Monday, November 4, 2013

Creative Mastermind for Week 11/4: Todrick Hall

Salutations to my wonderful Creative Cabana readers! I hope you had a fantastic weekend and enjoyed your Halloween festivities for the weekend (if applicable). As for me, my weekend was a bit rough. I spent much of Saturday in bed feeling quite a bit under the weather, and Sunday was a little rough too. However, today I'm back on my feet getting some stuff done around home and getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving here at The Creative Cabana! While I'm still getting ready to redecorate the site for Thanksgiving, I have to present to you this week's Creative Mastermind.

For this week's honor, I have chosen a YouTube celebrity. You've probably seen his viral videos over the web and have heard of his spoof music videos, but if not, you're in for a treat. I give you, Mr. Todrick Hall!


This man is truly a piece of work, and I enjoy watching every video he puts together! Todrick is an extremely talented singer, producer, and visual artist with a real knack for remixing the elements of pop culture and music. 

I was first introduced to him a few months back when he released his video "The Wizard of Ahhhs", a remix of songs that aligned with the basic plot of the film "The Wizard of Oz". One of my friends sent this video to me because I'm the #1 Wizard of Oz fan in this part of Ohio (hence my Halloween costume for those who saw it) and at first I was skeptical. Generally, I don't like renditions or when someone comes out with "their version" of a song, I stay true to the originals. However, when I watched "The Wizard of Ahhhs" I was totally stunned by the talent and production of this video. Instead of doing some lame copycat reproduction of Oz songs, he took current songs that fit with the story line and fit them into the world Oz. Featuring the group Pentatonix, as well as Todrick Hall himself, the group put together a unique story telling video starting with the classic song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and turning into other popular hits such as "Lollipop", "Damaged", "I Can't Be Tamed", and finally ending with a mash-up of Daughtry's "Home" and Michael Buble's "Home". During the finale, Hall and Pentatonix pay tribute to beloved classic film by showing clips of Judy Garland and many other characters during their scenes in the original film. You can see the video below and watch how they bring together a brilliant contemplation of music, style, creativity, and emotion. 





And as if that ain't enough for you, last week just in time for Halloween, Todrick Hall released his latest video "Spell Block Tango". This delightful Disney parody plays off of the musical "Chicago" and the song "Cell Block Tango", only in this version he uses popular Disney Villains to sing and dance about their crimes against other Disney stars. I honestly couldn't stop laughing at this video upon watching it for the first time. I love how each character had created their own twist in the stories and plus the singers' costumes and make-up was just icing on the cake! Todrick Hall produced this so well and did such an amazing job at bringing family-friendly fun like Disney together with a more mature, adult- themed hit like "Chicago". Better yet, for those who have seen either the musical or the movie, chances are you remember songs like "Cell Block Tango" because of its catchy tune, memorable lyrics, and well Catherine-Zeta Jones (enough said.) So it's perfect that Todrick Hall managed to put Disney's greatest villains into the seats of this great criminal music masterpiece. If you haven't seen "Chicago" or heard "Cell Block Tango", don't worry about it- this version is just as good and even more entertaining!


Ok, now that I have shown you examples of his work, it's time to answer what exactly makes Todrick Hall a Creative Mastermind? Well, there's a few of the things I've previously mentionned that definitely qualifies him for this title. Certainly his style and technique is honestly something I've never really seen anybody else do. I can honestly say I never thought I'd see the day when Disney and "Chicago" would exist in the same universe, but sure enough they do now! Another thing I really admire about Hall is his unique approach to the audio and music production. He writes all of the music himself and then works with these incredibly talented actors and singers to bring together these amazing collaborations! I must admit that Todrick Hall is definitely one of the most creative and talented individuals I've ever seen (at least on YouTube). The man is truly inspiring and takes creativity to the next level. As a Creative Mastermind he has the audio and video production down to a tea. His writing talents are extraordinary and I think he will definitely go far in his career.

So well done Mr. Todrick Hall and also snaps to your amazing crew and everyone who helps you to create these sensational videos. Keep them coming! You can check out more of Todrick Hall's videos on YouTube just CLICK HERE. If you have a great idea for a Creative Mastermind, please send me your ideas either leave a comment on this post or you can visit The Creative Cabana on Facebook, Twitter, and follow on Pinterest for more creative ideas no matter the project!

*Image used of Todrick Hall was saved from Google Images. I do not own "The Wizard of Oz", "Chicago", "The Wizard of Ahhhs", "Spell Block Tango", "Cell Block Tango", or Disney. All films and songs belong to their respective owners and film companies. The videos for "The Wizard of Ahhhs" and "Spell Block Tango" are available on YouTube through Todrick Hall's official page. No Copyright Infringement Intended. 

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