They appear in Kidz Bop commercials, shill for McDonald’s and Macy’s, and star on a YouTube channel with almost 18 million views in a little more than a year.
Doing A&R for Kidz Bop has to be one of the least stressful jobs in music. Kidz Bop is now periodically replenished with personable preteens who are promoted almost as furiously as their albums, which are still covers of hit pop songs. And so they shifted to a star-centric concept. Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld, the two record executives who created Kidz Bop, could easily have kept on with that successful formula, putting out albums of covers performed by anonymous kids, but they realized that the product would be even more attractive to its audience if those cheerful voices were attached to identifiable personalities.
Kidz bop kids kidz bop series#
Kidz Bop was formed in 2002 and, for the first seven years and 16 records, was essentially a marketing concept-a popular series of compilation albums featuring a rotating cast of young session singers who covered pop hits. Performed in the national "Can't Touch This" Eggo Waffle commercialīiographical information provided by Kidz Bop.Illustrates his own comic books and is perfecting his special effects makeup skills.“The others had jelled and were great as just four, so there was no need to recast a fifth kid.” Matt, Bredia, Ashlynn, and Grant each come from a different part of the country, but for roughly 10 months a year they’re together, practicing, recording, performing at concerts, and appearing at autograph signings, charity events, and on TV. There used to be five, but Jayna Brown left last year “to pursue other opportunities,” says Sasha Junk, senior vice president for marketing for Kidz Bop. They were chosen in 2013 after a long national search. Each goes publicly by first name only and fits a specific role and vocal type in the ensemble. The four carefully attired kids take seats around a U-shaped table in a small glass recording studio, and they are Santoro, 13 (both of her parents are scientists!) Matt Martinez, 11 (believes in aliens!) Ashlynn Chong, 13 (plays 10 instruments!) and Grant Knoche, 12 (loves crab legs!). For example: “Hi, I’m Bredia from the Kidz Bop kids, and I’m in New York right now! Wooooo!” The child artists are in the Sirius studios for a maximum of two hours every few months, recording for the dedicated Kidz Bop channel and taping interviews like the one with Curtis, who was totally not kidding about the burping alphabet thing. Along with the Curtis interview, they’re at Sirius to tape a series of “liners,” radio-speak for those snippets of audio that play between songs to convince listeners that the voices they’re hearing are actually live in the studio. The foursome is the current lineup of Kidz Bop, the most underrated force in American music. “You have to know the audience,” he says. This time, Curtis suggests, she should attempt to burp the alphabet, and everyone agrees that’s a hilarious idea.
Curtis is due to interview them for an upcoming show, and the kids giggle over a memory of the last time they met, when Bredia Santoro, who has cascading ringlets and an exaggerated side part, showed off her impressive belching ability. Their spirits revive quickly, though, with the appearance of Kenny Curtis, a father of seven who hosts a four-hour “block party” on the Sirius channel Kids Place Live.
A Sirius employee laments that the kids have just missed Lily James and Richard Madden, stars of the new live-action Cinderella movie, and that causes four sets of skinny shoulders to sink. Dressed in artfully tattered tees, Adidas sneakers, and bangles and cuffs, they’re followed by an entourage-mostly made up of their moms. Let me know the names of any other subreddits in which you want me to look for mirrors.It’s not Take Your Child to Work Day at Sirius XM, but at first it seems so as four adorable middle-schoolers slip into the Manhattan lobby of the world’s largest satellite radio network. If you'd like to receive a weekly recap of popheads with the top fresh posts and their alternative links, send me a message () (or send me a chat with the text: popheads)*