Happy Halloween!

PS22 Chorus of 2012 is Up Up Up!

Here's the PS22 Chorus of 2012 singing the uber-catchy song "Up Up Up" by Givers! The song hasn't left my head since I first heard it, and now that the kids have covered it, it's etched and will never come out! So consider yourselves forewarned... Thanks to Mr. Eberle for drumming along, Mrs. Cohen for tuning me into the song, and of course to Ms. Lisa for filming. And how about a hand for Daniel-san and his amazing delivery of the solo??

UPDATE: Check out this awesome Facebook post from Givers, and the fantastic praise they give the kids for the cover they did of the band's song!

Divina has a Mini-me!

Here is the PS22 Chorus of 2012 rock star Divina introducing us to her impossibly adorable baby sister Emma! And little girl can sang! The two of these girls together is just a cuteness explosion....

Super-cool Daniel is also onhand, preparing for his part in the chorus's new song set to debut very soon! And it's one of the kids' most fun and upbeat covers to date!

Wild Horses

Covering one of the best songs ever written, here is the PS22 Chorus of 2012 singing a poignant version of "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones! (Our arrangement definitely owes a lot to The Sundays and their brilliant rendition.) This song was a special request by one of our favorite fans, and we dedicate this to Zen! Props to Kiarah who performs the solo parts beautifully, and to the entire chorus -- they certainly sound like they've been at this gig for much longer than the mere month and a half the new group has been together!

PS22 Chorus on Sesame Street Today!!

Today the PS22 Chorus of 2011 is back in the house, as the video they filmed for Sesame Street aired today on the episode entitled, "Baby Bear's Baby Doll!" The video was produced by Stephanie Kemp and directed by Adam Bluming, and we are very grateful to Nela Films and everyone at Sesame for allowing us to post it!. This was filmed at the end of June after we were contacted by Nela, and asked to reinvent the Sesame Street classic, "Somebody Come and Play!" I'm very proud of the arrangement and certainly the playful & harmonious execution from the kids! And that's Renee on the solo who does such a fantastic job! If you missed this morning's airing, for those in the NY tri-state area, it will be on again tonight at 10pm on the WNETK network, and again on Monday morning at 7am on the WNET network! For the rest of you, check your local listings!

PS22 Chorus Loves Rock 'n' Roll!

Here is the classic rock anthem made famous by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (originally by the Arrows), "I Love Rock And Roll," performed by the amazing new PS22 Chorus of 2012! These kids are getting better with each performance, and Divina on the leads is.... well.... divine!! (You may remember her from back in 1st grade when she gave her utterly ADORABLE performance of "Fabulous" at our third PS22 American Idol competition way back in 2008??) Divina herself selected the song, and as it's one of my favorites from MY childhood days, I'm really glad she brought it back!

"Theme D-rickilous" mashup with PS22 Chorus and Malawi school choir!

Okay, this completely made our day! Apparently The Jacaranda School for orphans in Malawi, Southeast Africa, discovered PS22 Chorus's "Theme D-rickilous" video we made for Ricki Lake and Derek Hough and did their own version of the song! (Ricki Lake, class act that she is, will be donating all her earnings from her Dancing With The Stars appearance to Jacaranda the Foundation!) Ricki's team put together this "mashup" video of both group's performances! How wonderful to see that the PS22 Chorus is inspiring children all over the world!! In turn, WE are inspired! Check out the video and more appreciative praise from Ricki on her Twitter page below!

Steve Augeri & PS22 Chorus Perform at the Italian Harvest Festival!

This afternoon the PS22 Chorus of 2012 gave its first ever public performance with Steve Augeri and his band at the Italian Harvest Festival in Snug Harbor on Staten Island! The two groups joined forces on two songs, the Journey classic "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Down By The Riverside" by The Steve Augeri Band! Check out both of the spectacular performances below!

It was indeed a wonderful day of celebrating Italian culture and music-making! And meeting and working with Steve was seriously like hanging out with an old friend -- such a great guy! Thanks to him and his band, Susan Piazza for coordinating this appearance, our dear Ms. Lisa for filming, Mr. Eberle for joining in on guitar, and Ms. Laurie & Mrs. Johnson for the great pics which you can see more of below!

PS22 Chorus Rehearses With Former Journey Lead Singer, Steve Augeri

On Wednesday, former Journey lead singer, Steve Augeri, came down to rehearse with the PS22 Chorus of 2012 for their performance tomorrow at the Snug Harbor Italian Harvest Festival! Steve and the kids will be performing the group's biggest hit, "Don't Stop Believin'," together at the event! When Steve was originally asked to perform at the event, he sought out PS22 for the gig after seeing our classic 2009 viral performance of the song! Quite an honor! The kids will also be performing a special bonus number with the Steve Augeri Band, which we'll post this weekend....

The rehearsal was also featured on NY1 and covered by the Staten Island Advance, which you can see if you click on the respective links! Big thanks to Mr. Eberle for joining on guitar, Ms. Lisa for filming, Ms. Laurie (& again Ms. Lisa) for the pics, chorus member Kevin for his quick work on the amazing solo, Susan Piazza for putting all this together, and of course to Steve Augeri for not only sharing his talent and inspiration with the kids, but for proving to be a gentleman AND one of the coolest cats we've ever had the pleasure of working with! Check out some more pics below and stay tuned for more after the performance tomorrow!

TWO Upcoming PS22 TV appearances!

Set those DVRs, TiVos & VCRs -- Two exciting upcoming TV appearances from our kids:

1) On Thursday of this week (10/13), you will see the PS22 Chorus of 2012's "Theme Drickilous" video be shown and discussed when our pal Ricki Lake makes a guest appearance on the new Rosie Show on the OWN network!

2) Then on Friday of next week (10/21), the PS22 Chorus of 2011 will make an encore appearance on Sesame Street on PBS with a video we filmed in June with the fantastic NELA FILMS crew! Super-excited for this one, as the kids will be be debuting a previously unseen cover, putting their own spin on a classic Sesame song! Can't say much more at this point, but this one is not to be missed!!

UPDATE (10-12): Just received word the Ricki Lake appearance on the Rosie Show has been postponed due to her hectic dancing schedule. I will update the blog with the rescheduled appearance as soon as I receive more info.... Stay tuned!

PS22 Chorus Discovers Paradise!

Here is the PS22 Chorus of 2012 performing the new Coldplay song, "Paradise," which they learned in only two rehearsals! Our new crew is definitely on an impressive roll! And how about that Kahlil on the leads??

PS22 Chorus Sets Fire To The Rain!

Hang on to your seats folks... The PS22 Chorus of 2012 is officially in the house, as we present this absolutely soul-stirring version of "Set Fire To The Rain" by the beautiful Adele! Of course, major accolades must go to our soloist, Kiarah, who on her first solo of the year just completely knocks it out of the park! For long time PS22 fans, you will most likely appreciate knowing that Kiarah is the niece of 2004 chorus legend Deon ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), which kind of explains things.... She chose the song herself and sang it for me yesterday just before rehearsal. Her rendition was so compelling that we were forced to drop everything on our agenda at rehearsal yesterday in order to create this performance. The new chorus members equally blew me away here as well, learning their respective parts in literally one half an hour before the recording! Sometimes the best things in life happen spontaneously, and we think you'll agree this video illustrates the point perfectly...

UPDATE (10-6-11): Thanks to our amazing friend and supporter, Perez Hilton, for his resounding praise for our latest cover!

SEPTEMBER 2011 POLL RESULTS!

The fans have spoken, and your favorite PS22 Chorus remix is "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga remixed by YouTube user Mattiaskn123!

Don't forget to vote in our new October poll asking you to weigh in on your favorite PS22 Chorus Halloween-themed video! Check out the nominees below!