Leroy never imagined

YouTube’s hottest artists and performers led by Leroy Sanchez will perform at a major concert on Saturday, July 9, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, presented by Smart.

Mounted by Ovation Productions, Smart Own It! Kick Off Concert also features Max Schneider, Sam Tsui with Kurt Hugo Schneider, and the Australian band At Sunset. It will kick off a series of concerts and shows to be presented by Smart.

Since uploading his first cover song on YouTube at age 15, Leroy has posted over 70 videos amassing almost 50 million views. Among the artists he has covered are Sam Smith, Justin Bieber, Adele and Rihanna.

Schneider is a New York-based pop-soul singer and actor who began performing at the age of 14. He was part of the Broadway musical 13 as a swing understudy covering four roles in 2008 and 2009. He also modeled with Madonna for an international Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign. Throughout 2015, he toured with Fall Out Boy, Wiz Khalifa and Hoodie Allen on the Boys of Summer Tour. He was named the 2010 Young Arts Theater winner.

Tsui has been hailed as an Internet sensation who, with his friend and partner Schneider, was among the first musicians to establish a hugely popular music-focused channel on YouTube. To date, his videos, including covers, medleys and mash-ups, have amassed over 500 million hits on YouTube alone, including his 2013 debut original album, Make It Up, contributing to his ever-expanding worldwide fan base. Tsui has also appeared in programs such as Ellen and Oprah, and was featured in magazines such as Entertainment Weekly and In Style magazine. He made his initial performance in Manila during a two-night show with Schneider at the SMX Convention Center in 2014. 

Schneider is a composer, music producer and director who was born in Baltimore and grew up in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Most of his works may be found in his YouTube channel http://youtube.com/KurtHugoSchneider, created in October 2007 and now with over three million subscribers and more than 600 million views.

At Sunset is composed of brothers Harrison and Andrew Kantarias and their good friend Tom Jay Williams, who came together with two things in common: Their love for music and their enthusiasm for the fun things in life. In just two years since making an online presence, At Sunset has shown great potential of amassing millions of views on YouTube and an ever-growing army of fans globally. The group returns to Manila five months after its debut local performance last Feb. 16 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum as special guest in the Boyce Avenue 2016 Philippine Tour.

Here’s Funfare’s exclusive phone interview with Sanchez:

They are the other artists performing with Sanchez at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, July 9

Did you ever imagine when you posted your first song on YouTube that you would become a sensation?

“Not at all. I just thought it was fun to see comments to my videos from people all over the world. Never in a million years did I think YouTube would become what it is today.”  

How are you coping with success and how did it change your life?

“Being able to do music for a living is the most incredible thing and a dream come true and I’m extremely thankful for that. Besides that, nothing has changed much, I’m still the same guy that started uploading videos in his room nine years ago, still doing it.”

How did you get interested in YouTube and how did you conceptualize your initial posting?

“I found other people on YouTube doing covers in 2007 and I thought it was the coolest thing. I loved watching other people singing other artist’s songs and reading people’s comments. It was such a new concept, a window to the world from the comfort of your own room. One day I thought it’d be fun to see what other people thought of my singing.

“That’s how I started uploading videos on YouTube. There was no concept or thinking behind it, I just had a camera and a guitar. I picked the songs that I liked singing then and I sang them in front of the camera. I remember being somehow scared and excited to post videos.” 

How do you choose the songs that you cover for posting on YouTube?

“I sing whatever song resonates with me. If I don’t like a song, I won’t sing it. That’s how I’ve always done it since 2007. Sometimes I go long periods of time without uploading and it’s usually because there’s nothing I really want to sing.” 

You have posted more than 70 videos on YouTube. How do you do it?

“It’s been nine years. I’ve had plenty of time to record 70 videos, hahahaha!” 

Since when have you been interested in music? Who are your musical influences?

“I’ve always been inclined towards music since I was a little kid. There was something about it that nothing else made me feel. I started singing when I was six. I listened to a lot of Top 40 radio growing up which was heavily influenced by the American and English radio. I loved music in English and even though I didn’t understand a word I enjoyed it very much. I was the weird kid that listened to music he couldn’t understand.” 

Tell us what kind of family you come from (Latino?), how many siblings you have and what kind of childhood you had.

“I lived in the Basque Country, in a little region in the mountains in the north of Spain. I spent my whole life there with my parents and my sister. We lived in a small neighborhood in the suburbs and we had a simple life. I come from a humble family. My mom is a maid and my dad a carpenter. They worked so hard to provide for my sister and me.” 

Any tips for aspiring singers who want to also make a name via YouTube?

“Do what you love always and enjoy every second of it. Do it with the heart and follow your gut.” 

(Smart Presents Own It! Concert is brought to you by Smart and produced by Ovation Production in cooperation with FOX Network Groups. Among the media partners are The Philippine STAR, Manila Bulletin, BusinessWorld, 96.3 Easy Rock, Monster Radio RX 93.1, 105.1 Crossover, Mellow 94.7 and MYX Music Channel. It is also supported by Soundcheck mnl, ClickTheCity.com, Candy Magazine, Inquirer.net, mb.com, Philstar.com, Manila Concert Scene, Philippine Concert Scene, One Music PH, Odyssey Music and AstroPlus. Tickets are priced at P4,224, P3,696, P3,168, P2,640, P1,584 and P792 and are available at all Ticketnet outlets nationwide and online at www.ticketnet.com.ph or call Ticketnet at 911-5555.)

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