If you haven't heard of the country duo Kingston, you need to head over to YouTube right now and check them out! They are one of my favorites right now (and probably will be forever)! Not only do they seem like two of the nicest, most down to earth guys from watching them interact with their fans on twitter, they both have amazing voices and when they harmonize its well.... Perfect!
What I love most about these two is that they can take any pop/rock/indie song, give it their own spin and make it sound like the song was meant to be country in the first place!
(Check out their cover of "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction below, its one of my personal favorites)
But they do more then just covers, the have original music too!
I absolutely love Dear Someone! (watch it below)
I honestly spends hours listening/watching their covers on YouTube!
So who exactly is Kingston?
Zach and Josh Carter grew up in Hudson, Ohio. Since their mom worked in country radio, music was a big influence in their life from the start. After high school they moved to and originally recorded under the name the Carter Twins. In 2011 they changed their name to Kingston
Last year they auditioned for X Factor and made it into the top 64.
Since then they have been busy making music, recording fun covers for their fans on YouTube. They both have such fun personalities they definitely comes across in their music. I adore them. Really. And I honestly can't wait to see what they have coming up next, I guarantee that Kingston is a name you won't want to forget!
I borrowed the bio from the bands reverbnation website (click on it to take you there!) because frankly I couldn't describe them any better than that, except by maybe telling you how amazing there music is! They have a unique rock n roll take on country music that is addicting from the first listen! If you are looking for some new music to listen to this is the PERFECT band for you! Promise! Ask around and everyone will tell you they are a must listen to!
I asked some friends what their favorite song by the band is and what makes them unique from other country bands and heres what they said!
Sabrina: Favorite song - one day. I feel like its a different take on a breakup song
Jade: My favorite song: Wake Up Loving You.
Why?: It's a BEAUTIFUL song. I love the beat, the guitar, the words,
everything about it. It's both different and mainstream enough for
radio and it would definitely be a crowd favorite at shows. What
makes them different?: They are sort of rock-ish in with their country
twang. Their words have substance to them and they have a sound that
people would come from all around to see.
Lucy: My favorite song is "That's How We Do Summertime" because its just the
perfect song to listen to when you need to just jam or smile :D
They style is different from any other country song/music is because it
has some soulful rock in their music that just catches your attention
right away.I love that its just not to much country but not to much
rock. it evens out the music and thats what i love. You legit can not
put their cd down after you get it. It's the amazing music you can just
blast in your car.
My favorite song is also "Thats How We Do Summer". Like Lucy said its the perfect summer song! But really the whole disk is great! There isn't one sing I didn't love!! Their songs also have great lyrics to them! I love it when music has meaning but also has a good beat. Sometimes you only get one or the other!! But really don't just take my friends and I word for it. Head on over to their site (again the link is above) and check out their music!!
I had the opportunity this week to interview Arabella Jones!I first "met" Arabella last summer on twitter, she is the sweetest girl, and I was so excited when she said yes to an interview! She already has a great fan base! Her YouTube videos often get over 20,000 views! So take a minute and get to know Arabella!
1. Can you introduce yourself a little bit?
My name is Arabella Jones, and I'm a 16 year old country/pop Youtube singer from Houston, Texas. :)
I've always had this big dream of becoming a performer, and I really worked up the courage to start my Youtube channel a little over a year ago.
3. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan are some of my most prominent country influences. Their music really helps shape my style a lot. But I also listen to all types of music, so I draw inspiration from many different artists, too.
4. Still being in high school, what do your friends and classmates think of you pursuing a music career?
My friends are super supportive. When I first started on Youtube, I was really scared that people would make fun of me or think my videos were weird, but the response I got was really positive and encouraging! Sometimes my friends will ask me about music or joke around about me becoming famous, but I still get treated normally. :)
5. Who would you love to do a duet with?
There are tons of great artists I would love to duet with, but one with Hunter Hayes would honestly be at the top of my list. Not many people realize how wicked talented he is, and I know he has a huge future in country music. Plus, I think a duet would be the cutest thing ever, so let's hope he reads this... ;)
6. Who would you love to tour with?
Going on tour with some of my favorite artists such as Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Chris Young, is one of my dreams. They really represent some of my favorite aspects of country music, and I absolutely love their personalities, so I would have the time of my life on tour with them.
7. What musical artist other than yourself have you ever wanted to be?
I would die to be Carrie Underwood, even for just a day! She's my ultimate role model, I look up to her so much, and I basically look forward to being where she is someday!
8. What is your favorite song to turn up real loud and sing (maybe dance to) when no one else is around?
I'm SO guilty of throwing a dance party every time I'm home alone!!! LOL, so I could probably give a whole playlist! One of the best is definitely Shots by LMFAO.
9. Can you describe your personal music style in 5 words?
Fun, Energetic, Fresh, Real, Passionate
10. When you aren't in school or working on your music, what do you like to do?
In my free time I like to shop, do all kinds of outdoorsy stuff, and go out/have a good time with friends!
11. I love your name, were you named after someone? Where did it come from?
Thanks! My parents just wanted something pretty, but different. :)
12. What 5 things can you not live with out?
1. God 2. family/friends 3. technology (phone, Macbook, etc.) 4. Victoria's Secret Pink 5. my hair products
13. What is your favorite movie of all time?
This one is always really hard, I've seen so many movies! I'm basically a huge scary movie junkie, and I also love romantic comedies. Also, one of the few documentaries that make my list... Never Say Never ;)
14. What is your favorite Ice Cream flavor? Or if you don't like Ice cream whats your favorite dessert?
My favorite ice cream flavor is Birthday Cake, totally, absolutely, and forever. I could eat it all day. Besides that, I'll just say I'm definitely not picky when it comes to dessert. :)
15. What is your favorite book?
I don't really read a whole lot, hm...
16. Other than music are you considering any other careers?
No, I'm definitely set on having a future in music!
17. What do you want people to walk away with after listening to your music?
“Dang... she can song write, sing, and put on a show!!” LOL! I'm huge into making every song I write, feel like 100% me. I really want listeners to be able to connect with my stories and things I sing about, and bottom line, really get to know me as a person.
18. What can we expect next from you?
I'm totally stoked for this summer, because I'm going to be getting into some really big and exciting projects!! I'm working on getting and EP in motion around then, so that's just one thing to look out for! :)
19. So far what has been your favorite moment in your music career?
I would definitely say the October 2011 Teen Hoot was my favorite musical experience I've had so far. It was absolutely wicked getting to meet and become close with so many other talented teen artists. Performing was such a blast, and the fan energy was just so high, I had adrenaline going until like 3 in the morning after the show.
20. What advice would you give others, especially those your age, who are wanting to pursue a music career?
Pursuing a musical career is seriously so much fun. It takes a lot of work, however, more than people sometimes realize. If you're serious about following your dream, you have to commit and stick with through anything, and you will definitely see results. :)
Thanks so much Arabella for doing this interview with me! I really enjoyed it!! Please take a to check out Arabella's website, YouTube, Facebook and on Twitter. And also check out the two youtube videos I posted below! Thanks so much for reading!
Here is one of Arabella's original songs "Paint This Town"
I think my favorite cover by Arabella is Taylor Swift's "Ours"
Okay. So he hasn't won this award YET! But out of all three guys nominated in this category, He is my pick to win this! In my personal opinion, he is definitely most deserving and most talented out of them all! Not only can the boy play 30 different musical instruments, including: Guitar, Mandolin, accordion, keyboard and drums just to name a few!
He has performed with Charlie Daniels and Johnny and June Cash by the time he was 6! He has Co-written songs for Rascal Flatts and Montgomery Gentry.
His self-titled debut album from Atlantic Records was released October 11th 2011. Not only did Hunter write all the songs, he played every instrument on every track and co produced the album with Dan Huff.
This guy has AMAZING talent and he is only 20! He has already toured with Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts. Right now he is doing his own tour titled Wanted. (Hunter if you are reading this, by some small miracle, PLEASE come to Salt Lake on your tour!)
I have met hunter back when he made a stop in salt lake on his radio tour before his first single Storm Warning hit the air waves, and he is honestly one of the nicest, most polite and genuine people I have ever met.
I could go on forever about how talented and nice he is, but i won't. I'll let others do the talking! Hunter Hayes seriously has the BEST fans I think that anyone could ever have! They have been busy voting, asking otheres to vote, making tons of videos asking people to vote for him. There is even a campaign to get him on the Ellen show! But not only are they supportive of him they are supportive of each other, I've gotten to know a really great group of girls that even though we have never met, I'm proud to call them my friends!
I asked some of them to tell my why they support Hunter and are voting for him to win Best New Artist at the ACM's this year! I also asked them to tell if Hunter has changed or inspired them in anyway to tell me about that! Here's what they had to say! (I just copied exactly what they sent to me, nothing was altered!)
Mary-Kathryn: "Well I have a story, I'll tell u it doesn't have to do with meeting him though. So we were doing a report in history class were allowed to listen to music during class. Cry with me came on and all of a sudden I start balling, just crying my eyes out. Idk why but I think it's cause he's so passionate!! Hope this helped"
Hayley:
Reasons why Hunter Hayes should win New Artist Of The Year:
1. He playes every instrument on his album
2. He co-wrote every song on his album
3. Everyone can relate to each one of his songs in some way
4. Hunter is a genuine person who truly cares for his fans
5. He is destined for success, and will soon be a world-wide known name
How Hunter Hayes has changed my life:
Thanks to him, I have realized that I only have to be myself, and that I am WANTED. He has proven that not all guys are the same, and there is still some good, clean talent out there.
Chelbie: hunter should win because he so genuine and true to who he is
These are only a few facts about how amazing and talented Hunter Hayes is. Talent is talent, and this boy has it! So do me a favor and hop on over www.voteacm.com and vote for Hunter! It seriously takes less than a minute and would mean the world to me and to him if you did so! Lets win this for Hunter!
Okay, So I LOVE Spotify, It seriously is amazing... So much better than Pandora! I love that basically every song you can think of is on there (except Garth Brooks which is annoying). But I also love that I have discovered some AMAZING music on it too! When you click on an artist name to go to their list of music you can choose from, have you ever noticed that in the top right hand corner, it shows you similar artists? I love this feature,I have discovered some of my favorite new songs/artists this way! I love singer-song writer music, and there are some great artist who I've never heard that I have come across and can't stop listening to. So I decided it would be to blog about some of the songs/artists.
The first one Im going to blog about is Ross Copperman, I found him when I was listening to Kate Voegele (who btw, if you have never heard of, you NEED to look up, she is absolutely amazing! awesome lyrics and an even more incredible voice) Anyways back to Ross, The first song I clicked on to listen by him was a song called "All She Wrote" .
I was hooked. He has a great voice and this song is well... Amazing... (Yes I know I use that word alot.) I wish i could find the inspiration behind this song, because I really love the lyrics, but I can't. I have my own theories, but I won't post them because I am sure they are way off! Okay well I found a video of him explaining the song. so here it is, in his own words, the meaning behind All She Wrote.
http://youtu.be/IeVk5vR8PXo
So I couldn't get it to post from Youtube... So just click on the link and it should take you to it! (Sorry)
So when I discover a new artist, I like to Google them and find out a little bit about who they are. Here is what I found out about Ross Copperman:
He was born Oct 1, 1982. He grew up in Roanoke, Virginia. He started to play the piano when he was only 3 years old. He didn't start writing songs until college. All She Wrote was his second single, his first was a song called "As I Choke". Both Songs were originally released first in the UK and All She Wrote made it into the UK top 40 back in 2007.
His music has been on tv shows such as ER, One Tree Hill (how Ive over looked him as seriously so weird to me since I love OTH and tend to look up most the music featured on the show), Ghost Whisperer, Vampire Diaries and more!
Be sure to check out more of Ross Copperman's music. All his other stuff is really great too (I could go on and on but I'll shut up now!)
Every week I'm going to blog about an up and coming artist that I think you should keep your eye. There are so many new artist out there that I think are going to hit it big this year! If you have some suggestions let me know!
Jana Kramer
I love everything I have heard from her so far!
She has her first official single on the radio right now
