a real mann

As far as male pop vocalists go, there's only been one person in the last maybe 10 years to make me think-- yeah, that guy's the real deal. That's Chris Mann. He's a friend (kind of a friend of a friend-- he works with Steven and Rosie's Broadway Kids)


Every now and then, there are artist/friends of mine that make me want to set down being a writer myself and instead be a manager or an agent. Autumn is one of them. And so is this guy. I could go on creative tangent about all the chess moves I’d make here. Lend me that tenor!

And ever since that first RBK concert (where he did a mash up of his song, Lady Gaga and Phantom of the Opera-- you had to be there), I just keep waiting for him to totally blow up! He’s been the beneficiary (or perhaps victim--haha) of a pretty massive press machine. But still, I’m waiting for this one to truly get his due. Because he’s the shit. Maybe that guest spot on Glee will finally do the trick.  

Less is pretty much always more with Chris. The less produced sounding stuff is always my favorite-- and that's largely because who needs all those bells and whistles with a glorious voice like that?!

Case in point, his (infinitely superior to Kanye's) version of "Heartless." So simple right here. It's on his EP too, but the extra production on it, personally, I didn't need, so I watch the youtube version all the time. 

This is the only version of my favorite song of his I can find (the really good version was on the now defunct imeem) This live radio studio version is kind of a subdued vocal for him (still love), so maybe you'll join my campaign and pester him to put it on his album, so we can legally listen to a studio version :)

Sometimes though, more is more! Like with his fun 3 video set of remixes for that 80s George Michael anthem, "I Want Your Sex" to go with his EP. Chris is pretty amazing about incorporating interactions with fans, and he used fan photos again (like on his "Heartless" remix) for the fan version third video. My favorite was the SECTRA 24 remix though!

And you can bet I'll be at Rockwood (still and forever my favorite venue in NYC) for his show tomorrow, August 5th at 8:30PM. Hope to see you there. My homey, Dion Roy, is also playing!