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2014, The Year I Stuck to My New Year’s Resolutions | “Almost Is Never Enough” (Cover)

2014, The Year I Stuck to My New Year’s Resolutions | “Almost Is Never Enough” (Cover)

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I can finally cross off one of the top 3 items on my bucket list — I performed at my first open mic!!

Every year at Penn, the Inspiration and the Excelano Project collaborate for a night of love talk and slow jams. As an Inspiration alum I had already planned on attending the show, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take on one of my greatest fear — performing solo.

For once, right after I decided to perform, I had the perfect song in mind. “Almost Is Never Enough,” a power-ballad on Ariana Grande’s debut album Yours Truly was instantly one of my favorites off the top-charted release. The song, a duet with The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes, is the perfect mash-up of 90’s-inspired R&B, with the flair of a contemporary anthem.

Additional photos and video from the show coming soon!

J Music: Hershey Park Debut, All in the Family

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During our family trip to Hershey Park, my cousins and I (3/4 of the group formerly known as J5) couldn’t walk past the studio without jumping into the booth!  Check out our rendition of “Weak” – it’s not that bad for one take, only having 5 minutes to arrange and rehearse – lol. Excuse the failed harmonies; we were a bit too ambitious.

Funny enough, Coko of SWV is our (distant) cousin, so we kept it all in the family!

Here’s my solo version of “Weak” from the beginning of my YouTube days in 2008:

J Music: Clarity (Zedd Cover) – Tori Kelly

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Tori, my inspiration for Introduction to Guitar. The course started July 19, but check it out if you don’t mind playing catch-up. (I’ll keep you posted.)

Coursera: Introduction to Guitar

Grasp the essentials needed to begin playing acoustic or electric guitar. You’ll learn an easy approach to get you playing quickly, through a combination of exploring the instrument, performance technique, and basic music theory.

                         by Thaddeus Hogarth (Berklee College of Music)