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ANNOUNCEMENT: And the Winners of the Valentine 2013 YouTube Cover Carnival Winners Are…

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31 March 2013: The Pixel Project, the award-nominated global volunteer-led virtual non-profit social enterprise working to end Violence Against Women (VAW) worldwide, is proud to announce and warmly congratulate the three top winners of their Valentine 2013 YouTube Cover Carnival competition as selected by our all-star panel of judges – AHMIR, Ali Brustofski, J Rice and Lisa Lavie:

The Grand Prize Winner is Noah Rickertsen from the USA with his simple and elegant acoustic arrangement of “Little Things”. Noah will receive a comprehensive package worth at least US$3,000 including: Free production, mixing and mastering of one of their original songs courtesy of So So Def producer Mike Kalombo; A collaboration with J Rice; Placement of 3 songs on Lost Monkey’s catalogue for TV/Film licensing; and having his winning cover of ‘Little Things’ included in The Pixel Project’s year-end “16 For 16” charity digital album. His winning cover will also be featured on the YouTube homepage of The Pixel Project’s YouTube Music Ambassador – YouTube’s Number One R&B band, AHMIR  – for 3 days together with a video foreword from AHMIR.

YoutubeThe Second Prize Winner is Katie Hull, also from the USA who submitted a lovely, laidback cover of “Little Things”. She will receive a prize package as follows:

  • 2 original songs from her repertoire placed in Lost Monkey Studio’s licensing catalogue for potential TV/Film placement.
  • 1 autographed AHMIR CD and one AHMIR t-shirt.

Tara1The Third Prize Winner is Tara-Lynn Sharrock from the Australia with her powerful rendition of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All”. She will receive a prize package as follows:

  • 1 original song from the her repertoire placed in Lost Monkey Studio’s licensing catalogue for potential TV/Film placement.
  • 1 autographed AHMIR CD OR one AHMIR t-shirt.

Regina Yau, Founder and President of The Pixel Project said: “The YouTube Cover Carnival competition is one of our Music For Pixels campaign’s programmes designed to get YouTube artistes on board the cause to stop VAW. This is our second YouTube Cover Carnival and we are very pleased to see the level of support there is out there for the cause. YouTube artistes from 8 countries took part in the competition to help us spread our message about stopping VAW worldwide and 1,652 people voted in our 5 finalists from which we selected the final winners. Our next YouTube Cover Carnival will be in August 2013 and we hope that the competition will continue to grow and develop into a major global online platform for up-and-coming artistes from YouTube and beyond to say NO to VAW.”

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For further information, please contact:

The Music For Pixels campaign team – music4pixels@thepixelproject.net 

About the Music For Pixels Campaign (http://music4pixels.thepixelproject.net)

Music For Pixels ThumbnailMusic For Pixels, a campaign by The Pixel Project, is the first music-based social media campaign to exclusively collaborate with YouTube artistes speaking up to prevent and stop VAW through music video PSAs while raising funds for the cause via digital music downloads. All funds raised from song proceeds donated by artistes in 2013 will go towards supporting the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign in benefit of the USA’s National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The Pixel Project and various anti-Violence Against Women nonprofits worldwide.

About The Pixel Project (www.thepixelproject.net)

FB LogoThe Pixel Project is a complete virtual, volunteer-led global 501(c)3 nonprofit organisation whose mission is to raise awareness, funds and volunteer power for the cause to end violence against women using social media and new technologies. Their first project is the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign which aims to turbo-charge global awareness about VAW using social media while raising US$1 million by getting a global audience to collectively unveil a million-pixel mystery collage of Celebrity Male Role Models at US$1 per pixel.

About AHMIR (www.youtube.com/ahmirTV)  

AHMIR_YouTube_LogoAs featured in Us Weekly, Billboard, Vibe.com and AOL Entertainment, AHMIR is the #1 Most Popular R&B Group on YouTube with over 70 million video views and comments by celebrities such as Ryan Seacrest, Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Perez Hilton, P!nk and more. The group has used their success to bring awareness to charity organisations including Lucy’s Love Bus, Haiti Relief Fund, American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, YMCA, The Pixel Project, and Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids. Their cover video of P!nk’s “Perfect” was named one of the top Anti-Bullying PSA’s by The Huffington Post. AHMIR is now signed to Robbins Entertainment and have just released their debut single entitled “WAR” to Top 40 radio nationwide. “WAR” is available now for purchase on iTunes.

About Ali Brustofski (http://www.youtube.com/user/AllisonBrustofski)

Ali Brustofski - 1_compressedcroppedAli Brustofski is a 19 year old singer/songwriter from Oakland, NJ. She was a finalist on “The Next” on the CW Network this fall, and won the 2011 Z100 Hometown Hero Award. Ali won the prestigious NY Songwriters Circle “Young Artist Award” in November, 2009 and she’s been writing and recording original songs and covers ever since.  At 10, Ali performed with Nick Jonas in the “Sound of Music”, and she was the voice of Piper O’Possum for Nick Jr. on Nickelodeon from 2003 to 2007.  Recently, Ali has been working with talented producers to develop her own distinctive sound and record her first EP. Her single “Rewind” was used on “The Voice” and in promos for “iCarly” on Nickelodeon.

About J.Rice (http://www.youtube.com/jriceproductions)

J Rice black jacket red mic_compressedcroppedJ Rice grew up listening to artists like Take 6, Boyz II Men, Brian Mcknight, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny G and many other R&B/Jazz greats. His parents taught him to work for everything he wanted and at about age 11 he was running a paper route to pay for his first trumpet. Later in high school he started taking his singing seriously and built his own studio in his bedroom. One day he started a YouTube channel and has since grown to over 170,000 subscribers and over 30,000,000 views. J is now working on producing and writing his own material for his 4th independent album along with writing and producing for other artists.

About Mike Kalombo (http://www.youtube.com/user/KlassicMaster)

KALOMBO MEDIA (PNG)Mike Kalombo is a music producer, songwriter and filmographer, best known for his music production on some of the most viral videos on YouTube. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he now resides in the United States. He has worked with both YouTube stars and music industry moguls, like Jermaine Dupri and quickly became one of the most sought after producers in the industry. Labeled the Quincy Jones of the digital era, he has collaborated with artistes such as Lisa Lavie, Sha Sha Jones, Destorm, Da Brat, Jenna Marbles , Ahmir, Erika David, Traphik, Shane Dawson, Alphacat, Wax and many more.

About Lisa Lavie (http://www.youtube.com/lisalavie1)

PROMO2aLisa Lavie is a Canadian singer and songwriter originally from LaSalle, Québec. Lavie is known for using the Internet to independently promote her music and concerts. Lavie’s vocals have appeared on soundtracks of major motion pictures, and her independently produced debut album “Everything or Nothing” was released on iTunes in 2008. Lavie has received national television coverage for her vocals, and for her production of the charity collaboration video “We Are the World 25 for Haiti (YouTube Edition).” She was chosen as a vocalist for Yanni’s 2010-2011 tours of South, Central, and North America.

About Lost Monkey Studio (www.lostmoneystudio.com)

lostmonkey-logo-arcLost Monkey is a 16-track Pro Tools studio in Hayward serving artists and bands seeking a comfortable environment in which to produce broadcast-quality sounds. The studio is owned and operated by Bay Area drummer Mike Stevens, who drew upon his experiences working in the area’s most venerable studios to open Lost Monkey in 2010. Lost Monkey is currently also building a solid roster of immensely talented West Coast artists who are working hard towards becoming some of the most seminal musicians in the world.

Interview an Artiste: Noah Rickertsen

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As part of The Pixel Project‘s “Music For Pixels” campaign, we encourage artistes taking part in any “Music For Pixels” programme, be it as an Artiste of the Month or as a YouTube Cover Carnival contestant, to speak up about why they are using music to say NO to violence against women.

Today, we interview YouTube artiste Noah Rickertsen who submitted his cover of One Directions “Little Things” for our Valentine 2013 YouTube Cover Carnival contest which ended at 9PM EST, 14 March 2013. Noah is one of our 8 semi-finalists.

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292415_472063382804247_1208752424_nNoah Rickertsen is a singer and songwriter from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. Music is his greatest passion. He grew up listening to Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, John Mayer, and many more who influenced his style. He continues to write, perform, and record in the hopes of touring the country. Noah keeps in touch with his fans through Facebook and Twitter, and fans can find his music on iTunes and YouTube.  Keep an eye out for new material very soon!

1. Tell us about yourself and why you decided to take part in the YouTube Cover Carnival.

I decided to take part in this competition in support of saying NO to Violence Against Women and in tribute to the Delhi Gang Rape Victim, Jyoti Singh Pandey and her courageous fight for her life to the very end. I want to use my music to help influence and create change on the issue of violence against women.

2. Why is ending Violence against Women important to you?

Ending violence against women is important to me because I was raised to respect women and treat them like angels. I hear about these terrible things happening regarding violence against women and it really bothers me.  Violence against women makes me mad at the world.  It can feel like our hands are tied and there is nothing we can do to help. This is not true. We have our words, our music, and our prayers to contribute.

3. In your opinion, how does music help in efforts to end violence against women?

Music has been and will always be an inexplicable and miraculous remedy for hurt and pain. I find that music provides comfort in all aspects of life.  And I think music can inspire others to act more than the simple spoken word.

4. In your opinion, how can musicians help encourage people to take an interest in and step up to help stop violence against women?

People respond differently to music and, through it’s inspiration, are more likely to get involved in action because in order for people to act and stand up for a cause, they must feel inspired! This is what music does to people. It connects our souls on a deeper level and gives us a loving compassion for others in these terrible positions.

Interview with an Artiste: Anjeza

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As part of The Pixel Project‘s “Music For Pixels” campaign, we encourage artistes taking part in any “Music For Pixels” programme, be it as an Artiste of the Month or as a YouTube Cover Carnival contestant, to speak up about why they are using music to say NO to violence against women.

Today, we interview YouTube artiste Anjeza who submitted her cover of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” for our Valentine 2013 YouTube Cover Carnival contest which ended at 9PM EST, 14 March 2013. Angeza is one of our 8 semi-finalists.

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4x6Anjeza is an international multi-talented artiste based in Los Angeles, California, USA.  Her talents include singing, songwriting, acting and dancing; which she can perform in over 6 languages.  Anjeza is in love with music and the idea to make an emotional and financial difference through it.  She has performed in amazing venues around the world such as: Albania, Greece, Italy, Germany, Macedonia, and the USA. Anjeza is currently the CEO of a newly developed non-profit organization “BECHLEM*” that concerns itself with helping children heal the wounds of poverty through love and education.   She keeps in touch with her fans through her social networking sites:  Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace 

 1. Tell us about yourself and why you decided to take part in the YouTube Cover Carnival.

I am a soul and a body that bleeds love and passion to make a difference. I have an extended background in music/acting/dancing and I have always felt that creativity through the arts are the best tools to express yourself, including pain, happiness, injustice, strength, love, inspiration, motivation and so on.  The YouTube Cover Carnival project interested me since there was a humanitarian benefit behind it.  The rape tragedy in India was a devastation to listen to and an inspiration to raise my voice to make a difference by carrying a music image of an independent and strong woman.

2. Why is ending Violence against Women important to you?

We were created from love: to be loved, to walk love, to talk love; and to assist each other in being happy. The expression of power and superiority is a misuse of our blessings. Man was created to be beautiful and strong, while he provided and cared for the woman and his family. On the other hand, woman was created to be beautiful, nurturing, loving, caring and giving. They were perfectly equal in their differences.  Then power, disrespect, pain were introduced…and withered the flower.  The woman now stands restless, alone, afraid, and alert to protect herself…because real men are disappearing from this earth, while beasts are taking their place. It is a paradox to me that a man will ever dare to hurt any woman, emotionally or physically, when it was a woman that brought him to life.

3. In your opinion, how does music help in efforts to end violence against women?

Music inspires. Music entertains. Music heals. Music raises awareness. Music reaches far and deep. Music unites. Music says STOP. Music says GO.  The same way the audience relates to images more then words, the same way music is capable to land in people’s consciousness more then just words.  Living in an expanding and evolving entertainment age, where artists have become powerful leaders and enforcer to bring a difference, it is noticeable that the audience responds better when an artist embraces the cause.  In an interview, Shakira mentioned how the success in her career have made people and goals so much easier to reach, her voice to be heard, and differences to be made. Now she influences political leaders to make a difference and raise awareness.

4. In your opinion, how can musicians help encourage people to take an interest in and step up to help stop violence against women?

People love music. They were born to recognise and perceive music. Every sound is music and comes with a message that is easily perceived by people. For example, birds singing remind someone that spring is coming. Door knocking lets someone know that there is someone on the other side needing something. When melody is added, sound is refined and powerful words honour the song, the audience is capable to receive this gift that can be a great addition to their life.  Music is a conduit to the soul and mind. Audiences have been healed, inspired and encouraged through engagement with song and music. I believe we are in this world for a reason, packed with different blessings and different messages. Blessed be the one who uses blessings to heal and save another.