A new pop idol in the making

Greyson Chance has all the credentials befitting the new pop idol. He is young, only 14 years old. He is attractive with a shy smile. He sings and writes his own songs. Then like the richest, most popular teenager in the music business today, that is the Bieber, in case you do not know, Greyson was discovered on YouTube.

This YouTube thing is really taking away the job of finding new stars from talent scouts. It has provided big breaks for many who might have never been seen or heard otherwise. And bless YouTube, it collects no fees and is never after 10 percent or more of all future monies earned by the talent.

Back to Greyson. It was barely a year ago when his brother posted a clip of Greyson singing a laidback take on Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi on YouTube. The performance led to his appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show after which Ellen herself signed the boy up as the first contract artist to her music label eleveneleven.

Greyson has since then recorded his first album Hold On ‘Til The Night. He has done two successful North American tours, and appeared in various TV shows including eight times on Ellen. And he has seen that Paparazzi clip proclaimed as the third most popular video on YouTube for 2010 with over 40 million views to date.

Greyson is an intelligent interpreter who sings with the clear versatile tones of a born vocalist. He is still in search of his own style and this is why the album is a mixed bag of pop types. He can go bubble gum for the tween set, Take A Look At Me Now or in pop rock mode with Heart Like Stone. But always it is the voice that carries the day. If he is this good at his age, just think of what he will sound like when he reaches 18.

His age combined with his talents presents a problem though. Kids who like their idols young might want to put Greyson in the same mold as Bieber but will find it impossible. This in no way denigrates Bieber who has proven himself with his own style. But Greyson’s music is matured for his age and the tweens might not be able to connect with it.

Greyson co-wrote seven songs in the album and the sentiments expressed could have come from an older guy. The only tunes with lyrics that kids might like are the bouncy London Girl and the reggae tinged Stranded. The rest like the anguished pleas in Summer Train are very emotional pieces that are very good. Now this makes me think of emo and I hear a lot of this in the CD. Cheyenne, my favorite cut with Greyson’s vocals at its best will not be out of place in a Coldplay album.

Hold On ‘Til The Night by Greyson Chance is a polished, well-made commercial album. Add stunning, too, when you consider how old Greyson is. But then will his friends like these songs?

Watch Greyson perform these songs live at the Eastwood Park Mall Open Park tomorrow, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. and at the Venice Piazza McKinley Hall on Nov. 20, 8 p.m. Call the Megaworld Concierge at 709-0888, 709-9888 and 0917-8380111 for details on how you can see the show, which I hope will be for free. I also hope it will have a meet-and-greet portion so fans can get close to Greyson for autographs and photo-ops.

For more live sounds. Anton Alvarez, the singing managing director of Alvarez & Marzal, is back in town. He is here to promote his new single Kung Sana. The music video of the song directed by GB Sampedro which has the lovely Sam Pinto as Anton’s leading lady has been released and is now being played on MYX.

Anton will be performing songs from his debut album, All Heart at the Trinoma Park, Level 4 in Quezon City at 5 p.m. on Nov. 20. The London-based executive has built and led the A&M Europe practice since 2001. He has played an integral role in several high-profile turnaround and performance improvement projects these past years. But as evident in his frequent visits here, his big passion is in music and he loves to sing.