Picking up the MB clues

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Comment by robin rehder on January 29, 2015 at 9:03pm

Hi Sylvie, Thanks for the articles, also thanks for someone's personal birthday song. I have to agree with Michael. Sam Smith is awesome. I thought of Michael right away in hearing him sing the 2 songs he has out.

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 29, 2015 at 4:05pm

Hi everyone, well since the previous YouTube video with Michael's E-card has been removed, here’s another person’s personalized video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrAIr4I7ICQ

Enjoy! Thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie :D

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 29, 2015 at 3:13pm

Hi everyone, Michael was in China yesterday January 28  and Robin shared with us the reason why, with the following tweets:

“In Shanghai for the Chinese New Year Spring Festival on Dragon TV. Wishing everyone happiness & prosperity in this new year of the goat!!”

“I sang Nessun Dorma with Wei Song of China's Three Tenors! Powerful. I started with When a Man Loves a Woman”

From what Sylvia said, Chinese New Year is on Feb 19 and Michael confirmed this has been recorded to air at a later date.  If videos pop up, I’ll be sure to add them. That’s the news for now, thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie :D

 

 

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 22, 2015 at 1:58am

Hi everyone, here's an awesome article Petra found and shared:

In Concert- Michael Bolton- Palm Beach Illustrated

Jennifer Pfaff January 21 2015

No one knows more about soulful love songs than Michael Bolton. The charming crooner is responsible for hit power ballads such as “When A Man Loves A Woman” and “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You,” not to mention his more recent contribution in the 2011 viral YouTube parody “Jack Sparrow” with The Lonely Island.

The singer/songwriter will perform at the Sunrise Theatre for the Performing Arts in Fort Pierce on January 25; tickets cost $65-$75. Before his performance, Bolton talked with PBI about his evolving career and personal passions.

-Tell us about your songwriting process: What inspires you, and how do you start composing?

- The process always varies depending on what I'm writing for and who I'm writing with. Recently, I've been working on a song specifically for a film, and the inspiration came from the film itself, which has a very powerful father-daughter relationship that really resonates with me since I have three daughters. So I'm writing from a very personal place and pouring my heart into it. I also have been writing with young collaborators for contemporary artists, so that approach is very different.

-  What artist or band would you want to collaborate with and why?

- I have a list, but I really appreciate the soulful, vocal power of artists like Sam Smith, Kelly Clarkson and Rihanna. There are many different genres of music that I love performing, so in the more classical world I'd like to sing with Renee Fleming. I'd also love to perform some soulful blues with Bonnie Raitt.

 -What’s the last song that played in your iPod?

 -"Stay with Me" by Sam Smith.

-  You’re known for your love power ballads with soulful lyrics. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for love?

 -I would have to write a book to answer this one.

-  Not many people think of you as a heavy-metal or hard-rock singer, although your music career started in those genres. Why did you transition? And is there still an inner Ozzy Osbourne part of you?

 -I actually started more R&B, soulful. I transitioned into the hard rock genre when my management at the time decided I should try fronting a band, which was Blackjack. We did two albums, which didn't really succeed. Meanwhile, I had started seeing some success as a songwriter, and my songs were being recorded and released by artists like Patti LaBelle, Joe Cocker, The Pointer Sisters, Kenny Rogers and eventually Cher, KISS and Barbra Streisand. The game changer in my career as an artist came when Al Teller (the then-president of Columbia Records) told me to stop giving all my songs away to other artists and to keep them for myself. That's when my artist career took off. But if you really look at the repertoire of music that I've written and recorded, it's very diverse. It's not all ballads; there's standards, rock, blues, R&B, classical cross-over, pop. What's most rewarding to me is delivering a great song.

  -“Jack Sparrow” was a hit, garnering 128 million views on YouTube—and showed your playful, goofier side. What ultimately made you decide to participate in the parody and give fans something unexpected?

- It was strange to me that the general public didn't know my more playful side, because I've always been the prankster, the class clown, even as a kid (not that I've grown up). So doing something funny that would be shared on such a massive scale was very attractive and natural for me. The fact that Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone are a genius team who came up with a brilliant concept made this irresistible. It's been a lot of fun developing more projects in the comedic space now.

-  Besides music, what is another one of your passions or hobbies?

 -I love playing tennis and golf whenever and wherever I can. I'm very competitive and will pick up a game of just about anything—ping pong, bowling, Scrabble. But most of my time is focused on my career or my family.

-What do you enjoy about South Florida?

 -It's always great to be able to tour around Florida during the winter, because I get the best of both worlds—fun, supportive fans on show days; great friends and phenomenal golf courses on the voice-rest days in between!

-The Michael Bolton Charities assists at-risk women and children. Why is this cause, particularly violence among women, of personal importance to you?

 -As a struggling artist in the early years, I verged on homelessness with a family of five, and that was very traumatic. When I finally had success over a decade later, I wanted to find ways of addressing homelessness in America. What I discovered while researching the shelters was a majority of women and children there as a result of domestic violence. That's when my focus shifted on advocating for those victims and working to eradicate the epidemic. Today, there is more awareness, but there is still so much to be done, especially in sending the right message to kids at a young age that you can never be a real man if you're violent with a woman.

-What’s your life motto?

 -Do what you love, and never give up.

    http://www.palmbeachillustrated.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.detai...

 I'm not surprised, but I'm thrilled that Michael enjoys Sam Smith too! :D Well anyway, that's the news for now, thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie :D

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 21, 2015 at 5:00am

Hi everyone, here’s another fun video of Michael, behind the scenes on making the E-card video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qvLXSqVGFI

enjoy! That's the news for now, thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie :D

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 20, 2015 at 5:20pm

Hi again everyone, well it seems I’ve posted just a few minutes too soon: the video/audio to the birthday song is on YouTube and Sylvia found and shared it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoSolwPmACk&feature=youtu.be

I don’t know how long it’ll be there, or whether this is intended as free publicity for “American Greetings”, but it’s there now so enjoy! Thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie :D

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 20, 2015 at 4:56pm

Hi everyone, well today is the big day: Petra has found and shared the link to Michael’s “American Greetings” birthday song page!

    http://www.americangreetings.com/ecards/happy-birthday/michael-bolt...

I haven’t checked the details, including how to use the site from other countries and whether it's blind-friendly, but this is very cool! That’s the news for now, thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie :D

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 14, 2015 at 5:27pm

Hi everyone, have I got a doozie for you today! Petra just shared this breathtaking article from the New Times in Palm Beach! It’s self-explanatory so read on:

Michael Bolton on Lunching With Mike Judge, Writing His Autobiography, and Singing the Motown Classics | New Times Broward-Palm Beach
By David RollandWed., Jan. 14 2015 at 7:11 AM

One of the most surprising things you learn when interviewing singer Michael Bolton is that he has a sense of humor about himself.
Not only did he make recent appearances roasting himself on the sitcom Two and a Half Men and record the self-skewering "Jack Sparrow" with Lonely Island, but he also thinks the 1999 comedy Office Space -- in which a character bearing his name calls him an "ass-clown" -- is "hilarious." He even wants to be part of any potential sequel.
It's probably pretty easy to be forgiving when you've sold 75 million albums. After years struggling to make it as a hard rock singer with the band Blackjack, Bolton found his niche in the late '80s reinterpreting classic R&B songs like "When A Man Loves A Woman" and "Georgia on My Mind." He continues this tradition with his newest album of Motown covers Ain't No Mountain High Enough.
In a far reaching interview with New Times where no topic was out of bounds, Michael Bolton told us about his love for Motown, how he keeps his golden vocal chords in shape and, yes, he even shares his thoughts about Office Space.

New Times: Who were the most important mentors in your musical career and what did you learn from them?

Michael Bolton: Ray Charles showed me the great joy of singing and taught me how to have a certain kind of freedom in interpretation, to make a song my own. Luciano Pavarotti made me realize I was a tenor and the discipline required to support my voice. Bob Dylan revealed the poetic genius in songwriting. My father taught me to never give up and my mother to always believe in myself. And of course, Reverend King taught us all that the greatest truth in life is love, which ultimately compels everything I do.

Last year, you published an autobiography The Soul of It All. What were the toughest memories you had to explore?

Most of the memories were very inspiring and the process reminded me of what an amazing and blessed life I've lived. The harder moments to revisit were the starving artist years with a family and children to provide for -- things like rent checks bouncing and frozen peas for dinner. Those years of struggle, and the deep and powerful lessons that came with them, made success and everything else more meaningful.

You first made your name with Blackjack, a hard rock band. Have you ever been tempted to revisit the songs or the genre?

There seems to be a lot of interest lately in my rock days. I could definitely have fun revisiting a project like that. Maybe it's time to give my old buddy Bruce Kulick (former guitarist of Blackjack) a call.

Your newest album is a tribute to Motown. How did you pare down which songs would make the cut?

It was a near impossible task. I must have listened to over 100 songs and could easily make a few more volumes with songs that didn't make this first album. There are some songs that I'm vocally or lyrically very drawn to, and there are some beloved hits that you just can't leave out, like the title song.

Are you working on any music now?

I'm always working on ideas for new songs and albums. I recently wrote the title song for a forthcoming Russell Crowe film called Fathers & Daughters. What inspired that song was the theme of the story, which is a father daughter relationship. I have three daughters and was very moved watching the powerful performances between Russell and Amanda Seyfried. It struck me on a deep level and the song is written as a letter from a father to a daughter.

What are your tricks to keeping your voice in top shape for performances?
There aren't too many tricks, just the reality that every performance depends on the health of two little muscles in your throat and you have to protect them at all costs. Sometimes that means avoiding certain foods, keeping voice rest in between shows, and bowing out of the post-show antics. Especially being a tenor, singing at such a high range which stresses and inflames the chords, I'm very vigilant about keeping them healthy.

What can fans expect at your concert at Hard Rock Live?

I always want to deliver the greatest hits, because that's what the fans ask for, and it's the soundtrack that's kept us together over the years. But each show will have a few surprises as well, with special guests and new songs from recent albums. Recently, we've been receiving some fan requested songs, which we're now starting to put back into the setlist

How did your recent appearance on Two and a Half Men come about?

Initially I got a call to do the cameo in the episode where Walden proposes to his girlfriend and he brings me along to sing "When a Man Loves a Woman." Chuck Lorre and the entire team of producers and writers were such a pleasure to work with and just kept rewriting the pages to make the scenes funnier and funnier as the week went on. Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer and the whole cast were unbelievably gracious, making me feel entirely comfortable while laughing my face off. When it came time for Walden and Alan's wedding, they saw an opportunity to bring back some of the jokes, and again we had a blast. There's one more cameo I'm making before the season's up, and I have a feeling we'll find more ways to work together in the future.

Since that shows you're able to laugh at yourself, what were your thoughts of the movie Office Space where a character shared your name and was frustrated by it?

I actually had lunch with Mike Judge (writer/director of Office Space) recently and he asked me what I thought of his film. I told him I'm a huge fan of his and have autographed countless DVDs at my concerts over the years. The irony is that the movie's character is the most pathetic of them all, so the fact that he's not a fan of mine is actually a compliment. What I'd really like to do is make a sequel with the real Michael Bolton giving the character some life advice, cause life isn't doing so well for him and the poor guy's clearly in need of some direction. At the end of the day, considering the kind of career I've had, the question of talent is not something that keeps me up at night. Even with great success, you've got to always be able to laugh and have fun too.

An Evening with Michael Bolton, 8 p.m., Friday, January 23, at Hard Rock Live, One Seminole Way, Hollywood. Tickets cost $45 to $65 plus fees. Visit seminolehardrockhollywood.com.
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/countygrind/2015/01/michael_bolto...
OMG, I was so excited reading about his new projects and the fact that Michael said he would actually start including some of our song suggestions in the setlist tested the hold on my bodily functions! Lol Wow, seriously, I haven’t been this excited about an article since I discovered the first hints about the Motown documentary... Anyway, enjoy! That’s the news for now, thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie :D

Comment by robin rehder on January 11, 2015 at 4:01am

Sylvia, this song Michael sang in English & the gentleman sang in Spanish seems quite sad. Love the melody. Though I don't understand Spanish, I like the sound of some of their music.

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 11, 2015 at 1:52am

Hi everyone, today, I bring you a couple of articles that Petra found, about China’s “Huading Awards”. From what I understand, they sound like the global “People’s choice awards” and our Michael received a lifetime achievement award! I was thinking that Michael is a little young to receive one of those, but it sounds very prestigious and I’m sure this will be the first of many! :D Here are the links:

http://en.hikpop.com/post/read_p.html?p=125762

The above link and this following one:

http://thehollywoodtimes.net/2015/01/09/michael-bolton-and-cody-sim...

...are similar in explaining about the awards, so I’m posting the text to the latter here.

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Michael Bolton and Cody Simpson Saluted at the Huading Music Awards in Shanghai | TheHollywoodTimes

 

Michael Bolton and Cody Simpson Saluted at the Huading Music Awards in Shanghai

Posted on January 9, 2015by Valerie Milano

GLOBAL CELEBRITIES ACCEPT HIGH HONORS IN CHINA AT LEADING AWARDS SHOW BASED ON FAN VOTES ***

Huading Awards Broadcast to 800 Million+ Chinese Households

Los Angeles – January 9, 2015 – Michael Bolton and Cody Simpson arrived in Shanghai to accept awards for their global music achievements. The Huading Awards are China’s premier awards show where the honorees are determined by fan votes and recognized as the best from various genres of entertainment, including film, television, dance, theater, and music.

Michael Bolton accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award for his musical accomplishments. Bolton has achieved eight top 10 albums, two number one singles on the Billboard charts, as well as two Grammy awards for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance, six American Music Awards, and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The award for International Male Artist was given to Australian pop singer, Cody Simpson. Simpson released his debut single, “iYiYi” (featuring Flo Rida) in 2010 and gained widespread popularity while opening for Justin Bieber’s U.S. and European Believe Tour. In 2014, Cody sold out US and European tours, further establishing his international fame. His latest album, Surfers Paradise, was released July 2013 on Atlantic Records.

The Huading Awards have built a proven reputation for awarding excellence in entertainment over the past decade since they were founded by Global Talent Media Group (GTMG), a Beijing based multi-media company.  The organization is engaged in print, web and TV media content, consumer market research and public opinion surveys.  Founded in 2006, GTMG is a division of Hua Ding Tai Fu Investments Group, with interests in the media, real estate, and automotive industries.  Expanding to the United States, GTMG opened a new Los Angeles based division on January 1, 2015.

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That’s the news for now, thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie :D 

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