Meet the youngest German rappers I’ve ever encountered:  J1&J2. I just stumbled on their MySpace account when doing my research for the review of the new Apollo 3 album. I bookmarked their site and 30 minutes later went back to it to see if the kids could really rap. And can they -- oh yeah. They are brilliant. Listening to their songs makes me wanna rap with them even if, with my limited German, the end result would be more funny than cool. The best way to introduce them is to show you clip of them singing:

J1&J2 Feat.King Striker wir sind so weit

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uWF4UltXw

Finding information about them, especially in English, is a really harsh task.  Currently they maintain their online presence mainly on their MySpace channel and are working on their official web site (now under construction). From there, I found out that they have already released a debut album titled “Wir sind Soweit” on 01.12.2009 and that they are quickly gaining popularity in Germany (and they will abroad as soon as someone presents them properly in English).  They also have a Vimeo account where most of their videos are available : http://vimeo.com/j1j2

Thankfully, their twitter account has links to some sites that provide more information about them (especially keeping in mind that the text on their MySpace site is in a format that makes automatic translation harder). I watched an interview with them on YouTube, but did not understand much from it other than J2 like the phrase “Ya Man” which, after watching the interview is totally stuck into my mind. If my German isn’t that rusty, in that interview J1 said that he is 11 years old, while J2 said he was 7. Those are really young ages to start singing Rap -- but it’s not so weird for Germany.  Just remember Lil’O (later known as Othenic O) and even Apollo 3 rap in some of their songs.  From another video I found out that their father is a big support for them, helping with their online presence and fully supporting his talented sons. In fact, it was the father who introduced them to rap music  in the first place.

Besides singing Rap, J1 and J2, like all boys, are involved in various activities. J1 goes to swimming classes, football practices and likes to hang out with friends. And J2 loves the play football as well.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0pG7OSnSls

Ok. That’s as far as my German skills allow me to go introducing these amazing German rappers. I am really fond of their music and will end up having their album in the near future. In the meantime, if any of you speaks German better than me (and I’m sure many of you do) do not hestitate  to leave comments with things about J1 and J2 and their music which I have missed.

“YAAA MAN”

About a year ago, when I first found out about Apollo 3, I wrote a post about them in which I assured you that their music “will rock your world”.  The article (which also came with a Russian translation thanks to their Russian fan club) was wildly successful and received more than 70 comments from their fans from all over the world.  Back then, I wrote that I am addicted to their music and things haven’t changed much today. I prefer their music for bike stunts on the city streets or hanging out at the skate park (I am just a novice there -- so keep to my bike mostly). I could not resist reviewing their first album, nor can I resist announcing and reviewing their newest album “2010″ ( Thanks to the  Bill Milner fan who left me a comment on my first review letting me know that the second album is out there).

The boys seem quite confident in themselves as one can clearly note from the promo statement included in the release notes of their second album :

“”No power on earth can stop us now! We are here to rock this world! With this “battle” of our energetic first hit “Diabolisch” from our second album titled “2010″, we ring in the new decade. “Diabolik” is the title of the song. On 11.03.2010, in all cinemas,a film will be released calld  ”TEUFELSKICKER” in which we will play the lead roles “

The album which hit the stores on Mar-12-2010 is on the Sony label (Sony Music was the label of their first album as well) includes 15 tracks with a total playing time of 52:21. As some of the songs included are the same as on their first album (9 of them) I will keep the scope of this mini review to the new six songs.

TRACK 1. “2010″  -- one can clearly note that the boys voices changed during the year, but the re-verbs, the electronic sound at times, and the supporting backing vocal resulted in a real cool sound, even if not as good as in their second track of the album:

TRACK 2. “Chaos”  I loved the intro of the song and the way they sing “Chaos” . Of course, the hit single of the album as they emphasize in the release notes is:

TRACK 3.” Diabolisch” -  its really the most energetic song from the album and their voices blend wonderfully together. Can’t wait it to do some stunts with my bike while listening to it.

Skipping to TRACK 13. “Vamoir ” I consider this to be the ballad song of their new album. It starts with some nice bass and then the song  gets rhythmic -- a rocky ballad as they say.

TRACK 14. “Unverwundbar” is quite melodic as well. I know that Apollo 3 is a rock band, but I really got to like their slower songs as well as the wild ones.  It gives you a different feel of the spirit of the band.

TRACK 15. “Adrenalin” -- a remix from the song that was included in their first album. It really rocks. But to describe it, I would just remind you what I said about it one year ago -- my favorite song on the album. It’s so full of energy that I can’t believe that someone could listen to it calmly -- perfect to accompany all kinds of extreme sports”

It’s a pity that the majority of information about Apollo 3 is still only available in German. However, various fan clubs have been formed around the world and, thanks to them, the music of this incredible German band is spreading across the globe. An example of one such fan club is apollo3latinoamerica, who maintain a really cool page on MySpace. Same goes for their Spanish fan club who’s Twitter account is a must follow for anyone who knows a bit of Spanish: http://twitter.com/apollo3spain. I won`t forget to mention the Apollo 3 Russian support and their My Space Fan club accessible at  http://www.myspace.com/apollo3_russian_supportor or their Slovakian fan club which also utilizes MySpace http://www.myspace.com/apollo3slovakfanclub. As a final example of the international support they’re getting, check out their Mexican fan club which has its own forum and other goodies.  I hope that Sony will recognize the need for more information about Apollo 3 and will invest more in promotional activities (including, but not limited to, translating their official site into English)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWFDSo65kNA

Get the new album of Apollo 3 from Amazon.com

[Show as slideshow]

“the bonds of friendship were stronger than political differences”

Espérame mucho (Keep Waiting For Me) is an Argentinian film released in 1983 and based on a short story by Isidoro Blaisten. The action takes place in 1950 and the viewer is able to get a feel for the time from the very first scenes, which consist of  TV reporting  typical  for countries under a centralized economy. The story is told in the first person, in a memoir fashion, with a neat transition between the introductory words of  the narrator ” I am 41 years old. In 1950, I was in fourth grade” and the actual story observed through his eyes as a child.

Juancito (played by the eleven year old Federico Olivera) is the main protagonist of the story. He is a regular boy who does his lessons under his mother’s supervision while awaiting  impatiently for six o’clock so he can hear the story of his favorite hero on the radio -- Tarzan.  A lot of political turmoil is happening in Argentina at that time and it causes the young boy to wonder why his mother is referring to his uncle as “A Quixote” instead of ” A revolutionary”, as he sees him. In the later scenes, it becomes clear that the boy compares his uncle with his father -- admiring his uncle for his courage and disapproving of his father who “never speaks up” and always follows the demands of his wife. And Juancito is not afraid to say that to his father’s face, using the words “everyone bosses you  around”. At the same time, he relates more to his uncle who sometimes joined the boys in their football games “We loved it when my uncle Migel got the ball. He’d forget politics and play like a child. We all envied him”

Juansito is in love with a girl and the scene in which he gives her a present made my him is one of  the most heart warming scenes I have seen in a film. Yet, he soon finds out how unfair life can be….  Generally speaking, the film has some quite touching scenes which alternately brought tears to my eyes or a smile to my face.

The cast did an incredible job in the film. Throughout the story, told through the eyes of Juancito, the viewer can appreciate the similarities, differences and beliefs of people from various social classes in Argentina during 1950. The abundance of documentary cadres contributes to the  educational value of the film.  It accurately portrays the  history and the epoch in which the action is set. I believe that everyone who sees this film once will have gained a knowledge and a wisdom -  because even as the years change, we today still share the same joys and fears as did the people in 1950.

Espérame mucho  has some of the most powerful ending phrases that I have seen in any coming of age film. I could not resist quoting them in my review as I believe they represent its core message and will lead to a desire for you to see it:

“looking back on those days, the affection of these people, their faces and smiles, I feel the weight of these 30 years. When I left Tarzan, defender of the meek and  justice, a wound opened up, for me and for many others and it hasn’t healed yet. The many things that happened buried the enthusiasm …. I am 41  years old. With time, I discovered why Tarzan wasn’t enough ….and I lost my childhood innocence “

When released in 1983, in the last few months of the military rule in Argentina,  Esperame Mucho was subject to severe censorship by the regime. After the regime ended, the film was delivered without cuts in its various television displays.

I would not hesitate to recommend this film - not only to the fans of the coming of age genre, but to anyone who is interested in watching a high quality cinema production. Despite being produced in 1983, Esperame mucho is a film from which many of today’s filmmakers may learn.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xvwJZxWgSM

Sinopsis en Español  :

Sensible documento sobre los recuerdos de infancia ambientado en la epoca del primer gobierno peronista. Un hombre de mediana edad recuerda con nostalgia su vida pasada en un barrio de Argentina. A su mente vienen las imagenes de un mundo muy diferente en el que su inocencia le permitia sonar con un futuro diferente al que vive. Intercaladas en la historia se muestran escenas reales de personajes legendarios de la historia argentina como Eva Peron, Juan Manuel Fangio y Mirtha Legrand

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This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of CVMC.net who provided the DVD of this extremely rare film .

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Billy Elliot the Musical, the popular British import that is about to celebrate it’s 5th birthday in London and won 10 Tony’s in 2009 on Broadway opened it’s first national tour in Chicago with the first preview on March 18 at 7:30pm at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts at the Oriental Theatre. The first night of previews featured Cesar Corrales as Billy.

Find out more about the young actors who star in the Chicago show at Billy Elliot the Musical: Meet the Billys – Chicago or visit the show’s website at Billy Elliot the Musical – Chicago

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For quite some time I have been using a few small, freeware programs that have delivered an unmatched performance and functionality besides being only few kb in size. I shared a few of them with a friend and he told me that I should make a post about those programs. Since one of the sub topics of my blog is technology, I decided to listen to his suggestion. So, below, you will find a small list of programs along with some details and download links. Let me know if any of the programs listed will be of any help to you or if you know other similar programs that can be added to the list.

 Pixie by Nattyware.

Pixie is a utility made especially for webmasters and designers. It is a color picker with a few extra goodies. Run it, simply point to a color and it will tell you the hex, RGB, HTML, CMYK and HSV values of that color. I have been using that utility to match the colors of theskykid.com. That’s why the Twitter widget at the bottom fits so well with the design. Speaking of HTML colors, there is a web site which can always help you learn the ropes, providing the most useful HTML Color Code Chart I have seen lately : HTML-Color-Codes-Info. You can download Pixie from its official web site – its portable version is only 11 kb.

Unlocker Cedrik Nitch Collob

From its author web page : Have you ever had any of this error messages displayed by windows :

“Cannot delete file: Access is denied
There has been a sharing violation.
The source or destination file may be in use.
The file is in use by another program or user.
Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use”

When you install unlocker ( like Pixie it also comes in a portable flavor too), the solution to these problems will be only a click away. Read more about the program at its official page or get the portable version from mediafire.

Always On Top Make – a tiny tool to make a window “always on top(TOPMOST)”, or make a topmost window not always on top. ( just 6 k)  Official page

  A small utility that allows you to easily and quickly check and correct the spelling in any Windows application. A portable version is available.   Download

Tiny USB Office – a small productivity software package ( 2.5 megabytes). Usage : create rich-text word processing documents, share files across multiple computers, transfer files, create MS Excel compatible spreadsheets, comma-delimited database files, email your contacts, talk to your friends or co-workers on MSN, create pdf files, or securely encrypt or delete files.       Official page

 Notepad++ is a feature rich Notepad replacement. Once you start using it, you will not believe the amount of functionality and advanced features this program offers you in comparison with other text editors. Some of its features are: User Defined Syntax Highlighting, Auto-completion, Multi-Document, Multi-View, Regular Expression Search/Replace supported, Full Drag ‘N’ Drop supported, Dynamic position of Views, File Status Auto-detection, Zoom in and zoom out, Multi-Language environment supported, Brace and Indent guideline Highlighting, Macro recording and playback. There is a portable version available. Official web page

TeamViewer connects to any PC or server around the world within a few seconds. You can remote control your partner’s PC as if you were sitting right in front of it. I have been using this program quite a lot recently and it works wonders if you are trying to help a friend with some tech stuff during a meeting, teamwork, training, sales and presentations. It can run in a portable mode and its free for all non-commercial users. Official web page

I hope you like my presentation of these seven useful freeware programs. If you have any experience with any of them, please let us know in the comments. Do leave a comment if you know another similar program that can be added to this list.

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His name is Vincent Lintermans.

But everyone calls him Vince! That’s just to make it a bit easier to remember. He was born on March 10th, 1997 and lives in Landen, Belgium. Vince participated in the Junior Euro Song Contest with the song ‘Al Fluitend Door Het Leven’ in the year 2008. In school, he is now attending the 6th year, before heading to college. Vince doesn’t have any brothers or sisters, but he really likes dogs, fish, birds and goats. Now that isn’t heard often. He is a jolly boy.

Interview for the JESC 2008

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS48xaNbSDQ

His nicest memory of the JESC is Disneyland Resort Paris, with MC Louis in the Space Mountain.Vince has a love for animals and old(er) people and hates people who pick their noses or display jealousy. He also gets nervous if he has to wait for something. But his heart begins beating faster when he sees a beautiful girl.

Together with his mum, Vince goes jogging six kilometers every week. Such a good work out comes in handy because he sometimes blows his entire lung capacity on the trumpet -- which is great to hear. For the past two years, Vince has been part of a youth choir and does some solo’s as well. Vince wants to become a singer, actor or musician. And so his dream is to go far in the entertainment business.

Song: ‘Al Fluiten Door Het Leven’

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7wgNGYButY

Song: ‘Hoe Mooi De Wereld Is’

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWAZ1_Sj2Io

If you ask Vince who his best friend is, he doesn’t have to think long - Fhara, his dog. She knows all of his secrets and is always with him when he’s driving his quad at grandpa’s pear plantation. And yes, from time to time, he will pick a pear from the trees.

To finish this little bio, some favourites of Vince:

Book: De Spoken van McHaggis (The Ghosts of McHaggis)
Song:Lollipop, by Mika
Artists:Mika (obviously), Dean and Natalia (2 Belgian singers)
Movie: 10 000 BC
Colour: Purple
Food: Chinese (chicken curry with rice)

I want to add a big thank you to Vince and his parents for allowing me to send in his music and this article for theskykid.com. We all appreciate it and, of course,will play his music on theskykid.com radio. Thanks!

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FGpmgya2tg

Alex Jr. is an amazing young artist,  to whom I very much enjoy listening. He never misses — always right on the money. His voice is clean and clear with no wavering.  I never get tired of listening to his wonderful voice.

Alex is from Santa Caterina, Brazil. He entered a  competition in 2006 on a show called Jovens Talentos (previously known as Show da Criança) -- for the age group under eleven.  After his first performance of “Nascemos Pra Cantar”  people loved him (including me). He ended up performing three songs while winning  the competition.  The video, above,  is of him in his well deserved win.  Shortly after that competition,  the age group ‘under eleven’ was canceled. But that wasn’t the end of Alex -- by far.  Raul Gil hired him as a regular on his show programa Raul Gil na Band .  Here he paid homage to other composers and musicians and has done a fabulous job of this. The people to whom he paid homage were all honored by this young man’s performances of their music.  Below is one of his performances, in February 2008, in which he pays homage to Ataíde e Alexandre singing  “Agenda Rabiscada”.   Alex paid homage to many people on that TV show.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTcdutHI9Dg

Now Alex has  a partner, Willian. They are now known as Alex & Willian and the sound is as good as ever.   Still doing performances for Rual Gil,  Alex and Willian now also perform on other shows and at many places around the country. To find scheduled show information, visit their website at:  http://www.alexewillian.com.br/

Alex’s voice and music has been progressing quite well over the past few years and I believe Alex and Willian make a great duo. Their voices fit together very well. I enjoy listening to him as much now as when he was younger.  Below, is  a video of the duo singing “Te esquecer não consigo”. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6-IX8GYNnY

Alex has certainly come a long way since that competition in 2006 and has accumulated many videos.  I wish I could bring them all to you,  I know you would enjoy them. However, he does have plenty to chose from on his channel  Alex&Willian so please do stop by there and give them your support. It  is a fairly new site  and, as yet, has very few supporters.  I hope you enjoy listening to Alex as much as I do……

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This article was written for theskykid.com  by stars2come

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Author’s Note: As the Korean production is still several months away, there’s not a lot of information available on the stars of the show.  As additional information becomes available, it will be added to this article.

The first production of Billy Elliot the Musical (BETM), in a language other than English, will open in Seoul, Korea in August, 2010. Except for language, the promoters of the show there have said the Korean version would be essentially the same as previous productions in England, Australia and the United States, except for the show’s Geordie slang and strong language.

The question of whether boys with sufficient talent could be found in Korea, and then trained to handle the extremely demanding title role in the show, was an early point of discussion between Magistella, Inc. (the Korean company that is producing the show there) and the BETM creative team. The reason for the concern was that Korea does not have much of a history of training child actors for commercial musicals. Moon Mi-ho, the CEO of Magistella, was convinced that there was enough talent and persuaded the BETM team.

Three rounds of auditions for the role of Billy began in February of 2009 all across the country and there were more than 800 applicants for the part. After the third round, like in other locations where the show has run, a “Billy School” was created in Seoul. The boys selected to attend the school were taught by professional trainers in a curriculum which included ballet, tap-dancing, acrobatics, hip-hop, contemporary dance, as well as acting and vocal training. After observing the results of that training, the final selection of four Billys and three Michaels was made in January of 2010.

On March 3, 2010, the four boys chosen to play Billy were announced in Seoul. They are Ji-Myung Lee, Jin-ho Jung, Sun-Woo Im, and Se-Yong Kim.

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Ji-Myung Lee 

13 year old, Ji-Myung Lee is the only one of the four Billys with prior experience in musical theater.  His resume includes playing Young Simba in the musical “The Lion King” in 2006 and Young Prince in “The Last Empress” in 2007 and 2008.  Although he had some dance training prior to auditioning, the strengths he brings to the role are acting and singing. He received dance training in ballet, tap and hip-hop for the first time at the “Billy School” but is a fast learner and has always shown a competitive spirit throughout his young life.  He  has made great dance progress with the help of the choreography team. 

Ji-Myung, a 7th grade student from Incheon, was interviewed by the Korean Times.  In the interview he said, “After I passed the auditions, I had more self-confidence, although I felt nervous in the audition process. I will do my best for the next few months before the opening of the musical.”

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 Jin-Ho Jung

Jin-Ho Jung, who is 12 years old, comes from a tap dance background.  A 6th grader from Ahn-yang, Jin-Ho has appeared on the popular Korean TV talent show  “Star King” , where he demonstrated his dance skills.  He impressed the creative team with his tap skills at the auditions, when he displayed unique tap dance choreography to “Singing in the Rain”.  He even went so far as to memorize the lyrics and music to all the songs in the show and mastered some of the major scenes by using videos of the show he found on YouTube.

Jin-Ho received ballet lessons for the first time at the “Billy School”, but has made great progress in ballet since and says he’s really learned to like it.  Observers say his Billy is a  ”graceful, sincere character honed by constant practice of all aspects of the role”.  Something of a prodigy, Jin-Ho not only has the excellent skills he’s displayed in dance, but is also exceptionally talented with the violin.  He is also receiving an advanced academic education with future hopes of becoming a PhD in economics.

In the Korean Times interview, “For the remaining training period, I will work harder than I have done so far to show the perfect Billy,” said Jin-Ho.

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Sun-Woo Im

Sun-Woo Im, the youngest of the four Billys at age 11,  brings strong ballet credentials to the show.  Sun-Woo attends In-Hyun Elementary school at NakSeongDae in Seoul and is in the 5th grade.

In March, he will participate in the Youth America Grand Prix, where fellow Billy Se-Yong Kim won the top place last year.  Sun-Woo is currently devoting himself to final preparations for the stage with a strong determination to be acknowledged internationally as a fitting representative of Korean ballet. He is being touted as a young star who will carry the future of Korean ballet along with the other Billys.

“I didn’t have enough time to practice during the auditions. But now I am happy to focus on the vocal and dance training,” Lim said.

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Se-Yong Kim

13 year old Se-Yong Kim, who is from Yongin, brought with him to Billy auditions the best ballet resume of any of the four boys selected for the role.  He is truly gifted in ballet and, for that reason, really stood out at the auditions.

Se-Yong began ballet lessons at the age of seven and has steadily progressed in skill.  He’s participated in many competitions culminating last year when he ranked first at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP).  Se-Yong is expected to be a future star who will one day lead the Korean ballet.

Here, on video, is a portion of his YAGP winning performance:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx2YAgn1Tjo

Credit: Video by  Snowluv4

“My specialty is ballet but I was worried whether I could do other dances such as tap and acrobatics at the auditions. Now I want to become better than the British or Australian Billys,” Kim told reporters at the showcase.

This year, Se-yong entered Sunhwa Arts School, generally considered to be among the most prominent visual arts, music and dance middle schools/high schools in South Korea.

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Here are two videos from the official Billy Elliot the Musical -- Seoul press launch event at which the Billys were announced.  The first has footage in which each of the Seoul Billys are introduced and the second shows the Billys and Michaels (Billy’s best friend in the show) performing a couple of the show’s numbers:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS_zKGIt3y0

Credit: Video by Snowluv4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF6RdYvmTgE

Credit: Video by qsaco1

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The LG Arts Center -- Seoul

Home of Billy Elliot the Musical -- Korea

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 In other articles in the Billy Elliot the Musical section of this blog, see profiles of all the other Billys currently performing the role world-wide.  Profiles of those in New York can be found in Billy Elliot the Musical: Meet the Billys -- Broadway.  The boys playing Billy in the UK are profiled in Billy Elliot the Musical: Meet the Billys -- London’s West End.  Profiles of those who will be playing the role in Chicago beginning on March 18, 2010, can be found in Billy Elliot the Musical: Meet the Billys — Chicago. There are also profiles of Billys of the recent past, who have left the show since September, 2009, in Billy Elliot the Musical: Meet the Billys -- Profiles Archive.

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It’s happening again – for 31st time the Annual Young Artist Awards are to be held on Sunday, April 11, 2010 at the Beverly Garland, Studio City, California . The nominations are already announced at the official webpage of the awards and just like I did last year I decided to select a few of the categories and ask you, the readers of this blog, to vote on them. It will be interesting to see if we, as a community, are going to be close to the chosen winners. The 2009 article attracted  quite a lot of attention and I hope that this year even more people will participate. To me, this year is even more special because, thanks to Twitter and some friends and personal contacts, I know much more about the awards than I did a year ago. In addition, I was glad to find out that an artist I wrote about, Yatharth Ratnum Rastogi, will be awarded with the Outstanding International Vocalist award at this year’s Gala. (What’s more, I found out that musicians I deeply respect, such as Grand Austin Taylor and Vlad Krutskikh, have performed live at previous ceremonies – which only confirms the immense effect and influence of the awards).

The polls will be open until 10th of April 2010. Then, on the next day, we will be able to compare our results with the ones that are going to be announced at the Gala event. To find out more about this year nominations (only few were picked for this blog), visit the official page of the Young Artist Awards and follow them on Twitter. As always, feel free to let me know what you think of this year’s nominations and share your favorites with the community by leaving a comment. (Speaking of Awards: I am going to get busy on this year’s edition of the COA Blogs movie awards and will probably introduce Treble Awards for the very first time in few months time).

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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☝  Listen to Sam sing his new original song .Written By: Glenn Medeiros.Written By: Glenn Medeiros   ☝

Since first discovering Sam Verlinden on You Tube he has captivated my interest in a number of ways. Not only can this boy sing but he continues to maintain a sensational public profile through his acting, busking, contest entries, and high profile national concerts. This combination of achievements alone speaks more than loudly, why it’s easy to pronounce young Verlinden as “Super Sam.”

Sam first appeared on this website in an article submitted by Bestpi on Tuesday, 6 May 2008.

http://www.theskykid.com/music/on-the-wings-of-a-treble/

Since the time of Bestpi’s article much has transpired and this young troubadour who captured 6 Gold and 3 Silver medals along with the prestigious “Industry Award” and 5 plaques for “OVERALL JUNIOR CHAMPION OF THE WORLD”, continues to show himself as a winner and national pride of New Zealand!

Sam who just turned 12 on October 1st of last year, has won 4 Golden Ribby Awards for his entries of songs at Wonderworld TV and a fifth entry is in 1st place at the time of this writing.

In October and November Sam brought professionalism to the “The University of Auckland’s Stage” performing in the lead role of young Tommy in the production of “Tommy the Musical”.  A review submitted by: The New Zealand Performing Arts Review & Directory exclaimed, “Young Tommy is played beautifully by Sam Verlinden, and required to be completely unresponsive even when a balloon is popped in his face”.

I don’t know about you but it takes some acting concentration not to allow a distraction like this to break character.

Concentration and Character are two things that Sam Verlinden has an abundance of.  Concentrating on his singing career while at the same time holding on to reality and just enjoying life, family, and friends.

As soon as Tommy sang his last Pinball Wizard he was singing another tune by performing in one of the best all time musicals that ever hit Auckland.  Lionel Bart’s Magical Musical “Oliver” was staged in The SkyCity Theatre in Auckland. Sam was magical in his performance as one of the boys in Fagin’s gang of thieves. And when the final curtain call was given a few of the boys from the group including Sam continued to perform around the city for special events billing themselves as ‘The Oliver Boys”.

Sam’s biggest highlight of the year was being chosen to perform in the Annual Coca Cola Christmas in the Park event, which was held in Auckland on December 12th.  Sam was the youngest to perform in that star studded line up of the best of New Zealand’s Talent.

It’s simply amazing how this young man can step up out on the stage and perform in front national television cameras and thousands in the assembled crowd yet remain truly humbled by the experience.  Sam is a true showman and gentlemen in every sense of the word!

Once the New Year was rung in, Sam got busy in the recording studio producing several new recordings and updated versions of his favorite songs as well.  Some of his songs can be heard at http:/rivenmaster.com and here on http://theskykid.com/radio/.  In fact Skykid’s radio station is already playing all of Sam’s new song entries.  Thanks Skykid!

The last week of Summer Vacation before going back to school, Sam attended the Mystery Creek, Hamilton Parachute Festival 2010.

Sam entered the Parachute’s Got Talent competition singing “Who’s Lovin You”.

Like many other performances, Sam had the audience screaming for him and captured the runner-up position, which for a 12 year old is more than a monumental achievement!

Today February 21, 2010, Sam released his first original song to the public!  It’s called “Break these Walls”!  Believe me when I tell you that record producers will be breaking down Sam’s walls to sign him after this recording.  Sam has proven to be more than just a young man with a great voice and terrific showman.  He has learned how to capture the essence of a song and pour it out like honey over your musical taste buds.

To learn more details about Sam please visit his websites at:

http://samverlinden.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/bverlin

http://www.rivenmaster.com/search/label/Sam%20Verlinden

All of this and more make Sam Verlinden more than a super singer; he can truly be defined as a Superlative Virtuoso!

Author’s Note: This article will be continually updated as new information becomes available.  Visit it often for the most up-to-date information on where Billy Elliot the Musical is playing around the world.  Last Update:  3/5/2010

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Billy Elliot the Musical is currently wowing audiences on the West End of London and on Broadway.  About to begin its 5th year in London, which is the site of the show’s original production, and into its second year in New York, the Elton John/Lee Hall show will soon be seen in venues around the world.  Recently, several announcements of new editions of the musical have been made, some at locations where English isn’t  the primary language.  All productions, to date, have been in English.  But that’s about to change as you can see from the charts below.

In this article, we’ve compiled information on all past, current and announced future productions of the popular musical so the reader will have an at-a-glance place to view all production information.  Please note that start dates in some locations include previews.

Current Productions

 Past Productions

 Future Productions – North America

Future Productions – Other Countries

This article will be continually updated as new information becomes available.

* Click on these locations for more information:  New York (Broadway), London (West End), Chicago

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TheSkyKid.com is growing. I intend to keep my promise to you by constantly exploring ways and opportunities to make your experience on the blog unique and rewarding. Giving back to the community is important to me, which is why I decided to offer you a chance to win a custom made poster. The best thing about this offer is that the winner will be able to choose his/her own theme for the poster. I can give you some ideas : A movie poster of a coming of age film, a poster of your favorite choir ( Libera ….etc ), a poster featuring a scene from Billy Elliot The Musical, Your favorite actor,singer ( Justin Bieber for example)  …or anything you come up with — the possibilities are endless.

Summarizing the award:

18×24 Poster Print for One (1) Winner

Paper Stock: High Gloss or Semi Gloss

Specifications: 1 Business Day Turnaround

Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping

Eligibility: Limited to US Residents only

I am running this contest in collaboration with Uprinting.com.  You can find more information about the printing procedure by visiting their Digital Photo Enlargement page and the Digital Photos on Posters page.

What you need to do in order to win

There are 2 basic requirements:

1. Leave a meaningful comment* on 3 articles from the SkyKid.com content. You are free to choose the articles that are of a personal interest to you.

(* meaningful comment: Don’t write “Great article” and leave it at that. Why was it great? Was there a step you agreed with strongly? Or do you disagree? If you disagree always be respectful. Use constructive criticism. Always compliment even if you are also being constructively critical. If you like art, go to the arts section and browse the articles there. Leave meaningful comments for the writer. You will learn new things, help your fellow writers, and probably get a few friend’s requests and new readers. ) source

2. Send a Twitter message to @skykid with a link to an article on the blog which you think might be of interest to other people.

and that’s all there is to it!

All entries will be reviewed by a three member panel of judges who will choose a winner.  The winner will be notified by email and/or a Twitter message

( Note: to be eligible you must fulfill both of the requirements outlined above )

The contest begins on February 18, 2010 and the winner will be announced on March 1, 2010.

Good luck !