PS22 Chorus Is Overwhelmed by Underwood!

Yesterday the PS22 Chorus of 2012 was treated to one of the most wonderful musical guests we've ever had the pleasure of hosting, the amazing Ms. Carrie Underwood, who took the time out of a busy schedule of promoting her new album to come visit and make music with our favorite fifth graders!! The kids had the pleasure of performing 2 songs for, then with Carrie. Check out this jaw-dropping performance of her debut single, "Good Girl" with Carrie and the kids!! The dueling solo parts between Carrie and PS22's Kevin was one of the most startlingly amazing musical moments I've ever been lucky enough to witness! Easy to see why her new album is called, "Blown Away," because we ALL were!!

And this next video is the more emotionally driven of PS22's two recent performances with Carrie Underwood. Whereas our first collaboration on the previously posted "Good Girl" is an energy-driven rollercoaster ride, this version of Carrie's hit, "So Small," is a stunning impassioned masterpiece. Our personal favorite moment comes at the conclusion of the second verse, when Kahlil and Kiarah get together for a gorgeous duet on the second verse, and Carrie, obviously lost in the moment, almost forgets to come in on the refrain! Some fantastic bonus footage (both silly and emotional) from the visit is included here as well...

Biggest thanks to Carrie and her management for coming to us for an unforgettable day of music-making! Also thanks to Ms. Lisa for the amazing video footage, and Scott Vollweiler for his incredible photo contributions to this post!   (Additional great pics provided by Victor & Steven Breinberg!)  More to come....

Newly Posted Gym Class Heroes Performance!!

We updated our recent Gym Class Heroes post with a brand new performance from soundcheck!! Check it!!

PS22 Chorus Lives Your Life!

Another song that has gotten countless plays on my iPod, here the PS22 Chorus of 2012 presents another highlight performance of "Live Your Life" by the brillliant new indie artist, Yuna! And the kids never sounded better!! We even invited 4th grader Alicea to join us to make a quick but potent cameo! This is going down as one of my all-time favorite PS22 covers.... AND to make this performance even more special, we were lucky enough to be treated to a visit from former PS22 Chorus member Divina, who was in town visiting.... I've no doubt her presence inspired the group to achieve the extra-greatness of this rendition!

PS22 Chorus received some amazing praise from Yuna on her Twitter! Check out her fantastic tweet below.

Gym Class Heroes & PS22 Chorus Perform Together!!

Yesterday, the PS22 Chorus of 2012 joined the absolutely incredible Gym Class Heroes onstage right here on our home turf of Staten Island at Wagner College during the group's college tour! The band is aptly named -- These guys are TOTAL class and TOTAL heroes! The kids were invited to back the band up on "The Fighter" after Travie McCoy and the Heroes caught wind of the PS22 cover of the song we did back in November! The band was a dream to work with -- so respectful of the kids and appreciative of their contribution! Check out the performance of "The Fighter" from last night below and a bonus treat of "Stereo Hearts" that we did for fun at soundcheck!

Hugest thanks go to Gym Class Heroes and their manager Scott Nagelberg for arranging the collaboration -- safe to say it's a moment in time we'll all never forget! Thanks also to Ms. Lisa for the great video footage of the performance and soundcheck! Check out the awesome pics courtesy of Ms. Lisa, Ms. Laurie, and Mrs. Panzella!

"The Boy With Pink Hair" by Perez Hilton (UPDATED)

PS22 pays tribute to its best friend and avid supporter Perez Hilton by bringing his beautiful best-selling children's book with a timeless message to life! Perhaps the most fun we've ever had creating a video -- the kids acted, sang, and even co-wrote this fantastic production! You may have noticed a lull in our posting schedule the past few weeks. This is attributed to the fact that the chorus (and the classes involved) have been hard at work putting this short film together. We hope you love it as much as we do, and agree that it's been worth the wait! With that in mind, PS22 is extremely proud to present "The Boy With Pink Hair" by Perez Hilton, and we dedicate this project to you, Mr. P. Thanks for all the love, support, inspiration, and friendship. No one has done more for our children than you. It has been your continued support that kept the mind-blowing opportunities coming for our children. You've directly had a hand in changing many lives here in Staten Island, and of course all over the world as well. We are blessed to have you as part of our PS22 family!

We think the kids AND the staff that were kind enough to donate their time made this an extra-special PS22 performance! Leave a comment and let us know what YOU think!!

UPDATE 4-18-12: Check out this awesome acknowledgement from Perez AND also a tweet from Celtic Woman (who makes a musical cameo in the film) below!

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UPDATE (5-6-12): PS22 Chorus received 100 signed books from Perez for all the kids who participated in the production!! What a class act! Here's a video of the kids saying thank you that was filmed on my cell phone!

Ingrid Michaelson Is Somebody That I Used To Know

Last month the PS22 Chorus was visited by fellow Staten Islander Ingrid Michaelson to make a video promoting music education for DoSomething.org and its Battle For The Bands project in conjunction with VH1 Save The Music Foundation! After we finished recording the two songs we had planned, we decided to have some impromptu fun with a song that both our respective acts have had success covering -- Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know!"

SOLD OUT!!!

Tickets for the Tribeca premiere of Once In A Lullaby - The PS22 Chorus Story has sold out within only two hours after tickets went on sale this morning!! Super-exciting!!

Ticket Sales for PS22 Chorus Documentary

Advance ticket sales for PS22 Chorus Documentary at Tribeca Film Festival start tomorrow for American Express cardholders!! Check out all the details here!

PS22 Chorus is Still Crazy After All These Years

Before the PS22 Chorus of 2011 performed at the Academy Awards ceremony last year, they were visited by Linda Saffire & Steve Rosenthal, who filmed and edited a very memorable video that was shown before the kids did their Red Carpet interview. Since then, I have stayed in touch with Linda, who is an amazing person. Recently, she and Steve's wife Peggy contacted me, asking to see if we could surprise Steve with one of his favorite songs, "Still Crazy After All These Year" by Paul Simon in honor of his anniversary. Here are the magnificent results!

Once in a Lullaby Trailer!!

This afternoon the Gothamist debuted the official trailer for "Once In A Lullaby: The PS22 Chorus Story!" Check it out below and leave comments to tell us your thoughts about this first glimpse of the upcoming documentary set to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on April 29th!

Beyonce & Perez Start Over

Thanks to the our friend Perez Hilton, it seems the PS22 Chorus has once again reached the ears of Beyonce! (Check out our first encounter with Ms. B at the Billboard Women in History Awards where the chorus sang "Halo" for her, her parents, and even Lady Gaga too!) Perez had posted about Kiarah and the chorus's amazing rendition of the song "Start Over" (performed at the New Yorkers for New York Gala last month) yesterday, and later that day, it showed up on Beyonce's official website!! Check out the screenshots below....