I’ve been dieing to cover an Adele song for a while now and yesterday I finally turned on the camera and did it. Adele’s powerful lyrics and amazing voice have made her the biggest selling artist of the year and will no doubt lead to a pile of Grammys in 2012.
Beyond that, what makes me admire Adele the most is that her songs are not overproduced like most of today’s music. It allows the music to compliment her voice instead of overpowering it.
I am very proud of this cover, it’s the first time I’ve really been able to push myself and I’m feeling a lot more comfortable singing in front of the camera. I think the video showcases how far I’ve come this year with regards to confidence.
I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think and what I can do to improve.
It’s finally out, NEW Justin Bieber music. While we wait for the next album (Believe) Justin Beiber and his crew are throwing us an original star studded Christmas Album. Today, October 17 2011, the first single – Mistletoe – dropped on iTunes. The Bieber team is hoping it’ll go straight to the top of the charts for Justin’s first number 1 single on iTunes. Listen to the song courtesy of Ryan Seacrest above.
Update: Within hours of releasing, the song raced to the top of the iTunes charts to become Bieber’s first No1 on iTunes.
Aye, it’s the most beautiful time of the year,
Lights fill the streets spreading so much cheer,
I should be playing in the winter snow,
But Ima be under the mistletoe.
I don’t wanna miss out on the holiday,
But I can’t stop staring at your face,
I should be playing in the winter snow,
But Ima be under the mistletoe.
With you, shawty with you,
With you, shawty with you,
With you, under the mistletoe, yeah.
Everyone’s gathering around the fire,
Chestnuts roasting like a hot July,
I should be chillin’ with my folks, I know,
But Ima be under the mistletoe.
Word on the streets Santa’s coming tonight,
Reindeer flying thru the sky so high,
I should be making a list, I know,
But Ima be under the mistletoe.
With you, shawty with you,
With you, shawty with you,
With you, under the mistletoe,
Yeaaa.
With you, shawty with you,
With you, shawty with you,
With you, under the mistletoe.
Hey love, the Wise Men followed a star,
The way I followed my heart,
And it led me to a miracle.
Aye love, don’t you buy me nothing,
‘Cause I am feeling one thing,
Your lips on my lips,
That’s a Merry Merry Christmas.
It’s the most beautiful time of the year,
Lights fill the streets spreading so much cheer,
I should be playing in the winter snow,
But Ima be under the mistletoe.
I don’t wanna miss out on the holiday,
But I can’t stop staring at your face,
I should be playing in the winter snow,
But Ima be under the mistletoe.
With you, shawty with you,
With you, shawty with you,
With you, under the mistletoe.
Sing it again!
With you, shawty with you,
With you, shawty with you,
With you, under the mistletoe, yeah.
Kiss me underneath the mistletoe,
Show me baby that you love me so,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
Kiss me underneath the mistletoe,
Show me baby that you love me so,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
The last time I recorded myself making musical noise was in May. So I readied my money maker with a good slap across the face, set the camera down and recorded one of my favourite songs: Somebody to love. The song was originally by Queen, of course, but I fell in love with the song after the late Brittany Murphy covered it for the Happy Feet movie.
As with all my singing videos, I immediately hated it afterward and tried not to look as I clicked render and upload. I’ve come to realise that the more I fuss about trying to make it perfect, the less fun I have and the more uncomfortable I look in front of the camera.
I am learning slowly but surely to let go and be more relaxed. It’s a strange thing to be in front of the camera. It changes the situation in the room. Increased time spent in front of it doesn’t actually make it more comfortable, it just gets you used to it. You learn to get over the weirdness of this large eye capturing your every move.
This is why I’ve uploaded the second video, a short cover of Billionaire by Travie McCoy and featuring Bruno Mars. In this video, I was actually just testing how to use and set up my new mic, so I didn’t do the whole song. However, I like the way the song came out. It’s a small glimpse of me messing around with music.
I’ll be the first to admit that my singing videos on YouTube leave much to be desired. I still seem to get nervous singing in front of the camera. I think I’ve finally grown enough confidence to believe I can in fact sing, but the nerves are still a big issue. Let’s not even discuss in front of people by myself.
So I’ve decided to do something a bit more fun to help me grow more. Today I’m launching the Singing in the Bathroom Series or SBS for short. It’s where, you guessed it, I take my camera into the bathroom and sing some fun songs and act crazy. As lyrics that aren’t mine tend to linger in some difficult to reach place in my brain I’ve started with something I couldn’t mess up. When the saints. Let me know what you think.
It all started in 2009, on a small youth camp in the middle of the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa. As usual, I was keeping myself entertained with friends when I came up with a random song about stalkers. We thought it was hilarious and joked about starting a band with Stalker as our first hit. The song was stuck in my head, and eventually I recorded a chipmunk version of it which was released on Srizzil and later removed.
The song was destined for greater, and in February 2011 I decided to bring it to life in a comedic music video. I found a funny recording where my voice hadn’t been chipmunkified and beefed up the song a little. Then it was lights, camera, action. I filmed the black screen shots, and then went about creating arbitrary moments where the stalker would freak me out.
Something was missing though. I needed a stalker, a real face to put to the song. I found that in my brave friend Ryleigh. In spite of the song’s harsh words, she put on a crazy face and stalked me for the camera. Although far from creepy, scary or ugly, Ryleigh created a brilliant portrayal of a crazed fan. Huge props to her.
