J.R. Richards - I Want to Break Free

 John Robert Richards later Reid-Richards (born April 30, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer and television and film composer. Richards was the original lead singer and principal songwriter for the alternative rock band Dishwalla.

Richards began his career as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Dishwalla. The band released their debut album Pet Your Friends in 1995. The album scored Dishwalla a #1 hit in 1996 with the Richards-penned "Counting Blue Cars". The song is well known for its lyrics, "Tell me all your thoughts on God, 'cause I'd really like to meet Her". Richards won a Billboard Music Award for Top Mainstream Rock Track of the Year. Along with one Gold Single and two Gold and Platinum albums, JR also won two ASCAP Awards for both having the Most Performed Song of The Year.

Dishwalla produced four other albums with Richards as lead singer and main songwriter, including And You Think You Know What Life's About in 1998, a live album called Live... Greetings from the Flow State and the 2002 album, Opaline. After Dishwalla completed their last album with Richards, Dishwalla in 2005, both bassist Scot Alexander and drummer Pete Maloney left the band. The band broke up shortly after their departures. In 2008, Dishwalla reformed with some original members returning and a new lead singer Justin Fox.

Richards started playing the piano and singing at age 5. He wrote his first song at age 9 and went on to study both Classical and Jazz until 18. At 20 years old, Richards began studying Bel Canto Opera technique under Ron Anderson and has continued studying since.

Richards’ debut solo album A Beautiful End was released in 2009 and debuted in the Top 50 on iTunes. In 2016, Richards released his second solo album, Honore et Amore, as well as an all acoustic album of songs he wrote while in Dishwalla, Stripped. Richards has released two albums since, the holiday EP "Angelgold " in 2018 and an album of covers called "Under The Cover" in 2019. JR is currently working on his 10th album to be released in 2020.

In January 2011, Richards created the 20k Watts project along with Leo and Ryan Rossi. 20k Watts is an Artist Eco Alliance which aims to bring sustainable clean energy to developing communities in need. To empower communities in impoverished areas using the sun, wind, and battery for storing and supplying electricity and enhancing the current and future quality of life. In 2013, the city of Los Angeles awarded Richards a proclamation for dedication to enhancing the lives of families in extreme poverty for his work in El Salvador with 20k Watts.

Richards has been producing since the 1990s and, along with Dishwalla, has gone on to produce other artists including Dom AD, Amy Grant, boudwin, Paddock, Awi Rafael and the British band BritRoyal. He also produced his solo albums as well as songs for the hit TV show, One Tree Hill (TV series), in 2009, How I Met Your Mother, in 2012 and Criminal Minds, in 2013. In 2013, he wrote, produced and performed songs (including the theme song "White Light"), for TV series SAF3 airing in United States in 2013. In 2017, JR also wrote and recorded twenty songs for the newly re-booted version of "Baywatch". He has also appeared as an actor in the films, Charmed, Almost Anything, 2:13 and Morning (which he also scored).

Richards is currently a featured producer for Reid Richards Production, a music and film production company founded by his wife, Min Reid-Richards, in 2010. Reid Richards Productions also specializes in high-end music video production. In addition, Richards also works on voice, song writing and production techniques with various artists and musicians as well as lecturing at various University and Master Class music programs.

King the Kid - Beat It

Hailing from Peru, Florida, and Washington, King The Kid bring a melting pot of culture and sound to their music. The trio, comprised of Jose Mostajo, Ricky Ficarelli and David Michael Frank (left to right), define their style into a mix of styles, from rock to pop to indie, stemming from their individual musical preferences.
It was in 2012 that the trio were introduced to one another and King The Kid was formed. The band name essentially represents the empowerment of youth and the ability to achieve your dreams. Regarding their choice of career path, Frank states, “The most powerful aspect of being a musician is the ability to connect with people. Music has such a therapeutic quality and can evoke any emotion.”
In December 2012, King The Kid released their self-produced debut album, Start Something, featuring singles “We Are The Ones,” “Marionette,” and “Tale of a Secret Admirer.” Immediately following the album release, King The Kid embarked on their first full US tour in early 2013, consisting of 35 self-booked dates as well as winning the Hot Topic Battle of The Bands (out of 500+ acts) shortly after.
2013 was a productive inaugural year for King The Kid. While promoting their original music, the triad released a series of cover tracks on YouTube with songs such as “My Songs Know...” by Fall Out Boy and “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis reaching out to a broader fanbase. As the buzz began to build, King The Kid were offered to open for Pop Singer/Songwriter from Poughkeepsie, Alex Goot on a full US and Canadian tour. But it wasn’t until the band released “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus that their name would be put in the spotlight, earning over 3.7 million views to date, garnering press from outlets such as Fuse TV, MuchMusic, PerezHilton, Buzzfeed, and Billboard.com. Idolator stated, “The band actually does a really good job transforming Miley’s power ballad into a perky pop/rock song.”
It’s no surprise that this band is already gaining hype in 2014. King The Kid currently have a sophomore album in the works co-produced by the band and Adam Sliger, have a full US tour with the UK Pop/Rock band Hollywood Ending, and a slew of new singles and covers in the works.

                   

 

Dami Im - I Say a Little Prayer

Dami Im ( born October 17, 1988) is a Korean Australian singer-songwriter and musician living in Brisbane. Im represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden with the song "Sound of Silence", placing second and achieving the highest Eurovision Song Contest score for Australia.

 Emigrated to Australia from South Korea with her family at the age of nine. She won the fifth season of The X Factor Australia and subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia. In 2020 she left Sony Music and signed with ABC Music.

After winning The X Factor, Im released her debut and winner's single "Alive", which debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. This was followed by the release of her self-titled second studio album, which debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Im became the first X Factor Australia contestant to follow up a number one single with a number one album on the ARIA Charts. Im's third studio album, Heart Beats, was released in 2014 and became her second top-ten album. It produced the top-twenty hits "Super Love" and "Gladiator".

 She had a short career as a gospel singer in South Korea, performing at Christian youth camps. In 2010, she released her debut studio album, Dream, which consisted of nine tracks and was recorded to raise money for church endeavours. In July 2011, Im re-released the album with two extra tracks, which were both sung in English. On 5 December 2011, Im released a Christmas extended play called Snow & Carol, which consisted of seven tracks. On 9 July 2012, Im released her second extended play, Intimacy, which consisted of five tracks.

In 2013, Im successfully auditioned for the fifth season of The X Factor Australia, singing "Hero" by Mariah Carey. She progressed to the super bootcamp round of the competition and was placed in the Girls category. On the first day of bootcamp, Im sang "I'm with You" by Avril Lavigne in front of her entire category and judges Redfoo, Ronan Keating and Dannii Minogue. On the second day of bootcamp, she was put into an ensemble of 10 and they sang "Next to Me" by Emeli Sandé in front of the judges. Im made it to the third day of bootcamp, where she sang "Jolene" by Dolly Parton to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. After the judges made changes to the Boys, Girls and Over 25s categories, Im became part of the newly formed Over 24s category and was eliminated. However, Im was called back for the home visits round in New York City to replace Matt Gresham who decided he could not commit to the competition. During home visits, she sang "If I Were a Boy" by Beyoncé in front of her mentor Minogue and guest mentor Kylie Minogue. Minogue later selected Im, along with Barry Southgate and Cat Vas, for the live finals—a series of ten weekly live shows in which contestants are progressively eliminated by public vote.

For the Judges' Choice-themed first live show, Im sang "One" by U2 and received a standing ovation from the judges, with Natalie Bassingthwaighte saying she had "the best vocal of the night". Im's performance of "One" peaked at number 42 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the Legends-themed second live show, she sang "Purple Rain" by Prince and received another standing ovation. Keating told Im that the competition "at the moment, is yours". Her performance of "Purple Rain" debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the Top 10 Hits-themed third live show, Im sang Thelma Houston's version of "Don't Leave Me This Way", and her performance of the song debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 67. Following the eliminations of Vas in week two and Southgate in week three, Im became the last remaining contestant in Minogue's category. After her performance of Katy Perry's "Roar" in the Latest and Greatest-themed fourth live show, Im received her fourth consecutive standing ovation from the judges. Im's performance of "Roar" debuted at number 44 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the Rock-themed fifth live show, she sang "Best of You" by the Foo Fighters and received her fifth standing ovation. Im's performance of "Best of You" debuted at number 78 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Following Im's performance of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water" during the Family Heroes-themed sixth live show, her mentor Minogue notably teared up as she dedicated Im's song choice to her parents and grandfather, following the death of her grandmother. Im's performance of "Bridge over Troubled Water" debuted at number 15 on the ARIA Singles Chart. For the Judges' Challenge-themed seventh live show, Im sang Zedd's "Clarity", which was chosen by Keating, and her performance debuted at number 77 on the ARIA Singles Chart. Im received a mixed feedback from the judges following her performance of John Farnham's "You're the Voice" during the Aussie Week-themed eighth live show. Keating said "it was pitchy and a weak performance" and Bassingthwaighte agreed. For the Power and Passion-themed ninth live show, Im sang "Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston and "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus. Her performances of "Wrecking Ball" and "Saving All My Love for You" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at numbers 61 and 85, respectively.

During the grand final performance show on 27 October, Im was required to perform three songs – her audition song ("Hero"), winner's single ("Alive") and last shot song ("And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"). Her performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", which debuted at number 29 on the ARIA Singles Chart, got all four judges standing on the judges table. Redfoo said Im's performance was "the best thing I've ever seen in my life", while Minogue added that she is "world class". Im's performance of "Hero" debuted at number 62. During the grand final decider show the following day, Im was announced as the winner.

Glenn Jones - Signed, Sealed, Delivered

 Glenn Jones (born September 27, 1962 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American R&B/soul singer. He is perhaps best known for his song "Here I Go Again" which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1992

Jones started his career as a gospel singer, working and recording with the Florida-based gospel group, the Modulations,  before managing a successful move into the R&B field. He got his recording start in R&B in 1980 when Norman Connors featured the singer on a track, "Melancholy Fire" on his album, Take It to the Limit.  The song was released as a single, climbing to No. 20 on the Billboard R&B chart.

Jones toured with Connors, and in 1983 he signed a deal with RCA.  In the same year, he issued a five-track mini-album Everybody Loves a Winner that had the top 30 R&B single, "I Am Somebody". His first full-length album, Finesse, was released in 1984. The single "Show Me," reached No. 3 on the R&B charts. The second single, "Bring Back Your Love" reached No. 18 on the R&B charts.

He started recording for his third RCA album in 1985; Take It from Me was released the following year. The album's title track was featured in the movie, Youngblood.

Moving to Jive in 1987, Jones scored a hit with "We've Only Just Begun" which reached No. 2 on the Billboard magazine R&B chart. The track was the lead single from the album Glenn Jones, released in 1987.

His last album on Jive was All for You which peaked on the R&B album charts at No. 27. "Can We Try Again" and the title track were produced by a then-less well known producer by the name of Teddy Riley.

In 1991, Jones moved to Atlantic Records. During the same year, Jones released the album, Here I Go Again. Its first single, "Here I Go Again", was his only single to reach No. 1 on the R&B charts. The second single, "I've Been Searchin' (Nobody Like You)" was also successful, peaking at No. 8 R&B. His album Here I Am was released in 1994 and had a minor hit with the ballad "Round and Round", which reached No. 24 on the R&B charts.

In 1993, British girl group Eternal covered Jones's 1990 track "Stay" and released it as their debut single, reaching No. 4 in the UK and No. 19 in the US Billboard charts.

Jones released the album It's Time in 1998 and Feels Good (Peak Records) in 2002, neither of which were very successful on the charts.

Max Oazo & Cami - Stand By Me

Max Oazo is a producer, songwriter, dj and singer gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics. The versatility of his music touches genres of deep house, future house, pop and dance, yet somehow all these labels cannot define the spirit of his music. Unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, his music manages to empower and speak to the world.

Camishe is a 29 years old siger, who first appeared on YouTube in 2016 with a hearthfelt version of " Wicked Game". Her sensual voice is always filled with feeling, whether she´s singing her own musicor being featured on Dance Tracks for artist like @Max Oazo, @OJAX, @Kevin Ocean, @MSP and Others. Her cover version for "Supergirl" Has over 25 million views on YouTube.

Quintus McCormick - Old Time Rock and Roll

Quintus D. McCormick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Hereceived his first guitar at 4 years old and was able to play by ear for yearsbefore taking music classes to learn more. He has played all over Detroit and Canada.Quintus moved to Chicago in 1978 and attended Columbia College and received aBachelor of Arts degree in Music in 1994.Quintus has played background for James Cotton, Otis Clay,A. C. Reed, Lefty Dizz, and many others. It was James Cotton and Buddy Guywho encouraged him to start his own band. The year he graduated from Columbia,he gathered some of Chicago’s finest musicians and established the Quintus McCormick Band.

Quintus and his band have also performed at countless festivalsand concerts. The 2012 Chicago Blues Fest blistering performance got the groupfront page coverage in The ChicagoTribune newspaper and also a television spot on a local newscast. His2011 appearance at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland left the crowdchanting for more.

Quintus and his “on-fire” musical group have been a mainstay ofthe Chicago blues scene, appearing frequently in the city’s world-renownnightclubs: Kingston Mines, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Blues on Halsted, House ofBlues, and Blue Chicago. His first critically acclaimed Delmark CD, “Hey, Jodie!” put him in the global spotlight andearned him multiple music award nominations.Living Blues magazine named “Hey, Jodie!” one ofthe best soul-blues albums of the new millennium’s first decade. He went on to record two more CD’s for Delmark – “Put It On Me!” and“Still Called the Blues.” Quintus is still writing new music and is stillplaying the Blues.

Krokus - Tie Your Mother Down

 Krokus es una banda suiza de hard rock y heavy metal formada en 1974. El grupo es uno de los escasos nombres del rock helvético conocidos internacionalmente, y disfrutó de un éxito moderado en Norteamérica, y considerable en Europa durante el auge del heavy metal en los años 80s

Krokus fue fundada en 1974 en el Cantón de Soleura, por el bajista y vocalista Chris von Rohr, y el guitarrista Tommy Kiefer, en principio, como un proyecto de rock progresivo con tintes de rock duro. Chris von Rohr se cambió a la voz principal, y con esta formación es que Krokus comenzó a cosechar el éxito en Suiza, recorriendo todo el país. Después de ver a AC/DC en concierto a finales de los 70, decidieron cambiar su dirección musical y adoptan un nuevo sonido fuertemente influenciado por esta banda. Como von Rohr tenía limitadas capacidades vocales y no fue capaz de alcanzar la tercera octava, la banda decidió contratar a un nuevo vocalista. Finalmente, Marc Storace, proveniente de las bandas TEA y Eazy Money, fue contratado. Con la nueva formación la banda grabó y lanzó su cuarto álbum, titulado Metal Rendez-vous, en 1980, trayendo un reconocimiento internacional más amplio.

EL siguiente álbum, Hardware, de 1981, fue grabado en los estudios Roundhouse de Londres y contó con canciones tales como "Easy Rocker" y "Rock City", que son aún hoy parte del repertorio en vivo de la banda.

En 1982 Krokus graba One Vice at a Time, trabajo del cual se desprenden los éxitos "Long Stick Goes Boom", y la versión de The Guess Who, "American Woman". Chris von Rohr describió el disco en su momento como "el álbum que AC/DC nunca hizo", ya que la influencia de la banda australiana era difícil de ignorar. Las comparaciones realmente ponen en duda la creatividad de la banda, como muchos oyentes empezaron a considerar a Krokus simplemente imitadores de AC/DC, sin embargo, Krokus se hizo cada vez más popular en Europa, y comenzó a recibir atención en los Estados Unidos.

En 1983, publicaron Headhunter, disco que fue galardonado como álbum de platino en los Estados Unidos y alcanzó el número 25 en las listas de álbumes de 1983. Este fue el trabajo más exitoso de Krokus hasta la fecha, tanto en lo comercial como en cuanto a críticas. El LP contó con la balada hit "Screaming in the Night", que obtuvo gran rotación en la cadena MTV, y se convirtió en una de las canciones más conocidas de la banda. Rob Halford de Judas Priest contribuiría en los coros de la canción "Ready to Burn".

El año 1984 vio el cambio de la banda hacia una dirección más comercial con The Blitz, LP que contó con una versión de la canción de The Sweet "Ballroom Blitz" aunque, a pesar del éxito comercial, el disco fue muy criticado. En el año 1985 se presentaron en el Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar en Chile y, aprovechando la ola de éxito del heavy metal a mediados de la década de 1980, la banda lanzó Change of Address, en 1986, que contó con una versión del tema de Alice Cooper "School's Out", pero el álbum fue un fracaso comercial y las críticas no fueron buenas. Como colofón el grupo lanzó un álbum en vivo titulado Alive and Screamin, en 1986, al tiempo que pasaban de Arista Records a MCA Records.

Gozaron de popularidad en los ochenta en Europa y los Estados Unidos, y estuvieron de gira junto a nombres como Nazareth en Europa, y AC/DC, Motörhead, Rainbow, Rush, Def Leppard y Judas Priest en Estados Unidos, donde el álbum Headhunter fue certificado oro. Todos los discos de Krokus han sido platino en su país natal.

En el 2005, el guitarrista Fernando von Arb dejó la agrupación después de algunos quebrantos de salud. Mandy Meyer, quien había estado con la banda a mediados de los ochenta, reemplazó a von Arb en la alineación.

El 18 de noviembre de 2007, la formación clásica incluyendo a Chris von Rohr, Fernando von Arb, Steady Freddy y Marc Storace se reunieron para tocar un medley ("Tokyo Nights", "Bedside Radio" y "Heatstrokes") durante un programa de la televisión suiza, esto desembocó en un concierto de reunión, el 2 de agosto de 2008, en el Stade de Suisse en Berna. El mismo año (2008) se anunció que la formación clásica de Chris von Rohr, Fernando von Arb, Steady Freddy, Mark Kohler y Marc Storace lanzaría un nuevo disco de estudio en 2010, con una gira mundial de apoyo.

La versión que Krokus realizó de "Ballroom Blitz", también apareció en el juego de 2007 Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s. Por otra parte, Krokus realizó el himno oficial del Campeonato Mundial de Hockey sobre Hielo 2009, organizado por Suiza; la canción se titulaba "Live for the Action".

En 2010 y 2013 respectivamente lanzaron sus álbumes Hoodoo y Dirty Dynamite