YouTube stars release new Cds

You do not only discover stars on YouTube. Remember Justin Bieber, Charice, Colbie Caillat, Arnel Pineda plus others got their big breaks after they were seen on the site. YouTube can also make stars, just like what happened to Susan Boyle, Paul Potts and Lin Yu Chun. They were discovered in talent shows but it was because millions viewed their videos on YouTube that they became stars.

YouTube though is not the only thing these three singers have in common. All of them admitted to having been bullied and ridiculed mostly because of their looks and the way they sing. That was what they got from the audience and even the judges when they first stepped on the stage to sing during the show, Boyle and Potts in Britain’s Got Talent in the UK and Yu Chun in One Million Star in Taiwan. Some laughed, others snickered, some just looked very bored.

Now it is generally believed that the reaction of disbelief they had to endure followed by the open-mouthed expressions as they were singing and then the rousing applause with standing ovation at the end, created drama that even great scriptwriters will find hard to duplicate. It all happened within a minute or less. We couldn’t believe what we saw and that was why millions of us watched them on YouTube and they became stars.

Coincidentally again, Boyle, Potts and Yu Chun have all released new albums in time for the Holidays. I say theirs are among the most enjoyable CDs available nowadays. Great songs, great vocals by artists with real-life inspiring stories. Not to be missed.

The Gift, the Christmas album by Boyle. Talk about success. 48-year-old Boyle just booted Taylor Swift out of the top spot in Billboard Magazine’s Top 200 Albums list. This means The Gift is now the No. 1 selling CD in the US. I am not surprised. Boyle’s singing is all elegance and grace. She is such a relief after years of our ears being inundated by divas doing calisthenics with their notes. Boyle just sings naturally and she sounds beautiful.

The Rolling Stones’ Wild Horses was such a success in her I Dreamed A Dream debut CD so she also included rock tunes reworked to her style in this one. And these are excellent choices, Perfect Day composed by Lou Reed, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and Don’t Dream It’s Over by Crowded House. There are also Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace, a take on the Prayer of Saint Francis Of Assisi by Sebastian Temple from the 17th century; The First Noel; O Holy Night; Away In A Manger; Auld Lang Syne; O Come All Ye Faithful; and Do You Hear What I Hear a duet with Amber Stassi, the NY paramedic who won the Boyle’s search contest on the web.

Cinema Paradiso, an album of famous movie theme songs by Potts. They didn’t believe telephone salesman Potts could sing Nessun Dorma. But he could and he won the contest. Potts is now one of the leading pop opera stars in the world and his singing has gotten better, his approach to material more confident and choice of songs, impeccable. This is his third album and you will love listening to every cut.

Top picks are Moon River from Breakfast At Tiffany’s, always a joy to listen to and Il Mio Cuore Va, My Heart Will Go On from Titanic, which unbelievably is more romantic with Italian lyrics. Also included are Se from Cinema Paradiso; Parla Piu Piano from The Godfather; Forbidden Colours from Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence; Dove Non So or Somewhere My Love, Lara’s Theme from Dr. Zhivago; Up Where We Belong, a duet with Yvie Burnett of the song from An Officer And A Gentleman; Gladiatore from Gladiator; Love Story from Love Story; Maria from West Side Story; and What A Wonderful World from Good Morning Vietnam.

It’s My Time by Yu Chun. My first reaction to Yu Chun was, our Anton Diva can also do this, I mean be a guy singing like an R&B diva. But then Anton is too pretty to be called Little Fatty and will never be told to stop singing and just do comedy. That was what happened when the 23-year-old Yu Chun started singing. Taiwan didn’t approve of his singing like a girl but the rest of the world did and so here he is with a record deal with Sony and a hit album of his very own.

It’s My Time has note perfect covers of hits by Yu Chun’s favorite divas like I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston; It’s My Time by Jade Ewen; Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Bonnie Tyler; Hero by Mariah Carey; A Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson; My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion; and Fighter by Christina Aguilera. There are also Amazing Grace, I Understand and Under Your Wings, which was composed expressly for Yu Chun by the renowned Walter Afanasieff.