Fun
Lead singer Nate Ruess at Electric Ballroom, Camden, London.
Background information
Origin	New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	indie pop, alternative rock, power pop[1]
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Fueled by Ramen Records/Nettwerk Records (US) Hassle Records (UK)
Associated acts	The Format, Steel Train, Anathallo
Website	ournameisFun.com
Members
Nate Ruess Andrew Dost Jack Antonoff

Fun (often stylized as fun.) is an American alternative rock band based in New York City that was formed by Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format. After the 2008 breakup of The Format, Ruess formed Fun with Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff of Anathallo and Steel Train respectively.^[2] Fun has released two albums: their debut Aim and Ignite in 2009 and their latest Some Nights in February 2012.

The band is best known for its hit single "We Are Young" featuring Janelle Monáe. "We Are Young" reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Digital Songs charts, becoming the first alternative song to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart since Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" in 2008. It also peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart.

History[link]

2007–2008: Career beginning and formation[link]

The Format split in February 2008. Immediately afterward Nate Ruess asked Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff to join his new project. Dost had toured with The Format and provided various instrumentation. Ruess met Antonoff after The Format toured with Steel Train.^[3] The three began working together in New Jersey within a week. Ruess sang melodies while the other two provided music for them.^[4] The first demo song the band recorded was "Benson Hedges," which was made available for free in Spin's September 20, 2008 article on the band.^[5] Fun approached Steven McDonald, who produced The Format's album Dog Problems with Ruess, to produce their debut album. McDonald was enthusiastic about the project and stated, "I can’t believe what we’re working on here. This crushes anything I’ve ever done."^[4]

[edit] 2009–2010: Aim and Ignite

Recording took place in the fall of 2008. The band's first single, "At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)" was made available as a free download on the band's Myspace page on April 6, 2009.^[6] Aim and Ignite was released on August 25, 2009 and had positive reviews. AbsolutePunk.net's Drew Beringer praised the album, stating it was "what a pop album 'should' sound like" and "the most essential pop album of 2009."^[7] Allmusic called the album "progressive, but in the best possible way" and admired Ruess's lyrics for "investigating the larger truths of life...with a witty approach that keeps the songs bubbling merrily along on a positive note".^[8] Dave de Sylvia of Sputnikmusic wrote, "Aim and Ignite isn’t the most consistent pop album around," but he ultimately commended the album as "a superbly mixed and arranged album made by musicians who clearly understand the limits and potential of pop music".^[9] Estella Hung of PopMatters was less impressed with the album. She praised songs "Be Calm" and "The Gambler", but criticized the lyrics and production of the album's early tracks. Hung concluded that while Aim and Ignite is "pretty original to say the least", it "fails to live up to the Format’s last outing."^[10] Popdose's Ken Shane called the album "an interesting and unusual listen." Shane applauded the album's songwriting and said "many of the songs are really good," but he objected to the "cute" production, desiring to hear the band "in a more stripped-down form." He ended his review with: "I have a similar problem with Dr. Dog, a band that was recommended to me by a number of people. I think much of their recorded work is too fussed over, but when I saw them live and their sound was more stripped down out of necessity, emphasizing their powerful songwriting, I thought they were wonderful. Perhaps the same fate awaits me with Fun."^[11] The album reached number 26 on Sputnikmusic's top 50 albums of 2009. The album peaked at 71 on the US album charts.

Fun began its first North American tour on November 8, 2008 with Jack's Mannequin.^[12] The debut album Aim and Ignite was released on August 25, 2009.^[13] In reviewing the album, The Washington Post called some of the arrangements "theatrical, much like those on Panic! at the Disco's 2005 debut".^[14] In February 2010, Fun supported Jack's Mannequin on their headline tour, along with Vedera which was followed by their first UK appearances in March. Their current touring band also includes Will Noon, Rob Kroehler, Emily Moore, Nate Harold, and Jon "Jonny Thunder" Goldstein.^[15] In April 2010, Fun supported Paramore's headline tour. Other support for the tour includes Relient K and Harriet Ellis of Summer Beats.^[16] The band then embarked on a full UK tour in May. On August 4, 2010, Fun announced that they had signed with label Fueled by Ramen.^[17]

On August 14, 2010, it was announced via the Official Paramore Fan Club that Fun would be opening for Paramore on their November UK tour.^[18] In 2010 Fun's single, "Walking the Dog," was used in a commercial for the travel site Expedia.com.^[19] In 2010, Will Noon (formerly of Straylight Run) played drums with Fun on tour, according to Noon's Twitter page.^[20] To celebrate the Paramore UK tour and the band’s new single ‘Walking The Dog’, Hassle Records gave away a free download of an acoustic version of the track.^[21] On April 27, 2011, a video of the band performing a new song entitled "Carry On" was uploaded to YouTube.^[22]

[edit] 2011–present: Some Nights

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (April 2012)

On May 17, 2011, the band released "C'mon" as a joint single with Panic! at the Disco, who they opened for on their 2011 Vices & Virtues Tour.

On November 7, 2011, the band announced that their next album would be titled Some Nights and released on February 21, 2012. Its first single, called "We Are Young" and featuring Janelle Monáe, has since been used in several other media including:

• Gossip Girl season 5 episode 24 "The Return of the Ring"
• 90210 season 4 episode 24 "Forever Hold Your Peace"
• Glee episode "Hold On to Sixteen"
• introducing the Game Changer of the Year at the 2011 WWE Slammy Awards
• Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Baby"
• Chevrolet Chevy Sonic Super Bowl XLVI commercial "Stunt Anthem", also featuring American professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and the rock band OK Go.^[23]
• a vignette promoting the WWE Wrestlemania XXVIII Main event match between John Cena and The Rock
• BBC Radio One as Scott Mills' Big Thing
• The trailer for the Judd Apatow film This is 40

On December 12, 2011, the band's song "One Foot" was available for instant streaming and free download on Nylon's website.^[24]

On February 13, 2012, the band released an album stream on their website along with a note from Ruess thanking fans for their ongoing support. Ruess states he is "over the moon about what you're about to hear and falling asleep knowing that as soon as I wake up, this will no longer be a dream."^[25]

On March 7, 2012, Fun's single "We Are Young" reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This makes Fun the first multi-member rock band to have a #1 Billboard debut on the Hot 100 since Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" in December 2001/January 2002.^[26] On the same day, "We Are Young" was used by Apple in a promotional video of their recent retail development in Grand Central Terminal.^[27] On April 11, 2012, Billboard.com announced that Fun's "We Are Young" also made Digital Sales history. As the song was at the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a sixth consecutive week, it has become the first, and at this time only, song that has ever gained 300,000+ downloads for seven weeks straight.^[28]

On March 19, 2012, Fun was announced as a performing band at the Bonnaroo 2012 music festival.

On June 3, 2012, Fun will perform "We Are Young" at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards.

"We Are Young" peaked at number 1 on May 27, 2012 in the UK.

Band members[link]

Current members

• Jack Antonoff – vocals, guitars, trumpet (2008–present)
• Andrew Dost – vocals, piano, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, trumpet, flugelhorn, glockenspiel, drums, percussion, beach ball, cardboard box (2008–present)
• Nate Ruess – lead vocals (2008–present)

Current touring members

• Nate Harold – bass guitar, vocals, sampler (2009–present)
• Emily Moore – guitars, vocals, keyboards, saxophone (2009–present)
• Will Noon – drums (2010–present)

Former touring members

• Jon Goldstein – drums (2008–2010)
• Rob Kroehler – guitar (2008–2010)
• Mike Schey - guitar (March 2010-May 2010)
• Michael Newsted (The Soil & The Sun) – bass guitar (2010)
• Maggie Malyn – violin (2008)
• Evan Winiker – bass guitar (2011)
• Ryan Lallier – guitar (2010–2011)

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Aim and Ignite (2009)
• Some Nights (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Fun on Myspace
• Fun on YouTube
• Fun coverage on Audioholic Media
• Alter the Press Interview
• March 18, 2012 NPR story and interview by Guy Raz

Nathaniel Joseph "Nature" Ruess^[1] (February 26, 1982) is an American indie/indie pop singer-songwriter from Arizona. Ruess was the singer of The Format and currently lead vocalist of the band Fun.^[2]

Early Life[link]

Nate was born February 26, 1982 in Iowa City, Iowa. He was the youngest of two children, his sister Libbie being one year older.

In 1986, his family moved to a farm in Glendale, Arizona, where he remained throughout his childhood. He attended Deer Valley High School and graduated in 2000. Having an uncle, John Ruess, who performed on Broadway, Ruess was always somewhat interested in music and performing. He joined punk bands in high school and, upon graduation, chose to pursue music instead of attending college. He never took formal singing lessons or learned to play an instrument and was often told by peers that he lacked the talent to make it professionally. He took a job in a law firm as a way to support himself while he pursued his musical ambitions. ^[3]

In 2001, at the age of 19, he launched the band The Format with his longtime best friend, Sam Means. This was his first musical endeavor to garner widespread attention.

Career[link]

2001-2008: The Format[link]

After forming in 2001, The Format released a demo, titled EP, which generated local interest and led to the band being signed to Elektra Records in 2002. They released their first studio album, Interventions + Lullabies, on October 21, 2003, leading to more local mainstream success. The band's fanbase began to grow. The Format released their second EP, Snails, with Atlantic Records in April 2005. However, while working on their second album, Dog Problems, they were dropped from Atlantic. They eventually created their own label, The Vanity Label, and released the album on July 11, 2006. On February 4, 2008, Ruess announced through the band's blog that The Format would not be making another album.

We have just put out word that we will not be making a new Format album. Please understand this was a tough decision and we're both upset about it. While we accept there will be false speculation as to why, understand that Sam and I remain extremely close and in fact are still passing the Twin Peaks box set back and forth in an attempt to figure out who REALLY killed Laura Palmer. We also want to thank everyone with and within the Format, particularly Mike, Don, and Marko, whom without, none of this would have ever even been fully realized. We both suggest you support their musical talents and whatever they decide to do. And lastly we want to thank the fans who made this the best 5 years of our lives.^[4]

2008-present: fun.[link]

Immediately after the split of The Format, Ruess contacted Jack Antonoff of Steel Train and Andrew Dost, formerly of Anathallo, to form a new band. They released their first demo, "Benson Hedges", through Spin's September 20, 2008 article on fun.^[5] Four months after releasing their first single, "At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)" through Myspace on April 6, 2009, fun. released their first studio album, entitled Aim and Ignite. Despite receiving generally positive reviews, the album was not a commercial success, peaking at 71 on the US album charts. The band supported Jack's Mannequin on tour in both 2008 and 2010, and Paramore in 2010. On August 4, 2010, they announced that they had been signed to the Fueled by Ramen label. On May 17, 2011, the band was featured on Panic! at the Disco's single "C'mon". They also opened for Panic! at the Disco during their 2011 Vices & Virtues Tour. Their second album, Some Nights, was released on February 21, 2012 and featured production by Jeff Bhasker. The album's first single, We Are Young (featuring Janelle Monae), which had been covered on Glee the previous December and featured on a Chevrolet commercial during the Super Bowl in February 2012, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts on March 8, 2012.

Personal Life[link]

Nate is currently dating bandmate Jack Antonoff's sister, Rachel. When not on tour, the three of them live together in New Jersey with Antonoff's parents. ^[6]

References[link]

This article on a singer-songwriter is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Janelle Monáe
Performing at Austin Music Hall in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Janelle Monáe Robinson
Born	(1985-12-01) December 1, 1985 (age 26)
Origin	Kansas City, Kansas US
Genres	Neo-soul, funk, art rock, dance-punk, experimental alternative rock
Occupations	musician
Years active	2003-present
Labels	Bad Boy Records,[1] Atlantic Records[2]
Website	http://www.jmonae.com/

Janelle Monáe (born Janelle Monáe Robinson; December 1, 1985) is an American R&B/soul musician signed to Bad Boy Records and Atlantic Records.

Monáe debuted with a conceptual EP, Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase). The EP failed to make much of a commercial impact, peaking at No. 115 on the Billboard charts in the United States.^[3]

In 2010, Janelle Monáe released her debut studio album, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III), a concept album sequel to her first EP; it was released by Bad Boy Records. This album received acclaim from critics and gained a Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. The song "Tightrope" was also nominated for "Best Urban/Alternative Performance"; this album was also more successful commercially officially reaching the No. 17 spot on the Billboard Charts.^[4][5]

In March 2012, "We Are Young", the song by the band Fun on which Monáe makes a guest appearance, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, her first appearance in the US Top 10.

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Monáe was born Janelle Monáe Robinson in Kansas City, Kansas, where she spent her early life; Monáe has stated that the fictional character of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz has been one of her musical influences. She has told reporters that she has dreamed of being a singer and a performer since she was very young.^[6] Monáe moved from Kansas City, Kansas to New York to study drama at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

She attended a Performing Arts School called Freedom Theatre, which is the oldest African-American theatre in Philadelphia. After moving to Atlanta, Georgia, where she met OutKast's Big Boi, Monáe founded the Wondaland Arts Society with like-minded young artists and made appearances on Idlewild, where she is featured on the songs "Call the Law" and "In Your Dreams". Big Boi told his friend Sean Combs about Monáe, whom he had not heard of before. Combs promptly visited her MySpace page, and according to Bad Boy Records' A&R Daniel 'Skid' Mitchell in an interview with HitQuarters, the label boss loved it straight away, "[He] loved her look, loved that you couldn’t see her body, loved the way she was dancing, and just loved the vibe. He felt like she has something that was different - something new and fresh."^[7] Monáe signed to Bad Boy in 2006. The label's chief role was in facilitating her exposure on a much broader scale rather than developing the artist and her music, because in the words of Mitchell, "She was already moving, she already had her records - she had a self-contained movement." Combs and Big Boi wanted to take their time and build her profile organically and allow the music to grow rather than put out "A hot single which everyone jumps on, and then they fade because it's just something of the moment."^[7]

[edit] 2007-10: Metropolis - The Chase Suite and The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

Monáe and her band performing at Sudoeste Festival 2011.

In 2007, Monáe released her first solo work, titled Metropolis. It was originally conceived as a concept album in four parts, or "suites", which were to be released through her website and mp3 download sites. After the release of the first part of the series, Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) in mid-2007, these plans were altered following her signing with Sean "Diddy" Combs's label, Bad Boy Records, later in the year. The label gave an official and physical release to the first "suite" in August 2008, which was retitled Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition) and included two new tracks. The EP was generally well-received by critics, garnering Monáe a 2009 Grammy nomination in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance for her single "Many Moons",^[8] festival appearances and opening slots for the indie pop band Of Montreal. Monáe also toured as the opening act for band No Doubt on their summer 2009 tour.^[9] Her single "Open Happiness" was featured in the 2009 season finale of American Idol.^[10] Monáe told MTV about her concept for her new album and also discussed her alter-ego named Cindi Mayweather, she said:

"Cindi is an android and I love speaking about the android because they are the new “other”. People are afraid of the other and I believe we’re going to live in a world with androids because of technology and the way it advances. The first album she was running because she had fallen in love with a human and she was being disassembled for that."^[11]

In a November 2009 interview, Monáe revealed the title and concept behind her album, The ArchAndroid. The album was released on May 18, 2010. The second and third suites of Metropolis are combined into this full-length release, in which Monáe's alter-ego, Cindi Mayweather—also the protagonist of Metropolis: The Chase Suite— becomes a messianic figure to the android community of Metropolis.^[12] Monáe noted that she plans to shoot a video for each song on The ArchAndroid and create both a movie and graphic novel based on the album.^[13] The Metropolis concept series draws inspiration from a wide range of musical, cinematic and other sources, ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Debussy to Philip K. Dick. However, the series puts Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis, which Monáe referred to as "the godfather of science-fiction movies," in special regard.^[14][15] Aside from sharing a name, they also share visual styles (the cover for The ArchAndroid is inspired by the iconic poster for Metropolis), conceptual themes and political goals, using expressionistic future scenarios to examine and explode contemporary ideas of prejudice and class. Both also include a performing female android, though to very different effect. Where Metropolis android Maria is the evil, havoc-sowing double of the messianic figure to the city's strictly segregated working class, Monáe's messianic android muse Cindi Mayweather represents an interpretation of androids as that segregated minority, which Monáe describes as "... the Other. And I feel like all of us, whether in the majority or the minority, felt like the Other at some point."^[14][16]

Monáe received the Vanguard Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers at the Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in 2010.^[17] Monáe covered Charlie Chaplin's Smile on Billboard.com in June 2010. In an NPR interview in September 2010, Monae stated that she is a believer in, and a proponent of time travel. Monáe performed "Tightrope" during the second elimination episode of the 11th Season of Dancing with the Stars on September 28, 2010.^[18] Monáe performed at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2011 alongside artists Bruno Mars and B.o.B; Monáe performed the synth section of B.o.B's song "Nothin' On You" and she then performed her track "Cold War" with B.o.B on the guitar and Mars on the drums. Her performance received a standing ovation.^[19]

Her single "Tightrope" was featured on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, performed by Pia Toscano, Haley Reinhart, Naima Adedapo, and Thia Megia.

[edit] 2011-present: re-release of ArchAndroid, new album and other projects

Monáe tweeted that she is planning on releasing an instrumental version of The ArchAndroid.^[20] In an interview, Monáe stated that she plans to release two albums in 2012.^[21] In another interview with Forbes, Monáe also said that she plans to release an ArchAndroid inspired film.^[22] She will join the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a support act on part of their "I'm With You" tour.

Monàe was featured in Fun's hit single, "We Are Young", and also performed an acoustic version of the song with lead singer of Fun, Nate Ruess.

Artistry[link]

Musical styles and influences[link]

The Telegraph released their interview with Monáe talking about her first studio album where they said "I begin to worry for a moment that Monáe may not just be a humourless science-fiction nerd, but actually an android herself, created in a laboratory as a super-musical cross between James Brown, Judy Garland, Andre 3000 and Steve Jobs, invented to test the desperate incredulity of music journalists". They also compared Monáe to artists such as Annie Lennox and Lauryn Hill.^[23] Her musical styles have been described as "a soaring orchestral trip enlivened with blockbuster vocals, mysterious imagery and notes of Sixties pop and jazz".^[24] The Guardian have noted some of her influences as: Michael Jackson, Prince, OutKast, Erykah Badu, Beyonce, James Brown, Grace Jones, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Bernard Herrmann, Funkadelic and the Incredible String Band.^[25] Monáe has stated that she has an alter-ego named Cindi Mayweather who according to Monáe is from the year 2719.^[26] In her first EP she gave her alter-ego a back-story stating that she is on the run after breaking the law in her home town of Metropolis after falling in love with a human named Anthony Greendown. Monáe explained about Cindi, saying "The Archandroid, Cindi, is the mediator, between the mind and the hand. She's the mediator between the haves and the have-nots, the oppressed and the oppressor. She's like the Archangel in the Bible, and what Neo represents to the Matrix."^[27]

Public image[link]

Monáe has gained a signature clothing style of wearing a Tuxedo wardrobe and she said on the matter to Honey Magazine "I bathe in it, I swim in it, and I could be buried in it. A tux is such a standard uniform, it’s so classy and it’s a lifestyle I enjoy. The tux keeps me balanced. I look at myself as a canvas. I don’t want to cloud myself with too many colors or I’ll go crazy. It’s an experiment I’m doing. I think I want to be in the Guinness Book of World Records."^[28] In Monáe's concerts she has been noted to hand out her Ten Droid Commandments which encourages her fans to be individuals.^[27] The Telegraph also commented on her image as an artist saying "Sitting in a grey, airless record company office, this slight, stiff young woman delivers her speech in slow, deliberate tones, utterly expressionless. Dressed in her trademark starched shirt and tuxedo, hair immaculately coiffed, Monáe’s face is an opaque mask of perfection: all silken smooth skin, button nose and glassy brown eyes."^[23] She has described her Tuxedos as being a uniform for her career and she has stated that she wears them when she is working.^[27] She also featured in the "Style 100" of InStyle Magazine.^[29]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

Guest appearances[link]

• 2005: In "House" Sessions (My First Love)
• 2005: Broadcasting the Definition (Peachtree Blues)
• 2005: Purple Ribbon All-Stars - Got Purp? Vol 2 ("Time Will Reveal," "Lettin' Go")
• 2006: Outkast - Idlewild ("Call the Law," "In Your Dreams")
• 2008: "Big" Collaboration with Big Boi and the Atlanta Ballet^[41]
• 2009: Chester French- Jacques Jams, Vol. 1: Endurance (Mixtape) ("Nerd Girl")
• 2009: Open Happiness
• 2009: Stargate Universe - "Earth" Episode 7, Season 1
• 2010: B.o.B. - B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray ("The Kids")
• 2010: Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty ("Be Still")
• 2010: of Montreal - False Priest ("Our Riotous Defects," "Enemy Gene")
• 2010: Without a Fight - For Colored Girls: Music From and Inspired by the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
• 2011: fun. - Some Nights ("We Are Young")
• 2011: ("Tightrope") (featuring Big Boi) - performance on Later With Jools Holland - BBC Television

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Janelle Monáe

• Official website
• Janelle Monáe at Allmusic
• Janelle Monáe discography at Discogs
• Janelle Monáe discography at MusicBrainz
• Janelle Monae interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' June 2010
• Janelle Monáe Interview
• Janelle Monáe interview at URB
• Janelle Monáe interview with SPIN
• Review of Tightrope (feat. Big Boi)
• Q & A with Janelle Monae
• "Janelle Monáe on BackPocketMag.com

Samuel "Sam" Tsui (Born May 2, 1989^[2]) is a musician and Internet celebrity who rose to fame on YouTube. He is best known for covering and performing songs by popular artists such as Adele and Bruno Mars, as well as original medleys and mashups. Tsui graduated from Yale University in 2011.

Background[link]

According to his profile on The Duke's Men of Yale's official website, Tsui is from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.^[3] Tsui grew up a street away from Kurt Schneider, his producer and accompanist, with whom he attended Wissahickon High School.^[4][5] He was active in high school musicals, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Urinetown, and Miss Saigon. Tsui attended Yale University, where he was a member of Davenport College and The Duke's Men of Yale, an all-male a cappella group. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a major in classical Greek in 2011. Sam is proficient in the C++ programming language, as stated in an interview on March 5.^[3][6][7].

Career[link]

Collaborations between Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider began in high school with an electronic keyboard, primitive recording equipment, and GarageBand. Both attended Yale University, and there a musical partnership developed.^[6] They have produced videos ranging from covers and original medleys to the College Musical online series. As of February 2012, the YouTube channel "KurtHugoSchneider" has garnered over 350 million total views and a million subscribers.^[8] The most viewed video is Just a Dream, with more than forty million views.^[8] His videos have been described by Time as a combination of Glee and Attack of the Clones.^[9]

In December 2010, Tsui made a collaboration with fellow YouTube singer Christina Grimmie, singing Just A Dream. On February 3, 2011, Tsui was featured on Britney Spears' official website, along with his cover of Hold It Against Me.^[10] In March 2011, Tsui, and lyrics from his song "Start Again", were also mentioned in the book "Seeker" by Andy Frankham-Allen published in print format by Hirst Publishing, and in all digital formats by Untreed Reads Publishing.^[11] In November 2011, he had made a mashup base on two songs, "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars, and "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele (singer), which have more than 450,000 views.

Sam Tsui was mentioned three times by Tom Hanks when he addressed the class of Yale 2011.^[12]

College Musical[link]

Starting in 2009, Tsui and Schneider have produced a series of episodes of College Musical, a comedy web series parodying the High School Musical film series, with original songs composed by Schneider.^[6] Four episodes have been released, with Tsui playing the lead role of Cooper. Following the popularity of the series, it was announced that a film, currently in production, would be made based on the series.^[6][8]

Television appearances[link]

In November 2009, Tsui appeared on The Bonnie Hunt Show where he was interviewed and performed Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". He also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on February 22, 2010 along with his producer, Kurt Schneider.^[7][13] The pair was interviewed, and Tsui performed a medley of Michael Jackson's songs. Tsui also appeared on ABC World News on October 28, 2009, singing The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There".^[14] In November 2009, Tsui appeared on It's On with Alexa Chung, singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" for the cast of American television series Glee.^[15][16] On December 2, 2010, Tsui gave an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and performed a mashup of Katy Perry's "Firework" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" with Schneider.^[17][18]

The Sing-Off[link]

Tsui is currently a Behind-The-Scenes host on NBC's a cappella competition show, The Sing-Off Season 3. He has since gone on to record a "Judges Medley" consisting of Sara Bareilles' "Love Song", Ben Folds' "Gone" and Shawn Stockman's (Boyz II Men) "On Bended Knee" which is free to view on both NBC's website and Tsui's independent YouTube channel, TheSamTsui.

Discography[link]

[edit] The Covers

A digital album, The Covers was released to the iTunes Store on February 9, 2010 by Sh-K-Boom Records.^[5][19]

[edit] DJ Got Us Falling in Love

On October 10, 2010, a mini album was released by Mud Hut Digital. It contains three covers:^[20]

Singles[link]

Tsui has also released twenty-three singles digitally: two original songs under NoodleHouse Records and nineteen covers under Mud Hut Digital.^[21][22]

"Call Me Maybe" (Carly Rae Jepsen cover)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kurt Schneider's channel on YouTube
• Sam Tsui's channel on YouTube
• Sam Tsui on Facebook
• Sam Tsui at Music-covers

Kurt Schneider (7 January 1887 – 27 October 1967) was a German psychiatrist known largely for his writing on the diagnosis and understanding of schizophrenia, as well as personality disorders then known as psychopathic personalities.