Friday, November 14, 2008

100,000 Views of 1000 OCEANS



An amazing day for the chorus. Today we filmed what is simply one of the most beautiful covers the kids have ever performed. And they learned it in only 2 rehearsals!!! The song is "1000 Oceans" by Tori Amos, with whom the chorus had the unfathomable fortune to sing with last year. (Click here if you somehow missed PS22's most watched video of all-time.) )

Well brace yourself for this one.... Allie is nothing short of astounding on the solo, and her growing talent is proving to be a force to be reckoned with! And the PS22 Chorus of 2009, as a whole, never sounded better, and that's no joke. Someone should tell these kids it's only November, and that there's no excuse for performing so brilliantly this early in the year!!! :)




And here's a fun glimpse at an after-school rehearsal with some of the "chorus coaches", and they too sound fantastic in an a capella rendition of the same song. Melina does the solo here, and she too is proving to be a rising star of the all-new PS22 Chorus of 2009.




AMAZING UPDATE!!!
(Saturday, Nov. 15)

The PS22 Chorus version of 1000 Oceans is now being featured on Perez Hilton's blog!! This is the third time Perez has posted about the chorus, and every time he does he brings the the kids thousands of new fans. We are also currently the most e-mailed posting on his site!!! INCREDIBLE!! Thanks to Perez for helping to share the amazing kids of the PS22 Chorus with the world!! Below is a screen cap from the Perez posting.



AMAZING UPDATE #2!!!
(last edited Sunday, Nov. 16, 12:30 pm)


The PS22 Chorus rendition of 1000 Oceans as of 12:30 PM, Sunday afternoon, has over 100,000 views and counting! (Thus the renamed post-title!)

And really exciting news -- the chorus's YouTube channel is the #1 Most Viewed Music Channel today!!!! In addition, 1000 Oceans has been earning major YouTube honors as well. With over 100,000 views, it has already become the third most watched PS22 Chorus video only one day after its initial posting! Click on the screen-caps below to see the most up-to-date info.....





CONGRATULATIONS, CHORUS!!!!!

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

mr.b i love the 1000 oceans pic.it's so cute.it makes our hair look blue.everyone knows i love blue!anyway,what was i talkin' about?just kiddin'!i am so gonna call april about this!:))) baabalicious

Mr. B said...

hi baabalish,

i'm happy you like the ocean pic, i spent a lot of time sticking you guys in the ocean over there!! :)

Anonymous said...

amazing. simply amazing. Ive saved you as a favourite, and Im definately coming back! Brought tears to my eyes. Not only the song, but the dedication and time you seem to put into these kids. I am truly impressed with what you do, giving kids a positive rolemodel to look up to, and giving them something postive and good to do with their time. Helping them stay away from going off on the wrong track.
Amazing and honerable.
Janni from Norway.

Mr. B said...

Thanks Janni! :) Glad to have you on board... :)

Anonymous said...

i saw you guys on perezhilton.com and i have to say your 1000 oceans cover is amazing. these children are blessed to have a teacher to inspire them through music the way you do. those children are truly a treasure and i hope they don't forget their talent. i hope for only good things to come for the chorus! good luck with the rest of this year & beyond.

Erin said...

Yay! Congratulations Chorus! It sounds fantastic. I love love love listening to you guys.

Mr. B said...

Thanks Erin for taking the time to comment! Hope you'll keep listening! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh. my. goodness. What an overwhelming feeling just to simply watch on my computer screen.

Many thanks to Perez, without him--I might have never known.

My heart goes out to you all for the amazing, and wonderful job you've done. It is all so very inspiring.

Mr. B said...

Perez is definitely a good friend to the chorus, and I appreciate all he's done to support us (and Tori too.) Thanks for taking the time to write such a nice comment! :)

Anonymous said...

WOW melinas good!!! they were all good they sounded like a "big" chorus lol. awesome love it!!!
ashley b

Mr. B said...

thanks ashley!! the kids got on perez just like you did last year! i bet your proud of your cuz!! he does a great job in all the videos..... BUT I STILL MISS YOU JUST THE SAME!!!!!

:)

Twisted Branches said...

You guys are INCREDIBLE!!!! It's so wonderful to see children not only sing the music but FEEL it as well.
Mr. B, you are an inspiration. You truly are.

Andrea Brown said...

You should have a place for people to donate money. I would love to see them have more resources for trips to perform or whatever. I know I would give if I had a chance. Set up a fund!

Mr. B said...

thanks for noticing the details that go into the performance, twisted. :) they all work very hard. thanks also for your kindness about me. :)

Mr. B said...

thanks andrea, if you want to make a donation to the chorus, contact the school at 718-442-2219 and ask about our Giovanazzo Fund that was set up for the kids. much appreciated!! :)

Twisted Branches said...

I'm embedding 1000 oceans on my blog. Why doesn't EVERYONE know about you? Seriously. I have never heard anything more beautiful.
And you are very welcome sir. It's meant directly from the heart. It's obvious how very much you love your job and the children who are lucky enough to have you as a teacher.
Twisted <3

Mr. B said...

cheers! they've been slowly over the last few years getting a name for themselves, and we always appreciate those perez hilton plugs. :) and of course kind comments like yours.

Anonymous said...

there is no sound on my computer but we looked amazing. SING ON AMILICOUS A.K.A AMARIS

Mr. B said...

hi amaris, you guys look AND sound brilliant! congrats on all the success you're getting with this new video. :)

Anonymous said...

Saw the link on Perez and it made me do a search for your website. I love Tori Amos, as she is such a brilliant singer and musician. The children in the choir are absolutely amazing, and the song brought me to tears. It was truly beautiful.

Mr. B said...

thank you for taking the time to leave a comment for the kids to see leanne.... i agree that they took the song to a whole new place. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm 26 and music has always been a really special thing in my life. I just have to say seeing the passion that these kids have in their faces when they are singing...it makes me so happy. For a long time since I've been to college and graduate school I put music aside for awhile. This makes me remember why I love it so much. I also know any type of music performance takes discipline, work, and dedication so congratulations to you all. And to the music instructor- please keep doing what you do and thank you!

Mr. B said...

no no no, thank YOU! :) much appreciated sabrina! hope you kids are reading.....

Anonymous said...

This is amazing! amazing! I love it ;)

Ásta Júlía from Iceland

Mr. B said...

thank you asta.... :)

Anonymous said...

you guys are amazing! i'm not sure how but i came across the 1000 oceans video on youtube tonight and it was so moving. you guys are awesome! and the emotion the kids put forth through their singing!
i want to see you guys perform some day! too bad i'm all the way in ma :[

keep doing what you're doing!
-isabella

soularchitect said...

Wow.

I am a huge Tori Amos fan and have been singing in choirs for years, but I never had a teacher who pulled out my favorite music for us to sing. So what you are doing, exposing these kids to Tori and Coldplay, is fabulous!

I sent the 1,000 Oceans vid to a friend who said, and I quote: "Their soulfulness is more holy than anything I've seen in any church."

I absolutely agree.

Blessings to you in all you do, and the kids too!

~Sara

Mr. B said...

thanks sara! we've definitely been blessed, and i appreciate all the support.... :)

Anonymous said...

Dear PS22 Chorus and Mr. B,

Greetings from Los Angeles! I am so moved by you all... you are the positive force this world needs!

Don't ever take your big talents and even bigger hearts for granted-- you're changing the world every day in ways that you can't even imagine. Congratulations on all of your success.

N

Mr. B said...

Thank you so much for such an inspiring message for the kids, n! :)

Anonymous said...

i am a public school music teacher in baltimore, and you and your children have inspired me so much! did you teach them by rote, or did you write out the music?

Mr. B said...

thank you so much. rote all the way. :)

Anonymous said...

Melina sounded great!!
just a heads up, i know tomorrows not a chorus day but i might not be able to talk cuase i barely talk now!! wich probly means i cant sing aswell! sorry!!!!!!!!!
Allie

Mr. B said...

melina did sound great! as did you!!! can you believe all the attention your video has gotten??? over 100,000 people watched you sing this weekend!!! and the feedback for the chorus and for your soloing has been remarkable! i still can't believe that you just did it like that on the first day of rehearsal! hats off to you and congrats!! i PROMISE i'll cut you a break, and won't make you sing tomorrow. you've certainly earned a rest, and we gotta keep you healthy! i'm so proud of you!!

:)

Anonymous said...

Wow, I am blown away. I've spent a few hours on this site listening to the chorus sing so beautifully. The looks on their faces when they sing is magical. It gave me goosebumps. I loved the Coldplay cover....keep up the good work! The world needs more uplifting beauty and love like this! Michelle from Sacramento.

Mr. B said...

Thank you Michelle! Viva La Vida is definitely one of my favorites too.... :)

Anonymous said...

I can't believe I just found out about you and your kids today! I've been watching quite a lot of your vids and I have to say, I love love LOVE the 1000 oceans cover. I've been listening to it for at least 20 times! It's that GOOD. And Allie is just incredible. I wish I could hear her sing the whole song, with you on piano of course :)

PS:The kids are extremely lucky to have you as their mentor.

Mr. B said...

thanks, iz! i'll see what i can do about your request.... :)

Anonymous said...

Hi there! I'm a teacher from Canada, and came across the 1000 Oceans video on youtube. It was so inspiring!

Mr. B - Your choir is absolutely amazing. It's so nice to see the children enjoying and feeling what they're singing. I wish there were more teachers like you!

To the choir - You guys are awesome; I'm so impressed! I cannot believe you are only in grade 5! You sound like angels. You should be so very, very proud of yourselves!!! : )

P.S. - Have you ever thought of doing any Chantal Kreviazuk?

Mr. B said...

thanks for that kind comment! don't know chantal...

Anonymous said...

how do you pick your soloists? just wondering, 'cause ive been thinking about that ever since i first discovered you guys (which was the June of 2009). please answer and thank you!
-Joy

Mr. B said...

thanks for all the nice comments, joy! i pick my soloists by whoever's voice seems to suit a particular song. :)