Yet ANOTHER Young Singer!! MICHAEL JUNIOR
Likem
Hi-
A few weeks ago I posted an article about all the wonderful young
singers who've come to our attention recently or released new music
this year. They include Billy Gilman, Jesse McCartney, Leandro, Sunel
Molina, and Hanson! (Of course, we can now include the other members
of Dream Street in that group!)
Since I posted that article, I've been made aware of yet another young
singer, who is captivating audiences and gaining fans around the
world. I have to thank my long-time close friend WaLa for introducing
me to this incredibly talented young singer.
A little background: Some of you may have heard of a Belgian singer
named Helmut Lotti, who is currently 30 years old. He is known in
many parts of the world, and is ENORMOUSLY popular! Helmut Lotti has
released his recordings in various languages, and has performed
concerts in many countries, including Canada and the United States.
Since the Spring of 1999, Helmut Lotti has taken a young Belgian
singer under his wing, and has featured him in duets and solos during
his concerts. The young singer's name is MICHAEL JUNIOR. (His real
name is Michael Verschuere, but that's WAAAYYY too hard to pronounce!)
He was born on April 21, 1986 in Eernegem, Belgium, so he would now be
a young 14. More biographical details can be found at his web site,
the link to which is below.
When I recently visited WaLa, I was able to hear several of Michael
Junior's songs from his CD, "Dreamland," which was recorded when he
was 13, and released in 10/99 in German, and 12/6/99 in English. I'm
VERY impressed! (It was interesting to note that Helmut Lotti
co-arranged all the songs on Michael Junior's CD, and 2 of the 13
songs are duets between them.) It appears that there are actually 4
versions of Michael Junior's CD: In Dutch, English, German, and
French.
I checked German Music Express (www.musicexpress.com), and they have
the English and German versions there. Amazon.com has those two there
also, but their price for the German-language version is FAR higher.
I also found them at towerrecords.com.
Anyway, here are some IMPORTANT THINGS FOR YOU TO KNOW:
1. I have uploaded to abpti (alt.binaries.pictures.teen-idols) 19
PICTURES of Michael Junior that I got from his web site and from
several other links from Helmut Lotti web sites.
2. I have ALSO uploaded to abpti three sample MP3 FILES from his CD
for you;
3. Michael Junior's web site can be found at:
http://www.helmutlottiofficial.com/
Once there, look in the menu on the left side (if you're
frame-enabled), and click on the green link to "Michael Junior".
Please note that each of the pages offers the choice of reading it in
one of 4 languages, and the language tabs are at the BOTTOM of most of
the pages;
4. I had hoped to post THIS article before my weekend TV listings,
but it wasn't possible to do that. So AS you might already know,
Michael Junior will be on TV!! Be SURE to check your local TV
listings or TV Guide or ClickTV or whatever you use, and look for the
1 hour 30 minute program called "HELMUT LOTTI: ORIGINAL CLASSICS".
(It will air on San Bernardino/L.A. PBS station Ch.24 on Sunday 8/6/00
at 9:00 p.m. I don't get that channel, unfortunately. It will ALSO
air the next Saturday, 8/12 on Ch.50 in L.A./Orange County, but is
listed for 2-1/2 hours there!! CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS!!!) Michael will
be singing a duet with Helmut during the show;
NOW THE **BIGGIE** (DRUM ROLL, PLEASE):
5. Michael Junior will have his OWN show on PBS this coming week!!!!
I don't know if Helmut Lotti will be joining him, but this show is
called "MICHAEL JUNIOR", and it runs for 1 hour! (This show will air
on THURSDAY 8/10 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Ch.50 in L.A./Orange
County!!!!!!) BE **SURE** TO CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again, BIG thanks to my friend WaLa, who made me aware of Michael
Junior. And thanks too to Mark L 02, who helped by downloading and
sending me some of the mp3 files, and who encouraged me to join
Napster so I could do it myself and not bug him anymore. <g> (I
actually finally DID join Napster, JUST to get more Michael Junior
music to post [and to listen to while I await the arrival of my copy
of his CD].)
So enjoy Michael Junior, and let's hope we can see and hear lots more
of this young man, who is yet another amazingly talented young
performer in our midst!!!
Likem
BillyGilmanFan
> I don't know if Helmut Lotti will be joining him, but this show is
> called "MICHAEL JUNIOR", and it runs for 1 hour! (This show will air
> on THURSDAY 8/10 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Ch.50 in L.A./Orange
> County!!!!!!) BE **SURE** TO CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just checked ClickTV for my cable company and got the following
Michael Junior
Type: Music Special / Opera
Duration: 57 min
Description:
The 13-year-old opera star, discovered by Helmut Lotti,
performs a number of selections, including "Edelweiss"
and "Ave Maria." (In Stereo)
Parental Rating: TV-G
Airing:
Sat 8/5/00 10:33pm
Sun 8/6/00 5:03am
Sun 8/6/00 6:03pm
Sun 8/6/00 10:30pm
Mon 8/7/00 3:00am
Sat 8/19/00 2:33pm
> listings or TV Guide or ClickTV or whatever you use, and look for the
> 1 hour 30 minute program called "HELMUT LOTTI: ORIGINAL CLASSICS".
There is no listing in my area for this one.
BillyGilmanFan
The UNofficial Billy Gilman Fan Web Site
http://www.geocities.com/billygilmanfan/
Mike Zito
Likem <g...@geocities.com> wrote in message
news:3996bba9...@news.earthlink.net...
>
> NOW THE **BIGGIE** (DRUM ROLL, PLEASE):
>
> I don't know if Helmut Lotti will be joining him, but this show is
> called "MICHAEL JUNIOR", and it runs for 1 hour! (This show will air
> on THURSDAY 8/10 from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Ch.50 in L.A./Orange
> County!!!!!!) BE **SURE** TO CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is playing right now here, on Monday! Fantastic!! So far, my favorite
songs
have been Santa Lochia and You'll Never Walk Alone, but they ALL
have been great! What a wonderful talent this boy is.
As he said "Songs are like flowers, and I try to pick the best bouqets!"
Thanks so much for letting us know to watch for this treat!!
Likem
wrote:
Thanks to YOU for writing that. I was beginning to wonder if anyone
besides you and BGFan saw my post, or if people are getting burned out
on hearing about young singing talent. Or maybe everyone's just
waiting until they can see Michael Junior's special before they
comment.
I had actually been wondering if anyone had even HEARD of Michael
Junior before, and I'd guess the lack of comments has answered that
question. :)
Likem
Likem
>
>A few weeks ago I posted an article about all the wonderful young
>singers who've come to our attention recently or released new music
>this year. They include Billy Gilman, Jesse McCartney, Leandro, Sunel
>Molina, and Hanson! (Of course, we can now include the other members
>of Dream Street in that group!)
>
I don't know if Gil Ofarim has done anything new "recently" (i.e.
within the last year), but maybe he should be included in the above.
But there is CERTAINLY one young singer who SHOULD have been included,
and I apologize to him for leaving him out: Sammie!
I finally listened to his CD this past weekend (which I had bought
when I bought the Pokemon soundtrack at Best Buy), and, though I'm not
crazy about all the music on the CD, I think Sammie is another
ENORMOUSLY talented singer!! If you haven't heard him yet, you should
do so.
Likem
Mark L 02
>Thanks to YOU for writing that. I was beginning to wonder if anyone
>besides you and BGFan saw my post, or if people are getting burned out
>on hearing about young singing talent. Or maybe everyone's just
>waiting until they can see Michael Junior's special before they
>comment.
>
>I had actually been wondering if anyone had even HEARD of Michael
>Junior before, and I'd guess the lack of comments has answered that
>question. :)
I'm definitely not burned out on hearing about new singing talent!
I'd never heard of Michael Junior until you posted about him, but what
I've seen and heard so far is intriguing. He is truly a talented
singer with great ability on stage.
It's too bad that Michael's talent was hidden so deeply in a PBS
pledge-drive special, and at least here it was seen at 4:25 on a
summer Saturday afternoon, when all good afti-ers were at the beach.
:) At least your post convinced me to tape-delay his song, and I'm
glad I did.
Unfortunately his longer special won't be seen on any of the 3 PBS
stations on my cable system in the next couple of weeks. I'm still
hoping there will be more chances to see Michael Junior.
Boxer Boy
and they don't have Michael Junior's show scheduled in the Portland,
Oregon area.
Perhaps some kind soul will record the highlights and post them to
abpt-i? Hint hint.
Mike Zito
> I had actually been wondering if anyone had even HEARD of Michael
> Junior before, and I'd guess the lack of comments has answered that
> question. :)
I had never heard of him before your posting, so I would not
have been looking for it at all....thanks again for bringing him
to our attention.
Just a little side comment...watch VERY closely when he sings
"You'll Never Walk Alone" for his little "Elvis moment".... so cute!
He also plays a mean game of pool!
jmc...@my-deja.com
Sammie is very talented. He has been comparted to young michael
Jackson, and hes really starting to show up in the teen magazines now.
Wonder if he will be at the teen choice awards.
jmcfan
In article <3992a16a...@news.earthlink.net>,
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Zha-Pfah
Bill Smith
: Have you guys heard of Aled Jones? I love his song Walking In The Air.
I haven't heard of him but I've heard other young singers do
that song. One of my favorites. Tell us about him.
-wsmith
Boxer Boy
anyone like me to post it to abpt-i?
On Tue, 8 Aug 2000 12:59:52 -0400, "Zha-Pfah" <kle...@ameritech.net>
Mark L 02
>I haven an MP3 of Aled Jones performing Walking In The Air. Would
>anyone like me to post it to abpt-i?
I was going to say yes, but in the time it took me to type this
message, I found it on Napster, downloaded it, and I'm listening to it
right now. A very nice, traditional boy soprano sound. I think a lot
of afti readers would like this if you posted it. :)
Likem
wrote:
>Zha-Pfah <kle...@ameritech.net> wrote:
>: Have you guys heard of Aled Jones? I love his song Walking In The Air.
>
>I haven't heard of him but I've heard other young singers do
>that song. One of my favorites. Tell us about him.
>
>-wsmith
Oh, where to start?
I have 2 Aled Jones CDs, one coded "AJCD2" and the other "AJCD3."
Both are Copyright 1986, but "AJCD3" actually says on the front of the
booklet, "Recorded Summer '86."
Here is a transcription of the back of the booklet from the "AJCD2"
CD:
==============================================
I first heard ALED JONES sing about eighteen months ago, briefly and
tantalizingly, in a thirty second snippet of a radio programme about
childrens' voices. Nothing was said of him beyond his name and the
title of the piece, 'PANIS ANGELICUS'. At the time I was researching
a film about the treble voice; Aled's was unlike anything else I had
ever heard.
The radio producer knew nothing about Aled, except that the 'Panis
Angelicus' was taken from a Welsh record. But in North Wales I heard
another story. Unknown in England, Aled was already a local hero. In
Bangor his records were outselling David Bowie. "But" came the
advice, "if you want to hear him for yourself, you'd better hurry.
He's fourteen now, his voice can't go on much longer."
So I hurried (although with eighteen months' hindsight and Aled still
singing as well as ever, I need not to have moved quite so fast!), and
made 'THE TREBLE' for BBC TV, a film which followed Aled's precipitate
journey from local choir boy to recording star.
So much has been written and said about Aled's rare qualities; his
voice, his musicianship andhis outstanding ability as a performer to
reach out to his audience. Almost as much as been said about Aled
himself, about his genuine modesty and his essential ordinariness.
What remains a mystery is the connection between the two Aleds;
between the singer of genius and the Coke-swigging, football-playing,
pop-star following schoolboy. how does one become the other? I
cannot say; but when Aled sings he is transformed. "It is as if he
were taking dictation from God."
I have many memories of making that film; one stands out. For our
first concert in Swansea, the crew were to travel up from London and
film the same evening. To them, a group of professionals who have
seen and filmed most things in most places, this was just another
assignment. Understandably. Halfway through Aled's recital, I turned
to whisper something to the sound recordist. Brow puckered with
concentration and earphones clamped to his head, the tears were
rolling down his cheeks.
You have been warned!
Copyright Angela Pope 1986.
==============================================
I've just posted an mp3 of "Walking in the Air," sung by Aled Jones,
which I was able to find in quick order through Napster. It's now
available for download at abpti (alt.binaries.pictures.teen-idols).
Now for my editorial comment:
I bought 2 Aled Jones CDs on the recommendation of a friend. But I
can't say that his singing moves or excites me greatly. MANY,
including the above writer, Angela Pope, disagree with me about him.
Aled's singing strikes me as too "woman-like." He doesn't sound like
a true boy soprano (or as they call them in England, "treble"); he
sounds like he's trying to sing like a woman, and to my ear, he
succeeds to a great extent.
Don't let my comment stop you from pursuing listening to him; perhaps
you'll like him a lot more than I did.
Enjoy!
Likem
Likem
through Napster and posted it in abpti. :)
Likem
On Wed, 09 Aug 2000 03:40:31 GMT, Boxer Boy
<Boxe...@NOSPAMmailandnews.co.uk> wrote:
>I haven an MP3 of Aled Jones performing Walking In The Air. Would
>anyone like me to post it to abpt-i?
>
>
>On Tue, 8 Aug 2000 12:59:52 -0400, "Zha-Pfah" <kle...@ameritech.net>
Teno Pollick
Christopher Cross song)!
Bill Smith
: Aled Jones also did a beautiful job on the song "Sailing" (not the
: Christopher Cross song)!
I didn't realize this song was so popular. I have a recording of
Angel Voices singing it. They also performed Walking in the Air.
As I posted a while back, I recommend the Libera album, a CD
recorded by Angel Voices under the Libera name. It may still be
at the listening stations at the two big book chains. The listening
station CDs are discounted.
These two songs are not on that CD though.
-wsmith (back at his home news server)
Starz_Kid
Michael Junior. Although I've missed the PBS showing 3 times now... However,
whenever I hear Michael Junior singing... it sounds like he has a mike with
a built in Harmonizer, Vocalizer and expander.... it sounds a bit
artificial...
It just doesn't sound real to me............. not as natural (pure!?!?), or
smooth as Leandro... or Billy G.
Starz_Kid...
"Likem" <g...@geocities.com> wrote in message
news:3996bba9...@news.earthlink.net...
>
> Hi-
The young singer's name is MICHAEL JUNIOR. (His real
> name is Michael Verschuere, but that's WAAAYYY too hard to pronounce!)
> He was born on April 21, 1986 in Eernegem, Belgium, so he would now be
> a young 14. More biographical details can be found at his web site,
> the link to which is below.
>
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