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Shaun Barrowes
Artist Profile
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As the digital revolution continues to force the music
industry to evolve, more and more independent artists – musicians who don’t
have and, more significantly, don’t need, the support and control of the
erstwhile music making machine – are finding their own way to success. One of those artists is singer, pianist and
songwriter Shaun Barrowes.
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Barrowes may be best known for his recent climb up the
American Idol ladder, but his brief foray into the pop culture trenches is actually
among the least of his accomplishments.
While he did make it into the Final 48 during Hollywood Week of the
show’s 7th season, Barrowes says that losing probably did more than
winning could have done to help move him toward crafting his new CD, Big Bang
Theory.
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“American Idol basically allotted me five months of
‘vacation time,’ during which I got back in shape, fine tuned my vocal and
piano skills, and read up on the changing music industry, preparing my mind for
what was to come. I recharged my batteries, as I was a little burnt out
from a 6 month tour I had booked and promoted myself,” he explains.
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That tour, which took Barrowes to 23 cities and helped to
further increase his dedicated fan base, was just one of the milestones
Barrowes has achieved in the past few months as a result of his exceptional
combination of talent and drive. In May,
he won first place in the Slice the Pie competition, which has provided him
with a financial windfall that will allow him to move his career to an even
higher level. He’s also recently
recorded a new single for the Brazilian market, and composed music for an
animated children’s TV show and for a big, upcoming video game.
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Barrowes’ release of Big Bang Theory is a significant
milestone for this gifted artist, who has been working towards this goal
practically since he was a toddler. “I’ve been performing since I was three
years old and writing songs since I was 15. I’ve been making music since I was
16, when I cut my first album…I spent a few years in Los Angeles writing for
other artists and playing keyboards in a rock band (Spankbaby) for Sony
Records,” recaps Barrowes.
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Big Bang Theory is a solid cross-over CD that bridges the
musical span between jazz and pop sensibilities. Featuring 12 original compositions, Big Bang
Theory emphasizes Barrowes’ talent at crafting songs with engaging melodies and
affecting lyrics which reflect the confluence of influences that Barrowes
claims as significant to the formation of his own, original style: Billy Joel,
early Michael Jackson, Sting and Gershwin.
“Sting gave me a new appreciation for song development, new arrangement
styles and lyrical depth, and Michael Jackson's passionate singing and
dancing were very inspiring and still help to fuel my own passion,” says Barrowes. “Gershwin was a brilliant songwriter and
composer and his style has rubbed off on me as well.”
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Barrowes’ approach to playing piano was greatly influenced
by Billy Joel, who, he says, “inspired me to keep pounding on the keys. Because
I'm such a hard hitter (I’m known as ‘Hammer Hands’) the phrase ‘tickle the
ivories’ really doesn't apply to me.”
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Big Bang Theory’s tunes range from energetic, swinging
numbers (“Hop, Skip and a Jump”) to poignant ballads (“In My Back Pocket” and
“I Still Loved You”) to such romantic offerings as “When I Take Your
Hand.” During a recent appearance on the
Ellen DeGeneres show, Celine Dion, who is certainly no stranger to well crafted
songs, said that hearing “When I Take Your Hand” made her want to renew her
wedding vows. And while music critics
have begun to draw comparisons between Barrowes and Jamie Cullum, another
hard-hitting pianist and vocalist who stylistically rides the pendulum that
sways between rock, pop, and jazz, Barrowes’ style is just as close to Coldplay
and John Mayer as it is to Cullum or Michael Buble΄.
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Comparisons and influences notwithstanding, the one thing
that is certain that Shaun Barrowes is an artist whose career is fueled by
equal parts style, substance and smarts, and who knows exactly where he is
headed. “I want people to realize that I'm a versatile songwriter, and that I'm
very passionate about my music. I'm not just a jazz singer, or a
piano/rock artist. I'd compare my music to the light that's refracted
through a prism. It comes out in a variety of patterns and colors, but
all derives from the same prism and same light source.”
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