Give Greyson A Chance

I feel the need to talk about this kid Greyson Michael Chance. I confidently predict big things from this young man. I mean, just look at what he has accomplished already. First he gets filmed at a local choir festival in Edmond, Oklahoma, singing Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi", then the video is uploaded to YouTube, goes viral, and he's invited to perform live on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show. Two days ago he was back on the show to perform one of his own compositions and Ellen then announced she was starting a record label, eleveneleven, and Greyson is her first artist.

Whoa.



This kid is 13.

I am willing to bet my girls will be begging for Greyson posters for their bedroom wall before too long.

Now there is the backlash, as fast as his rise to fame. People are saying there is something fishy about it all. Firstly, they say, if the school he was performing at is co-ed, where are all the guys in the audience? Clearly whoever asked that has never been to a choir festival and so never noticed that these things have predominantly female attendees.
Secondly, they say, why does he bow to the camera after the performance?
He's not bowing to the camera, the audience is not limited to all those girls on the bleachers behind him. Obviously he's up on a dais in the middle of the hall and there are audience members on either side of him, including the person with the video camera.
Thirdly, they say, how come the video picture and sound are so good?
Isn't it just possible that this person (unlike 90% of people who shoot digital video) actually knows how to hold a camera and has a steady hand?

Y'know, it's like every new talent. No sooner is a person built up to celebrity status that we say they're too 'cocky', too 'big for their boots' and 'need to be taken down a peg or two'. Trouble is, in this digital super-fast zippy instant age, both the rise to fame and the knocking down happen at warp speed.

To Greyson, I say a hearty "G'won my son! Give 'em hell!" and urge him to enjoy his 15, er, seconds of fame while it lasts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so1rWgXnamE (can't embed videos from Ellen's show).