Leroy Sanchez, At Sunset, Max Schneider, Sam Tsui, Kurt Hugo Schneider
Social media and video sharing sites like YouTube have, in the last couple of years, made it possible for aspiring music artists to put out their material and amass considerable following, even without a record label backing them up.
Some of them, in fact, have managed to achieve internet fame, enough for them to go on tours. On July 9, concert promoter Ovation Productions will gather five YouTube artists in one musical event at the Smart Araneta Coliseum (call 9115555).
Spanish singer Leroy Sanchez, who uploaded his first cover song at 15, has so far notched 80 million YouTube views through his covers of hit songs of different artists, including Bonnie Rait, Rihanna and Frank Ocean. He’s currently working on his debut album.
Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider, who performed in Manila two years ago, rose to popularity online by sharing with their fans creatively produced music videos of their covers, medleys and mash-ups of hits popularized by such artists as Adele, Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars.
Singer-actor Max Schneider, meanwhile, was an understudy in the Broadway musical, “13,” and has gone on tour last year with Wiz Khalifa, Fall Out Boy and Hoodie Allen.
Rounding up the roster is young Australian pop-rock group At Sunset, whose viral cover of One Direction’s “One Thing” has earned them significant social media attention. Allan Policarpio