Music

Making Music Your Own – Drew Ryniewicz Singing Baby from Justin Bieber on The X Factor USA

I have to admit, I’m inspired by Justin Bieber’s story, especially after I saw Never Say Never, and his music grew on me, (but I admit the chorus of a certain one of his song got annoyingly stuck in my head with all the repetition;).

It’s so nice though to see singers take a song, change it up and make it their own, as Drew Ryniewicz did as she sang Justin Bieber’s song “Baby” on The X Factor USA, the song seems to take on a new meaning and evoke a new feeling the way she sings it:






In Your Arms – Kina Grannis Music Video

Wow, I’ll never look at Jelly Beans the same way. Watch this music video from Kina Grannis, filmed in stop motion, using 288,000 Jelly Bellies for the creative scenery. The team behind the project took so much time to make something unique, and really inspiring and their creativity paid off:


The Making Of “In Your Arms”





Brooke Fraser – Something In The Water Video

Love this song and creative video, Something in the Water, from Brooke Fraser…





Video: India Arie – Little Things

I love the message and visuals of this video (doesn’t it make you smile?). From India Arie’s album “Voyage to India.”


“Runnin’ ’round in circles, lost my focus / Lost sight of my goal
I do this for the love of music / Not for the glitter and gold

“Got everything that I pray for / Even a little more
When I ask to learn humility / This is what I was told

“It’s the little things / And the joy they bring, it’s the little things
It’s the little things…” – India Arie, “Little Things”





Inspiration From Actress & Singer Alyson Stoner

alysonstonerpicI recently posted about Alyson Stoner on my youth site Dreamer ENT. She is 16-years-old and a talented young actress, dancer and singer whose starred in music videos, Disney movies like Camp Rock and shows like The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Alyson really strives to motivate other young people to make the most of their lives, and I love this post from her blog where shared some relevant inspiration:

“It pains my heart to see my generation lying around, using their teen years as an excusable “transition-phase” so they can avoid taking on responsibilities before it’s necessary. This period is intended to be the launching pad for our futures! Do you think that the less-than-convicted habits you’re forming and apathetic character you’re developing will magically transform into a successful adulthood without any action taken by you? Friends, we’re setting ourselves up for mediocrity…”

“…Dare to dream. We have an imagination for a reason. Write down your wildest dreams and then create an action plan to make it happen. Stay focused on improving your character and skills (instead of nit-packing others’ flaws) so you’ll be prepared to fly when the opportunity arises. You were created to do amazing things, and I’m not going to let you fail. You are strong. You are valued. You are loved, and you are gifted. Do not waste your life…”

That’s some great and powerful advice for even adults! You can read the full blog post on her official website by clicking here.

Here’s a video of Alyson talking about her vision for her music, and how she looks up to artists like India Arie, Stevie Wonder and others who have substance and passion in their music. This motivated young lady is really grounded and inspiring.





Actress and Singer Jennette McCurdy On Pursuing Her Passions

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(Note: This post is from my youth site www.DreamerENT.com).

Jennette McCurdy – She acts, she sings, and wows us with a bright personality and awesome talent…

You know her as the outspoken “Sam Puckett” on Nickelodeon’s show iCarly and have seen her appear on several other shows like True Jackson VP. Jennette is definitely multi-talented and definitely keeps us entertained on iCarly with her funny antics and great acting, and we also love her musical talent. She describes her sound as “power country” and says, “I think country music is so real and so great, and I have a lot of country influences, but a lot of pop and rock influences as well. I wanted to make sure there was a little bit of all of the influences in my music…”

A few months ago Dreamer ENT’s media partner “The Valder Beebe Show” did an interview with Jennette McCurdy, who talked about her music and acting careers, and gave some inspiring advice to others on following their passions.

jennettephotosRead and listen to a portion of the interview below:

Jennette McCurdy On Following Her Passions


Well let me ask you, you’ve become a star on iCarly… and you’ve starred on a number of other television shows including Malcolm in the Middle, Zoey 101, Will & Grace, Strong Medicine, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – you are quite busy!


Jennette McCurdy:
(Laughs) Yeah, I’ve been really busy. I don’t know, I knew I wanted to act since I was six years old. I knew that’s absolutely what I had to do. And, I don’t know, I wouldn’t settle for anything other than acting. I love it so much.

How is it that you pursued your passion, or know to pursue your passion at a young age? You know there’s adults who don’t know what you obviously know or haven’t done what you’ve done. How do you know to pursue that passion? Or better yet, what gives you the ability to continue to pursue your passion, when you get “nos” and rejections, but you still go on.

JM: I think it’s really important that you know what your passion is, you know that that’s your passion – you can’t want to do it for any other reason other than an absolute love. It’s almost unexplained, you can’t really convey to other people why you love something so much when you love it that much, because they wouldn’t necessarily understand unless they shared the same passion. So whatever your passion is, you have to make sure that its going to be strong and last forever…

Because so many times you go on auditions and callbacks, and you keep going and pushing through, and you might get a job and then there might be a couple of months when you don’t get a job. Then you might get two jobs back to back, and there might be a couple of months when you don’t get a job. But you have to have such a strong love for it that you just keep pushing through no matter what…

No matter what roller coaster ride you’re on you have to keep going forward because if you love it, you’ve just got to know that it will work out, and you’ll get what you’re working for – what your goal is.

Listen to Jennette answer the questions below, and at the end of the clip hear her first single “So Close”:

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Check out this fun video Jennette recently posted on her Youtube channel. In it she’s performing a cover of the song “In Color” alongside singer-songwriter Darius Rucker (former Hootie and the Blowfish lead singer who is now on the top of the country music charts).