Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling | |
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![]() Stirling performing in Hamilton, New Zealand, 2007 | |
Background information | |
Born | [1] Santa Ana, California, U.S. | September 21, 1986
Genres | Classical crossover, classical, hip hop, electronic |
Occupation(s) | Violinist, Performance artist, Composer |
Instrument | Violin |
Website | www www |
Lindsey Stirling (born on September 21, 1986) is an American violinist, dancer, performance artist, and composer. She presents choreographed violin performances, both live and in music videos found on her YouTube channel, Lindseystomp, which she introduced in 2007.[2] In 2010, Stirling was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America's Got Talent, where she was known as the Hip Hop Violinist.[3][4]
Since 2010, Stirling has released a self-titled album, an EP, and several singles. She performs a variety of music styles, from classical to pop and hip-hop to dubstep. Aside from original work, her discography contains covers of songs by other musicians and various soundtracks.[5][6]
Biography
Lindsey Stirling was born in Santa Ana, California and grew up in Gilbert, Arizona.[7] She moved to Provo, Utah to attend Brigham Young University to study therapeutic recreation. She went on to serve a mission in New York City for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[8][9] Stirling returned home to Provo in 2009 to continue studying at BYU. She resided there until December 2012, when she moved back to Arizona with her family.
At the age of 5, after being influenced by the classical music records played by her father, Stirling began to study the violin. She took private lessons for 12 years. When she was 16, she joined a rock band in Mesquite High School with four friends called "Stomp on Melvin". As part of her experience with Stomp on Melvin, Stirling wrote a solo violin rock song, and her performance helped her to win the state title of Arizona's Junior Miss and claim the Spirit Award in the America's Junior Miss Finals competition.[10][failed verification] Stirling was also a member of Charley Jenkins Band for about a year.[citation needed]
In 2010, at the age of 23, Stirling was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America's Got Talent, where she was described as a "hip hop violinist".[3][4] Stirling's performances were dubbed "electrifying" by the judges, and won the acclaim of the audience, but after she attempted to step up the dance level in her quarter-final performance, judge Piers Morgan told her: "You're not untalented, but you're not good enough to get away with flying through the air and trying to play the violin at the same time." Sharon Osbourne commented: "You need to be in a group. ... What you're doing is not enough to fill a theater in Vegas." In her blog, Stirling confided: "I was devastated at the results ... It was painful, and a bit humiliating; however, I had to relearn where it was that I drew my strength."[11][12] Stirling decided to continue to embrace her unique style of performance, promoting herself on the Internet. In a 2012 interview she remarked: "A lot of people have told me along the way that my style and the music I do ... is unmarketable. But the only reason I'm successful is because I have stayed true to myself."[13]
Shortly after her performance on America's Got Talent, cinematographer Devin Graham (DevinSuperTramp) contacted her in hopes of making a YouTube video together. They agreed to shoot a music video for her song, "Spontaneous Me". It was filmed the week of May 9, 2011. The video boosted Stirling's popularity, and she began making music videos for her YouTube channel regularly. Graham has filmed almost all of her videos, while Stirling often does backup camera work and assists with his music videos. Stirling's YouTube channel, Lindseystomp, which she created in 2007 and which is named after her first band "Stomp on Melvin", is the main repository for her music videos. During 2011, the channel rapidly gained popularity and has over 310 million total views and over 2.3 million subscribers, as of May 2013[update].[14] Her music is featured on Pandora, Spotify, and Last.FM.[15] Stirling also created a second YouTube channel, LindseyTime, in September 2012, in which she posts videos related to her life, vlogs, behind-the-scenes content, etc.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Lindsey_Stirling_%287486855766%29.jpg/240px-Lindsey_Stirling_%287486855766%29.jpg)
Stirling has experimented in combining violin playing with hip hop and dubstep.[16] Stirling's collaborations with other musicians and singers have included Shaun Barrowes ("Don't Carry It All" – The Decemberists), Jake Bruene and Frank Sacramone ("Party Rock Anthem" – LMFAO), Tay Zonday ("Mama Economy"), Peter Hollens ("Skyrim" and later "Game of Thrones"; they are currently working on a new collaboration), Alisha Popat ("We Found Love"), John Allred ("Tomb"), Kurt Schneider and Amiee Proal ("A Thousand Years"), Megan Nicole ("Starships"), The Piano Guys ("Mission Impossible"), Tyler Ward ("Thrift Shop"), and Pentatonix ("Radioactive").[17] She has also collaborated with the Salt Lake Pops orchestra and Alex Boye.[18] Stirling's debut album was released on September 18, 2012 in conjunction with a North American tour that same month.
Stirling completed her first US tour on November 26, 2012. She announced her second US tour as well as a "test tour" for Europe on December 3, 2012 which kicked off in January 2013. The tour covered 55 cities throughout Europe, Canada and the US and ended in Arizona on April 5, 2013. On February 25, 2013 Stirling announced her official European tour, which will kick off in Russia on May 22, 2013 and end in Norrkoping, Sweden, June 29, with a total of 26 cities covered.
In December 2012, YouTube announced that Stirling's song, "Crystallize", was the #8 top viewed video of 2012 with over 42 Million views. In 2013, Stirling was featured by the LDS Church in its "I'm a Mormon" campaign in which she spoke openly about how her faith helped in her battle with anorexia.[19][20]
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [21] |
Dance/ Electronic [22] |
Classical [23] |
Independent [24] |
AUT [25] |
GER [26] |
SWI [27] | ||
Lindsey Stirling |
|
79 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Singles and EPsThe following list of official music singles is available at the official independent record label website.[29]
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Collaborations
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References
- ^ Stirling, Lindsey (September 21, 2012). "River Flows In You- Lindsey Stirling". YouTube. Annotation at 0:20. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- ^ O'Jay Burgess (November 6, 2012). "Billboard Topping Violinist Lindsey Stirling Tours U.S. In November". Classicalite. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ a b Self, Brooke. "Lindsey Stirling—hip hop violinist". HerCampus. Retrieved October 31, 2011.[unreliable source?]
- ^ a b nbc (July 8, 2010). "'America's Got Talent' Reveals the Top 48 Contestants Competing Live in Hollywood". Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ Matteodo, Ally. "America's Got Talent on NBC". Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ a b Silver, Curtis (April 6, 2012). "Epic Video: "The Dragonborn Comes" by Peter Hollens & Lindsey Stirling". Wired. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
- ^ The Slowdown Lindsey Stirling Retrieved April 30, 2013.
- ^ Harmer, Katie (August 8, 2012). "BYU's hip-hop violin sensation stomps to astounding 110 million YouTube views". Deseret News. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ Frandsen, Jacob (Summer 2012). "Violin with a High Kick". BYU Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ Turn for the Judges "2005 Teen America's Junior Miss", Jan 1, 2005, retrieved Sep 13, 2012
- ^ Comingore, Aly (November 7, 2012). "Lindsey Stirling: From Small Screens to Big Stages". Santa Barbra, California. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
The diminutive violinist may have caught her big break on television's America's Got Talent, but it was her self-run YouTube channel that ultimately helped propel her to the top.
- ^ lindseystirling.com "Lindsey Stirling Blog: Back to Normal", August 10, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ dailymail.co.uk [http;)<33//www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2186079/Lindsey-Stirling-Hip-hop-violinist-failed-impress-TV-judges-YouTubes-viewed-video-stars.html "Who needs America's Got Talent? Hip-hop violinist who failed to impress TV judges is now one of YouTube's most viewed video stars"], August 9, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
- ^ "Official YouTube". lindseystomp. YouTube. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ Lindsey Stirling, Last.FM, accessed July 23, 2012
- ^ Kelley, Tara. "Dubstep Violin: Lindsey Stirling's 'Crystalize' Experience", The Huffington Post, February 27, 2012
- ^ Gary Trust, Pentatonix Covers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Thrift Shop' At Billboard HQ, Billboard (April 4, 2013): "Pentatonix's new video is a collaboration with violinist (and recent Chart Beat Meet & Great spotlight artist) Lindsey Stirling, a cover of Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive," the original of which has topped Alternative Songs for seven weeks and this week bounds 15-7 on the Hot 100. The reworked "Radioactive" has garnered 775,000 YouTube views, while Pentatonix's official YouTube channel has drawn an astounding 63 million views".
- ^ Burger, David. "Utahns Lindsey Stirling, The Piano Guys, strike more gold on YouTube", The Salt Lake Tribune, July 19, 2012
- ^ "I'm a Mormon Campaign: Hi I'm Lindsey". LDS Church. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ Troone, Trent (April 18, 2013). "Hip-hop violinist Lindsey Stirling overcomes anorexia, critics to find happiness, success". Deseret News. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ^ "Chart History". Lindsey Stirling. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ "Chart History". Lindsey Stirling. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ "Chart History". Lindsey Stirling. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ "Chart History". Lindsey Stirling. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ "Lindsey Stirling". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Lindsey Stirling". charts.de/ Hung Medien.
- ^ "Discographie Lindsey Stirling" (select "Charts" tab). swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=
(help) - ^ "Lindsey Stirling:". Overview. AllMusic by Rovi. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ^ "Music Singles". Lindseystomp Music, LLC. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
External links
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