The Gregory Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Gregory Brothers are an American
musical group who characterize their music as "Country & Soul, Folk & Roll". Members include Michael Gregory on drums and vocals, Andrew Rose Gregory on guitar and vocals, Evan Gregory on keys and vocals, and Sarah Fullen Gregory (Evan's wife) on bass and vocals. They are most famous for their creation of musical viral video
s, most notably the Auto-Tune the News series, which includes the "Bed Intruder Song
". The three brothers, originally from Radford, Virginia
, moved to Brooklyn, New York
in the mid-2000s and met Sarah in the local music scene. The four formed a band in 2007.
, Meet the Gregory Brothers!, on May 29, 2009. Village Voice
music writer Ben Westhoff characterized the effort as "a lounge-y
, refreshingly sincere slice of blue-eyed soul
", and Jake Frazier of PopSense praised the work, claiming that it "[brought] more to the table than the other 1000+ songs [in his music library]". Westhoff opined that "unfortunately, many of the Brothers' new fans have no patience for anything that's not 'Auto-Tune the News, though the group itself takes a broader view of its fans' tastes, believing that "there will definitely be some fans who found us through our videos, and who will be disappointed when they hear our records and they're not a bunch of hip-hop political parodies…[but] most people get that we are capable of creating music in different styles, and can appreciate our folky soul jams for what they are."
For the period of July 15–22 2009, 47–54 days after its release, the EP was ranked as the top-selling album on Amie Street
in the category of "Soul / R&B".
Contributing musicians on the album include Doug Hulin (bass) and Justin Keller (saxophone). The album was recorded at the Mission Sound Recording facility in Brooklyn, New York, and was produced, engineered, and mixed by Zach McNees. The recording was mastered by Ricardo Gutierrez. The cover art photographer was Denny Renshaw, and Morgan King, founder of Yer Bird Records
, is credited with its design.
's 2009 debut album Welcome to the Welcome Wagon, produced by Sufjan Stevens
. The Welcome Wagon is a project headed by Presbyterian minister Vito Aiuto and his wife Monique. The Gregory Brothers often perform live with Sarah Gregory's band The Stanleys.
videos, Auto-Tune the News, in which recorded voices of politicians, news anchors, and political pundits were digitally manipulated to conform to a melody, making the figures appear to sing.
National television networks featured the Gregory Brothers' early political satires as early as the spring of 2009, but the group did not achieve mainstream recognition until the summer of 2010, when they released episode 12b of Auto-Tune the News, titled "Bed Intruder Song
". "Bed Intruder Song," which featured excerpts from an interview with alleged crime victims Kelly Dodson and her brother Antoine Dodson
, was viewed approximately 50 million times during its first six months online, making it the most-viewed YouTube video of 2010 (excluding major label music videos). Being largely non-political in content, it marked a departure from the Gregory Brothers' roots in political material.
Following the mainstream success of that music video, the Gregory Brothers have generally produced a mixture of both political and non-political videos. The Auto-Tune the News series has continued to focus primarily on political material, while many of the non-political videos have been given the new branding Songify This.
with a degree in music
and a concentration in recording
and production
, first created a "debate musical" using footage of the first presidential election debate of 2008
titled "Debate Highlights—in song and dance." This early effort did not use the Auto-Tune
software to manipulate the voices of the presidential candidates in the video. Evan, a music major at Swarthmore College
'01, encouraged Michael, who had prior experience with Auto-Tune, to attempt to use the software in his next video to make the political figures appear to sing along with the music. Michael used footage from the vice-presidential debate of 2008
as the basis for the Auto-Tune experiment, and the resulting creation, "VP Debate in Song and Dance," became the prototype which the Auto-Tune the News videos would expand upon. As the concept began to attract notice, Michael recruited the rest of the Gregory Brothers to collaboratively develop the Auto-Tune the News series.
, health care reform debate in the United States
, texting while driving
, tobacco regulation
, and the alleged sexual assault of Kelly Dodson. Andrew Rose Gregory, who graduated from Swarthmore College
in 2004, believes that focusing on unusual or obscure topics is a source of strength for the series, asserting that "[p]eople are frustrated with pop music because it's all the same over and over again, in terms of being love songs or a song about someone going away. These are songs that aren't about anything you've ever heard a song about."
effect. One recurring element is a closing in which special recognition is given to the "Best Unintentional Singer" or other ad-hoc awards such as "Best Fictional Bromance
" (awarded to Paul Krugman
and David Brooks
).
In addition, it is common for the Gregory Brothers to alter footage by superimposing
their own mouth
s or arm
s onto individuals who were in the original video clip. This effect is often used to make those individuals appear to be singing along or enthusiastically getting into the music. The Gregory Brothers sometimes use this technique to make people appear to play percussion (such as drums, the tambourine
and the cowbell) or other instruments (such as the theremin
) along with the music.
Many of the costumed characters played by the Gregory Brothers are designated as "R—South Dakota" (i.e., Republicans
representing South Dakota
). Characters who have been labeled as such include Senator Junkie Einstein, Olga Barth, Bølverk, and Angry Gorilla.
on MSNBC
on May 1, 2009, and sustained media attention left the Gregory Brothers "fielding a number of inquiries" regarding turning the series into a full-time occupation for the group (see commercialization below).
Representative Michele Bachmann
(Republican
-Minnesota 6th
) was auto-tuned in "Michael Jackson. drugs. Palin.", the sixth episode of the series. In the video, she makes a speech regarding her thoughts on the American Clean Energy and Security Act
. Bachmann said of the video that her children "think it's really funny to watch it...it's a riot" and that "it is really clever, really funny."
Episode 12b, "Bed Intruder Song", spread virally much faster than any previous episode, ultimately becoming the most-viewed YouTube video of 2010 (excluding major label music videos). Dedicated solely to the news story of an attempted sexual assault, the episode gave a musical treatment to interview footage of the victim, Kelly Dodson, and her brother, Antoine Dodson
. The episode was released on 31 July 2010 and was viewed 7.1 million times over the course of its first month online. The Gregory Brothers subsequently remade the song and video as episode 12c, "iTunes Version – Bed Intruder Song", and released the accompanying song on the iTunes
music store. It made an entry to the Billboard Hot 100
at #89 and debuted at #5 on Heatseekers Songs chart. The Gregory Brothers pledged half of the song's earnings to the Dodson family.
In an interview with Barry
, the Gregory Brothers reported that they had sold over 100,000 copies of The Bed Intruder Song on iTunes.
The Gregory Brothers assisted Comedy Central
television show Tosh.0
in the production of a remix and music video for artist Reh Dogg's song "Why Must I Cry". The Auto-Tune the News signature shout of "shawtay!" can be heard in the video. The segment aired on the show on July 30, 2009, showing an abbreviated cut, while the full video is available online.
They also assisted ABC
's late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the production of a video segment in which T-Pain
performs with an auto-tuned President Obama to promote his new iPhone
app, I Am T-Pain (the same reason he appeared in Auto-Tune the News #8). The segment aired on the show on September 30, 2009.
They also worked alongside popular YouTube comedian Ray William Johnson to make an episode for his webshow Equals Three (=3). The episode is called 'Sunny-D and Rum', and references a viral video of a woman singing about sunny-d and rum. The Gregory brothers auto-tuned the episode, and included previous elements from his previous =3 episodes. The word "Shorty" can be heard in the background throughout the song.
Michael Gregory has done various projects in the vein of Auto-Tune the News with comedy website and video producer, Barely Political, home of Obama Girl. He wrote and starred in "Election Memory Dance Off!", posted on November 2, 2008. He wrote and mixed the song for "Obama Girl + Obama Duet!" posted on January 18, 2009, and he wrote and performed in "Obama Girl Stimulus Bill Song (ft Michael Gregory!!)" posted on February 18, 2009. This relationship has continued as Barely Political has reposted each episode of the Auto-Tune the News series, occasionally altered slightly for running time.
Andrew Rose Gregory has collaborated with Joe Raciti on the latter's Audio Quilt project.
Evan and Michael Gregory worked with the group Improv Everywhere
to create Mall Santa Musical, in which Evan Gregory played a Jewish delivery man who empties a box of styrofoam
snow onto the performers and Michael Gregory plays an anthropomorphic Christmas present. This was the first Improv Everywhere
performance for the Gregory Brothers
to create a viral marketing
campaign for the 2009–2010 holiday season based on their "Auto-Tune the News" series. One offering in this campaign is the video entitled "Auto-Tune the Ads: Sony. Justin Timberlake. Peyton Manning."
When asked about a possible backlash by fans due to client integration in Auto Tune The News, Michael Gregory said "The audience gets it. It used to be where any type of sponsorship you might have fans say 'they sold out' but nowadays if you can do it on your own terms, your fans are rooting for you."
In an interview with Wired
, the band said they are going to be working with Comedy Central
to produce a TV pilot for a television series to be aired sometime in 2011. The band's "Songify This" videos were parodied in The Simpsons
' episode, "The Falcon and the D'ohman
".
Aside from that, the band worked with app developer Khu.sh to create Songify, an Apple iPhone
app that allows the users to autotune any speech into song. Provided with the app is an template that autotunes speech to the Double Rainbow music, with additional template packs from the band available for purchase in-app.
The Gregory Brothers began to retroactively apply the series name "Songify This" to certain previously series-independent videos in late 2010, and they have released a number of new videos under this branding as well. The table above reflects the new "Songify This" branding where applicable.
, The Social Network
, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Host James Franco
comically introduced the segment as a tribute to a "great year for the movie musical." Characters that were autotuned included: Ron Weasley
, Hermione Granger
, Sheriff Woody
, Sean Parker
, Christy Lee, and Edward Cullen
. On July 14, 2011 it was announced that this segment earned The Gregory Brothers a nomination for a 2011 Emmy award in the category "Outstanding Short-Form Picture Editing." Only Michael and Evan are nominated as there is a two person nomination limit in this category.
While only those four aired, an alternative cut was released on the official 2011 Grammy Awards YouTube channel on February 27, 2011, featuring an auto-tuned version of The King's Speech in place of The Social Network
.
viral video. The original video featured the overawed reaction of Paul "Hungry Bear" Vasquez to a double rainbow
at Yosemite National Park
. The Gregory Brothers turned Vasquez's astounded speech into a song and pledged all of the song's earnings to Vasquez and Yosemite. As of June 4, 2011, the Gregory Brothers' auto-tuned remix had received 24,577,548 views.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical group who characterize their music as "Country & Soul, Folk & Roll". Members include Michael Gregory on drums and vocals, Andrew Rose Gregory on guitar and vocals, Evan Gregory on keys and vocals, and Sarah Fullen Gregory (Evan's wife) on bass and vocals. They are most famous for their creation of musical viral video
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
s, most notably the Auto-Tune the News series, which includes the "Bed Intruder Song
Bed Intruder Song
"Bed Intruder Song" is a song by The Gregory Brothers and Antoine Dodson , featuring Kelly Dodson. The song by the Auto-Tune the News creators features processed vocals of Antoine Dodson, who was talking to a news reporter about the attempted rape of his sister Kelly...
". The three brothers, originally from Radford, Virginia
Radford, Virginia
Radford is a city in Virginia, United States. The population was 16,408 in 2010. For statistical purposes, the Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Radford with neighboring Montgomery County, including the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, calling the combination the...
, moved to Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
in the mid-2000s and met Sarah in the local music scene. The four formed a band in 2007.
Meet the Gregory Brothers!
The group released their first EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Meet the Gregory Brothers!, on May 29, 2009. Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
music writer Ben Westhoff characterized the effort as "a lounge-y
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
, refreshingly sincere slice of blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul
Blue-eyed soul is a media term that was used to describe rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists, with a strong pop music influence. The term was first used in the mid-1960s to describe white artists who performed soul and R&B that was similar to the music of the Motown and...
", and Jake Frazier of PopSense praised the work, claiming that it "[brought] more to the table than the other 1000+ songs [in his music library]". Westhoff opined that "unfortunately, many of the Brothers' new fans have no patience for anything that's not 'Auto-Tune the News, though the group itself takes a broader view of its fans' tastes, believing that "there will definitely be some fans who found us through our videos, and who will be disappointed when they hear our records and they're not a bunch of hip-hop political parodies…[but] most people get that we are capable of creating music in different styles, and can appreciate our folky soul jams for what they are."
For the period of July 15–22 2009, 47–54 days after its release, the EP was ranked as the top-selling album on Amie Street
Amie Street
Amie Street was an indie online music store and social network service created in 2006 by Brown University seniors Elliott Breece, Elias Roman, and Joshua Boltuch, in Providence, Rhode Island...
in the category of "Soul / R&B".
Contributing musicians on the album include Doug Hulin (bass) and Justin Keller (saxophone). The album was recorded at the Mission Sound Recording facility in Brooklyn, New York, and was produced, engineered, and mixed by Zach McNees. The recording was mastered by Ricardo Gutierrez. The cover art photographer was Denny Renshaw, and Morgan King, founder of Yer Bird Records
Yer Bird Records
Yer Bird Records is a Calgary, Alberta based independent record label founded by Morgan King in 2004. After the release of an album by English songwriter Daniel Smith did not come to fruition, King partnered with photographer Benjamin Gallman...
, is credited with its design.
Track list
Andrew Rose Gregory solo albums
- (2005) Andrew Gregory
- (2007) The Lost Year
- (2008) The Color Red & Other Songs About The Power of Love
- (2009) The Paramedic & Other Songs About Birds
- (2011) The Song of Songs (with The Color Red Band)
Musical collaborations
The Gregory Brothers appear as members of the Welcome Wagon Choir on The Welcome WagonThe Welcome Wagon
The Welcome Wagon is a Gospel/indie pop band from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. The group consists of Presbyterian minister Vito Aiuto and his wife, Monique...
's 2009 debut album Welcome to the Welcome Wagon, produced by Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...
. The Welcome Wagon is a project headed by Presbyterian minister Vito Aiuto and his wife Monique. The Gregory Brothers often perform live with Sarah Gregory's band The Stanleys.
Viral videos
The Gregory Brothers first became well known for a series of YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos, Auto-Tune the News, in which recorded voices of politicians, news anchors, and political pundits were digitally manipulated to conform to a melody, making the figures appear to sing.
National television networks featured the Gregory Brothers' early political satires as early as the spring of 2009, but the group did not achieve mainstream recognition until the summer of 2010, when they released episode 12b of Auto-Tune the News, titled "Bed Intruder Song
Bed Intruder Song
"Bed Intruder Song" is a song by The Gregory Brothers and Antoine Dodson , featuring Kelly Dodson. The song by the Auto-Tune the News creators features processed vocals of Antoine Dodson, who was talking to a news reporter about the attempted rape of his sister Kelly...
". "Bed Intruder Song," which featured excerpts from an interview with alleged crime victims Kelly Dodson and her brother Antoine Dodson
Antoine Dodson
Kevin Antoine Dodson is an 'accidental singer', actor, and former resident of the Lincoln Park housing project in Huntsville, Alabama, whose interview on local television news became an Internet sensation and resulted in an Auto-Tuned song by The Gregory Brothers that "has sold thousands of copies...
, was viewed approximately 50 million times during its first six months online, making it the most-viewed YouTube video of 2010 (excluding major label music videos). Being largely non-political in content, it marked a departure from the Gregory Brothers' roots in political material.
Following the mainstream success of that music video, the Gregory Brothers have generally produced a mixture of both political and non-political videos. The Auto-Tune the News series has continued to focus primarily on political material, while many of the non-political videos have been given the new branding Songify This.
Background
Michael, who graduated from Appalachian State UniversityAppalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
with a degree in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and a concentration in recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, first created a "debate musical" using footage of the first presidential election debate of 2008
United States presidential election debates, 2008
The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates sponsored four debates for the 2008 U.S. presidential general election, which took place at various locations around the United States in September and October 2008...
titled "Debate Highlights—in song and dance." This early effort did not use the Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
software to manipulate the voices of the presidential candidates in the video. Evan, a music major at Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
'01, encouraged Michael, who had prior experience with Auto-Tune, to attempt to use the software in his next video to make the political figures appear to sing along with the music. Michael used footage from the vice-presidential debate of 2008
United States vice-presidential debate, 2008
The 2008 United States vice-presidential debate, took place on October 2, 2008, between U.S. vice-presidential candidates Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, and Joe Biden, the senior Senator for Delaware, at Washington University in St. Louis, and was moderated by Public Broadcasting Service...
as the basis for the Auto-Tune experiment, and the resulting creation, "VP Debate in Song and Dance," became the prototype which the Auto-Tune the News videos would expand upon. As the concept began to attract notice, Michael recruited the rest of the Gregory Brothers to collaboratively develop the Auto-Tune the News series.
Subject matter
Because it draws its source material primarily from news footage, the Auto-Tune the News series has covered myriad topical issues including Arctic shrinkageArctic shrinkage
Ongoing changes in the climate of the Arctic include rising temperatures, loss of sea ice, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Projections of sea ice loss suggest that the Arctic ocean will likely be free of summer sea ice sometime between 2060 and 2080, while another estimate puts this date at...
, health care reform debate in the United States
Health care reform debate in the United States
The health care reform debate in the United States has been a political issue for many years, focusing upon increasing coverage, decreasing the cost and social burden of healthcare, insurance reform, and the philosophy of its provision, funding, and government involvement...
, texting while driving
Texting while driving
Texting while driving is the act of composing, sending, reading text messages, email, or making other similar use of the web on a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle. The practice has been viewed by many people and authorities as dangerous. It has also been ruled as the cause of some motor...
, tobacco regulation
Regulation of tobacco by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Regulation of tobacco by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began in 2009 with the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act by the United States Congress...
, and the alleged sexual assault of Kelly Dodson. Andrew Rose Gregory, who graduated from Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
in 2004, believes that focusing on unusual or obscure topics is a source of strength for the series, asserting that "[p]eople are frustrated with pop music because it's all the same over and over again, in terms of being love songs or a song about someone going away. These are songs that aren't about anything you've ever heard a song about."
Recurring elements
In the videos, the Gregory Brothers perform alongside TV news clips altered with the Auto-TuneAuto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...
effect. One recurring element is a closing in which special recognition is given to the "Best Unintentional Singer" or other ad-hoc awards such as "Best Fictional Bromance
Bromance
A bromance is a close but non-sexual relationship between two men, a form of homosocial intimacy.-Etymology:Bromance is a portmanteau of the words bro or brother and romance...
" (awarded to Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
and David Brooks
David Brooks (journalist)
David Brooks is a Canadian-born political and cultural commentator who considers himself a moderate and writes for the New York Times...
).
In addition, it is common for the Gregory Brothers to alter footage by superimposing
Superimposition
In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to the overall image effect, but also sometimes to conceal something .This technique is used in cartography to produce photomaps by superimposing grid lines, contour lines...
their own mouth
Mouth
The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food andsaliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth....
s or arm
Arm
In human anatomy, the arm is the part of the upper limb between the shoulder and the elbow joints. In other animals, the term arm can also be used for analogous structures, such as one of the paired forelimbs of a four-legged animal or the arms of cephalopods...
s onto individuals who were in the original video clip. This effect is often used to make those individuals appear to be singing along or enthusiastically getting into the music. The Gregory Brothers sometimes use this technique to make people appear to play percussion (such as drums, the tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
and the cowbell) or other instruments (such as the theremin
Theremin
The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
) along with the music.
Characters
Some recurring public figures and characters featured in the videos include:- CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
anchor Katie CouricKatie CouricKatherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
, usually referred to as "Shawtayee" (phonetization of "Shorty"/"Shortie") in the videos, whom the Gregory Brothers describe as "outstanding" in her suitability for auto-tuning. As of September 2010, she has appeared in more videos than any non-Gregory character, appearing in every Auto-Tune The News video except Auto-Tune the News #12 and #13. Her best known "hookHook (music)A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
" is the phrase "very thin ice", originally uttered by Couric as a black-humorBlack comedyA black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
pun during a news story covering the diminishing ice levels in the ArcticArctic shrinkageOngoing changes in the climate of the Arctic include rising temperatures, loss of sea ice, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Projections of sea ice loss suggest that the Arctic ocean will likely be free of summer sea ice sometime between 2060 and 2080, while another estimate puts this date at...
. This phrase was used by the Gregory Brothers to construct a duet between Couric and Andrew in "Auto-Tune the News #2: pirates. drugs. gay marriage." This sample has also been used in #3 and #8 (which included a duet between Couric and T-PainT-PainFaheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
). - The "Angry Gorilla" (variably identified as, e.g., "Frank McGee" or "Angry Gorilla (R—South Dakota)"), who is one of the brothers wearing a gorilla suitGorilla suitGorilla suits or ape suits are full-bodied costumes resembling gorillas or other large primates.Gorilla suits have been used both to represent real gorillas in film and on stage, and also as a source of humour...
handed down by their grandfather. In one interview, the Gregory Brothers stated that this character serves to "act as a foil for the commentators and talking heads that use anger as a calling card, or at least fabricate cheap ire to chase viewers." - Senator Junkie EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
(R—South Dakota), who continually appears when any reference to drugsDRUGSDestroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
in the news comes up. Notably, in #5, he is seen attempting to smoke lettuce (his "leafy green fetish"), satirizing comments made by Congressman Steve BuyerSteve BuyerStephen Earle Buyer is the former U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving from 1993 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Buyer holds the rank of Colonel in the United States Army Reserve....
in the video asserting that smoking dried and rolled lettuce would cause "similar problems" compared to smoking tobacco. - Bølverk, a ScandinavianScandinaviansScandinavians are a group of Germanic peoples, inhabiting Scandinavia and to a lesser extent countries associated with Scandinavia, and speaking Scandinavian languages. The group includes Danes, Norwegians and Swedes, and additionally the descendants of Scandinavian settlers such as the Icelandic...
VikingVikingThe term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
character, whose dialogue is entirely sung in an OperaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
-esque fashion. His most notable appearances come in #9, discussing the Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
with Katie Couric; and in #11, arguing against the Angry Gorilla and Nigel FarageNigel FarageNigel Paul Farage MEP , a position he previously held from September 2006 to November 2009. He is a current Member of the European Parliament for South East England and co-chairs the Eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Democracy group....
and instead took the side of EUEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
president Herman Van RompuyHerman Van RompuyHerman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
. Bølverk was also described as a "Nobel War Prize Laureate".
Many of the costumed characters played by the Gregory Brothers are designated as "R—South Dakota" (i.e., Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
representing South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
). Characters who have been labeled as such include Senator Junkie Einstein, Olga Barth, Bølverk, and Angry Gorilla.
Reception
Auto-Tune the News has spread virally, accumulating millions of viewings. The series' subject matter and its explosion in popularity yielded an interview on The Rachel Maddow ShowThe Rachel Maddow Show (TV series)
The Rachel Maddow Show is a news and opinion television program that airs weeknights on MSNBC at 9:00 p.m. ET. It is hosted by Rachel Maddow, who gained popularity with her frequent appearances as a liberal pundit on various MSNBC programs. It is based on her former radio show of the same name...
on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
on May 1, 2009, and sustained media attention left the Gregory Brothers "fielding a number of inquiries" regarding turning the series into a full-time occupation for the group (see commercialization below).
Representative Michele Bachmann
Michele Bachmann
Michele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...
(Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Minnesota 6th
Minnesota's 6th congressional district
Minnesota's 6th congressional district includes most or all of Benton, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright, Anoka, and Washington counties. The district is Republican-leaning with a CPVI of R + 7. It is currently represented by Republican Michele Bachmann....
) was auto-tuned in "Michael Jackson. drugs. Palin.", the sixth episode of the series. In the video, she makes a speech regarding her thoughts on the American Clean Energy and Security Act
American Clean Energy and Security Act
The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme...
. Bachmann said of the video that her children "think it's really funny to watch it...it's a riot" and that "it is really clever, really funny."
"Bed Intruder Song"
Episode 12b, "Bed Intruder Song", spread virally much faster than any previous episode, ultimately becoming the most-viewed YouTube video of 2010 (excluding major label music videos). Dedicated solely to the news story of an attempted sexual assault, the episode gave a musical treatment to interview footage of the victim, Kelly Dodson, and her brother, Antoine Dodson
Antoine Dodson
Kevin Antoine Dodson is an 'accidental singer', actor, and former resident of the Lincoln Park housing project in Huntsville, Alabama, whose interview on local television news became an Internet sensation and resulted in an Auto-Tuned song by The Gregory Brothers that "has sold thousands of copies...
. The episode was released on 31 July 2010 and was viewed 7.1 million times over the course of its first month online. The Gregory Brothers subsequently remade the song and video as episode 12c, "iTunes Version – Bed Intruder Song", and released the accompanying song on the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
music store. It made an entry to the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at #89 and debuted at #5 on Heatseekers Songs chart. The Gregory Brothers pledged half of the song's earnings to the Dodson family.
In an interview with Barry
Barry (radio)
Barry is a Comedy Digital Radio station broadcasting nationally in Australia. The station is owned by Austereo and is the second permanent digital only station the company has launched, alongside Radar Radio...
, the Gregory Brothers reported that they had sold over 100,000 copies of The Bed Intruder Song on iTunes.
Guest artists
- Aaron "Blackdata" Steele, a professional drummer from the New York area, was featured in "Auto-Tune the News #7: texting. rhyming. pat buchanan fail."
- T-PainT-PainFaheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
was featured in "Auto-Tune the News #8: dragons. geese. Michael Vick" which also promoted his new iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
auto-tune app, "I Am T-Pain." - Joel MaddenJoel MaddenJoel Rueben Madden is an American singer, record producer, actor, DJ, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, best known as the lead vocalist for the pop punk band Good Charlotte.-Early life:...
was featured in Auto-Tune the News #11: Pure Poppycock, singing a duet with Katie Couric regarding the made-up news proliferating on the internet - Mike Penny, a shamisenShamisenThe , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
player was featured in Auto-Tune the News #11 Pure Poppycock, playing his shamisen during the EU meeting. He had previously arranged several Auto-Tune the News songs for his shamisen and posted videos of his solo performances on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. - WeezerWeezerWeezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
was featured in Auto Tune the News 13, they opened the video playing various instruments to do with freedom, liberty and justice. Rivers CuomoRivers CuomoRivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
sang a short verse parodying a quote from Charlie Rangel. The entire backing track for ATTN 13 was Weezer's own song "MemoriesMemories (Weezer song)"Memories" is a song by the band Weezer. It is the opening track and first single from their 2010 album Hurley and was first released online on August 10, 2010. Following the death of Jackass member Ryan Dunn, the video became the most searched for video on YouTube.-Music video:The music video for...
".
Collaborations
The Gregory Brothers' work on the Auto-Tune the News series has led to them being called upon by other outfits to assist in the production of videos.The Gregory Brothers assisted Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
television show Tosh.0
Tosh.0
Tosh.0 is an American television series hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides sarcastic commentary on online video clips, society, celebrities, and other parts of popular culture.-History:...
in the production of a remix and music video for artist Reh Dogg's song "Why Must I Cry". The Auto-Tune the News signature shout of "shawtay!" can be heard in the video. The segment aired on the show on July 30, 2009, showing an abbreviated cut, while the full video is available online.
They also assisted ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the production of a video segment in which T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
performs with an auto-tuned President Obama to promote his new iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
app, I Am T-Pain (the same reason he appeared in Auto-Tune the News #8). The segment aired on the show on September 30, 2009.
They also worked alongside popular YouTube comedian Ray William Johnson to make an episode for his webshow Equals Three (=3). The episode is called 'Sunny-D and Rum', and references a viral video of a woman singing about sunny-d and rum. The Gregory brothers auto-tuned the episode, and included previous elements from his previous =3 episodes. The word "Shorty" can be heard in the background throughout the song.
Michael Gregory has done various projects in the vein of Auto-Tune the News with comedy website and video producer, Barely Political, home of Obama Girl. He wrote and starred in "Election Memory Dance Off!", posted on November 2, 2008. He wrote and mixed the song for "Obama Girl + Obama Duet!" posted on January 18, 2009, and he wrote and performed in "Obama Girl Stimulus Bill Song (ft Michael Gregory!!)" posted on February 18, 2009. This relationship has continued as Barely Political has reposted each episode of the Auto-Tune the News series, occasionally altered slightly for running time.
Andrew Rose Gregory has collaborated with Joe Raciti on the latter's Audio Quilt project.
Evan and Michael Gregory worked with the group Improv Everywhere
Improv Everywhere
Improv Everywhere is a comedic performance art group based in New York City, formed in 2001 by Charlie Todd. Its slogan is "We Cause Scenes."The group carries out pranks, which they call "missions", in public places...
to create Mall Santa Musical, in which Evan Gregory played a Jewish delivery man who empties a box of styrofoam
Styrofoam
Styrofoam is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company for closed-cell currently made for thermal insulation and craft applications. In 1941, researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene...
snow onto the performers and Michael Gregory plays an anthropomorphic Christmas present. This was the first Improv Everywhere
Improv Everywhere
Improv Everywhere is a comedic performance art group based in New York City, formed in 2001 by Charlie Todd. Its slogan is "We Cause Scenes."The group carries out pranks, which they call "missions", in public places...
performance for the Gregory Brothers
Commercialization
The Gregory Brothers partnered with SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
to create a viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
campaign for the 2009–2010 holiday season based on their "Auto-Tune the News" series. One offering in this campaign is the video entitled "Auto-Tune the Ads: Sony. Justin Timberlake. Peyton Manning."
When asked about a possible backlash by fans due to client integration in Auto Tune The News, Michael Gregory said "The audience gets it. It used to be where any type of sponsorship you might have fans say 'they sold out' but nowadays if you can do it on your own terms, your fans are rooting for you."
In an interview with Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, the band said they are going to be working with Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
to produce a TV pilot for a television series to be aired sometime in 2011. The band's "Songify This" videos were parodied in The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
' episode, "The Falcon and the D'ohman
The Falcon and the D'ohman
"The Falcon and the D'ohman" is the season premiere of the twenty-third season of the animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 25, 2011. In the episode, the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant hires a new security guard named Wayne and Homer...
".
Aside from that, the band worked with app developer Khu.sh to create Songify, an Apple iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
app that allows the users to autotune any speech into song. Provided with the app is an template that autotunes speech to the Double Rainbow music, with additional template packs from the band available for purchase in-app.
Episodes of Auto-Tune the News
| Episode | Name | Length | Release date (YouTube YouTube YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | march madness 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT.... . economic woes. pentagon The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect... budget cuts. |
2:14 | 2009-04-10 |
| 2 | pirates. drugs DRUGS Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :... . gay marriage. |
2:41 | 2009-04-20 |
| 3 | Cuba. afghan friendship. 2-party woes. | 4:27 | 2009-05-14 |
| 4 | spa regulation. serbia Serbia Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans... ns. sotomayor. |
5:05 | 2009-05-28 |
| 5 | lettuce regulation. American blessings American exceptionalism American exceptionalism refers to the theory that the United States is qualitatively different from other countries. In this view, America's exceptionalism stems from its emergence from a revolution, becoming "the first new nation," and developing a uniquely American ideology, based on liberty,... . |
3:26 | 2009-06-18 |
| 6 | Michael Jackson Death of Michael Jackson On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication after he suffered a respiratory arrest at his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said he found Jackson in his room, not breathing, but with a faint pulse,... . drugs. Palin Resignation of Sarah Palin The resignation of Sarah Palin as Governor of Alaska was announced on July 3, 2009 and became effective on July 26. Sean Parnell, the lieutenant governor, took Palin's place as governor.-Reasons for the resignation:... . |
3:02 | 2009-07-10 |
| 7 | texting Text messaging Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network... . rhyming. pat buchanan Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought... fail. |
3:16 | 2009-08-02 |
| 8 | dragons. geese. Michael Vick. | 3:33 | 2009-09-01 |
| 9 | Nobel. health care Health care Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers... . United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... . |
2:56 | 2009-10-14 |
| 10 | Turtles. | 3:18 | 2010-02-22 |
| 10b | Behind the Scenes with the Gregory Brothers | 2:23 | 2010-03-31 |
| 11 | Pure Poppycock. | 4:20 | 2010-04-05 |
| 11b | OBAMA SINGS KICK ASS SONG?!?! | 1:50 | 2010-06-08 |
| 12 | weed. lesbian allegaytions. | 3:14 | 2010-06-17 |
| 12b | BED INTRUDER SONG!!! (now on iTunes) Bed Intruder Song "Bed Intruder Song" is a song by The Gregory Brothers and Antoine Dodson , featuring Kelly Dodson. The song by the Auto-Tune the News creators features processed vocals of Antoine Dodson, who was talking to a news reporter about the attempted rape of his sister Kelly... |
2:08 | 2010-07-30 |
| 12c | iTunes Version – Bed Intruder Song | 3:24 | 2010-08-06 |
| 12d | Bankers' Song – We Didn't See It Comin | 2:11 | 2010-08-26 |
| 12e | BACKIN UP SONG!! | 1:35 | 2010-09-03 |
| 13 | driving . stripping. swinging. (ft. Weezer Weezer Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992... ) |
3:40 | 2010-09-12 |
| 13b | Sanity Song | 1:37 | 2010-10-31 |
| 13c | Rent: Too Damn High! Jimmy McMillan James "Jimmy" McMillan III is an American political activist, perennial candidate, Vietnam War veteran, and karate expert, as well as a former postal worker and private investigator from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known as the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, a New York-based... Song. |
2:40 | 2010-11-04 |
| 13d | KANYE Kanye West Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and... VS. BUSH George W. Bush George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000.... ?! |
1:37 | 2010-11-15 |
| 13e | iTunes Version – Backin Up Song | 3:14 | 2010-12-18 |
Other notable videos
Although the Gregory Brothers are best known for the Auto-Tune the News series, they have created several additional videos independent of that series which have received broad attention. The following videos had been viewed more than 5 million times as of 16 March 2011.- More than 20 million views
- "Songify This - DOUBLE RAINBOW SONG!!"
- "Songify This - Winning - A Song by Charlie Sheen"
- More than 5 million views
- "Songify This - Auto-Tune Cute Kids and Kanye"
- "Songify This - MOMMY & DADDY SONG!"
- "Songify This - SunnyD and Rum - THE POP SINGLE!"
- "Songify This - Obama Sings to the shawties"
- "Songify This - Can't Hug Every Cat - a song about loving cats"
The Gregory Brothers began to retroactively apply the series name "Songify This" to certain previously series-independent videos in late 2010, and they have released a number of new videos under this branding as well. The table above reflects the new "Songify This" branding where applicable.
83rd Annual Academy Awards
The Gregory Brothers created a musical segment where they auto-tuned bits of 4 major motion pictures from 2010: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Toy Story 3Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
, The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Host James Franco
James Franco
James Edward Franco is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, painter, performance artist and instructor at New York University. He left college in order to pursue acting and started off his career by making guest appearances on television series in the 1990s...
comically introduced the segment as a tribute to a "great year for the movie musical." Characters that were autotuned included: Ron Weasley
Ron Weasley
Ronald Bilius "Ron" Weasley is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. His first appearance was in the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as the best friend of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger...
, Hermione Granger
Hermione Granger
Hermione Jean Granger is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. She initially appears in the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as a new student on her way to Hogwarts...
, Sheriff Woody
Sheriff Woody
Sheriff Woody Pride, or simply Woody, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Toy Story franchise . He is voiced by Tom Hanks in the films, and by Jim Hanks in most other media.-Toy Story:...
, Sean Parker
Sean Parker
Sean Parker is an American technology businessman and entrepreneur. He co-founded Napster, Plaxo, Causes, and Airtime, and was Facebook's founding president. His net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion.-Early life:...
, Christy Lee, and Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen is one of the main characters of the Twilight book series and film.Edward Cullen is also the name of:*Ed Cullen , features writer for the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate...
. On July 14, 2011 it was announced that this segment earned The Gregory Brothers a nomination for a 2011 Emmy award in the category "Outstanding Short-Form Picture Editing." Only Michael and Evan are nominated as there is a two person nomination limit in this category.
While only those four aired, an alternative cut was released on the official 2011 Grammy Awards YouTube channel on February 27, 2011, featuring an auto-tuned version of The King's Speech in place of The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
.
"Double Rainbow Song"
In July 2010, the Gregory Brothers released an auto-tuned version of the Double RainbowDouble Rainbow (viral video)
Double Rainbow refers to a viral video posted by Paul "Bear" Vasquez. The clip, filmed in his front yard just outside Yosemite National Park, in the U.S. state of California, chronicles his sighting of and Stendhal syndrome-like reaction to a double rainbow...
viral video. The original video featured the overawed reaction of Paul "Hungry Bear" Vasquez to a double rainbow
Rainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
at Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
. The Gregory Brothers turned Vasquez's astounded speech into a song and pledged all of the song's earnings to Vasquez and Yosemite. As of June 4, 2011, the Gregory Brothers' auto-tuned remix had received 24,577,548 views.
External links
- The Gregory Brothers' official website
- Andrew Rose Gregory's official website; contains the Auto-Tune the News videos
- Auto-Tune the News official episode listing at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....