A Serendipitous Happening,
Years of Diligent Work,
Local Performances
and a Video Made During Covid Restrictions
led to a Sony Gig for Young Teens from our County!
by Parmalee Taff
Some very talented, teenage singers from our county will appear today, December 15, in a promo release for the “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” movie on the Sony Youtube channel. The experience of going to Hollywood is a big deal for these “seasoned” voice students of Bobbie Hosfeldt-Ward, owner of Performance Vocal.
It began a few years ago with Bobbie’s “dream-talk” with her father. Bobbie was teaching her dedicated students via Zoom because Covid was upon us, forcing a halt to in-person lessons and performances around town. She was pondering, “What’s a next step I can take with my students to keep their spirits up?” when a voice said, “Make a video,” so she did. 24 young singers performed from their living rooms the song Tomorrow from the musical Annie. With the help of local TAM Commuications, the delightful video was made.
Everyone in the kids’ lives shared it with the public during a trying time in our lives. Bobbie’s daughter Blaire Ward, who was working at Sony with the VP of Sony Home Entertainment, posted it to her FB page. Remember the video? Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH9sUvu9FV8.
Time passed. Voices changed. Young singers grew taller. Their presentations became more sophisticated. Some were performing in local musicals. Two years later, just before this Thanksgiving, the VP of Sony Home Entertainment contacted Bobbie.
Suddenly your upbeat, positive voice teacher, with whom you’ve been studying for several years, scheduled an “exciting news” zoom conference with you, your fellow students and your parents to tell you about an exciting opportunity. You are all ears. Bobbie greeted them with,
“GREAT NEWS my students!!! A VERY LARGE TV/Film production company in Los Angeles has seen our video that we did at the beginning of the pandemic, and is considering us for vocals in a premiere of the film!!!! EXCITED!!!!! Fingers crossed!!!!!”
In a whirlwind three weeks of calls, making contacts, planning, attacks of flu & laryngitis, learning four new songs and making travel plans, parents, kids and Bobbie flew to Los Angeles. The gig was on.
Bobbie learned that, independently, the head of Sony Youtube Marketing had seen the original video and also liked it. Former students of Bobbie’s, now in the industry, got involved to help make it happen. Her 2nd student ever, Niki Watkins Hexum, would record the kids the night before filming.
Bobbie, students and parents flew to L.A. on a Sunday and pre-recorded from 6:30 to 10:30pm. The next day they went in for the filming with big smiles the entire time while they were singing along with their own voices.
Stay tuned, as they make their debut, today, Thursday at 10:00 am, singing four songs from the film Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile! It will stream on Sony’s YouTube channel with 6.5 million viewers! Originally recorded by Shawn Mendes, these young talents got to sing on the same tracks! Congrats to them all and Congrats to a very proud voice teacher!
Watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KTdmZ4W_PI
Meet the Singers on Bobbie’s Facebook page: Brayan, Audrey, Lucy, Emma, Charis, KK, Melissa, Manjali, James, Dani, Raaga, Lily, William, Lexie, Lola, Trinity, Calvin, Belle. A few are Los Angeles teens who joined them.
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From the Sony Youtube channel:
“Premieres Dec 15, 2022 #LyleLyleCrocodile #ShawnMendes #JavierBardem
Get into the holiday spirit with ‘The Happiest Performance of the Season’ – featuring Performance Vocal, a kids chorus ensemble based out of Santa Cruz, California, singing 4 original songs from #LyleLyleCrocodile!
Performance Vocal performed the following hits from the film: Top Of The World, Rip Up The Recipe, Carried Away and Take A Look At Us Now
The kids’ performance and audio recording sessions were directed by Bobbie Ward and assisted by Niki Hexum. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is now available On Demand & Blu-ray. Get it today! https://bit.ly/GetLyleLyle”
