Jump to content

User:MattWade/Sam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sam Tsui
Birth nameSamuel Tsui
Born (1989-05-02) May 2, 1989 (age 35)[1][2]
OriginBlue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States
GenresPop, acoustic
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano
Years active2008–present
LabelsMud Hut Digital, NoodleHouse, Sh-K-Boom
Websitewww.myspace.com/samtsui

Samuel Tsui (born May 2, 1989[2]) is a Chinese American musician and Internet celebrity who rose to fame on YouTube. He is best known for covering and performing songs by popular artists, as well as original medleys and mashups. Tsui is currently an undergraduate at Yale University.

Background[edit]

According to his profile on The Duke's Men of Yale's official website, Tsui is from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.[3] Tsui is of Chinese mixed origin and grew up a street away from Kurt Schneider, his producer and accompanist, who along with Tsui attended Wissahickon High School.[4][5] Tsui attends Yale University, where he is a member of Davenport College. He is expected to graduate with a major in classical Greek in 2011.[3][6][7]

Career[edit]

Collaborations between Tsui and 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 2011, the YouTube channel "KurtHugoSchneider" has garnered over 170 million total views and more than 670,000 subscribers.[8] The most viewed video is the Michael Jackson medley, with more than twenty million views.[8] This medley is one of several where, using multiple pitch variations, Tsui sings as a one-man choir, covering both lead vocals and background vocals, ranging from baritone to tenor.[4][9] His videos have been described by Time as a combination of Glee and Attack of the Clones.[10] Tsui was also a member of The Duke's Men of Yale, an all-male a cappella group.[3]

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.[11]

College Musical[edit]

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.[8][6]

Television appearances[edit]

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][12] 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".[13] 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.[14][15] 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.[16][17]

Discography[edit]

The Covers[edit]

The Covers
Studio album by
Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider
ReleasedFebruary 9, 2010 (2010-02-09)
Recorded2009–10
GenrePop, rock
Length34:39
LabelSh-K-Boom
ProducerKurt Schneider

A digital album, The Covers was released to the iTunes Store on February 9, 2010 by Sh-K-Boom Records.[5][18]

No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
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 / JacksonMichael Jackson / The Jackson 53:41
2."Down"Kamaljit Jhooti, Dwayne Carter, Jr., J-Remy, Bobby Bass, Jared Cotter, J PerkinsJay Sean3:13
3."Don't Stop Believin'"Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, Neal SchonJourney3:50
4."Halo"Ryan Tedder, Evan Bogart, Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé3:13
5."Breaking Free" (featuring Allison Williams)Emma StarlingDrew Seeley, Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens3:27
6."You and I Both"Jason MrazJason Mraz3:31
7."Run"Gary Lightbody, Jonathan Quinn, Mark McClelland, Nathan Connolly, Iain ArcherSnow Patrol4:41
8."Thinking of You"Katy PerryKaty Perry2:31
9."Lady Gaga Medley" ("Bad Romance" / "Just Dance" / "LoveGame" / "Poker Face" / "Paparazzi")Stefani Germanotta, Nadir Khayat / Germanotta, Khayat, Aliaune Thiam / Germanotta, Khayat / Germanotta, Rob FusariLady Gaga2:55
10."Fireflies"Adam YoungOwl City3:37

DJ Got Us Falling in Love[edit]

On October 10, 2010, a mini album was released by Mud Hut Digital. It contains three covers:[19]

No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."DJ Got Us Falling in Love"Usher Raymond IV, Armando Pérez, Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, ShellbackUsher featuring Pitbull3:42
2."Replay" (acoustic version)Rock City, Keidran Jones, Jonathan Rotem, Jason DesrouleauxIyaz3:35
3."Heaven"Bryan Adams, Jim VallanceBryan Adams3:22

Singles[edit]

Tsui has also released seven singles digitally: two original songs under NoodleHouse Records and five covers under Mud House Digital.[20][21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "SAM SUM ILLUSTRATION". Sam Tsui's Personal Site. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  2. ^ a b Sam Tsui on Facebook
  3. ^ a b c "The Duke's Men of Yale: Sam Tsui". Yale University. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  4. ^ a b "Sam Tsui's one-man choir hits YouTube". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. 2010-09-12. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  5. ^ a b "Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider: The Covers". Sh-K-Boom Records. 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. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  7. ^ a b "Incredible Feats". The Oprah Winfrey Show. Harpo Productions. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  8. ^ a b c Schneider, Kurt Hugo. "KurtHugoSchneider's Channel". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  9. ^ Smith, Mark W. (2009-10-03). "Michael Jackson medley video a Web hit". Detroit Free Press. Gannett Company, Inc. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  10. ^ Fletcher, Dan (2009-11-23). "YouTube Effect: Making Money from Viral Videos". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  11. ^ "My "Hold it Against Me" cover was just posted on @britneyspears official website!! Ahhh! :-D". Twitter. 2011-02-04. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  12. ^ Miranda (2010-02-16). "Bullblog breaking news: Sam Tsui to be on Oprah". The Yale Herald. Yale University. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  13. ^ "Tsui-eet sounds on ABC's World News Tonight". Yale Daily News. The Yale Daily News Publishing Company. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  14. ^ "Cross Campus: 11.12.09". Yale Daily News. The Yale Daily News Publishing Company. 2009-11-12. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  15. ^ Joe (2009-11-11). "Sam Tsui upstages the entire cast of Glee". The Yale Herald. Yale University. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  16. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (2010-12-02). "Tsui '11 and Schneider '10 on 'Ellen'". Yale Daily News. The Yale Daily News Publishing Company. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  17. ^ "YouTube Sensation Sam Tsui Performs!". Ellen.WarnerBros.com. Warner Bros. December 2, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  18. ^ "The Covers by Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider". iTunes Store. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  19. ^ "DJ Got Us Falling In Love (produced by Kurt Schneider)". iTunes Store. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  20. ^ "Sam Tsui". iTunes Store. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  21. ^ "Sam Tsui: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-10-11.

External links[edit]

References to use[edit]


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:MattWade/Sam&oldid=939492328"