids that really jump out at me. This is Dylan Saunders (who you may recognize from the Watsky post I did a while back) and his voice makes my head go fuzzy because he’s so amazing.

And this is Lauren Lopez, whose Draco Malfoy character is literally the funniest thing I’ve seen in my entire life. I laugh EVERY TIME I see it.

“What do you mean I missed the end of the world?”

Our night ended with seeing this little beauty – a batmobile limousine!

I have some videos, but I figured most of you just wouldn’t understand the context or the songs. Plus the crowd was LOUD and you couldn’t really hear them sing. Plus it was going to take 20+ minutes to upload and, well, I’m just not that patient…

Part deux will be coming up on Wednesday, where I’ll show you guys the rest of my weekend. Here are a few hints of things to come: jellyfish, Picasso, Greek pizza, and beehive hairdos.

Featured Video: Boogie Shoes

Today’s blog post is going to be short and sweet. I had a super fun four-day weekend visiting friends and I still have to claw my way out from under everything that I put off while I was in Maryland. I’ll tell you all about my trip on Friday!

As for the video…no introductions, just watch:

 
Okay, did you catch what was going on there? Her stage name is Unique. Her real name is…Wade. She’s a character from Glee and is played by Alex Newell. He was one of the winners of The Glee Project (season 1).

I keep away from spoilers as much as I can, so even though I knew that Alex was going to be on the show, I had no idea what his storyline would be. When I saw this performance, I was floored. I was in shock – not because he was dressed up as a woman, but because he was absolutely incredible in this role. His talent is off the charts and I just can’t stop listening to this song – even though this episode came and went several months ago. I feel like this was such a great thing for Glee to do, and I hope it opens the eyes of some people about this sort of thing.

So, here are some questions for you: Have you ever encountered someone who cross-dresses? Have you ever been completely shocked by something that you saw – but in a good way? Did this video, or something you experienced in your life, make you reevaluate your opinion or perspective about something? I want to hear about some cool stories of acceptance in the comments!

Featured Video: One Man Bohemian Rhapsody

My dad brought me up on classic rock. My favorite band has got to be Queen. My favorite song? “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Okay, it might not be the most original choice, but there’s a reason why this song is so great.

Want to know what else is awesome? The guy below. His name is Richie Castellano and he is playing and singing every part of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (Talk about talented…) My dad is a stickler for the original tune, so if he likes him, I’m sure you guys will, too. Check it out!

Featured Video: Musical Genes Run in the Family

I just got done watching The Voice and Smash, so I’m in a music-y mood right now. Here’s an awesome video of a family of three young boys (ages 9, 12, and 14) playing a banjo, fiddle, and guitar to Ralph Stanley’s “How Mountain Girls Can Love”

[WARNING: This video will make you feel inadequate, untalented, and just downright useless. BE STRONG, MY FRIEND.]

American Idol vs. The Voice

I’m going to state right here, right now that I am not a big fan of American Idol. I don’t particularly have anything against it; I just don’t really enjoy watching it. I did love the first season, and I still enjoy some of Kelly Clarkson’s music. I’m really glad that she’s been able to be as successful as she has. But after that, I pretty much stopped watching. I caught clips here and there, but nothing kept my attention. Other than Carrie Underwood and Adam Lambert, I can’t even tell you who has won any of the other Idol seasons. (What’s that? Oh, Adam didn’t even win? My bad.)

Taken in Ireland at a performance/dinner we attended.

So, as much as I don’t care about American Idol, I was surprised that The Voice caught my attention…and kept it. My favorite thing about this show is the blind auditions – the judges can ONLY judge you on your voice, not on your looks. And let’s talk about the judges a little bit, shall we? I love Christina Aguilera’s music, and I’ll admit that she was a big reason why I tuned in to watch the first episode last year. I also love Maroon 5, and I can’t get “Forget You” out of my head all day if I hear it on the radio. Oh, and, um, Blake. Yeah, I don’t listen to country music. Now, before you hang me out to dry, just know this…I love this guy. I became of fan of him because of this show. I follow him on Twitter and everything.

So, let me give you a run down about why I like The Voice better than American Idol. I’m not trying to start anything here, and I don’t like the comparison any more than diehard fans of either show. I just want to share my opinion and hopefully get some casual Idol watchers to fall in love with The Voice like I did.

American Idol is all about weeding through the average Joe to find that next big star. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but after ten years I’m a little tired of some of the contestant’s antics. I literally cannot look at the TV when someone is trying so hard to sing well and is just not pulling it off.

The Voice, on the other hand, has already screened the contestants that we see on the show. They’re the best of the best. They don’t all get in, but they all have an excellent shot at it. Some of them are average Joe’s, but some of them have opened up for Grammy award winning artists and are just trying to land a solo career. Go them.

American Idol is judgmental. I’m not saying that it is all the time, but I’ve seen more than my fair share of episodes to know that they get ratings because of the negativity. That’s why Simon was hired and that’s why he’s so popular. People love controversy.

The Voice is positive. For the most part. Sometimes the judges bicker, but that’s normal. On the whole, though, they’re very kind to the contestants. They tell them what they need to improve upon, and generally say that they’ve done a very good job anyway. They tell them that they were “this close” to pushing their button, but just didn’t quite connect with them or the song.

American Idol has limits. This may or may not be a good thing. Either way, if you’re younger than 15 or older than 28, you can’t participate. They also don’t allow duos or groups.

The Voice only says that you have to be at least 15 years old. They also allow duos – which is pretty neat! It’s all about the voice, and not about other irrelevant information (like that pesky idea that you might be too old to have a music career).

American Idol judges are not all singers. That doesn’t mean that they don’t know the business, but would you rather buy your pizza from an authentic Italian or from Pizza Hut? (Note: I love Pizza Hut. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m getting quite hungry. Road trip, anyone?)

The Voice judges are incredibly talented – and have the credits to prove it. Adam is the lead singer of Maroon 5 and has won three Grammys. Blake has had 10 #1 singles and is currently the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year. (Cool fact: His wife, Miranda Lambert, is the current CMA Female Vocalist of the Year.) Cee Lo has won three Grammys himself and Christina has won five. (THESE are the authentic Italian pizza makers, people.)

American Idol sends its contestants off to do their thang, and the judges patiently wait for the next round to critique them. There’s very little – if any – interaction, although they do try to offer constructive criticism when they can.

The Voice is made up of teams – each judge gets his or her own selection of contestants and works with them one-on-one. How many people can say that they’ve personally learned from Christina, Blake, Adam, or Cee-Lo? Not many! They even bring in mentors for added help – Blake brought Reba last year!

(This next, and last, point is related to the previous one, but I think it’s important enough to stand on its own.)

American Idol judges don’t get anything when a contestant wins the show, except for the usual fame and fortune that is to be expected from something like this. It’s all “Congratulations!!” and onto the next season.

The Voice works in such a way that each coach must each get rid of the same amount of contestants as his or her fellow judges. That means that by the end, each judge is left with a single person to go head to head with the other contestants. That also means that the coaches are fighting tooth and nail to make sure their person wins (and that means they’re dedicated to this individual’s success). After all, these guys already have fame and fortune. They want the bragging rights.

And as a side dish to that main course, let me just mention that the relationships don’t end once the season is over on The Voice. The judges still communicate with their contestants – and not just the final four. Dia Framps didn’t win last year (she came in second – you can read about her here), yet she has a successful record deal. Blake (her coach) even sings a song on there with her.

Now, none of this is to say that The Voice is perfect, because it’s not. Sometimes I get a little tired of the banter. I wish Christina would let the others talk more often. Sometimes I really, really like a contestant and they aren’t chosen. Other times, I don’t hear anything that I like in a singer and then you have the judges fighting over them. The show isn’t flawless, but it’s good enough that I’m hooked despite its flaws.

So, do you prefer American Idol or The Voice? Maybe you don’t care about either, and that’s fine, too! Did I convince anyone to at least check out an episode of The Voice? If so, let me know in the comments what you think!

(You can watch the first season here, and the beginning of the second season (which is currently airing) right here.)

Rising Stars: Jackie Evancho

There are a lot of talented people in this world, you just have to know where to find them. I’ve already told you about the dangers of YouTube and how it holds a destructive power for me. There is so much talent on that website alone, that I’m surprised it doesn’t crash the servers on a regular basis.

Ironically, that’s not where I found this next artist. My mom called me into the living room one night, while she was watching TV and eating dinner. (Don’t judge. And I didn’t leave her high and dry – I was studiously writing!)

“Wait!” she said, before I made it all the way over to her. I stopped. “Don’t look at the TV.”

“Okay,” I said, slapping my hand over my eyes. “What?”

“Listen. What do you hear?”

What I heard, though I didn’t know it at the time, was Jackie Evancho. It sounded like she was singing opera. It was definitely in another language. Her voice was rich, deep, and practiced. The voice of an older woman with years of experience, I thought.

Wrong.

Jackie Evancho is eleven years old. ELEVEN. This kid can sing. And I’m not talking about belting out runs like Christina Aguilera, which would be talent enough. No, this girl is a “classical crossover” artist, whatever the heck that means. To me, it means that she sounds far older than her years. People train their entire lives and they don’t have HALF the talent that Jackie has.

Isn’t that just incredible? This type of music isn’t usually my cup of tea, but Jackie’s voice in otherworldly. Here’s another great one:

She also appeared on America’s Got Talent, which may be where you recognize her name from. There are videos on YT of her time on there.

One more thing that I love about her – almost as much as her voice – is the wisdom and age in her eyes. She doesn’t act like a child, for better or worse. She’s calm, respectful, and very thoughtful for a little girl. I worry that she might be growing up too fast because of her talent, but I think it has more to do with just being an old soul.

I’m not one for cheesy lines and sappy moments, but can I just say that we’re incredibly lucky to share the earth with her. I can? Good. I’m not taking it back.

Some links:

Facebook

Twitter

Website

Featured Video – One Woman A Cappella Disney Medley

Okay, here’s the thing. It’s one thing to be an incredibly talented singer. It’s another thing to be an incredibly creative person. There are so many artists out there that lack the creative gene – they just have the voice, and that’s what makes them famous. OR they might be amazing songwriters, but they just can’t carry a tune in a bucket.

It is something above and beyond to be BOTH of those things.

I just…I can’t put this video into words. None of them do it justice, so I’m just going to let it speak for itself.

If you’re not impressed by the work this girl did, you seriously have some high expectations. Or, no heart.

Some facts:

1. She is 17. She did this in her spare time because, you know, she’s still in high school.
2. She sings 13 main songs, but quotes 13 other Disney songs.
3. It took her 86 days just to create this. Another month went into the editing process. (That’s four months for an 8 minute video.)
4. She arranged this by EAR. She recorded it herself. She edited it herself. She did all of her own makeup and costumes (there’s over 30 of them).
5. SHE IS 17. She did this in her SPARE TIME because, you know, she’s still in HIGH SCHOOL.

What a beautiful voice. And the makeup! And she sings from my favorite Disney movie – Hercules. I find that this one often gets looked over, so I’m really happy she decided to include it.

Props to @StarkidSims from Twitter for pointing this out to me.

Tweet this video to Ellen by clicking on this link.

PLEASE help me make this go viral. She deserves it.

Featured Video: “Look at Me Now” and Pancakes

I’m sure if you know what YouTube is, you know of its destructive power toward that little thing we like to call productivity. I can’t tell you how many times in college I’ve tried to sit down and write a paper, only to find myself on YouTube for hours looking at cute kittens or funny videos of people acting stupid. And since I’ve left college? Not much has changed. I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone.

I’m also here to tell you that there is no sense in resisting. YouTube is too strong, and we are only weak mortals.

Anyway, this is a new series I’m calling “Featured Video” where I’ll be posting an interesting or funny video that I happened to come across while procrastinating. It differs from the “Rising Stars” series in that I won’t be talking about an artist and why I think they’re amazing, but just posting a single video, a quick blurb, and awaiting your take on it.

Now, most of the people reading my blog – whether you follow or just happened to stumble across it – can probably get a pretty good sense of the type of person I am. I like to read and write. I love movies. I love being a geek. But you might not know this:

I love rap.

I don’t know why. It seems to go against everything that I appear to be: small town, simple, quiet, moral, meek, and nerdy. I don’t like violence. I don’t like swearing. I’m pretty straight-laced, as far as most people go. But rap is my favorite kind of music.

Now, before you judge me, just hold on to your exclamations of surprise and your opinions about hip hop. I’ve got some pretty good defenses, but you have to give me time to get my thoughts in order before I can share them. In the mean time, check out the video below. It is set to Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now” and the guy (MacLethal) cooks breakfast while he spits his own rap to the beat. It’s hilarious. (CAUTION: Yes, he swears. He says some things that aren’t really all that funny, but the guy is obviously talented at rapping AND making pancakes. I know people who can’t do one or the other, let alone both at the same time.)

(If you want to check out the lyrics, go to the video on YouTube. He’s got them in the description.)

Rising Stars: Karmin

You know how sometimes you hear a song and it just speaks to your soul? How you catch a band performing and you’re riveted to your seat? You find that their voices are beautiful, or powerful, or inspiring. The beats make you want to get up and dance or sing along to the slow melody. And the lyrics feel like they’ve been written for you?

That’s how Karmin is for me. They’re a new band – YouTube stars, actually – and I really, really want to do this article justice because I believe in them so much.

To start off, let me just quickly talk about their rise to fame (or almost fame, as I think a lot of people still don’t know who they are). Amy and Nick hail from small towns in Nebraska and Maine and met at Berklee College of Music in Boston. They both had been in bands before, but nothing was working out. They had already been dating for a little while before they figured they would just form their own group – thus Karmin was born. “Karmin” is a combination of “carmen” (Latin for “song”) and karma. Nick lends his classic rock/jazz style and appears to know how to play just about every kind of instrument  from the keyboard, to the trombone, to the cajon (that’s a wooden box). He’s got a pretty good voice too, and brings wonderful harmonies into the mix. Amy is the power singer. She can play guitar, but she’s got some pipes and she puts them to good use. Did I mention she’s also an amazing rapper?

If you think you’ve heard of Karmin before, chances are that it was this song:

They started off doing covers on YouTube as well as original songs. Musically, their style is simple, catchy, and amusing. They change the songs they cover to make them their own, and keep it PG for all ages. They’ve got just the right mix of sincerity, humor, and talent. Nick seems to be an easy going guy and you can tell he’s really into the music – I get dizzy just watching him bob his head up and down as he plays. Amy has got this great ‘40s look down – suicide roll (Karmin style) and bright red lipstick to boot. She’s got a great and distinctive style – though that doesn’t hold them back: not only can they rap, but they can do country songs and pop songs equally as well.

Check out this great Adele cover:

These guys are the real deal. They’re down to earth and genuine, and you can tell they care about staying who they are and true to their fans. They are engaged and the chemistry between them is off the charts. They’ve got raw talent and great song writing capabilities. And they just signed to Epic Records with L.A. Reid. These guys are ones to watch, I promise.

Please do me a favor and check out a few of their other covers (I love “6 foot 7 foot” and “Written in the Stars”). They’ve covered a huge range of really popular songs, so I’m sure you can find something you’re interested in. While you’re at it, listen to some of their original songs, too.

Here’s their first single “Crash Your Party” which debuted a couple of weeks ago.  Their album will drop early next year.

(As I was writing this, I found out they are now VEVO Lift artists. AND the retweeted me!)

Some other info:

Their Youtube Channels:  KarminCovers and KarminTube

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Itunes

**Please leave me a comment below! I’d really like to know if you’ve heard of Karmin before, or if this is your first time being exposed to them. Which are your favorite covers? Which are your favorite original songs?**