Columbia Records has announced that it has signed the well-known indie band Walk Off The Earth, whose current YouTube video, a five-person, one guitar cover of “Somebody That I Used to Know,” has racked up 50 million views on YouTube in less than a month.

The powerful fan response to the video has turned the five-year-old Canadian group into a media phenomenon and propelled them onto American network television, where a posted video of their appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show received a half-million views in less than a week.

In fact, Walk Off The Earth’s version of “Somebody That I Used To Know” saw the highest Billboard debut since April 2011, blasting onto the charts at #14 with over 70,000 singles sold to date. The viral effect has been international as well – the song hit #1 on iTunes in Sweden and Germany as well as WOTE’s native Canada, where the track has achieved digital gold status.

The band has already gotten thumbs-up from an impressive roster of show business veterans, including actor Russell Crowe, Coldplay, Mumford and Sons, Wiz Khalifa (they covered his song “Roll Up”), Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest and Adele. Their version of her hit “Someone Like You” has had 3 million YouTube views.

WOTE’s presence on Facebook has grown exponentially as well since the video was first posted on Jan. 5. They now have 300,000 people who “like” them – an 85 percent jump in just three weeks; in addition, their page on Wikipedia has been averaging 10,000 page views a day.

Goyte featuring Kimbra’s original video for “Somebody That I Used to Know” was an internet sensation on its own before Walk Off The Earth’s Gianni Luminati decided it was a perfect song for his band members, known for their creative remakes of current songs. (After seeing the Walk Off The Earth version, Goyte tweeted his approval, calling the new video “hilarious and brilliant.”) In the video, the five play the same guitar simultaneously as Ryan Marshall, Luminati and Sarah Blackwood trade off on vocals. The other band members are Joel Cassady on drums/percussion and Mike Taylor on keyboard.

But the Burlington, Ontario-based Walk Off The Earth, as their loyal fans will attest, is hardly an overnight sensation. Together since 2006, the five accomplished performers have remade dozens of songs and self-released 2 full-length albums of original material, including the first single, “These Times.”

Their ability to take a familiar song and give it an innovative twist has made their YouTube channel a hit, with 280,000 subscribers and 80 million combined views of their videos of both originals and covers. ”It’s been a crazy, dream-come-true moment for us,” said Luminati. “Our fans brought us to where we are now,” said Blackwood. “We will continue to play for them for a long time to come.”

It was Luminati – a musician since childhood who specializes in layering musical sounds and beat-boxing – who first envisioned the five group members playing the same guitar.

Once he heard the Goyte tune, “I knew right away it was the perfect song for the idea,” he recalls. “I started messing around with different parts seeing if it would work.” Once he realized it could be done, he asked his bandmates to learn their individual parts before attempting to make the video.

Once reunited, he admits they had trouble getting all the pieces to fit together: “It was pretty frustrating.” And once they turned on the camera it took 30 takes until they finally succeeded at around 4 a.m., when Luminati uploaded the video to their YouTube channel. (“All of our videos are one cut because I don’t know how to edit,” he admits).

“I went to bed at five or six in the morning, and by the time I woke up around 11 a.m. it was well on its way around the world,” he remembers. “We were already getting talked about on local radio stations.”

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/walkofftheearth

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Thousands of talented performers and excited spectators gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland for the annual Fringe Festival.

The three week long festival took place in August and celebrated a multitude of performing arts. Everything from dance shows, concerts, comedic acts, musicals, and exhibits were performed during the Fringe Festival, making it one of the most popular creative arts festivals in the world.

The festival started in 1947, the Fringe Festival has grown tremendously since its original showcasing of just eight theater groups. The festival now welcomes thousands of acts who want to share a message with their audience.

Concerts are one of the main attractions at Fringe. Throughout the duration of the festival, hundreds of musicians lit up venues across Edinburgh with catchy tunes and had crowds singing and dancing.

Singer Adriana Spina performed at the Acoustic Music Centre at St. Brides, singing songs from her latest album entitled “Never Coming Home.” Spina performed at Fringe in the past, but 2011’s festival was the biggest so far.

The Cast, a Scottish band also took the stage at Fringe. They have received positive acclaim from UK’s popular band, Oasis. The Cast performed at The Edge Festival at HMV Picture House and was a crowd pleaser. Coming together with Fringe and the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, The Edge Festival brought over 40 musical performers to the stage, including Panic! At The Disco, Wiz Khalifa, and Jimmy Eat World.

Comedy shows throughout the three week run of Fringe were constantly bringing laughter and a light hearted atmosphere to the city. The Seven Deadly Sings  told jokes through musical comedy on topics including classical musician Beethoven and contemporary artist Elton John.

Comedian Juliet Meyers brought her stand up comedy routine entitled “Juliet Meyers: I’m Not Sparticus!” to the stage. She has received positive reviews by BBC and was one of the highlights in comedy during Fringe.

The Fringe Festival had shows for everyone, no matter what age. Children’s events were widely available throughout the festival. Children were able to watch a show called “Through the Looking Glass (And What Alice Found There),” a playful revamped performance of the classic “Alice in Wonderland.”

In an interactive dance lesson, children and parents were able to attend Flamenco for Kids, where they were able to learn and dance the flamenco. Children were encouraged to put on costumes and play instruments; a fun activity for the whole family. Dance performances were not limited for children. There was a variety of exceptional dance acts showcasing their talents at Fringe.

Migrations Cirque was one such act who danced across the stage at Gryphons Venues at The Point Hotel. Migrations Cirque is a collaboration of international dancers from places such as Germany, New York, and Hawaii. The show offered spectacular dances, movements, and sounds through an inspirational piece of work.

Swimming With My Mother was another dance performance that told the story of a mother and son relationship. Danced to the soundtrack of music from Nat King Cole, the duet piece was a favorite at Fringe.

The capital city of Scotland was bursting at the seams with creative talent during the month of August. The volume of performances made for one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world. The festival was easily accessible to the public as many performances were free. The annual Fringe Festival did not disappoint and was an exciting experience for people of all ages.

Stephen Finn / Shutterstock.com

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Have you ever heard a song and flipped out wanting to know the artist and the song name? Hoping that you’ll remember it long enough so you can go home and download it as soon as you can ? Well, thats what it’s like for almost all people who have heard of Crystal Seth, and even myself.

Once a freshman at Pennsylvania State University Altoona campus I heard a cover to Airplanes by B.O.B at a frat party. I remember clearly everyone whispering in excitement who is this? And then followed that you heard  “He’s goes here?!”

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Penn., Seth Goldsmith (Crystal Seth) has been attending Pennsylvania State University since May 2009, and is now a junior at the main campus. The 20 year old still juggles his career in music while focusing on school. With three mixtapes out and over 80,000 views currently on his YouTube channel, Crystal Seth is anything but a amateur.

His most recent mixtape “Self Portrait” already has more than 700 downloads, and two music videos to go along with it. His mixtapes and songs are popular for everyone and anyone in any mood, or any place. parties, loudly in your car, or while doing homework in your dorm room, Crystal Seth is a college student’s new favorite artist from Pennsylvania State University all the way to the University of Massachusetts.

How did you first start getting into rapping?

I started rapping when I was 15. I was friends with Mac Miller and my friend’s older brother is [an] established Pittsburgh artist: Beedie. I spent more time with them and it became all the more clear to me that hip-hop was something I was interested in pursuing. I didn’t always think that I would be as indulged in it as I am now I just did it for fun. People along the way that have listened to me are the ones that have pushed me to take this more seriously, like my manager Eric Caplan.

Has the college experienced helped your career?

College has definitely helped me network my music locations that I wouldn’t be able to access being a resident of Pittsburgh, though I’d say the majority of my fan base still falls within the city of steel.

How do you balance school and music?

To be honest it is really difficult to balance school and music. For instance I achieved a 3.4 GPA the 1st semester of my sophomore year, in the second semester I was preparing for my debut mixtape ”Self Portrait” and with driving to New Jersey every weekend to record you struggle to stay organized and I definitely wasn’t on a good sleep schedule. Needless to say my GPA declined a little bit but nothing too serious, I was able to stay on top of my work load for the most part.

Where do you get inspiration for your lyrics?

I get inspiration for my lyrics from my life, where the creativity comes in isn’t just talking straight forward, you have to make your situation seem foreign to people but you also want them to relate to it. I’m also very inspired by other artists; listening to certain people may give me an idea or enlighten me to want to go and tackle something new. Whether it be lyrics, flow or song structure. I’m a big fan of the Pittsburgh hip hop scene; I listen to a lot of burgh music. I would advise any artist or even a fan to stay up on your local music, ignoring what your city has to say is like rooting for the away team.

Where do you see your career a year from now?

It’s hard to say where my career will be in a year, the hip-hop industry is so difficult to break into. I have a little buzz rolling right now and I’m hoping that it will continue to grow. I can, however, say with confidence that I will keep growing as a writer and as an artist. I’ve learned so much by just doing it, putting in the time and effort in music is the only way to grow. I plan to continue doing so, and the difference in my music since last year is like night and day; I believe it’ll be like that a year from now as well.

How would you describe your career right now?

My career now is fantastic. I think regardless of where this will take me I’ll always remember this period of my life. I’m hungry you know? I love making music, I love grinding and achieving new milestones. The team that I have is the best thing ever, we’re all very close and work well together. In terms of accomplishments I’d say opening for Wiz Khalifa, getting shows period and collaborating with some artists that I’ve known of since I was like 14. I’ve worked with people who have done tracks with Max B,  Mac Miller, and Juicy J. Not a lot of people can say that.

What’s your major? Are you going to continue with school as your career furthers?

I’m definitely going to stay in school, I’m a telecommunications major and my minor is music management. After I graduate I’m going to go to a school where I’ll be a credited music engineer after a six-month intensive in studio program, that’s sort of like my grad school.

Is there any advice you would give to artists that are trying to get their voice heard?

My advice to anyone trying to get music heard is don’t rush. Perfect your work, find your niche before you release something… be yourself or you will be laughed at. So focus on the music, with the Internet as its main supplier (mostly free) music gets consumed so quickly that if you put out a good project it won’t get overlooked, and if it does, you’ll know it, and that means you aren’t ready yet.

I still believe I’m not ready to blow up yet, I still have too much to learn. It’s a long process, it’s like sports, there’s a lot of good ball players in college, but if you aren’t a freak of nature and you can’t separate yourself from the next man, you wont make it.

If you havent heard of any of his music, you will soon. Crystal Seth’s talent is something worthwhile to look out for. You can download Seth’s music off of his facebook fan page ..www.facebook.com/CrystalSethAddicts or on youtube at www.youtube.com/crystalseth412.

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