An internationally acclaimed vocalist, actor, songwriter, and producer who is a voting member of the GRAMMYs. On June 5th he released a video that got more than 125 THOUSAND views on Facebook alone in the first twelve-and-a-half days. He has toured with Grammy-winning Chanticleer and was hailed as the jewel in their crown. He is known for his extreme range – stylistically between Sam Smith and Pavarotti – and has done everything from being a solo vocalist with the London Philharmonic to doing lead vocals on an international club hit remix with DJ Tracy Young, which appeared on an album with Madonna, Chaka Khan, and Cyndi Lauper.
"More than Likes and more than comments, (the video) was getting Shares, which said to me, it's resonating with people and they're saying, 'This will resonate with the people I care about, so I'm going to put it up'."
"You want people to feel so compelled by the work that they actually then have a sense of ownership too, I think, when they say, this is something that I'm sharing with you."
"One of my personal missions, which I believe should be among the top missions for any artist, ...is to make people feel."
"Countertenor means men who sing higher than tenor. And, very oftentimes countertenors are using their head voice or the upper voice as the primary part of their instrument."
"I believe, in... western culture, that classical training is the best training."
"You see so many people who are artists and musicians who are attracted to science and math. There's a great synergy between those parts of your brain, like, the calculated part and the creative part. And, I'm always really interested in the technical side... It should be a science. It shouldn't be, imagine a rainbow and hop on one foot and maybe you'll sing this better."
"I wanted to make a program that would be driven by chestnuts in the classical world; recognizable melodies that people all love, whether they've heard them on a pizza commercial or actually in the opera, but also have it be fun and entertaining."
"When I choose collaborators I'm trying to pick someone who's going to inspire me. I don't want it to be (just) an accompanist relationship."
"I think upbeat, happy songs are harder to write. It's very easy to go to a place of cliché and cheesiness, which is not on my list to do."
"Recording engineering has become the part of how I entertain that part of my brain that would've been an engineer if I'd stuck with that degree."
"Bring it Back"
"When the World Falls Apart"
** Bonus audio with Terry Barber **