Founded in 1999, Twisted Measure is Elon University’s first co-ed a cappella group. Since its foundation, Twisted Measure has recorded 9 studio albums, and has enjoyed performing at various events around Elon as well as up and down the East Coast during the group’s annual Fall Break tour. As a tradition, the group has always performed barefoot. Why? Going shoeless seems to bring a little more "sole" to the music. In the past few years, we have toured Charleston, SC, performed for Elon University President Connie Book, and released music videos from our newest album, Dusk Before Dawn, including covers of "Movement", and our single "Chandelier" from 2015, which garnered more than 6 million views and was featured in People Magazine, Time, and USA Today among others. Most importantly, Twisted Measure is a group of friends who love to sing together.
jueves, 20 de julio de 2023
miércoles, 19 de julio de 2023
Nicholis Louw - Blue Suede Shoes
Nicholis Louw (born 30 December 1978) is a South African pop and opera singer. His repertoire, mainly in Afrikaans, includes rock, pop, country and music ballads, often incorporating strong classical elements. Louw has had a number of successful albums through releases through Select Music starting with his debut album in 2003, selling over 650,000 albums. His major hits include "Ek wil my baby hê vanaand", "Rock daai lyfie" and "Generaal". He tours extensively averaging above 100 performances a year. Louw is signed to Select Music, the major South African record label.
martes, 18 de julio de 2023
Scorpions - Dust in the Wind
Scorpions es una banda alemana de hard rock y heavy metal fundada en Hannover en 1965. A lo largo de sus más de cincuenta años de carrera, han publicado decenas de álbumes de estudio, sencillos, álbumes en directo, recopilaciones y DVD en vivo. Además, han recibido varios premios y condecoraciones, que los convierte en la banda de rock más exitosa de Alemania.
En sus inicios se denominaban Nameless —los sin nombre, en español— luego cambiaron a The Scorpions, y posteriormente a finales de 1969 decidieron denominarse simplemente Scorpions. Su primera producción discográfica fue Lonesome Crow (1972), con Klaus Meine en la voz, Rudolf Schenker y Michael Schenker en las guitarras, Lothar Heimberg en el bajo y Wolfgang Dziony en la batería. Sin embargo, durante su gira promocional, Michael anunció su retiro de la banda para unirse a los británicos UFO, que provocó una breve ruptura en 1973. A mediados del mismo año, Rudolf y Klaus reformaron la banda con algunos integrantes de Dawn Road, entre ellos Uli Jon Roth y Francis Buchholz, con los cuales publicaron los álbumes Fly to the Rainbow (1974), In Trance (1975), Virgin Killer (1976) y Taken by Force (1977), con los que obtuvieron gran reconocimiento en Europa y Japón.
En 1978 lanzaron su primer disco en vivo, Tokyo Tapes, que fue el último con Roth ya que renunció al grupo para iniciar una carrera solista. Al año siguiente ingresó Matthias Jabs, con quien iniciaron el camino hacia el mercado estadounidense con Lovedrive, que contó además con la participación de Michael Schenker en tres de sus canciones. Durante los ochenta, con Animal Magnetism (1980), Blackout (1982), Love at First Sting (1984) y Savage Amusement (1988) obtuvieron un gran éxito comercial en gran parte del mundo, ubicándose en los primeros puestos de las listas musicales y logrando varios discos de oro y de platino.
Con la llegada de los años noventa publicaron Crazy World, que contenía el tema «Wind of Change», que se convertiría en un ícono de las revoluciones político-sociales que vivía el mundo por aquel entonces. En 1993 pusieron a la venta Face the Heat, el primer trabajo con el bajista Ralph Rieckermann que entró en reemplazo de Francis, que salió de la banda a mediados de 1992. En la última parte de la década publicaron Pure Instinct (1996) y Eye II Eye (1999), con James Kottak como nuevo baterista en reemplazo de Herman Rarebell, que demostraron un sonido renovado con toques más suaves y electrónicos —sobre todo en el último mencionado— y que trajo consigo una serie de críticas de la prensa especializada y de sus propios fanáticos.
Durante el primer decenio del nuevo milenio, publicaron el proyecto sinfónico Moment of Glory (2000) y el unplugged Acoustica (2001), que los volvió a posicionar en las listas musicales. Más tarde con Unbreakable (2004) y Humanity: Hour I (2007), que fueron los primeros con el bajista polaco Paweł Mąciwoda, retornaron en gran medida a su sonido clásico. En 2010 iniciaron su «gira de despedida» con lo que sería su último disco de estudio, Sting in the Tail, la que anunciaron en su sitio web como el inicio del final del camino y que los llevó a los cinco continentes durante los siguientes años. Sin embargo, en algunas entrevistas dadas en 2011 y 2012 informaron que continuarían con su carrera, enfocándose en la celebración de sus cincuenta años con el lanzamiento del nuevo álbum Return to Forever (2015).
Scorpions es reconocida como la banda de rock más importante y exitosa de Alemania y de Europa continental, cuyas ventas se estima que supera los 100 millones de álbumes en el mundo, de los cuales 10,5 millones han sido vendidos solo en los Estados Unidos. Aun así, en el 2011 la prensa especializada alemana estimó que las ventas del grupo alcanzaban los 160 millones de discos alrededor del mundo. Por otro lado, durante la presentación oficial de los premios Echo de 2009, se mencionó que habían dado, hasta ese entonces, más de 5000 conciertos en vivo en más de ochenta países. Además, hasta el 2015, sus álbumes habían sido certificados con más de treinta y cinco discos de platino y con más de cien discos de oro.
lunes, 17 de julio de 2023
Lutricia McNeal - California Dreaming
Lutricia McNeal (born November 27, 1973) is an American soul and pop singer. She achieved worldwide success with her cover version of "Ain't McNeal was discovered by Rogers/Grantham. Her career took off during a visit to Europe, when she teamed up with the Swedish producer team Rob'n'Raz. Their 1993 hit "In Command" went to No. 1 in Sweden.
A few years later she started her own solo career with the single "Ain't That Just the Way". The single went gold and platinum in several countries.
She then released her debut album My Side of Town. The biggest airplay hits from this album were "Stranded" and "Someone Loves You Honey". Her single "My Side of Town" went platinum and was a #1 hit in New Zealand. She managed to have three Top 10 hit singles in the UK. A second album followed in 1999 entitled Whatcha Been Doing before she took a short break from the music business to give birth to her second son.
In 2006, she produced songs like "Hold That Moment" and "Same Same Same", but "Same Same Same" was never officially released. In October 2004 she posed for the German version of Playboy. She expressed her disapproval for George W. Bush and his policies (especially regarding the Iraq War) clearly in interviews and is involved in women's rights. She then released the singles "It's Not Easy" (in September 2005), which was released in Sweden only and reached #3 on the Single Charts, and "Best Of Times" (in February 2006) which reached No 6 on the Swedish Single Charts. "You Make Me Feel Good" was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in July 2011. Just the Way" which sold two million copies worldwide.
domingo, 16 de julio de 2023
VoicePlay - Don't Stop Believin'
VoicePlay is an a capella group based out of Orlando, Florida that originally formed in 1997 under the name 4:2:Five. In 2013, VoicePlay competed on Season 4 of NBC's The Sing-Off and subsequently went on 2 national tours with the show. VoicePlay is known for performing music that spans genres alongside theatrical. In 1997, a group of high school friends came together to create an a capella group then known as 4:2:Five. The founding members of the group were Mykal Kilgore (high tenor), Layne Stein (baritone), Earl Elkins Jr. (tenor), Geoff Castellucci (bass), and Scott Porter (vocal percussion). In 2000, they earned a win as "Best Pop Group" in Ed McMahon's Next Big Star contest, an Internet talent search. Kilgore left the group in 1999, and Porter in 2003.
Orlando provided VoicePlay with many opportunities to perform and gain credit as a professional group. They performed at the Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks in the city and also toured on cruise ships.
In 2009, VoicePlay auditioned for the first season of NBC's The Sing-Off, but did not make the cut.
In 2010, Eliezer "Eli" Jacobson joined the group as Tenor 2. In 2011, Tony Wakim, who knew Castellucci as a colleague in the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue at Universal Studios Orlando, joined as the baritone.
This configuration of five launched VoicePlay's YouTube channel in 2012. Their mashup cover of "I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift and "As Long As You Love Me" by Justin Bieber caught the attention of the Sing-Off producers, who reached out and encouraged VoicePlay to audition again- but with a catch. Because "I Knew You Were Trouble/As Long As You Love Me" features singer and Broadway actress Rachel Potter, the producers wanted VoicePlay to audition as a group of six. Potter was unavailable to do the Sing-Off, so VoicePlay asked Honey Larochelle to compete with them. VoicePlay was eliminated in the fifth episode of the show.
After their performances on The Sing-Off, VoicePlay went on two national tours with the show. Larochelle did not join VoicePlay on either tour and was replaced by Emoni Wilkins, who had competed in the Sing-Off season 4 as part of the group TEN, season 4's runner-up. For the 2014 tour, VoicePlay was joined by Season 4 winners Home Free (group) and The Filharmonic, who were eliminated in the sixth episode. In 2015, VoicePlay's tourmates were Street Corner Symphony (group), who were runner-ups of the Sing-Off's second season, and The Exchange (band), runner-ups of Season 5.
Near the end of 2016, Wakim decided to leave VoicePlay. This was announced in January 2017, as VoicePlay opened auditions for a new baritone. While searching, they performed with Erik Winger as their guest baritone. In March 2018, VoicePlay introduced J. None as their newest official member.
In 2019, VoicePlay won Pop Group of the Year from the A Capella Music Awards. That same year, they were Shorty Awards Finalists for YouTube Musician of the Year.
In July 2020, Elkins left the group as well. He was the third founding member to do so, leaving only Castellucci and Stein of the original five.
In June 2021, J. None left the group to join the US military. In July 2021, 10 days after their YouTube channel reached one million subscribers, VoicePlay announced Cesar De La Rosa as their newest official member, taking over the parts of baritone/tenor 2.
On October 3, 2021, VoicePlay opened for Genshin Impact's celebratory first year anniversary concert, "Melodies of an Endless Journey".
Under the name 4:2:Five, VoicePlay released an EP in 2001 and two albums (titled "Unstoppable" and "Time Machine") in 2004. In 2012, VoicePlay released their Disney album, "Once Upon an Ever After," as well as their holiday album, "Peppermint Winter." In 2014, they released their album "Collide" along with its deluxe edition, which featured three additional tracks. Every song on Collide features another singer or group, most of whom VoicePlay knew through The Sing-Off. In 2017, VoicePlay released their second holiday album, "Warm Up". They have also released 3 Disney movie medley albums: Moana in 2017, Slushy (Frozen 2) in 2020, and The Little Mermaid, also in 2020.
In between albums, VoicePlay continues to churn out a steady stream of singles. They produce new music videos on their YouTube channel at least once per month, often with theatrical elements and talented collaborators. Credits on each posted video show that the arrangements and productions are completed almost entirely in-house by Stein and Castellucci, with Castellucci's wife Kathy Castellucci listed as production manager. Videos include a diverse variety of covers such as songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas, romantic ballads like Can't Help Falling in Love with You, pop medleys like Panic! In Four Minutes, and their popular "ACA Top 10" series, in which they do a countdown of a certain genre of music. Their most highly viewed video on the channel is the Moana Medley, with over 38 million views.
VoicePlay's largest collaboration was their May 2020 cover of the song "Just Sing" from Trolls World Tour, which they created as a fundraiser for MusiCares during the pandemic. The 19 guest singers included notable performers such as Scott Porter, Rachel Potter and Jeff Thacher.
sábado, 15 de julio de 2023
Jordis Unga - The Man Who Sold the World
Jordis Losana Sikahema Unga (born August 6, 1982) is an American rock singer from Forest Lake, Minnesota. After years of building a cult following in Minneapolis, as a vocalist for The Fighting Tongs and Liars Club, Unga reached international fame for her performances on the first season of the CBS television reality show Rock Star: INXS where 15 contestants competed to become the lead vocalist for the Australian rock band INXS. She finished fifth overall. Unga was also a contestant on the second season of NBC's The Voice as a part of "Team Blake". She was eliminated on April 16, 2012, finishing in the Top 16 of the competition. In 2014, Unga released her debut album, A Letter from Home.
Unga comes from a musical family. Her father, originally from Tonga, moved the family around a lot when she was young. Eventually the family settled down in St. Paul, Minnesota when she was about 10 years old. Through her aunt, she is related to Sione Vailahi, a professional wrestler.[4]
Unga attended Forest Lake Area High School, and, in 2000, the Perpich Center for Arts Education for her senior year of high school where she studied music.
Early 2002, Unga was the front singer for The Fighting Tongs. The band adopted the name from the movie Big Trouble in Little China. The band supported Twisted Sister, Anthrax, Sevendust and Damageplan. It was dissolved after recording a self-financed EP, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. Ex-members including Unga, drummer Corey Frazee, guitarist "Moose" Hitchcock and bassist Josh Hoglund formed "Liars Club".
Unga first appeared on television as a contestant on Star Search (2004) but was knocked out of the competition in the first round. She appeared on the first season of the CBS television reality show Rock Star: INXS where 15 contestants competed to become the lead vocalist for the Australian rock band INXS. Contestants were housed in the Paramour Mansion, and squared off in a singing contest featuring well-known rock songs. Each week, viewers voted for their favorite contestant. The three contestants with the fewest votes performed an INXS song the following night. Except for the second week, each week one finalist was asked to perform an encore performance of the song they performed the night before, noted as an "Encore Performance".
As the youngest contestant at age 22, Unga received international notoriety for her rendition of The Who's 'Baba O'Riley'. Dave Navarro, one of the judges, declared, "Let's close the competition now!" Unga scored high marks in the second round of the competition with Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box". Halfway through the competition, Unga was invited by Navarro to perform The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" with his band Camp Freddy at the West Hollywood House of Blues. Camp Freddy featured former The Cult bassist Billy Morrison on guitar and ex-Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins.
During the show, Unga achieved the feat of simultaneously having the top four most downloaded songs on MSN Music, reaching the No. 1 position on the MSN charts being an unprecedented feat for an unsigned artist.
viernes, 14 de julio de 2023
Brian Justin Crum ( BJC ) - You Oughta Know
Brian Justin Crum (born May 28, 1988) is an American singer and actor from San Diego, California. In 2016, he came to national attention competing on the eleventh season of the NBC TV competition America's Got Talent, taking fourth place.
Brian Justin Crum was born in San Diego, California, United States, and attended the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. Crum always had a love for music, and decided to take it to the stage.
At the age of seventeen, Crum left San Diego to become a part of the popular broadway musical Wicked. He later moved to New York City, New York and joined the cast of the musical comedy Altar Boyz and Grease. Crum also dreamed of becoming a part of the Next to Normal musical; that came true when he became a standby for Gabe and Henry, characters of the play. Crum has starred in several regional productions such as Tarzan, Jesus Christ Superstar and Snapshots. He soon met his mentor Stephen Schwartz, and the two performed alongside each other throughout the country. Brian played the character of "Daniel" in the episode "Possessed" in Season 12 of Law & Order: SVU.
Crum toured with The Addams Family, portraying Lucas Beineke and most frequently as Galileo Figaro in Queen's rock theatrical We Will Rock You. He sang with Brian May and Roger Taylor, original members of the band. He won a few Best Actor in Musical Awards for his performance and garnered reviews that considered him as "a Triumph." But besides his acting career, Crum is now pursuing a new career in Pop music, currently in Los Angeles, California.
For the June 28, 2016, final broadcast during the eleventh season of NBC's America's Got Talent. Crum continued into the cuts and performed Radiohead's "Creep". Crum received enough votes from the public and automatically advanced into the quarterfinals. Going into the quarterfinals, Crum performed Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight. Crum received enough votes from the public once again and advanced to the semifinals, along with fellow act Grace VanderWaal. In the semifinals, Crum performed Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". Mandel, Klum, Mel and Cowell gave Crum a standing ovation and he received enough votes to be sent into the finals.
For his final performance, Crum sang Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror". At the end of the broadcast, Crum placed fourth in the competition overall, with VanderWaal declared as the winner.
Following his time on America's Got Talent, Crum and Mary Lambert performed as guest vocalists on Superfruit's cover of Katy Perry's "Rise".
He released a cover of Robyn's "Show Me Love" on December 10, 2016 through Prop D Recordings. The song reached the top ten on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart, and peaked at #33 on the magazine's Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
He also made an appearance on America's Got Talent's Christmas special alongside previous Got Talent acts, singing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town". He has continued to perform live, travelling across the United States to perform at various events.
In 2019, he was a competitor on America's Got Talent: The Champions. On the January 28, 2019 episode, he performed a cover of Elton John's "Your Song" and advanced to the finals. He did not finish in the top five.
The day after the America's Got Talent: The Champions finale, Crum released his new single "Circles".
He sang the National Anthem at the San Diego Padres opening day game, March 28, 2019.
He released a new music video "I & U" on June 20, 2019.
In 2021, he is set to appear in a Chicago production of Children of Eden at the Arcada Theatre.