American Idol 2008 Is Coming...

The event of the season will be taking place at PS22 on June 4th, as PS22 presents its third AMERICAN IDOL (Graniteville Edition)!! The talent this year at PS22 is astounding and is well represented by the 22 Finalists! They survived a rigorous process of 4 rounds of performances, and are going to take the stage to determine once and for all, this year's TRUE American Idol. (Answer: ALL OF THEM!)

Congratulations to all the finalists!

1) Allie (4th grade) -- Gotta Go My Own Way (From High School Musical)
2) Julian (4th grade) -- Numb (by Linkin Park)
3) Divina (1st grade) -- Fabulous (High School Musical)
4) Kevin (1st grade) -- S.O.S. (by Jonas Brothers)
5) Amber (5th grade) -- Karma (by Alicia Keys)
6) Abdulaye (5th grade) -- You Should Let Me Love You (by Mario)
7) Ashley (5th grade) -- Hurt (by Christina Aguilera)
8) Azaria (2nd grade) -- Irreplaceable (by Beyonce)
9) Vivian (5th grade) -- See You Again (by Miley Cyrus)
10) Angela (5th grade) -- Dreaming Of You (by Selena)
11) Tirzah (4th grade) -- Bleeding Love (by Leona Lewis)
12) Karinna (3rd grade) -- I Still Believe (by Brenda K. Starr & Mariah Carey)
13) Brielle (3rd grade) -- Tattoo (by Jordyn Sparks)
14) Jake (5th grade) -- Guitar on CARAVAN
15) Victoria (5th grade) -- dancing to Ciao Amore
16) Sarah (3rd grade) -- dancing to Gasolina
17) Nora (4th grade) -- dancing to Fabulous from High School Musical 2
18) Isaiah (5th grade) -- dancing to Chris Brown
19) Ashley (5th grade) -- No One (by Alicia Keys)
20) Christian (3rd grade) -- Native American dance
21) Sandria (4th grade) -- Listen (by Beyonce)
22)Jarred (5th grade) Waiting On The World To Change (by John Mayer)

"Neil says hi by the way"

The kids of the chorus got an immediate acknowledgement from Neil Finn of Crowded House for their words and song of thanks. Neil's reply was both amusing and emotional in kind. What a class act!

Neil writes:

"What a wonderful treat to get home and watch you all singing Don't Dream Its Over, reminded me of how special the night we shared in New York really was and what great music and spirit you all put out...., makes the world seem like a better place!

Appreciate the personal thank yous and hope the "brothers" are getting used to the T Shirt now, I think Nicks brain is a little twisted actually but he means well!

I'm sure there will be another chance to sing with your choir Gregg but I know they will all be different next year so for now we send all our hopes and best wishes to the fabulous kids of the PS 22 choir for a great summer holiday and a bright future!

Neil

Don't Dream The Dance Off Is Over On Venus???

Give it to Mikey....

The PS22 Chorus, and Michael in particular, had a busy week, as the kids put together a thank you gift for the boys of Crowded House. This was to show our gratitude for how amazingly we were treated when we performed together at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza in NYC. First, the kids perform a preview of this year's graduation song, "Don't Dream It's Over", which they do beautifully. This was Crowded House's biggest hit in America, reaching #2 on the Billboard charts back in the eighties. Mikey does a super-fine job on the solo. Then make sure you watch the video to the end to hear those nothing short of entertaining words of thanks for the band. The kids are both funny and poignant. My favorite? "Hello out there." It cracks me up every time. You won't be able to resist this:

Next, Mikey moves from the lead vocal on "Don't Dream It's Over" to the drum kit, and he's absolutely brilliant! Mr. B lives out his rock star dreams (and unfortunately kills them in the process) singing "Venus", originally sung much better by the likes of Frankie Avalon, Bananarama, and Shocking Blue. But it was a great time, with PS22 Chorus legendary alumnus Fergie (NOT the pop singer) coming back for a visit. So of course had to have a dance off in honor of the return of the original 'Dancing Machine', one of the best dancers ever see the stage of PS22. Plain to see it was a fun week to be a member of the PS22 Chorus.

Don't Forget To Put Your Heading....

Hope everyone likes the new header for the blog. You can click on the above pic to enlarge.

In The News.....

Another beautiful article appeared today in the Staten Island Advance about the chorus. You can read the article at SILive or simply by clicking on the pics above and below. The story was front page on the West Shore edition (which is kind of funny as we're really a North Shore school), and the article is prominently featured on the SILive website. Big thanks to Diane Lore of the Advance for her inspiring article featuring our chorus!

Here and "There"

Here is a great version of the chorus singing the beautiful song, "There", by the Innocence Mission. We WON'T mention why Michael has an ear to ear grin on his face. Safe to say it wasn't laughing gas. However, it is also safe to say Ashleigh was definitely shooing away some kind of mysterious gas coming her way....

Testing, testing.... The FUN way!

Here is the soundcheck footage from the April 30th Crowded House concert at the Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza. Check out what went on behind the scenes, and discover a brand new layer of cool-ness to Crowded House....

Part 1


Part 2


THROW YOUR ARMS AROUND ME (COMPLETE SOUNDCHECK VERSION)

PS22 Chorus Sings in Central Park at The Revlon RunWalk for Women's Cancers

Yesterday, the kids took over Central Park as the runners and walkers were coming in from the charity run/walk that began in Times Square. Portions of the event were televised on NBC yesterday, and it received major media coverage all over. It's something that we were very proud to be a part of. Here are some video highlights from Central Park:

Songs in order:
"Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell
"Private Universe" by Crowded House
"Valor" by Andrew Canlon of O'Canlon (former student of mine)
"If You Want To Sing Out" by Cat Stevens
"No No No" by Voices Of East Harlem
"Time" by Tom Waits
"Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley

A picture-perfect day!Amber sings "every night about 6:00"....
Justin & Angela sing with 'valor'....
In harmony
Ashleigh gets the audience involved....
Giving it all for charity....

Picture a Crowded House....

Here are the pictures from the concert event of the century -- Crowded House & The PS22 Chorus at The Fillmore NY at Irving Plaza in Manhattan! After you see the pics, make sure you watch the videos of the concert footage too!

**Update 5-10-08**

Soundcheck videos are now up.

CROWDED HOUSE

meets the PS22 CHORUS

SOUNDCHECK!

Lead singer Neil Finn looks on like a proud papa as the chorus warms upA happy day!
In our private universe.....
Isaiah does his thing.... Bassist Nick Seymour take his cue from Isaiah....

The PS22 CHORUS takes the stage!

A huge audience filled with appreciation.... Ashleigh lighting up the stage!
Amber leads the chorus in our version of the Crowdies' "Private Universe"
The sopranos singing away!
The chorus gives a glowing performance

The CHORUS joins CROWDED HOUSE!

"The Most Hopeful Sound On Earth" Crowded House Performs with the PS22 Chorus!!

The big night!

Okay, way too tired to post about the excitement we had tonight..... Here's a little something to whet your appetite until I complete this post tomorrow. I promise there will be some more amazing pics and videos, including some highlights from the soundcheck. What an extraordinary day for everybody. And I've decided Crowded House, being the coolest and most down to earth band, have the absolute coolest fans! Thanks to the band and their fans for making the chorus feel like the stars of the show!

Crowded House with the PS22 Chorus -- Throw Your Arms Around Me


Crowded House with the PS22 Chorus -- An impromptu Private Universe!

PS22 Chorus opening -- Put A Little Love In Your Heart