Interview with...Tiffany Alvord

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is OK, I sure am. I know I've been kinda absent yesterday, but I have a VERY exciting post for you today. I am doing my second music interview on this blog, with the amazingly sweet and talented Tiffany Alvord. Now, unlike the last time, I do not plan on translating this to a Portuguese post for now, unless I get a good amount of requests for it, because it is a lot of trouble, and I know most of you can understand Engllish. I hope you like this and show Tiffany some love!

Tiffany Alvord is a 19 year old (like me!) American YouTube and now recording artist, whose YouTube channel has more than 10,000 000 views and almost 714,000 subscribers. This week, I got a chance to send her some music and beauty related questions. Below, you can read her answers, where you can see her quirky and charming personality shine through.

1. How and when did you start your YouTube channel?

I started my YouTube Channel April of 2008. I was 15 years old. I had seen some other singers on YouTube becoming successful and popular so I thought I'd give it a try. That's when I decided to make my own YouTube channel.


2. Do you play any instruments beside the piano and guitar? Are you self-taught or did you take classes?

I mainly play the guitar. I taught myself how to play the guitar. As for piano, I took lessons when I was in elementary school. I play what I remember and am trying to learn more on my own now. I also play a little bit of the ukulele. When I was younger I used to play the flute, too.



3. Who are your biggest musical inspirations/influences?

I think one of my biggest inspirations/influences is Taylor Swift. She's such a good role model to follow. Her songs are personal and people can relate to them. She has fun. I think she is very true to herself and that is how I want to be.


4. What are your favorite YouTube channels?

I don't know if I have any favorite YouTube channels. I always like to see what my YouTube friends are up to on their channels, like Christina Grimme, Kurt Schneider, Alex Goot, Megan Nicole, Luke Conard, Jason Chen, Megan & Liz and others. I like to listen to their covers or original songs. It's fun to browse YouTube and just see what's new and most popular. A new favorite channel is probably The Piano Guys. Everyone should check them out!


5. What do you think was your biggest achievement to date?

My biggest achievement would have to be finally coming out with my first album of original songs. It has all my first originals that I posted on YouTube when I first started my channel. Another achievement is that fact that I've been able to tour and travel to so many places.



6. Have you ever watched YouTube beauty videos? What do you think of that community?

Yes, I have. I think it's awesome! I love seeing how different people put different looks together. That is definitely a talent in itself!


7. Do you have a beauty routine? What is it?

I don't think I do anything special or anything I'd call a "beauty routine." I have certain products and make-up that I have found work best for me. I have kind of sensitive skin.


8. Do you wear make up on stage? If so, who does it?

Yes, I always wear make-up on stage or in my videos . I usually do my own make up (: I had my make-up done for a photo-shoot once and I ended up hating all the pictures because it was way too much.


9. You have recently been to China, had you been abroad before? If so where? And where would you like to go next?

Yes, I have and it was such an amazing opportunity and experience to go to China. This was my first time being outside of the USA. I hope there will be many more opportunities in the future. I would love to go to Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands , Australia... (basically everywhere). I love traveling and seeing different places and cultures. I am actually going to Singapore in May for a YouTube concert, so that's what's next and I am really excited!



10. What are your plans for the future?

My plans for the future are to just keep making music and doing what I love. I have new songs that I want to get produced and recorded on a new album. I hope I can do that really soon. I want to keep performing, and touring , and meeting fans, and just stay connected with everyone that has helped me come this far. This is only the beginning for what is to come. It's been a fun journey so far that is hard at times and keeps me very busy and I'm excited to see where it takes me.

I would like to thank Tiffany's Team for this interview and for providing the photos. For more on Tiffany, check out her website and her YouTube page.

Have a great day!

xoxo

A FRIEND IN LONDON em entrevista (Parte II - Português)

Olá a todos. Não sei se leram alguma coisa do post anterior, mas esta é a segunda parte de um post de duas partes muito especial.

Como sabem, este ano eu fiquei a conhecer algumas bandas fantásticas através da Eurovisão. Uma delas é A FRIEND IN LONDON, da Dinamarca, sobre quem eu tenho feito vários posts nos últimos tempos. Eles lançaram o seu segundo single esta semana, "Calling a Friend", e eu tive a oportunidade de os entrevistar para o blog. Espero que gostem!

1. Podem apresentar-se? Tipo nome, idade e instrumento?
- Tim Schou, 24, vocalista e guitarrista
- Sebastian Vinther Olsen, 24, guitarrista e coro
- Ash Damm Bramming, 23, baixista e coro
- Ben Svane, 23, baterista e coro

2. Quem são as vossas bandas preferidas? E quem eram os vossos idolos enquanto cresciam?
- Tim: Favoritos: John Mayer, Justin Bieber, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright Cresceu a ouvir: Westlife, Backstreet Boys, Aaron Carter
Sebastian: Favoritos: Radiohead, Coldplay, The Smiths, Guns & Roses Cresceu a ouvir: Celine Dion, Aqua, Aerosmith
Ash: Favoritos: The Beatles, Tom Waits, Radiohead, Björk, Nirvana Cresceu a ouvir: Metallica, The Smurfs, Black Sabbath
Ben: Favoritos: The Beach Boys, Radiohead, The Beatles Cresceu a ouvir: Spin Doctors, Green Day, Guns & Roses.

3. Como descreveriam o vosso estilo musical, e como é que ele se relaciona com as vossas influências?
Uma mistura entre rock e pop pastilha elástica que reflecte as nossas influências variadas na perfeição

4. Alguma vez escreveram canções em Dinamarquês? Se sim, porque é que preferem o Inglês ao Dinamarquês?
Sim, já escrevemos. Sentimos que é mais fácil expressarmo-nos em Inglês

5. Como surgiu a Eurovisão? Foi ideia vossa or sugestão de alguém?
Nós fomos convidados a tocar "New Tomorrow" na parte dinamasrquesa da Eurovisão e gostamos do estilo da canção e da maneira como se enquadrava no resto do nosso material

6. "New Tomorrow" parece-me sobretudo na mensagem, bastante diferente do resto das vossas canções. Podem contar-me sobre a composição da canção e como foi escolhida para o ESC?
Esta canção é sobre mudar as coisas, numa escala maior ou menor, e não te importares com o que pensam de ti. A mensagem pode ser comparada com "Man in The Mirror" do Michael Jackson e nós vemos a canção como um estilo "We Are The World"

7. Quais foram as vossas participações preferidas do ESC? E o que pensaram da de Portugal?
Entre os nossos favoritos estavam a Holanda, a Irlanda e a Alemanha. A participação de Portugal era bastante diferente, uma canção de protesto, tanto quanto sabemos. É essa a piada da ESC, tem espaço para uma grande diversidade.

8. Quais são os vossos planos para o futuro mais próximo?
Estamos a terminar a nossa digressão na Dinamarca e também temos algumas datas na Alemanha. Além disso, estamos muito entusiasmados para a gravação do nosso album de estreia, mais para o fim do ano, que pretendemos lançar em Fevereiro de 2012

9. O que seria preciso fazer para vos trazer a Portugal?
Nós temos recebido bastante apoio vindo de Portugal e estamos em contacto com editoras em Portugal. O processo seria mais rápido com apoio português online, através do Facebook, Twitter e iTunes e temos bons resultados quando pessoas de vários países pedem as nossas músicas na rádio. Gostariamos imenso de tocar em Portugal


E pronto, é isto. Espero que tenham gostado e que me ajudem na nobre tarefa de os trazer a Portugal (já sabem o que fazer!)

Podem comprar musicas dos AFIL, como "New Tomorrow" e "Calling a Friend" no iTunes.

Podem encontrar os AFIL em http://www.afriendinlondon.com/ , no Youtube e nas redes sociais.

xoxo

My interview with A FRIEND IN LONDON (Part I - English)

Hey everyone. I don't usually  write in English, so this might be strange, but as you may or may not have understood from the title, this is a very special post, so I am making it in two parts. This first one is in English with the original text, and then there will be a translated version for the general public.

Olá a todos. Eu sei que normalmente não escrevo em Inglês, mas como devem ter percebido pelo título, este post é muito especial, por isso eu vou fazê-lo em duas partes. Esta é a primeira, com o texto original, e depois haverá uma versão traduzida.

So this year I have learned about some awesome acts through Eurovision, and you may have noticed one of them is A FRIEND IN LONDON from Denmark, who I have been giving regular reports on here in the blog. They have just released their second single "Calling a Friend" this week, and I was fortunate enough to get an interview with them. Hope you like it!

1. Can you tell me about yourselves? Like name, age, instrument?
- Tim Schou, 24, singer and guitarist
- Sebastian Vinther Olsen, 24, guitarist and backing vocal
- Ash Damm Bramming, 23, bassist and backing vocal
- Ben Svane, 23, drummer and backing vocal


2. Who are your favorite bands and who were your idols growing up?
- Tim: FAV: John Mayer, Justin Bieber, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright. GREW UP W: Westlife, Backstreet Boys, Aaron Carter
Sebastian: FAV: Radiohead, Coldplay, The Smiths, Guns & Roses. GREW UP W: Celine Dion, Aqua, Aerosmith.
Ash: FAV: The Beatles, Tom Waits, Radiohead, Björk, Nirvana, GREW UP W: Metallica, The Smurfs, Black Sabbath
Ben: FAV: The Beach Boys, Radiohead, The Beatles. GREW UP W: Spin Doctors, Green Day, Guns & Roses.


3. How would you define your musical style, and how does it relate to your influences?
A mixture between rock and boyband pop which reflects our mixed influences perfectly.


4. Have you written songs in Danish before? If so, do you prefer English to Danish and why?
Yes we have. We feel it's easier to express ourselves in English in a colorful way.


5. How did Eurovision come about? Was it your idea or did anyone suggest it?
We were offered to perform New Tomorrow at the Danish part of Eurovision and we really liked the vibe of the song and felt that it fitted our previous material very well.


6. "New Tomorrow" seems to me to be quite diferent, especially in its message from your other songs...Can you tell me more about how that song was written and why it was chosen for ESC?
The song is about changing things whether it's in on a bigger or smaller scale and not worrying about what other people think about you. The message could be compared to Michael Jackson's 'Man In The Mirror' and we see it as a 'We Are The World'-kinda song.

7. What were your favorite entries from ESC? And what did you think of Portugal's entry?
Among our favorites were The Netherlands, Ireland and Germany. Portugal's entry was rather different, a protest song as far as we're concerned. That's the funny thing about ESC that it has room for such great diversity.

8. What are your plans for the near future?
We are finishing our Danish tour right now and we also have gigs coming up in Germany. We're also looking very much forward to recording our debut album later this year, which we are looking to release around February 2012

9. What would it take for you to come grace Portugal with an appearence?
We have seen a lot of support coming our way from Portugal and currently we are corresponding with labels in Portugal as well. This process would run much faster with a lot of online support on facebook, twitter and iTunes from people in Portugal and we have also seen good results when our fans in various countries ask radio stations to play our music. We would love to play in Portugal.

And this is it! Hope you liked, and help me with the big task of getting the boys to come to Portugal (you know what to do!).

You can buy AFIL's songs, like "New Tomorrow" and "Calling a Friend" on iTunes.

And you can find AFIL @ http://www.afriendinlondon.com/, Youtube, and the social networks.

xoxo