Ok... this is a near miss. According to the Sacramento Bee, James Garner was discovered doing karaoke. Yes, James Garner was discovered singing karaoke. He wasn't quite discovered by a talent scout. It was a drummer. But unfortunately, it is not the James Garner you might be thinking of. Not the James Garner of Maverick and Rockford Files. This is James Garner, the Elvis impersonator. I guess he's pretty good though.
Ashley Sullivan is another near miss. She got her start doing karaoke at Applebee's in her home town Springfield, MA, where she won first prize of $500. From there, she went on to American Idol, where she begged and pleaded her way out of a thumbs down.
Getting discovered the karaoke way? Ehhh... not quite.
Showing posts with label getting discovered. Show all posts
Showing posts with label getting discovered. Show all posts
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Yet another update on getting discovered through karaoke
Today I came across another near miss on my ongoing quest to find a star who got discovered as a result of singing in a karaoke bar. Well... it's not even really a near miss, but it is a sweet story.
Meghan Linsey was a karaoke host in a Nashville bar where she met Joshua Scott Jones. They started dating and formed a duo called Steel Magnolias. They entered a talent show called Can You Duet, which is a country music's answer to American Idol. They won the second season.
As I said, this isn't a story of them getting discovered in a karaoke bar. They discovered each other. There was no wildly excited talent scout in the audience who handed them a business card, saying "call me in the morning".
I suppose that someone could argue that Can You Duet is really just a karaoke competition on steroids. I have heard that comment made repeatedly against American Idol. It is usually intended as a disparaging remark. "This is not important culture. The contestants have no real talent. It's just glorified karaoke." American Idol is a very popular show. And the winners and also-rans go on to get recording contracts. And what's so bad about glorified karaoke anyway?
Linsey and Jones did get a recording contract with Big Machine Records, so they did make it to the big time. They just weren't discovered through karaoke. Maybe this story fits better in the category of karaoke romances.
Want to know more about them?
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Steel Magnolias.
Here is a review of the duo.
As I said, this isn't a story of them getting discovered in a karaoke bar. They discovered each other. There was no wildly excited talent scout in the audience who handed them a business card, saying "call me in the morning".
I suppose that someone could argue that Can You Duet is really just a karaoke competition on steroids. I have heard that comment made repeatedly against American Idol. It is usually intended as a disparaging remark. "This is not important culture. The contestants have no real talent. It's just glorified karaoke." American Idol is a very popular show. And the winners and also-rans go on to get recording contracts. And what's so bad about glorified karaoke anyway?
Linsey and Jones did get a recording contract with Big Machine Records, so they did make it to the big time. They just weren't discovered through karaoke. Maybe this story fits better in the category of karaoke romances.
Want to know more about them?
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Steel Magnolias.
Here is a review of the duo.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Getting discovered through karaoke - Taylor Swift?
Was Taylor Swift discovered while singing karaoke? As my readers no
doubt know, finding a singing who got discovered through karaoke has
pretty much been a full time occupation for me since my first post on the topic almost a year ago. My most recent blog on the subject was Dec 23.
I came across a claim that Swift made it to the big time by getting discovered singing karaoke. Here is a quote from the article:
Taylor has taken the country world by storm, in a career that could have been made into movie magic itself, the Cinderella story of a girl who was discovered while singing Karaoke in a small-town restaurant.
This isn't exactly my definition of getting discovered, but I think it's close enough. The definition I have given involves a karaoke bar. If Taylor Swift was truly discovered by singing karaoke in a restaurant, I am willing to say that I have finally found a singer who made it big through karaoke.
I had a look at the Taylor Swift official website to verify this. There is a "My Life" page, but Swift does not go into how she got discovered. Next stop, Wikipedia:
At age 11, Swift made her first trip to Nashville, hoping to obtain a record deal by distributing a demo tape of her singing with karaoke songs. She gave a copy to every label in town, but was rejected. After Swift returned to Pennsylvania, she was asked to sing at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, where her rendition of the national anthem received much attention.
From this, it would appear that Swift didn't make it big with the karaoke tapes, and that she didn't make it big until she found her way to the US Open. Lemme state this: peddling karaoke tapes to record companies does not qualify for my definition of getting discovered through karaoke. (Mary J. Blige was another artist discovered after peddling karaoke demos.)
A report from CBS News from May of 2008 had this to say about the discovery of Swift:
The 18-year-old Pennsylvania native, who grew up on a Christmas tree farm, started singing at the age of 10 at karoke contests, fairs and festivals in her hometown of Reading. With the support of her family, she headed to Nashville at age 11 to pursue her dream. By age 12, she was already writing songs with local songwriters in Nashville. Back in Pennsylvania, she landed an important gig singing the National Anthem at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which got a lot of buzz.
This article says that Swift did the karaoke contest thing before she did the karaoke tape peddling thing. From this article, it would appear that she didn't get discovered until her post-karaoke contest days. (BTW I don't consider karaoke contests to fit my definition, either.)
The original article mentioned that Taylor was singing in a restaurant. Where did the restaurant thing come in?
I quote again from the CBS article:
After performing at Nashville's premier songwriters' café, The Bluebird Café, she was noticed by Scott Borchetta, who signed her onto Big Machine Records.
Cafe? Oh! Maybe that's the restaurant? The Wikipedia article on the Bluebird Cafe says that it is a nightclub, and it does not contain the word karaoke.
Based on this research, I am going to say that this rumor is false. I still have not found any credible evidence of a singer who made it big by being discovered singing in a karaoke bar.
Taylor has taken the country world by storm, in a career that could have been made into movie magic itself, the Cinderella story of a girl who was discovered while singing Karaoke in a small-town restaurant.
This isn't exactly my definition of getting discovered, but I think it's close enough. The definition I have given involves a karaoke bar. If Taylor Swift was truly discovered by singing karaoke in a restaurant, I am willing to say that I have finally found a singer who made it big through karaoke.
I had a look at the Taylor Swift official website to verify this. There is a "My Life" page, but Swift does not go into how she got discovered. Next stop, Wikipedia:
At age 11, Swift made her first trip to Nashville, hoping to obtain a record deal by distributing a demo tape of her singing with karaoke songs. She gave a copy to every label in town, but was rejected. After Swift returned to Pennsylvania, she was asked to sing at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, where her rendition of the national anthem received much attention.
From this, it would appear that Swift didn't make it big with the karaoke tapes, and that she didn't make it big until she found her way to the US Open. Lemme state this: peddling karaoke tapes to record companies does not qualify for my definition of getting discovered through karaoke. (Mary J. Blige was another artist discovered after peddling karaoke demos.)
A report from CBS News from May of 2008 had this to say about the discovery of Swift:
The 18-year-old Pennsylvania native, who grew up on a Christmas tree farm, started singing at the age of 10 at karoke contests, fairs and festivals in her hometown of Reading. With the support of her family, she headed to Nashville at age 11 to pursue her dream. By age 12, she was already writing songs with local songwriters in Nashville. Back in Pennsylvania, she landed an important gig singing the National Anthem at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which got a lot of buzz.
This article says that Swift did the karaoke contest thing before she did the karaoke tape peddling thing. From this article, it would appear that she didn't get discovered until her post-karaoke contest days. (BTW I don't consider karaoke contests to fit my definition, either.)
The original article mentioned that Taylor was singing in a restaurant. Where did the restaurant thing come in?
I quote again from the CBS article:
After performing at Nashville's premier songwriters' café, The Bluebird Café, she was noticed by Scott Borchetta, who signed her onto Big Machine Records.
Cafe? Oh! Maybe that's the restaurant? The Wikipedia article on the Bluebird Cafe says that it is a nightclub, and it does not contain the word karaoke.
Based on this research, I am going to say that this rumor is false. I still have not found any credible evidence of a singer who made it big by being discovered singing in a karaoke bar.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Yet another update on "getting discovered through karaoke"
As my faithful followers can attest, I am on a lifetime quest to find a famous performer who made it to the big time by being discovered singing at a karaoke bar. While I have personally heard quite a number of karaoke singers who deserve to be made rich and famous, I am still unaware of this actually happening.
Let me be clear. I am talking about someone getting up on stage at a karaoke bar where there just happens to be a talent scout. And the rest becomes history. I am not talking about someone going into a karaoke booth and recording a demo tape, like Mary J. Blige. I am not talking about someone who won a karaoke contest, like Coco Lee. And I am not talking about someone who was discovered through American Idol.
I recently posted the story of how Garrett Hedlund auditioned for the movie Country Strong by going to a karaoke bar. That's not what I am talking about.
Here is another example of what I am not talking about: Tony DeCarlo was discovered through a MySpace video. The group Boston was looking for a lead singer and they happened upon a MySpace video that Tony's daughter had posted. And the rest was history. Great story, tear jerking, even. But it's not what I am looking for.
Shana Goodman suggested another singer who might have been discovered at a karaoke joint. She posted on the LinkedIn group "Karaoke Business Matrix" that the new lead singer for Journey had been discovered that way. Initially, I passed her comment off as a confusion between Boston and Journey. Shana, I apologize! I should never have doubted you!!
I finally looked this up today. The position of lead singer for Journey has been replaced a few times. Their first lead singer was Steve Perry. He could not make one of their tours because of a hip injury that he got while hiking. Perry was replaced by Steve Augeri, who had been in a few bands before. Then Augeri developed a chronic throat infection and needed to be replaced.
Arnel Pineda was brought in as the next lead singer. He was discovered through a YouTube video of him singing Journey songs with his cover band, The Zoo.
YouTube. Not a karaoke bar. Once again, a near miss. I continue on my quest.
Let me be clear. I am talking about someone getting up on stage at a karaoke bar where there just happens to be a talent scout. And the rest becomes history. I am not talking about someone going into a karaoke booth and recording a demo tape, like Mary J. Blige. I am not talking about someone who won a karaoke contest, like Coco Lee. And I am not talking about someone who was discovered through American Idol.
I recently posted the story of how Garrett Hedlund auditioned for the movie Country Strong by going to a karaoke bar. That's not what I am talking about.
Here is another example of what I am not talking about: Tony DeCarlo was discovered through a MySpace video. The group Boston was looking for a lead singer and they happened upon a MySpace video that Tony's daughter had posted. And the rest was history. Great story, tear jerking, even. But it's not what I am looking for.
Shana Goodman suggested another singer who might have been discovered at a karaoke joint. She posted on the LinkedIn group "Karaoke Business Matrix" that the new lead singer for Journey had been discovered that way. Initially, I passed her comment off as a confusion between Boston and Journey. Shana, I apologize! I should never have doubted you!!
I finally looked this up today. The position of lead singer for Journey has been replaced a few times. Their first lead singer was Steve Perry. He could not make one of their tours because of a hip injury that he got while hiking. Perry was replaced by Steve Augeri, who had been in a few bands before. Then Augeri developed a chronic throat infection and needed to be replaced.
Arnel Pineda was brought in as the next lead singer. He was discovered through a YouTube video of him singing Journey songs with his cover band, The Zoo.
YouTube. Not a karaoke bar. Once again, a near miss. I continue on my quest.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Is this getting discovered?
Country Strong will be opening in theaters Dec 22, 2010. The movie is about country singer songwriter played by Garrett Hedlund, and the comeback of a country singer, played by Gwenyth Paltrow.
Paltrow's connection with karaoke has been documented before in this blog. Hedlund also has a connection to karaoke. He auditioned in a karaoke bar.
I don't want anybody to get the wrong idea here. Hedlund was not discovered in a karaoke bar. Getting discovered through karaoke is a favorite topic of mine:
Getting discovered through karaoke
Update on getting discovered
Finally some real research on karaoke
Just in case you don't have time to read these fantastic blog posts, let me summarize. I still have not found a celebrity who was discovered because there was a talent scout at a karaoke bar who happened to hear them.
Hedlund came close to being the first recipient of the Discovered Through Karaoke Prize. Unfortunately, his performance was an official audition. The director, Shana Feste, didn't know whether Hedlund could sing. What better way to check this out, than at a karaoke bar?
Paltrow's connection with karaoke has been documented before in this blog. Hedlund also has a connection to karaoke. He auditioned in a karaoke bar.
I don't want anybody to get the wrong idea here. Hedlund was not discovered in a karaoke bar. Getting discovered through karaoke is a favorite topic of mine:
Getting discovered through karaoke
Update on getting discovered
Finally some real research on karaoke
Just in case you don't have time to read these fantastic blog posts, let me summarize. I still have not found a celebrity who was discovered because there was a talent scout at a karaoke bar who happened to hear them.
Hedlund came close to being the first recipient of the Discovered Through Karaoke Prize. Unfortunately, his performance was an official audition. The director, Shana Feste, didn't know whether Hedlund could sing. What better way to check this out, than at a karaoke bar?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Update on getting discovered
I posted the question ("who was discovered singing karaoke?") on the karaoke forum and got some interesting answers...
One fellow - SwingCatKurt - expressed the sentiment that you gotta pay your dues. Good answer. Maybe that was the thought in the back of my mind when I asked the question? A message to people who have delusions about making it the easy way? I dunno if that was the thought... I don't spend much time in the back of my head.
SwingCat went on to list a number of folks he knows that have used karaoke as a way to hone their singing and stage skills. That is to say, they paid some of their dues on the karaoke stage. But, they went on to start bands or join bands and work hard to get there.
One fellow suggested that Tommy DeCarlo of Boston was discovered singing karaoke. The story is truly touching. But it was a MySpace video that got him the big gig, and not walking into a karaoke bar.
Another suggestion was Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. From Wiki, it looks like she started her own band (twice) before joining Sugarland.
Mindy McCready is another interesting story. It looks like she discovered country through karaoke, rather than country discovering her through karaoke.
"After learning her craft with private opera training from a retired Julliard School Of Music professor, McCready discovered country music from the karaoke scene and decided to sing country rather than opera in 7 other languages." McCready's bio
So... here is my conclusion so far... No one (that I know of so far) ever found their road to fame by walking into a karaoke bar. There have been some notable folks discovered through karaoke videos on the internet, and some by peddling karaoke recordings of themselves. And naturally, karaoke competitions are breeding grounds for people getting discovered.
One fellow - SwingCatKurt - expressed the sentiment that you gotta pay your dues. Good answer. Maybe that was the thought in the back of my mind when I asked the question? A message to people who have delusions about making it the easy way? I dunno if that was the thought... I don't spend much time in the back of my head.
SwingCat went on to list a number of folks he knows that have used karaoke as a way to hone their singing and stage skills. That is to say, they paid some of their dues on the karaoke stage. But, they went on to start bands or join bands and work hard to get there.
One fellow suggested that Tommy DeCarlo of Boston was discovered singing karaoke. The story is truly touching. But it was a MySpace video that got him the big gig, and not walking into a karaoke bar.
Another suggestion was Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. From Wiki, it looks like she started her own band (twice) before joining Sugarland.
Mindy McCready is another interesting story. It looks like she discovered country through karaoke, rather than country discovering her through karaoke.
"After learning her craft with private opera training from a retired Julliard School Of Music professor, McCready discovered country music from the karaoke scene and decided to sing country rather than opera in 7 other languages." McCready's bio
So... here is my conclusion so far... No one (that I know of so far) ever found their road to fame by walking into a karaoke bar. There have been some notable folks discovered through karaoke videos on the internet, and some by peddling karaoke recordings of themselves. And naturally, karaoke competitions are breeding grounds for people getting discovered.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Getting discovered through karaoke
A recent news article caught my attention. (from Rolling Stone, and from RTT News). It seems that Steve Tyler (lead singer with Aerosmith) was seen singing karaoke at a bar in Palm Springs, California. He apparently did not go to the bar intending to sing, but one of the groups that sang butchered a song of his so badly that he felt he had to redeem himself. He took the stage and showed the crowd how it should be done.
I don't want to get into what is going on with Steve Tyler and rehab and whether he is going to sing with Aerosmith and Aerosmith's search for a replacement for Tyler. That's all interesting stuff, but there has been plenty of news coverage on that.
Another topic I just want to mention ... the two guys that sang "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" were booed off the stage. Don't get me started on this. All I want to say is that this is poor form for the audience. Please be respectful and realize that by golly, this is karaoke.
The news item got me thinking though. Steve Tyler went from being a rock star to being a karaoke singer. Does the opposite ever happen? Do rock stars actually get discovered singing karaoke?
I had a patron once tell me that Mary J. Blige was the only rock star who had been discovered while singing karaoke. Interesting. Sounds plausible. Or could this just be urban legend? That sounds plausible, too. I googled around and found the statement to be half true. It seems that Blige didn't go to a karaoke bar, but rather she made what was essentially a demo tape in a karaoke-style booth. (See article 1 and article 2.)
I spent quite a bit of time googling and found a couple of interesting articles about discovering rock stars: how some black singers were discovered, and how some women singers were discovered.
After 37 hours of gruegling [this is a word I just coined - a combination of grueling and googling], I only found one reference that claimed a discovery through karaoke: Coco Lee. She entered a karaoke contest and was discovered. Her Wikipedia entry does not mention karaoke, however. It says that she was discovered through the "New Talent Singing Awards" in Hong Kong. I wouldn't exactly call that being discovered singing karaoke.
That begs the question. Is American Idol just a glorified karaoke contest? I mean, most karaoke contests have a first place prize of maybe $50, or a gift certificate for the bar. I have personally given away quite a number of vintage Les Paul inflatable guitars as prizes. The only real difference with American Idol is that you win a recording contract, you are seen by millions of people, you get a real live band for backup, and Simon gets to tell you how awful you are. All that pales in comparison to the vintage inflated-with-air guitar.
If American Idol is really just a karaoke contest, then there certainly have been a number of stars discovered through karaoke.
Maybe I need to refine my question. What I really meant was more along this line: "Hey Revelator! I got this really awesome voice. You won't believe it. Really. Trust me. Do ya think a talent scout from a major record label will just happen to stop into this place for a beer one night, hear me totally rockin' out, and then sign me up on the spot?!?!? I dunno if I mentioned this, but my voice is fabulous."
Sadly, I'm going to have to answer "prob'ly not". I often have people tell me before they sing that they have an awesome voice. And they tell me that I gotta let them sing next because every one in the club is dying to hear them sing. So, I know that the awesome voice is not the issue. Still, it doesn't appear that people get discovered that way. So, maybe the talent scouts from major record labels don't visit karaoke bars? Or maybe these talent scouts just quietly sip their beers and leave, oblivious of the major talent that they are missing out on?
I dunno the answer to this. But I would like to hear if anyone knows of another singer/rock star/recording artist who was discovered while singing karaoke.
John the Revelator
I don't want to get into what is going on with Steve Tyler and rehab and whether he is going to sing with Aerosmith and Aerosmith's search for a replacement for Tyler. That's all interesting stuff, but there has been plenty of news coverage on that.
Another topic I just want to mention ... the two guys that sang "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" were booed off the stage. Don't get me started on this. All I want to say is that this is poor form for the audience. Please be respectful and realize that by golly, this is karaoke.
The news item got me thinking though. Steve Tyler went from being a rock star to being a karaoke singer. Does the opposite ever happen? Do rock stars actually get discovered singing karaoke?
I had a patron once tell me that Mary J. Blige was the only rock star who had been discovered while singing karaoke. Interesting. Sounds plausible. Or could this just be urban legend? That sounds plausible, too. I googled around and found the statement to be half true. It seems that Blige didn't go to a karaoke bar, but rather she made what was essentially a demo tape in a karaoke-style booth. (See article 1 and article 2.)
I spent quite a bit of time googling and found a couple of interesting articles about discovering rock stars: how some black singers were discovered, and how some women singers were discovered.
After 37 hours of gruegling [this is a word I just coined - a combination of grueling and googling], I only found one reference that claimed a discovery through karaoke: Coco Lee. She entered a karaoke contest and was discovered. Her Wikipedia entry does not mention karaoke, however. It says that she was discovered through the "New Talent Singing Awards" in Hong Kong. I wouldn't exactly call that being discovered singing karaoke.
That begs the question. Is American Idol just a glorified karaoke contest? I mean, most karaoke contests have a first place prize of maybe $50, or a gift certificate for the bar. I have personally given away quite a number of vintage Les Paul inflatable guitars as prizes. The only real difference with American Idol is that you win a recording contract, you are seen by millions of people, you get a real live band for backup, and Simon gets to tell you how awful you are. All that pales in comparison to the vintage inflated-with-air guitar.
If American Idol is really just a karaoke contest, then there certainly have been a number of stars discovered through karaoke.
Maybe I need to refine my question. What I really meant was more along this line: "Hey Revelator! I got this really awesome voice. You won't believe it. Really. Trust me. Do ya think a talent scout from a major record label will just happen to stop into this place for a beer one night, hear me totally rockin' out, and then sign me up on the spot?!?!? I dunno if I mentioned this, but my voice is fabulous."
Sadly, I'm going to have to answer "prob'ly not". I often have people tell me before they sing that they have an awesome voice. And they tell me that I gotta let them sing next because every one in the club is dying to hear them sing. So, I know that the awesome voice is not the issue. Still, it doesn't appear that people get discovered that way. So, maybe the talent scouts from major record labels don't visit karaoke bars? Or maybe these talent scouts just quietly sip their beers and leave, oblivious of the major talent that they are missing out on?
I dunno the answer to this. But I would like to hear if anyone knows of another singer/rock star/recording artist who was discovered while singing karaoke.
John the Revelator
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