Music Artists

Posts Tagged ‘video’

The Official HD Trailer for “Michael Jackson’s This Is It”, aired on MTV Video Music Awards (VMA). Release Date: 28 October 2009 (USA) Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2009) (USA) (all media) Director: Kenny Ortega Producers: Paul Gongaware, Randy Phillips Cast: Michael Jackson, Orianthi Genre: Music [IMDB.COM]

You ever wonder how to get on a music video that you see on MTV and VH1. This article about Music Video auditions will help you get there. Soon enough you can be in the background of one of your favorite music videos or even a dancer.First you will need to know if you want to just be an extra in the music video, or if you want to be one of those dancers that dances with the star. If you go the dancing route, of course you’ll need some dancing experience. Being an extra doesn’t really require any skill. But you’ll still need to know the right people and the right audition to go to.To be a dancer in the music video you have to have the right look. But not only looks count, casting directors want to know if you can dance. Casting directors have the luxury of having a sea of candidates to choose from. Besides having the right look and skills, you must also have the right attitude.Here are some music video open casting calls in your area.It’s ok to be nervous at an audition, but try deep breathing to calm yourself down. If it’s difficult for you to stay relaxed in front of casting directors and staff, it’ll b extremely difficult to be calm in front of a camera.Being an extra for a music video doesn’t require much. You may need to have a certain look, but other than that, it’s really simple. Casting directors may look for certain features that out of your control.Speaking of dancing, here is a list of hiphop dance auditions.Lastly, be friendly and have fun and you should to fine. Good luck and I hope to see you in a music video someday soon.
Read the rest of this entry »

“The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was arguably the finest female jazz singer of all time (although some may vote for Sarah Vaughan or Billie Holiday). Blessed with a beautiful voice and a wide range, Fitzgerald could outswing anyone, was a brilliant scat singer, and had near-perfect elocution; one could always understand the words she sang. The one fault was that, since she always sounded so happy to be singing, Fitzgerald did not always dig below the surface of the lyrics she interpreted and she even made a downbeat song such as “Love for Sale” sound joyous. However, when one evaluates her career on a whole, there is simply no one else in her class.One could never guess from her singing that Ella Fitzgerald ’s early days were as grim as Billie Holiday’s. Growing up in poverty, Fitzgerald was literally homeless for the year before she got her big break. In 1934, she appeared at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, winning an amateur contest by singing “Judy” in the style of her idol, Connee Boswell. After a short stint with Tiny Bradshaw, Fitzgerald was brought to the attention of Chick Webb by Benny Carter (who was in the audience at the Apollo). Webb, who was not impressed by the 17-year-old’s appearance, was reluctantly persuaded to let her sing with his orchestra on a one-nighter. She went over well and soon the drummer recognized her commercial potential. Starting in 1935, Fitzgerald began recording with Webb’s Orchestra, and by 1937 over half of the band’s selections featured her voice. “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” became a huge hit in 1938 and “Undecided” soon followed. During this era, Fitzgerald was essentially a pop/swing singer who was best on ballads while her medium-tempo performances were generally juvenile novelties. She already had a beautiful voice but did not improvise or scat much; that would develop later.On June 16, 1939, Chick Webb died. It was decided that Fitzgerald would front the orchestra even though she had little to do with the repertoire or hiring or firing the musicians. She retained her popularity and when she broke up the band in 1941 and went solo; it was not long before her Decca recordings contained more than their share of hits. She was teamed with the Ink Spots, Louis Jordan, and the Delta Rhythm Boys for some best-sellers, and in 1946 began working regularly for Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic. Granz became her manager although it would be nearly a decade before he could get her on his label. A major change occurred in Fitzgerald’s singing around this period. She toured with Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, adopted bop as part of her style, and started including exciting scat-filled romps in her set. Her recordings of “Lady Be Good,” “How High the Moon,” and “Flying Home” during 1945-1947 became popular and her stature as a major jazz singer rose as a result. For a time (December 10, 1947-August 28, 1953) she was married to bassist Ray Brown and used his trio as a backup group. Fitzgerald’s series of duets with pianist Ellis Larkins in 1950 (a 1954 encore with Larkins was a successful follow-up) found her interpreting George Gershwin songs, predating her upcoming Songbooks series.After appearing in the film Pete Kelly’s Blues in 1955, Fitzgerald signed with Norman Granz’s Verve label and over the next few years she would record extensive Songbooks of the music of Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, and Johnny Mercer. Although (with the exception of the Ellington sets) those were not her most jazz-oriented projects (Fitzgerald stuck mostly to the melody and was generally accompanied by string orchestras), the prestigious projects did a great deal to uplift her stature. At the peak of her powers around 1960, Fitzgerald’s hilarious live version of “Mack the Knife” (in which she forgot the words and made up her own) from Ella in Berlin is a classic and virtually all of her Verve recordings are worth getting.Fitzgerald’s Capitol and Reprise recordings of 1967-1970 are not on the same level as she attempted to “update” her singing by including pop songs such as “Sunny” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” sounding quite silly in the process. But Fitzgerald’s later years were saved by Norman Granz’s decision to form a new label, Pablo. Starting with a Santa Monica Civic concert in 1972 that is climaxed by Fitzgerald’s incredible version of “C Jam Blues” (in which she trades off with and “battles” five classic jazzmen), Fitzgerald was showcased in jazz settings throughout the 1970s with the likes of Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, and Joe Pass, among others. Her voice began to fade during this era and by the 1980s her decline due to age was quite noticeable. Troubles with her eyes and heart knocked her out of action for periods of time, although her increasingly rare appearances found Fitzgerald still retaining her sense of swing and joyful style. By 1994, Ella Fitzgerald was in retirement and she passed away two years later, but she remains a household name and scores of her recordings are easily available on CD. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Read the rest of this entry »

Say Anything is the pop-punk brainchild of singer/songwriter Max Bemis, who founded the band while its initial members were still attending high school in Los Angeles. Although the lineup has featured rotating cast of characters throughout its existence, Bemis remains at the band’s core, spinning tales of insecurity and frustation with help from longtime drummer Coby Linder. Say Anything first appeared with two self-released and self-produced EPs — Junior Varsity! and Menorah/Majora, the latter being released online — and a full-length album, 2003’s Baseball. These releases saw the band leaning toward the emo rock/pop-punk formula made popular by bands like blink-182 and Saves the Day. Bemis soon grew tired of the genre and revamped his band’s sound for …Is a Real Boy, their debut on Doghouse Records in 2004. A self-described punk rock musical, the album was fittingly produced by Tim O’Heir (Dinosaur Jr., the All-American Rejects) and Stephen Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), with Bemis playing nearly every instrument on the record. Bemis’ bipolar disorder proved to be increasingly disruptive, however, plaguing both the recording of the album and its aftermath. Struggled with crippling stress, the singer suffered a nervous breakdown that ultimately led Say Anything to drop off two tours in 2005, including an opening slot with the band’s idols, Saves the Day. Despite the setback, the band signed with J Records that same year and reissued …Is a Real Boy in February 2006. The re-release boasted two discs, pairing the original record with a bonus EP containing demos, re-recordings of previous songs, and sessions from a never-released AIDS benefit record. A national headlining tour followed the reissue, and the single “Alive with the Glory of Love” found some success on radio and the MTV networks. Momentum continued to build as the band toured into 2007, eventually pairing with Saves the Day for a second attempt at touring. The effort was successful this time around, and Say Anything released a two-disc concept album, In Defense of the Genre, that October. ~ Corey Apar & Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
Read the rest of this entry »

R&B singer Cassie got her first taste of the music industry at 16 when she had the opportunity to speak with the producer Rockwilder, a meeting that inspired her to take formal voice lessons. This decision paid off nicely later on, when, after she’d graduated from high school and was working on her modeling career in New York, she became acquainted with producer Ryan Leslie. He encouraged her to pursue music more seriously, and in January 2005, Cassie ’s mother’s request for a song provided the impetus to go into the studio with Leslie and record one. Tommy Mottola heard Cassie ’s work and signed her to a management deal, and with Leslie as her producer, the young singer joined P. Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment in 2006. That same year, her self-titled debut album was released; “Me&U,” its lead single, reached the Top Ten. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide

Cassie – Cassie, Cassie – Long Way 2 Go BW Cant Do it Without You VLS, Cassie – Long Way to go, Cassie – Long Way to go, Cassie, Cassie – Is It You

Read the rest of this entry »