Dreamer ENT

Twenty-five years after Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote and recorded the song “We Are the World”, celebrities gathered again recently to remake the song as a tribute for Haiti. Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Celine Dione, Wyclef Jean, Usher, the Jonas Brothers, Jordin Sparks, Jennifer Hudson, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and many others lent their voices to recreate the song, which is now available at Itunes.com/WeAretheWorld. Visit the official website at http://wearetheworldfoundation.org to learn more.

The proceeds of the song will benefit the victims of the devastating earthquake. It’s great that they came together for this cause, to help the people in Haiti, and the stars talked about the feeling of unity and compassion they felt throughout the event. Below is the official recording of the song that premiered on Friday, February 12, before the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. You can also view behind the scenes clips of the recording below:

Click below for behind the scenes videos:

Read More »

Nick Jonas is teaming up with Do Something, the volunteer empowerment organization aimed at teens, to help save school music programs across the country. We think this is a great cause because music, and all of the arts, are so important in schools to keep inspiring young people like you to express yourselves and spread creativity.

Join in the action by entering The Battle of the Bands competition, and find out how you can support the campaign at your own school with this list of ideas. Also check out the teens who won the “Save Our Music” grant from Do Something and VH1 to support music education programs at their own schools.

Speaking of Nick Jonas and bands, be sure to check out the great new debut album, Who I Am, from his group Nick Jonas & The Administration.

From DoSomething.org
School music programs are being cut across the country and Nick Jonas is joining teens nationwide to do something about it! Nick, along with DoSomething.org and The VH1 Save the Music Foundation, is kicking off the Battle of the Bands campaign to save music education. Tune into VH1 on Thursday February 4th at 9pm ET to see the winners from this fall’s Save Our Music campaign and the debut of Nick’s PSA for Battle of the Bands. The spots are part of the Pepsi Fan Jam concert in Miami, Florida featuring Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Timbaland, and more!

The Battle of the Bands campaign will run from March 1st through April 16th. You’ll be able to submit your videos of your own musical performances with a testimonial telling us why music ed matters to you! Then, a panel of judges will evaluate the entries and the Grand Prize winner will be flown to NYC to perform at the Apollo Theater in front of major music execs! Other winners will be chosen to receive up to $5,000 for your school music program, and other prizes like concert tickets and Rock Band video games!

So what are you waiting for; join Nick and sign up for the mailing list on Save Our Music to stay informed on the upcoming campaign.

Got questions about the upcoming campaign? Email battleofthebands@dosomething.org

More about the VH1 Save the Music Foundation:

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in American public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child’s complete education. Since 1997, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation has provided $45 million worth of new musical instruments to more than 1,700 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, impacting the lives of more than 1.4 million public school students.

Have you seen Disney’s newest film the The Princess and the Frog yet? What did you think? Check out this interview of Anika Noni Rose, who plays ‘Princess Tiana’, and hear what she thinks about the film and her role:

“…I think that the heart of the film is the thought that you should always follow your dreams, always. Whatever it is that your heart most wants and makes your pulse race faster- when you find it go for it…”

- Anika Noni Rose, who plays the Princess Tiana in Disney’s the The Princess and the Frog

Anika is a wonderful actress who has appeared on both Broadway and in films like Dream Girls. Did you know she’d always wanted to play a Disney character? Here’s what she told young journalist Chris Yandek about her childhood dream in a recent interview (click here to listen):

“I dreamed of being a Disney voice. I did not have the aspirations to be a princess like actively, but I just wanted to be a voice. So I didn’t care if I was a kitten or like a leaf or shoelace. I just wanted to be in a Disney movie so badly from when I was very, very little, I was very – I feel like Disney has sort of been the soundtrack to my life. I can remember points in my life in the movies that are with that time or a situation or how I felt in the theater. Fantasia was my first movie…”
- Anika Noni Rose

Check out the cool videos below that give a behind the scenes look at Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation and more:
Read More »

It’s your last chance to vote and decide who will be Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing in music as the final round of the competition comes to a close. For the past few months Radio Disney has been introducing the five contestants: Gabi Wilson, Josh Golden, Jasmine, Kropp Circle, and Cymphonique. The highest ranked N.B.T. artist will have the opportunity to have their single featured on the upcoming Radio Disney Jams 12 album, and will be featured in on-air commercials on Radio Disney. The final round of open voting will end on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 8:00 pm ET, and the winner will be announced on Friday, December 11.

Listen to Radio Disney and go to http://www.radiodisney.com where you can see profiles and performance videos of each of the contestants, and cast your rating. From watching the profile videos, each of the contestants seems to be creative, motivated and talented; we’re sure they’ll all continue making great music no matter who wins!

Watch the promo video below to catch a glimpse of the contestants:

They’re bright, energetic, and blazing a trail of accomplishment by shooting toward their dreams… Check out the film Ten9Eight featuring a group of young passionate entrepreneurs…

“In America, a kid drops out of high school every 9 seconds… Imagine if they didn’t.” The upcoming documentary Ten9Eight explores this question, by telling the stories of a group of diverse young entrepreneurs from urban neighborhoods around the country who are overlooking their circumstances and starting their own businesses. The film, by award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio, follows the teens as they compete in an annual business plan competition run by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). The teens are selected from over 24,000 students from across the country, and compete in the final round in New York City for the chance to win $10,000 to launch his or her business.

Here are introductions to some of the young people featured in the film:

Anné Montague, age 17, Founder of Inamoratos Dance (pictured above): Anné does it all. She dances, choreographs, and takes full charge of her dance company, which she started at the age of 10. Anné was raised primarily by her father, Purcell Montague, a truck driver, as her mother suffered from drug addiction. Anné, a focused girl with a big attitude, requires her dancers to go to class and keep their grades up. Anné’s business is a non-profit, aimed at getting inner city kids off the street. Her motto? “No shirt, no shoes, no need. We dance.” Anné will attend Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University next year, majoring in business.

Rodney Walker, age 19, Founder of Forever Life Music and Video Productions: Rodney was put into the foster care system at the age of 5 and ended up homeless on the streets of Chicago. Almost becoming a statistic like many of his brothers, Rodney was able to chart a new future – and is now studying business as a freshman at Morehouse College.

Amanda Loyola, age 16, Founder of Eco-Dog Biscuits: Amanda’s father escaped from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, finding a job at Burger King in Brooklyn, New York. He inspired his daughter, Amanda, to think that anything might be possible in America. Amanda started her business, a vegetarian dog treat company, after her dog, Princess, died from cancer.

Anné, Rodney, Amanda are but three of several remarkably resilient kids featured in this film, all of whom are facing the most challenging of circumstances in the inner city – making their achievements all the more remarkable.

Descriptions from from the website Ten9Eight.com

Click here to read more of the teens’ stories and for more photos, and visit www.ten9eight.com to see if the film will be playing at a theater near you.

Watch the trailer for the inspiring film below:

Dreamer ENT Editor’s Note: As a NFTE alumnus I’m really excited to see this film, and encourage everyone to see it as well. To find out more about how you or someone you know can take part in NFTE visit www.nfte.com.