The new Mr. James Dean, from Canada, is Sebastian Pigott.
"You know the ones who work at it, You know, and you do it, not once a week, not twice a week, but every day, you know? And it just starts to live in you." ~Sebastian Pigott
Pigott is an actor. But because of his accidental success on Canadian Idol, he became well known as a musician.
His first recurring role was in "Being Erica", the show that introduced me to him. And thank goodness it did, otherwise I'd be missing out. He is also known for his role in the the movie Saw 3D. (He plays alongside another guy from "Being Erica" in the very beginning of the movie in the trap that was on display. Later, a third character from "Being Erica" is in it for a bit and that woman is later in Saw VII.)
On acting: "Sad, happy, believable, not believable. Which is sometimes what they want! Maybe if I had just stuck to that, I'd work a lot more, making faces."
He claims he found his musical talent on "accident".
"It was an accident. I had always sang as a kid. My brother was the really serious musician, as he still is."
In fact, his entry into Canadian Idol was a whim.
"I just went down to hang out with [Oliver]. Like there was no great strategy at play for me. I was just this struggling actor, working a few gigs here, doing a play here, whatever... It just goes to show you that luck... I think anybody who doesn't acknowledge how much luck plays a factor is, is lying to themselves... So I just went down to hang out with my brother, completely unprepared, and then I was lucky the show, they took me on, and that was really the big break for me. It opened doors for me."
He went on to say:
"I think I was uniquely equipped to take advantage of that show."
He ended up beating out his brother, making it further along than Oliver, but there is no animosity between the two. That is evident in their ability to coexist in the amazing duo they're created. Their voices blend so well that sometimes I have problems discerning the two. If you want to check out what I'm refering to, look up "Turn Your Back On Me", "Falling In Love", "Berlin Wall", and their cover of "Dream".
He holds his brother, Oliver, in the highest esteem when it comes to musical talent and claims Oliver taught him everything he knows.
"Now I do feel like I've earned my stripes as a singer, but I was absolutely out of my depth. Singing on the show, singing after the show, starting working with my brother. I mean, I was absolutely out of my depth and I was so aware of how much better he was, just having put in his 10,000 hours."
He explained, though, that he understands that everyone has to work at it.
"Music's something I've always done and always loved and I would like to think I have a talent for it, but it was completely undeveloped at the time. When you have an undeveloped talent, I don't know about you guys, for me, it's practically useless when I'm under pressure."
However, he also jokes about it.
"Hopefully, something good comes out of it. Otherwise it's a tremendous waste of a life," and quipped, "They pay me for my sense of humor... haha."
On the show "Being Erica", Sebastian played a musician.
"They picked [our song], and fortunately it was a, like you say, pretty magical opportunity to get to sing our own tunes and it was fantastic."
"Being Erica" brought great acclaim to the song "Alien Like You" because it was featured in the show with Sebastian's character, Kai Booker, performing it on multiple occasions and episodes.
"There was a song and we pitched a song that we wrote and that I really, I really loved and wanted to have on it and they picked one of the song-writing department's songs that Kai sang as one of his, so it's not strictly true that they're all mine."
In later episodes from the initial one he is referring to in which he performed a song called "Time Will Tell", he also performed covers. First, he performed Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and later performed Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are".
But Sebastian is a singer songwriter and as such, he loves performing his own music. Which is why he was thrilled that the original song he and Oliver wrote was the song he got to perform as his debut as a musician on the show.
"Alien Like You, the big one, yea that was a song I wrote with my brother and probably the best song I've ever written."
With that, I leave you with the lyrics to this song he believes is his best (and I'll tell you that I agree wholeheartedly with his opinion):
I know that you don’t
Know that I know what you know
We’ve got secrets between us that
Nobody else would believe if we told them
So let the stars align
And let the water make wine ’cause
Broken souls will become whole tonight, oh tonight
We know it’s right so
Lift your eyes and let me in
‘Cause baby I’m an alien like you
Would you ever wake at night and realize
The reason why you knew me then
Is maybe I’m an alien too
Would you ever let me be an alien with you
I know that believing
Is hard with the feeling
That home must be millions and millions of light years away
So let the heavens flare
And let’s not be scared, ’cause
We know love’s a world above this one
It’s like the sun so
Lift your eyes and let me in
‘Cause baby I’m an alien like you
Would you ever wake at night and realize
The reason why you knew me then
Is maybe I’m an alien too
Would you ever let me be an alien with you
The days of solitude are gone
Because we’ve both spent way too long
Hearing voices on the radio
And we can’t let anybody know
No we can’t let anybody know
Lift your eyes and let me in
‘Cause baby I’m an alien like you
Would you ever wake at night and realize
The reason why you knew me then
Is maybe I’m an alien too
Would you ever let me be an alien...
Lift your eyes and let me in
‘Cause baby I’m an alien like you
Would you ever wake at night and realize
The reason why you knew me then
Is maybe I'm an alien too
Would you ever let me be an alien...
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sing like a birdy... I mean like Birdy
Birdy, the singer/songwriter from the United Kingdom, has flair, if nothing else.
Her voice has a charm to it, which is a hugely unique characteristic.
Birdy's version of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" is what brought her acclaim. (The nickname came from her parents and family, though she was born Jasmine van den Bogaerde in 1996.)
She has a "chirpy" quality about her, not just in her presence, but in her voice, as well.
Birdy doesn't add frills or decoration. They aren't necessary.
(Having said that, I must also add that I have nothing against ornamentation in music. On the contrary, my love of Baroque music stems from the use of ornamentation. And quite frankly, half of today's pop stars would be much less impressive if they didn't do the runs and falls they are known for [Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, etc].)
However, Birdy needs none of that. Her voice, where she is so young and unencumbered by life's issues, projects just that: innocence.
Still, she embodies the music. Sometimes, it seems like she knows how it all feels, all the pain and heartache. She's not even an adult, but she sure sounds like one.
Her voice is so smooth. Maybe that's because she doesn't belt. She doesn't need to. Her style of music doesn't have a need for that.
Also, something noteworthy is that Birdy plays piano almost as well as she sings.
Though this isn't her original song, it's what she's most known for, so here are the lyrics to Iver's "Skinny Love":
Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in this moment this order's tall
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
Come on skinny love what happened here
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And Now all your love is wasted
And Then who the hell was I?
And I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
Her voice has a charm to it, which is a hugely unique characteristic.
Birdy's version of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love" is what brought her acclaim. (The nickname came from her parents and family, though she was born Jasmine van den Bogaerde in 1996.)
She has a "chirpy" quality about her, not just in her presence, but in her voice, as well.
Birdy doesn't add frills or decoration. They aren't necessary.
(Having said that, I must also add that I have nothing against ornamentation in music. On the contrary, my love of Baroque music stems from the use of ornamentation. And quite frankly, half of today's pop stars would be much less impressive if they didn't do the runs and falls they are known for [Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, etc].)
However, Birdy needs none of that. Her voice, where she is so young and unencumbered by life's issues, projects just that: innocence.
Still, she embodies the music. Sometimes, it seems like she knows how it all feels, all the pain and heartache. She's not even an adult, but she sure sounds like one.
Her voice is so smooth. Maybe that's because she doesn't belt. She doesn't need to. Her style of music doesn't have a need for that.
Also, something noteworthy is that Birdy plays piano almost as well as she sings.
Though this isn't her original song, it's what she's most known for, so here are the lyrics to Iver's "Skinny Love":
Come on skinny love just last the year
Pour a little salt we were never here
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
I tell my love to wreck it all
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Right in this moment this order's tall
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And In the morning I'll be with you
But it will be a different "kind"
I'll be holding all the tickets
And you'll be owning all the fines
Come on skinny love what happened here
Suckle on the hope in lite brassiere
My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my
Sullen load is full; so slow on the split
And I told you to be patient
And I told you to be fine
And I told you to be balanced
And I told you to be kind
And Now all your love is wasted
And Then who the hell was I?
And I'm breaking at the britches
And at the end of all your lines
Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?
The Powerhouse I Missed
By now, it's probably obvious to most of my readers that I love the tv show Smash. Here's another reason I loved season 2.
Jennifer Hudson is a powerhouse. As a music lover and avid appreciater, I am truly ashamed that I didn't really know about her until she appeared on Smash.
However, with her performance of the song "I Can't Let Go," I absolutely fell in love with her voice.
Somehow, you can hear the passion and hurt and heartache in every note and I, for one, was blown away.
The song is about longing and love and how true love never fades, even if it's not returned.
"They say nothing lasts forever, well I wish that that were true, 'cause this aching in my heart won't go away."
For me, the song isn't about a broken heart, which, at first glance, most might think. To me, it's about faking happiness because you know without this true love, you'll never truly be happy.
I can relate.
I think she's stuck.
Some lover hurt her and she's trying to move on, so she's singing the hopes of her heart, saying I love this new guy, but I can't let go of the one who broke me.
"I close the book before the story starts."
She's saying she ends all her new relationships before they start because she knows it'll never be what it was with HIM.
"You asked me to start over, but that's easier said than done. And the memories are strong when they arise."
The more she tries to forget him, the more she thinks about their time, and the more the memories bring back the flood of emotion.
"Help me to let go."
Still, she wants to be happy, so she asks for help, and love, and hope in the last line.
Here's the full song lyrics, and I'll let you decide what it's about:
They say nothing lasts forever
Well, I wish that that were true
Cause this aching in my heart won't go away
They say everything must change
They say that time will see it through
Well, I've listened and I've waited for that day
But I wake up with this anger
And the pain won't let me be
And the smile I share
Is only there for show
If I hang on to this heartache
Then my soul will not be free
So I keep trying
But I just cannot let go
I can't let go
I need it to remind me
I can't let go
Oh, I just repeat the past
And though your arms are saying yes
I feel my heart keeps saying no
I want to love you
But I can't let go
I have lived through bad beginnings
And I've seen unhappy ends
So I close the book
Before the story starts
I'm just a witness to my lifetime
And I'm a stranger to my friends
I'm a trafficker
Of broken, damaged hearts
Now you ask me to start over
But it's easier said than done
'Cause the memories are strong when they arise
And when heartache comes a'calling
I won't even try to run
'Cause it's all that makes me know that I'm alive
I can't let go
I need it to remind me
I can't let go
Oh, I just repeat the past
And though your arms are saying yes
I feel my heart keeps saying no
I want to love you (I want to love you)
I want to love you (I want to love you)
Oh, I want to love you
But I can't let go (I can't let go)
No, I can't let go (I can't let go)
Would you help me?
Help me to let go.
Jennifer Hudson is a powerhouse. As a music lover and avid appreciater, I am truly ashamed that I didn't really know about her until she appeared on Smash.
However, with her performance of the song "I Can't Let Go," I absolutely fell in love with her voice.
Somehow, you can hear the passion and hurt and heartache in every note and I, for one, was blown away.
The song is about longing and love and how true love never fades, even if it's not returned.
"They say nothing lasts forever, well I wish that that were true, 'cause this aching in my heart won't go away."
For me, the song isn't about a broken heart, which, at first glance, most might think. To me, it's about faking happiness because you know without this true love, you'll never truly be happy.
I can relate.
I think she's stuck.
Some lover hurt her and she's trying to move on, so she's singing the hopes of her heart, saying I love this new guy, but I can't let go of the one who broke me.
"I close the book before the story starts."
She's saying she ends all her new relationships before they start because she knows it'll never be what it was with HIM.
"You asked me to start over, but that's easier said than done. And the memories are strong when they arise."
The more she tries to forget him, the more she thinks about their time, and the more the memories bring back the flood of emotion.
"Help me to let go."
Still, she wants to be happy, so she asks for help, and love, and hope in the last line.
Here's the full song lyrics, and I'll let you decide what it's about:
They say nothing lasts forever
Well, I wish that that were true
Cause this aching in my heart won't go away
They say everything must change
They say that time will see it through
Well, I've listened and I've waited for that day
But I wake up with this anger
And the pain won't let me be
And the smile I share
Is only there for show
If I hang on to this heartache
Then my soul will not be free
So I keep trying
But I just cannot let go
I can't let go
I need it to remind me
I can't let go
Oh, I just repeat the past
And though your arms are saying yes
I feel my heart keeps saying no
I want to love you
But I can't let go
I have lived through bad beginnings
And I've seen unhappy ends
So I close the book
Before the story starts
I'm just a witness to my lifetime
And I'm a stranger to my friends
I'm a trafficker
Of broken, damaged hearts
Now you ask me to start over
But it's easier said than done
'Cause the memories are strong when they arise
And when heartache comes a'calling
I won't even try to run
'Cause it's all that makes me know that I'm alive
I can't let go
I need it to remind me
I can't let go
Oh, I just repeat the past
And though your arms are saying yes
I feel my heart keeps saying no
I want to love you (I want to love you)
I want to love you (I want to love you)
Oh, I want to love you
But I can't let go (I can't let go)
No, I can't let go (I can't let go)
Would you help me?
Help me to let go.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Remember Him For His Music: A Tribute to the Late Cory Monteith
As many of you may not know, I am a fan of the show called Glee.
And as most of you probably know by now, one of the stars, Cory Monteith, recently died.
However, I don't want to focus on his death, but rather his life. His music. His impact on so many people.
His impact on me.
In the show, he was recognized by accident. That fact is funny, because I recognized the show by accident.
I stumbled upon it, switching through the channels, and fell in love.
It was the season finale of the first season of Glee, and they were performing my favorite Journey song, Faithfully. Like I said, I fell in love.
Lea Michele, the main female star of the show, and Monteith's former fiance, sang the first few verses just with Monteith, and the harmonies they created drew me in like nothing else. It was and always will be my favorite performance from Glee.
The other day, I was mowing the grass and listening to my iPod like usual. Then I heard a song, one that I heard many times before. This time though, tears started falling from my eyes.
On the latest season of Glee, Michele's character, Rachel, sings a song from one of my favorite musicals, one I have recently written a critique on, Les Miserables.
As most of my readers know, I grew up singing and listening to Les Miserables. The song Bring Him Home is a beautiful one. However, I have never before cried when hearing it sung, that is, until my iPod played Michele's rendition of it.
Hearing her sing it after what had just come to fruition brought a flood of tears. I felt like she was pleading with God. For him.
I cannot possibly imagine what she's going through, but I am so sorry for her and for his family. And for the Glee family and fans who, like me, don't know what to make of this tragedy.
Whatever happened to him is not who he was to us. Monteith was a great musician, an idol, a friend, a brother, a son, a lover, and many, many more things.
I will remember him as that and I hope you will, too.
And as most of you probably know by now, one of the stars, Cory Monteith, recently died.
However, I don't want to focus on his death, but rather his life. His music. His impact on so many people.
His impact on me.
In the show, he was recognized by accident. That fact is funny, because I recognized the show by accident.
I stumbled upon it, switching through the channels, and fell in love.
It was the season finale of the first season of Glee, and they were performing my favorite Journey song, Faithfully. Like I said, I fell in love.
Lea Michele, the main female star of the show, and Monteith's former fiance, sang the first few verses just with Monteith, and the harmonies they created drew me in like nothing else. It was and always will be my favorite performance from Glee.
The other day, I was mowing the grass and listening to my iPod like usual. Then I heard a song, one that I heard many times before. This time though, tears started falling from my eyes.
On the latest season of Glee, Michele's character, Rachel, sings a song from one of my favorite musicals, one I have recently written a critique on, Les Miserables.
As most of my readers know, I grew up singing and listening to Les Miserables. The song Bring Him Home is a beautiful one. However, I have never before cried when hearing it sung, that is, until my iPod played Michele's rendition of it.
Hearing her sing it after what had just come to fruition brought a flood of tears. I felt like she was pleading with God. For him.
I cannot possibly imagine what she's going through, but I am so sorry for her and for his family. And for the Glee family and fans who, like me, don't know what to make of this tragedy.
Whatever happened to him is not who he was to us. Monteith was a great musician, an idol, a friend, a brother, a son, a lover, and many, many more things.
I will remember him as that and I hope you will, too.
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