Sam Tsui
Birth name Samuel Tsui
Born (1989-05-02) May 2, 1989 (age 23)[1][2]
Origin Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres Pop, acoustic
Occupations Singer
Instruments Vocals, piano
Years active 2008–present
Labels Mud Hut Digital, NoodleHouse, Sh-K-Boom
Associated acts Kurt Schneider
Website www.youtube.com/KurtHugoSchneider www.youtube.com/thesamtsui

Samuel "Sam" Tsui (Born May 2, 1989[2]) is a musician and Internet celebrity who rose to fame on YouTube. He is best known for covering and performing songs by popular artists such as Adele and Bruno Mars, as well as original medleys and mashups. Tsui graduated from Yale University in 2011.

Contents

Background [link]

According to his profile on The Duke's Men of Yale's official website, Tsui is from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.[3] Tsui grew up a street away from Kurt Schneider, his producer and accompanist, with whom he attended Wissahickon High School.[4][5] He was active in high school musicals, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Urinetown, and Miss Saigon. Tsui attended Yale University, where he was a member of Davenport College and The Duke's Men of Yale, an all-male a cappella group. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a major in classical Greek in 2011. Sam is proficient in the C++ programming language, as stated in an interview on March 5.[3][6][7].

Career [link]

Collaborations between Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider began in high school with an electronic keyboard, primitive recording equipment, and GarageBand. Both attended Yale University, and there a musical partnership developed.[6] They have produced videos ranging from covers and original medleys to the College Musical online series. As of February 2012, the YouTube channel "KurtHugoSchneider" has garnered over 350 million total views and a million subscribers.[8] The most viewed video is Just a Dream, with more than forty million views.[8] His videos have been described by Time as a combination of Glee and Attack of the Clones.[9]

In December 2010, Tsui made a collaboration with fellow YouTube singer Christina Grimmie, singing Just A Dream. On February 3, 2011, Tsui was featured on Britney Spears' official website, along with his cover of Hold It Against Me.[10] In March 2011, Tsui, and lyrics from his song "Start Again", were also mentioned in the book "Seeker" by Andy Frankham-Allen published in print format by Hirst Publishing, and in all digital formats by Untreed Reads Publishing.[11] In November 2011, he had made a mashup base on two songs, "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars, and "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele (singer), which have more than 450,000 views.

Sam Tsui was mentioned three times by Tom Hanks when he addressed the class of Yale 2011.[12]

College Musical [link]

Starting in 2009, Tsui and Schneider have produced a series of episodes of College Musical, a comedy web series parodying the High School Musical film series, with original songs composed by Schneider.[6] Four episodes have been released, with Tsui playing the lead role of Cooper. Following the popularity of the series, it was announced that a film, currently in production, would be made based on the series.[6][8]

Television appearances [link]

In November 2009, Tsui appeared on The Bonnie Hunt Show where he was interviewed and performed Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". He also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on February 22, 2010 along with his producer, Kurt Schneider.[7][13] The pair was interviewed, and Tsui performed a medley of Michael Jackson's songs. Tsui also appeared on ABC World News on October 28, 2009, singing The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There".[14] In November 2009, Tsui appeared on It's On with Alexa Chung, singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" for the cast of American television series Glee.[15][16] On December 2, 2010, Tsui gave an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and performed a mashup of Katy Perry's "Firework" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" with Schneider.[17][18]

The Sing-Off [link]

Tsui is currently a Behind-The-Scenes host on NBC's a cappella competition show, The Sing-Off Season 3. He has since gone on to record a "Judges Medley" consisting of Sara Bareilles' "Love Song", Ben Folds' "Gone" and Shawn Stockman's (Boyz II Men) "On Bended Knee" which is free to view on both NBC's website and Tsui's independent YouTube channel, TheSamTsui.

Discography [link]

[edit] The Covers

The Covers
Studio album by Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider
Released February 9, 2010 (2010-02-09)
Recorded 2009–10
Genre Pop, rock
Length 34:39
Label Sh-K-Boom
Producer Kurt Schneider

A digital album, The Covers was released to the iTunes Store on February 9, 2010 by Sh-K-Boom Records.[5][19]

No. Title Writer(s) Original artist Length
1. "Michael Jackson Medley" ("The Way You Make Me Feel" / "ABC" / "I'll Be There" / "Man in the Mirror" / "Smooth Criminal" / "Billie Jean" / "Thriller" / "Beat It") Michael Jackson / The Corporation / Berry Gordy, Bob West, Hal Davis, Willie Hutch / Siedah Garrett, Glen Ballard / Jackson / Jackson / Rod Temperton / Jackson Michael Jackson / The Jackson 5 3:41
2. "Down"   Kamaljit Jhooti, Dwayne Carter, Jr., J-Remy, Bobby Bass, Jared Cotter, J Perkins Jay Sean 3:13
3. "Don't Stop Believin'"   Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Neal Schon Journey 3:50
4. "Halo"   Ryan Tedder, Evan Bogart, Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé 3:13
5. "Breaking Free" (featuring Allison Williams) Emma Starling Drew Seeley, Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens 3:27
6. "You and I Both"   Jason Mraz Jason Mraz 3:31
7. "Run"   Gary Lightbody, Jonathan Quinn, Mark McClelland, Nathan Connolly, Iain Archer Snow Patrol 4:41
8. "Thinking of You"   Katy Perry Katy Perry 2:31
9. "Lady Gaga Medley" ("Bad Romance" / "Just Dance" / "LoveGame" / "Poker Face" / "Paparazzi") Stefani Germanotta, Nadir Khayat / Germanotta, Khayat, Aliaune Thiam / Germanotta, Khayat / Germanotta, Rob Fusari Lady Gaga 2:55
10. "Fireflies"   Adam Young Owl City 3:37

[edit] DJ Got Us Falling in Love

On October 10, 2010, a mini album was released by Mud Hut Digital. It contains three covers:[20]

No. Title Writer(s) Original artist Length
1. "DJ Got Us Falling in Love"   Usher Raymond IV, Armando Pérez, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Shellback Usher featuring Pitbull 3:42
2. "Replay" (acoustic version) Rock City, Keidran Jones, Jonathan Rotem, Jason Desrouleaux Iyaz 3:35
3. "Heaven"   Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance Bryan Adams 3:22

Singles [link]

Tsui has also released twenty-three singles digitally: two original songs under NoodleHouse Records and nineteen covers under Mud Hut Digital.[21][22]

"Call Me Maybe" (Carly Rae Jepsen cover)

Year Title & Cover
2010 "If I Die Young" (The Band Perry cover)
"Don't Want an Ending" (Original song)
"King of Anything" (Sara Bareilles cover)
"The Only Exception" (Paramore cover featuring Kurt Schneider)
"For Good"(with Nick Pitera)
2011 "In the Dark" (DEVcover)
"Imagine" (with AHMIR)
"Hold It Against Me" (Britney Spears cover)
"Start Again" (Original song)
"Jar of Hearts" (Christina Perri cover)
"Born This Way" (Lady Gaga cover)
"Rolling in the Deep" (Adele cover)
"How to Love" (Lil Wayne cover)
"Someone Like You" (Adele cover)
"We Found Love" (Rihanna cover)
"Moves Like Jagger" (Maroon 5 cover)[23]
"The One That Got Away" (Katy Perry cover)
2012 "Domino" (Jessie J cover)[24]
"I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston tribute)
"Stronger" (Kelly Clarkson cover)
"Somebody That I Used To Know" (Gotye cover)
"We Are Young" (fun. cover)
"What Makes You Beautiful" (One Direction cover)
"Britney Spears Medley" (Britney Spears cover)

References [link]

  1. ^ "SAM SUM ILLUSTRATION". Sam Tsui's Personal Site. https://home.comcast.net/~samsausum/SamSum.Info.html. Retrieved 2011-01-31. 
  2. ^ a b Sam Tsui on Facebook
  3. ^ a b "The Duke's Men of Yale: Sam Tsui". Yale University. https://www.yale.edu/dukesmen/rosterpages/rostersamt.html. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  4. ^ "Sam Tsui's one-man choir hits YouTube". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. 2010-09-12. https://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/09/12/10/sam-tsuis-one-man-choir-hits-youtube. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  5. ^ a b "Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider: The Covers". Sh-K-Boom Records. https://www.sh-k-boom.com/thecovers.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-14. 
  6. ^ a b c d "Kurt Schneider re(de)fines formula for YouTube success". The Yale Herald. Yale University. 2010-01-29. https://yaleherald.com/featured/kurt-schneider-redefines-formula-for-youtube-success/. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  7. ^ a b "Incredible Feats". The Oprah Winfrey Show. Harpo Productions. https://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Incredible-Feats/6. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  8. ^ a b c Schneider, Kurt Hugo. "KurtHugoSchneider's Channel". YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/user/KurtHugoSchneider. Retrieved 2010-12-02. 
  9. ^ Fletcher, Dan (2009-11-23). "YouTube Effect: Making Money from Viral Videos". Time. Time Inc. https://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1938731,00.html. Retrieved 2010-12-02. 
  10. ^ "My "Hold it Against Me" cover was just posted on @britneyspears official website!! Ahhh! :-D". Twitter. 2011-02-04. https://twitter.com/#!/SamuelTsui/statuses/33295678578892800. Retrieved 2011-02-06. 
  11. ^ "Interview with Andy Frankham-Allen". https://accidental-author.blogspot.com/2011/03/process-interview-1-untreed-reads.html. 
  12. ^ "Tom Hanks Addresses Yale Class of 2011". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baIlinqoExQ&feature=player_detailpage#t=127s. 
  13. ^ Miranda (2010-02-16). "Bullblog breaking news: Sam Tsui to be on Oprah". The Yale Herald. Yale University. https://yaleherald.com/thebullblog/bullblog-breaking-news-sam-tsui-to-be-on-oprah/. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  14. ^ "Tsui-eet sounds on ABC's World News Tonight". Yale Daily News. The Yale Daily News Publishing Company. 2009-10-28. https://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/oct/28/tsui-eet-sounds-on-abcs-world-news-tonight/. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  15. ^ "Cross Campus: 11.12.09". Yale Daily News. The Yale Daily News Publishing Company. 2009-11-12. https://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/nov/12/cross-campus-111209/. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  16. ^ Joe (2009-11-11). "Sam Tsui upstages the entire cast of Glee". The Yale Herald. Yale University. https://yaleherald.com/thebullblog/sam-tsui-upstages-the-entire-cast-of-glee/. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  17. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (2010-12-02). "Tsui '11 and Schneider '10 on 'Ellen'". Yale Daily News (The Yale Daily News Publishing Company). https://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/dec/02/tsui-11-and-schneider-10-ellen/. Retrieved 2010-12-02. 
  18. ^ "YouTube Sensation Sam Tsui Performs!". Ellen.WarnerBros.com. Warner Bros. December 2, 2010. https://ellen.warnerbros.com/2010/12/youtube_sensation_sam_tsui_performs_1202.php. Retrieved 2010-12-02. 
  19. ^ "The Covers by Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider". iTunes Store. https://itunes.apple.com/album/the-covers/id352105077. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  20. ^ "DJ Got Us Falling In Love (produced by Kurt Schneider)". iTunes Store. https://itunes.apple.com/album/dj-got-us-falling-in-love/id397670628. Retrieved 2010-10-11. 
  21. ^ "Sam Tsui". iTunes Store. https://itunes.apple.com/artist/sam-tsui/id352105098. Retrieved 2011-03-18. 
  22. ^ "Sam Tsui: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035TQU2U/. Retrieved 2011-02-15. 
  23. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/moves-like-jagger-produced/id480961932?i=480961934
  24. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/domino-single/id500483262

External links [link]


https://wn.com/Sam_Tsui

Podcasts:

Email this Page Play all in Full Screen Show More Related Videos
PLAYLIST TIME:

Hold It Against Me

by: Sam Tsui

Hey, over there
Please forgive me
If I'm comin' on too strong
Hate to stare but you're winning
And they're playing my favorite song
So come here a little closer
Wanna whisper in your ear
Make it clear little question
Wanna know just how you feel
If I said my heart was beating loud
If we could escape the world somehow
If I said I want your body now
Would you hold it against me?
'Cause you feel like paradise
And I need a vacation tonight
If I said I want your body now
Would you hold it against me?
Hey, you might think that I'm crazy
But you know I'm just your type
I might be a little hazy
But you just cannot deny
There's a spark in between us
When we're dancing on the floor
Gimme gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme I wanna see it
So I'm askin' you tonight
If I said my heart was beating loud
If we could escape the world somehow
If I said I want your body now
Would you hold it against me?
'Cause you feel like paradise
And I need a vacation tonight
If I said I want your body now
Would you hold it against me?
If I said my heart was beating loud
If we could escape the world somehow
If I said I want your body now
Would you hold it against me?
'Cause you feel like paradise
And I need a vacation tonight
If I said I want your body now
Would you hold it against me?
Hmm-mmm




×
×
×
×