Sam Tsui

Last updated
Sam Tsui
Samuel Tsui at YouTube FanFest Indonesia 2015.jpg
Samuel Tsui at YouTube FanFest Indonesia 2015
Born
Samuel Tsui

(1989-05-02) May 2, 1989 (age 35)
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
EducationYale University (BA)
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, producer
Spouse
Casey Breves
​
(m. 2016)​
ChildrenElaia Tsui-Breves
Musical career
Origin Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • synthesizer
  • glockenspiel
Years active2008 – present
Labels
Website samtsui.com

Samuel Tsui (born May 2, 1989 [1] ) is an American singer, songwriter and video producer. He rose to fame as an internet celebrity known for doing covers and musical medleys of songs by pop artists. [2] He has since released original songs and expanded to mashups.

Contents

Tsui frequently collaborates with YouTuber and childhood friend Kurt Hugo Schneider. Their one-man a cappella videos have been described by Time as a combination of Glee and Attack of the Clones . [3]

As of June, 2021, Tsui had received over 3.18 million subscribers. [4]

Early life and education

Tsui was born on May 2, 1989. [1] His father was from Hong Kong and of Cantonese descent, while his mother is an American from Iowa. [5] He has one brother. [6] He grew up in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, a street away from Kurt Schneider, his producer and accompanist, with whom he attended Wissahickon High School. [7] [8] [9] Tsui attended weekend Chinese school as a child and can speak some Cantonese. [10]

Tsui attended Yale University, where he was a member of Davenport College and The Duke's Men of Yale, an all-male acappella group. [11] He graduated from Yale with a major in Classics (Greek) in 2011. [7]

Career

2009–2010: Career beginnings

Tsui appeared on ABC World News on October 28, 2009, singing The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There". [12] He went on to perform on The Bonnie Hunt Show in November of the same year, where he was interviewed and performed Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". He also appeared on It's On with Alexa Chung , singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" for the cast of American television series Glee . [13] [14]

Kurt Schneider produced the musical web series College Musical, a parody of the High School Musical film series, in fall of 2008. [2] Four episodes were released, with Tsui playing the lead role of Cooper. Following the popularity of the series, it was announced that a film would be made based on the series. College Musical: The Movie premiered online in September 2014. [15]

In 2010, Tsui released his first cover album, The Covers. The album, released on February 9, 2010, features covers of hits from Michael Jackson, Journey, Beyoncé, Jason Mraz, and Lady Gaga among other artists. On February 22, 2010, Tsui appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show with his producer Kurt Schneider. [16] The two were interviewed, and Tsui performed his medley of Michael Jackson songs. In November 2010, Tsui collaborated with fellow YouTube singer Christina Grimmie, singing "Just a Dream", which is the most viewed video on the YouTube channel "KurtHugoSchneider", with more than 200 million views. [17] On December 2, 2010, Tsui gave an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and performed a mashup of Katy Perry's "Firework" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" with Schneider. [18] [19]

2011–2012: YouTube and rise in popularity

In 2011, Tsui debuted his own YouTube channel, apart from his collaboration with Kurt Schneider. On February 3, 2011, Tsui was featured on Britney Spears' official website, along with his cover of "Hold It Against Me". [20]

In March 2011, lyrics from Tsui's song "Start Again" was featured in the novel Seeker by Andy Frankham-Allen. [21]

Tsui was mentioned three times by Tom Hanks when he addressed the Yale class of 2011. [22] Tsui was also featured in the 2010 Yale Admissions video. The video, entitled "That's Why I Chose Yale", [23] reveals information about the college with students and admission officers breaking out into song across the campus. In 2017, he co-starred in a new admissions video entitled "That's Why I Toured Yale". [24]

In fall 2011, Tsui was a digital correspondent for the third season of NBC's a capella competition show, The Sing-Off . [25] He recorded a "Judges Medley" that included Sara Bareilles' "Love Song", Ben Folds' "Gone" and Shawn Stockman's (Boyz II Men) "On Bended Knee". [26]

2013–present: Album, tours, future projects

Tsui released his first full-length original album, Make It Up, in May 2013 after a raising more than $64,000 through the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. The project was produced by Kurt Schneider. [27]

In summer 2013, Tsui and Schneider toured across Canada and the US with Alex Goot, Against the Current, Landon Austin, Luke Conard, and King the Kid. [28]

Tsui continues to make covers of popular music on his YouTube channel while also collaborating with other YouTubers. In September 2013, Sam published a duet with Elle Winter entitled "Unsinkable (Music Is Medicine)" online. The proceeds of the single went towards pediatric cancer research as a part of the Music Is Medicine's Donate a Song project. [29]

Tsui's vocals were featured in a promotional video for Coca-Cola that premiered on January 14, 2014. In 2013, Kurt Hugo Schneider and Coca-Cola teamed up to create music videos featuring creative covers of two 2011 hits namely Calvin Harris' "Feel So Close" and Of Monsters and Men's "Little Talks" for a campaign called "The Sounds of AHH". The commercial edits of both premiered on the inaugural episode of season 13 of American Idol on January 14, 2014, on FOX with "Feel So Close" featuring the vocals of Tsui whereas Schneider makes music playing only Coca-Cola bottles, glasses and cans. [30]

In 2016, Tsui starred in an episode of Bones as collegiate acappella singing group member Jake Eisenberg. [31]

Personal life

On April 15, 2016, Tsui posted a coming out video on his YouTube channel in which he announced that he is gay and in a long-term relationship with fellow musician and collaborator Casey Breves. [32] They met while they were both at Yale (Tsui a freshman and Breves a junior) and were both part of an a cappella group on campus. [33] The couple got married on April 16, 2016. They have adopted a daughter, named Elaia. [34]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryRecipientResult
2015 Dahsyatnya Awards Outstanding Guest StarHimself (shared with Kurt Hugo Schneider)Nominated
The Shorty Awards Best YouTube MusicianHimselfNominated [35]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Web Star: MusicHimselfNominated [36]
2020 The Shorty Awards Best YouTube MusicianHimselfNominated [37]

Discography

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2016 Bones Jake EisenbergGuest Cast (The Strike in the Chord; Season 11 Ep.16)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Duke's Men of Yale</span> American university a cappella group

Doox of Yale are an all-gender undergraduate a cappella group at Yale University. The group was founded by first-year students in 1952, and in 2017, was the first TTBB a cappella group in the 21st century at Yale to become all-gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kylee Saunders</span> Musical artist

Kylee Saunders, sometimes known mononymously as Kylee, is an American singer who is signed with Sony Music Japan's DefStar Records label.

<i>Glee</i> (TV series) American television series (2009–2015)

Glee is an American jukebox musical comedy-drama television series that aired on Fox in the United States from May 19, 2009, to March 20, 2015. It centers on the New Directions, a glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School, that is located in the American state of Ohio. The club competes as a show choir while its disparate members deal with social issues, especially regarding sexuality, race, family, teen relationships and teamwork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaine Anderson</span> Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Blaine Devon Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers, a rival show choir to New Directions, the show's primary musical group. Blaine initially served as a mentor for New Directions member Kurt Hummel. Chemistry between the two, combined with fan support for the couple, led series co-creator Ryan Murphy to pair them romantically. Their relationship has been well received by critics, and they have been named "the most beloved TV couples of the millennium" by Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post. At the beginning of the third season, Blaine transfers to McKinley High and joins New Directions; concurrently, Criss was promoted from recurring guest star to the show's main cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Hummel</span> Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Kurt Elizabeth Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school. Kurt is portrayed by actor Chris Colfer, and has appeared as a character on the show since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Glee follows the trials of the New Directions glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School in the town of Lima, Ohio, of which Kurt is a member. His storylines in the first season focus on his struggle with his sexuality as he comes out to his father and friends, and deals with his romantic feelings for Finn Hudson, the straight co-captain of the glee club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes Jones</span> Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Mercedes Jones is a fictional character from the Fox popular musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Amber Riley, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Mercedes was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. She is a dynamic diva-in-training who refuses to sing back-up, and is a member of the glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Colfer</span> American actor, singer, and author (born 1990)

Christopher Paul Colfer is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical Glee (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received critical praise for which he has been the recipient of several awards, including the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film, three consecutive People's Choice Awards for Favorite Comedic TV Actor in from 2013 to 2015, two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations and one Grammy Award nomination. In April 2011, Colfer was named one of the Time 100, Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Only Exception</span> 2010 single by Paramore

"The Only Exception" is a song by American rock band Paramore. It was released by Fueled by Ramen in February 2010 as the third single from the band's third studio album, Brand New Eyes (2009). The song was written by band members Hayley Williams and Josh Farro; Paramore is also credited as being co-producers to the song. The song was generally well-received by music critics; praise of the song was mainly about Williams' vocal performance. Music critics reviewing the song noted that "The Only Exception" was a different musical theme for the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Evans</span> Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Sam Evans is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Chord Overstreet, and appeared on Glee starting with the second season premiere episode entitled "Audition", first broadcast on September 21, 2010. Sam is a transfer student to William McKinley High School who becomes a member of the football team, as well as a member of the glee club, New Directions. In his first episode, Sam performs Travie McCoy's "Billionaire" with some of the guys in the glee club, but Finn ends up mocking Sam because of his talent and terrifies Sam. Because of Finn’s mean tricks he does not show up for tryouts due to the low social status of the club's members. He later joins, nonetheless.

Duets (<i>Glee</i>) 4th episode of the 2nd season of Glee

"Duets" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the twenty-sixth episode overall. It was written by series creator Ian Brennan, directed by Eric Stoltz, and premiered on Fox on October 12, 2010. The episode featured seven cover versions, including a mash-up of "Happy Days Are Here Again" and "Get Happy" by Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chord Overstreet</span> American actor, singer and musician

Chord Paul Overstreet is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Sam Evans on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015). He has starred in the Apple TV+ comedy series Acapulco since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darren Criss</span> American actor, singer, and songwriter

Darren Everett Criss is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series Glee (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018). He has also appeared on Broadway and in film and has released several musical albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Furt</span> 8th episode of the 2nd season of Glee

"Furt" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the thirtieth episode overall. It was written by series creator Ryan Murphy, directed by Carol Banker, and premiered on Fox in the United States on November 23, 2010. The episode features a guest appearance by actress Carol Burnett as a Nazi hunter and mother of cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, who shows up for the first time in years, just in time to attend Sue's wedding to herself. The long-anticipated wedding of Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson is also featured, and the bullying storyline reaches a climax that results in Kurt transferring from McKinley High to Dalton Academy at the end of the episode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurt Hugo Schneider</span> American video editor and musician

Kurt Hugo Schneider, sometimes referred to by his initials KHS, is an American video editor, producer, musician, singer and songwriter, whose primary medium is YouTube music videos. He has produced music videos for various YouTube musicians, such as Sam Tsui.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Goot</span> American singer-wongwriter

Alexander George Goot is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from New York City. As of 3 December 2023, his YouTube channel GootMusic has 3.83 million subscribers and more than 900 million total views. He plays acoustic guitar, bass guitar, piano, drums and other instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Newell</span> American actor and singer (born 1992)

Alex Eugene Newell is an American actor and singer. They are known for their role as Unique Adams on the Fox musical series Glee and Mo on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. Newell also starred as Asaka in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island at the Circle in the Square Theatre in 2018. For their role in Shucked, they won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Newell and J. Harrison Ghee were the first openly non-binary actors to be nominated for and win a Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allison Williams (actress)</span> American actress (born 1988)

Allison Howell Williams is an American actress. For her work in horror films, she has been deemed a scream queen by the media. She first became known for starring as Marnie Michaels in the HBO comedy-drama series Girls (2012–2017), which earned her a Critics' Choice Award nomination. Her breakthrough came with the role of Rose Armitage in the horror film Get Out (2017), which earned her nominations from the MTV Movie Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards among other accolades. She went on to star in the horror films The Perfection (2018) and M3GAN (2022), the latter of which she also executive produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Streamy Awards</span> 2013 awards ceremony recognizing online video

The 3rd Annual Streamy Awards was the third installment of the Streamy Awards honoring streaming television series. The awards were held on February 17, 2013, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. It was hosted by the founder of Nerdist Industries, Chris Hardwick. Presented three years after the unsuccessful 2nd Streamy Awards which led to the International Academy of Web Television leaving the show, Tubefilter partnered with Dick Clark Productions in an attempt to bolster the credibility of the awards and with hopes of broadcasting the show on television. The show was viewed as more professional than previous years and was praised for its musical performances, but it also received a more mixed reception on its increased focus on mainstream shows and celebrities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everybody's Got Somebody but Me</span> 2013 single by Hunter Hayes featuring Jason Mraz

"Everybody's Got Somebody but Me" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Hunter Hayes for his eponymous debut album, Hunter Hayes (2011). While recording new material for (Encore), the expanded re-issue of his debut, Hayes also re-recorded three of the tracks, including a new duet version of "Everybody's Got Somebody But Me" featuring guest vocals by singer Jason Mraz. Atlantic Nashville released the Encore version of the song as the fifth single from the album, and second from the (Encore) edition, on September 3, 2013.

The discography of American singer Sam Tsui consists of five studio albums, four EPs and numerous singles.

References

  1. 1 2 Tsui, Sam (2010-05-02). "Woooo! 21 Years old! Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes! :-)". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  2. 1 2 Yager, Sarah (2010-01-29). "Kurt Schneider re(de)fines formula for YouTube success". The Yale Herald . Yale University. Archived from the original on 2010-09-05. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  3. ↑ Fletcher, Dan (2009-11-23). "YouTube Effect: Making Money from Viral Videos". Time . Time Inc. Archived from the original on November 17, 2009. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  4. ↑ "Sam Tsui on YouTube (TheSamTsui)". YouTube. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ Van, Alan (2012-11-13). "Sam Tsui | Singer & Songwriter (Interview)". New Media Rockstars. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  6. ↑ "Aca-scuse me? Aca-Tsui!". Yale Daily news. March 6, 2015. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  7. 1 2 "The Duke's Men of Yale: Sam Tsui". Yale University. Archived from the original on 2013-12-27. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  8. ↑ "Sam Tsui's one-man choir hits YouTube". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. 2010-09-12. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  9. ↑ "Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider: The Covers". Sh-K-Boom Records. Archived from the original on 2010-02-17. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
  10. ↑ "At 9:15, Sam Tsui busts out his Cantonese". YouTube. Young Post. July 4, 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
  11. ↑ "Meet The Duke's Men". The Duke's Men. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Tsui-eet sounds on ABC's World News Tonight". Yale Daily News . The Yale Daily News Publishing Company. 2009-10-28. Archived from the original on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  13. ↑ "Cross Campus: 11.12.09". Yale Daily News . The Yale Daily News Publishing Company. 2009-11-12. Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  14. ↑ Joe (2009-11-11). "Sam Tsui upstages the entire cast of Glee". The Yale Herald . Yale University. Archived from the original on 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  15. ↑ Perlman, Jake (September 2, 2014). "'Girls' meets 'Glee'? Watch the trailer for 'College Musical' with Allison Williams". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  16. ↑ "Incredible Feats". The Oprah Winfrey Show . Harpo Productions. 2010-02-22. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  17. ↑ Schneider, Kurt Hugo. "KurtHugoSchneider's Channel". YouTube . Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  18. ↑ Zuckerman, Esther (2010-12-02). "Tsui '11 and Schneider '10 on 'Ellen'". Yale Daily News . The Yale Daily News Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 2011-02-22. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  19. ↑ "YouTube Sensation Sam Tsui Performs!". Ellen.WarnerBros.com. Warner Bros. December 2, 2010. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  20. ↑ Tsui, Sam [@SamuelTsui] (2011-02-03). "My "Hold it Against Me" cover was just posted on @britneyspears official website!! Ahhh! :-D" (Tweet). Retrieved 2011-02-06– via Twitter.
  21. ↑ "Interview with Andy Frankham-Allen". The Accidental Author. 2011-03-26. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  22. ↑ Hanks, Tom (May 22, 2011). "Tom Hanks Addresses Yale Class of 2011". YouTube. Yale University.
  23. ↑ "Video Gives Musical Answer to the Question: 'Why Choose Yale?'". news.yale.edu. Yale University. 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  24. ↑ "Admissions to debut new video: update on the 'That's Why I Chose Yale' cast". news.yale.edu. Yale University. 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  25. ↑ Smith, Grady (September 16, 2011). "'The Sing-Off' season 3 preview with Sam Tsui". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  26. ↑ Zuckerman, Esther (September 19, 2011). "Tsui '11 sings for 'Sing-Off'". yaledailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  27. ↑ Ed, Carrasco (May 10, 2013). "Sam Tsui Talks Release Of His First Original Album 'Make It Up' [INTERVIEW]". NewMediaRockstars. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  28. ↑ "Tour Dates – A Summer with Alex Goot and Friends". 2013-05-15. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-11.
  29. ↑ Nitkin, Karen (October 27, 2013). "Baltimore woman gleeful about making music to help sick children". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  30. ↑ Moye, Jay (August 14, 2013). "Behind the Bottles: 5 Questions With Kurt Hugo Schneider". The Coca-Cola Company. Archived from the original on August 18, 2013.
  31. ↑ "Pentatonix, Sam Tsui, and Bruin Harmony Combine Forces For This Performance On Fox's "Bones"". College A Cappella. June 30, 2016. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  32. ↑ Summers, Claude (June 4, 2016). "Celebrities Coming Out in the Internet Age". The New Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  33. ↑ TheSamTsui (2017-04-11), VLOG: The Proposal Story!!! ft. Casey Breves , retrieved 2017-04-12
  34. ↑ Duffy, Nick (April 18, 2016). "YouTube singer Sam Tsui comes out and reveals surprise wedding". PinkNews. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  35. ↑ Lee, Ashley (March 2, 2015). "Taylor Swift, Anna Kendrick, Neil Patrick Harris and Mark Ruffalo are also noted as top social media content producers, while 'Serial' joins the race for top podcast". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Teen Choice Awards 2015 Winners: Full List". Variety. August 16, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  37. ↑ Perelli, Amanda (March 10, 2020). "Exclusive: All the finalists for this year's Shorty Awards, which won't be a physical event for the first time in 12 years because of the coronavirus". Business Insider. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.