He’s back and he sounds nothing like we last remember. In fact, at (almost) 19 years of age, he looks nothing like we last remember.
First discovered when he was only 12 years old, Greyson Chance’s return to the music industry was officially announced late last year. In case you missed it, the young (still young!) musical genius surprised the world when he rocked up on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (where he was first introduced some years ago) in November 2015 for a quick catch up session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULMZORmUuPM
We know that you’re thinking, “They grow up so fast. Sob.”
It has been years, but we hear that he’s ready to meet his fans once again and perhaps take the opportunity to show a more mature side of him this time around. He’s even due to perform at an intimate showcase in Kuala Lumpur sometime next month ;)
But before we get into that, allow us to take you down memory lane with some fun facts about gifted singer-songwriter:
1. American singer-songwriter Greyson Michael Chance was born on 16th August 1997. The youngest child of Scott and Lisa Chance, he has an older sister named Alexa and an older brother, Tanner. Both of whom also make music.
2. Greyson began playing the piano at age 8 and had 3 years of piano lessons. The lessons would serve him well as his April 2010 performance of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” at a 6th-grade music festival went viral on YouTube, gaining over 56 million views and counting as of May 2016.
3. Aside from the piano, the multi-talented kid can also play the ukulele. However, you’d be surprised to find out that he has never had any voice lessons. So them mad singing skillz and the amazing Greyson Chance vocal range, it’s the real deal, yo.
4. The success of his “Paparazzi” cover was so phenomenal that it later earned him a spot in the popular American talk show hosted by the one and only Ellen DeGeneres, the multiple Daytime Emmy award-winning “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, in May 2010.
4. Because “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is taped in Los Angeles, California, Ellen DeGeneres had to fly him in from Edmond, Oklahoma specifically for the show. Greyson’s flight to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” marked his first flight, and he was very scared.
5. Ellen DeGeneres was the first person to invite Greyson on a TV show. The host was so impressed by his talents that she created a record label, eleveneleven, so that Greyson could release an album.
6. In speaking about Lady Gaga, Greyson said, “Lady Gaga is my biggest inspiration. Her voice and songs are the parts of art, and Gaga has already changed my life. If she didn’t create Paparazzi song, I would never be like this. She’s so incredible.” Well, he was in for a real surprise while taping “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” when Lady Gaga rang him up during the interview!
7. Even from the very beginning, he wasn’t just good at covers. He made his own music! 2 of his original compositions, “Stars” and “Broken Hearts“, gained over 6 and 8 million views respectively on his YouTube channel.
8. He once revealed that he’s a big fan of American rock band Augustana, adding that their songs are his inspiration. In September 2010, Greyson uploaded a cover of Augustana’s “Fire”, which featured him singing along to the song while playing the piano. That video has garnered more than 1.8 million views to date.
9. His debut single, “Waiting Outside the Lines”, was released in October 2010, while his debut album, “Hold On ‘Til the Night”, was released almost a year later in August 2011. The music video for “Unfriend You”, a single off “Hold On ‘Til the Night”, featured a cameo from “Victorious” star Ariana Grande.
10. Greyon’s first Southeast Asia tour kicked off in 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where in addition to a showcase, he was also invited to perform at the Malaysian Music Industry Awards show with Malaysian YouTube sensation Najwa Latif. He was the first foreign artiste to be invited since 1999.
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11. Even at the tender age of 15, Greyson knew exactly what he wanted. He told us exclusively previously, “People underestimate me a lot because of my age. I write my own music and people are constantly very surprised by that when they hear that – because they think, oh Greyson is only 15 years old, he can’t do this, he can’t do that. And I’m kinda just like..get out of my way, let me show you that I can do it! It makes me angry because, I think now, especially in these times, no matter how young you are..if you’re determined and you want it, you can totally go out and do it if you work hard enough!”
11. As his music career became more and more demanding, Greyson spent very little time with his siblings, both of whom he’s very close to. In fact, he’s so close to his sister, Alexa, that he goes to her for lyric help. So whenever he missed them, he’d call or Skype them.
12. In 2011, Greyson made his first foray into acting. He played a younger version of Jimmy Chance, the protagonist of Fox’s comedy, “Raising Hope”, in the series’ 2nd season premiere. The episode aired on 20th September 2011.
13. His favourite ice cream flavour is “Black Cherry” from Bahama Ice. He’s such a loyal fan of Bahama Ice that he once had a snow cone named “Greyson Michael Chance” after him at Bahama Ice in Edmond, Oklahoma.
14. Growing up, he was often compared to teen sensation Justin Bieber despite having different musical styles because they’re both around the same age (there are only 3 years between them). However, being the good sport that he is, Greyson said that he’s flattered to be compared to Justin. And yes, they’ve met.
15. Greyson mentioned that he’d love to work with Amy Winehouse, Hayley Williams (Paramore vocalist), and Taylor Swift. At one point in time, 30% of the music in his iPod are Taylor Swift’s songs. Also, he once showed us his Amy Winehouse wallpaper on his iPhone. Not sure if that has changed over the years ;)
16. Speaking of collaborations, could he secretly be a fan of electronic dance music? Because Greyson was recently featured on a track by tyDi and Jack Novak titled “Oceans“, which was released on 19th February 2016. Dare we say that it’s actually pretty good!
17. His family is of German, English, Polish, and Czech ancestry but when asked about a language that he wants to learn, Greyson chose French. He revealed, “I always want to be fluent in French. I think French is a part of an art. And, I like the way it sounds.”
18. Chart-topping pop icons like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, One Direction have got their own dedicated fandoms e.g. Swifties, Beliebers, Directioners, respectively. But not Greyson, no. Because he has not one, but two fandoms – Enchancers and Greysonators – with very different characteristics (or so we’ve read). Greysonators are unstoppable supporters of Greyson’s career, who would really stop at nothing to “terminate” his haters, while Enchancers just..love Greyson eternally.
19. With August right around the corner, his showcase in June sounds like the perfect time to celebrate his 19th birthday. Ah, but Greyson is not the biggest fan of birthday parties. “I actually don’t like parties. I hate birthday parties! Because it’s just like, oh great..another year has gone by. I’m one year older,” he said. So put those balloons away and cancel the clown/magician please.
Greyson Chance recently made his comeback with a new EP titled, “Somewhere Over My Head”. Get it off iTunes or stream it via Spotify.
We’ll leave you now with Greyson Chance’s live performance of “Afterlife”, the official lead single off his EP. Enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeMhplHHAkw
19 shades of Greyson Chance not quite enough? Let’s make it 50! If you’ve got questions that you’d like us to ask Greyson when he’s in town, leave them in the comments below and we’ll get them to him personally ;)
For more information, hit up Greyson Chance’s website or Facebook page. Alternatively, you could visit Universal Music Malaysia’s Facebook page.
Sources: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Greyson Chance (Wiki), Fanpop, greysonchance.proboards.com, Billboard, vitanovato, greyson97, Bahama Ice, CandyMag / Featured image: Universal Music Malaysia.
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