Matt Beilis

Artist Information

Biography

New Yorker Matt Beilis was born with his distinct voice. Some would say it’s unconventional, which would fit the personality of this singer/songwriter/pianist. Matt traded in his Ivy League education—along with a lucrative finance career--for a gig in a piano store, betting that his artistic talents would propel him beyond the comfort that his academic achievements all but guaranteed.

As a graduate of Columbia University, one might expect to rub elbows with pop culture icons like Ashton Kutcher and Bruno Mars at some point in life, but for Matt it all happened organically online. Like many young singers, he set up a Youtube page and started covering his favorite songs—just him and a piano. And like many of those Youtube stars he found an audience of adoring fans and famous folks who loved his take on Top 40 hits. But he also found a real career—a booking agent, well-paid tours at colleges across the country, and gigs at notable NYC venues like the Canal Room, Sullivan Hall, The National Underground, and The Bitter End. Matt’s wide-ranging appeal as a singer and performer also garnered him support slots for a “mixtape” of artists including Smokey Robinson, Secondhand Serenade, Javier Colon and even legendary Wu-tang Clan member Inspectah Deck.

There’s no doubt Matt can rock the mic. But singing other people’s songs only gets you so far. So he wrote and wrote…and co-wrote with musician and producer friends as well as professional pop writers like Kinetics & One Love, who penned the chorus to B.o.B’s “Airplanes.” Ironically, it is from those sessions that Matt found his voice. Now, instead of covering songs, the unique singer--identifiable before the end of the first verse--was creating them.

The songs that Matt crafted combined his singer-songwriter aesthetic with electronic beats and soaring pop hooks. What will the online and real worlds think of Matt’s artistic ambition? He’ll find out soon enough. The video for the first single from his set of originals, “Silence Says,” will go up on the social network that gave him the impetus and foundation to launch his career. If Matt breaks out and goes “next level” as they say, the process will most likely not be meteoric, the success not instantaneous. But it will be all his--his voice interpreting his Voice.

By choosing his dream over a career on Wall Street, Matt already walked away from a sure thing. Believing 100% in his own talent is the only bet he could make. And he’s all in.

Instrumentation

Discography

-- Silence Says by Matt Beilis
Single, released 10/15/12

-- Too Late Tomorrow (feat. Matt Beilis) by DJ Justin Michael & Matt Beilis
Single, released on Armada Records 3/19/12

-- Parade by Matt Beilis
Single, released 2/29/12

-- They Used to Say (feat. Matt Beilis) by The higher Concept
Everybody, released 4/17/12

-- Change (feat. Matt Beilis) by The higher Concept
Single, released 12/13/11

-- Chasing (feat. Matt Beilis) by Tabi Bonney
Single, released on Blue Rock Entertainment, released 9/27/11

-- Greatest Story Never told (feat. Matt Beilis) by Inspectah Deck
Manifesto Redux, released 11/23/10

-- The Hangover by Curren$y
Pilot Talk, released 7/13/10 (Keyboards)

-- Whole Lotta Love (feat. Matt Beilis) by Vanjee & Mark Alston
Single, released 6/21/10

-- Can't Help But Wonder
7 song EP by Matt Beilis, released 6/11/10

Links

• YouTube
• Facebook
• Twitter

Audio

• Love Cant Wait
  Listen  
• Perfect For Me
  Listen  
• Black and Blue
  Listen  
• Silence Says
  Listen  
• My Parade
  Listen  

Video

Silence Says

Cover of Use Somebody by Kings of Leon

Photo Gallery

Press

• Secondhand Serenade Makes Friends... [+ Show ]
  

  ...Aside from Secondhand Serenade, Beilis seemed to be the opener who really brought a huge followin......Aside from Secondhand Serenade, Beilis seemed to be the opener who really brought a huge following to Hoboken. With family and friends all around him, this singer-songwriter was the biggest surprise for me that night. Considering his smaller stature, he has a pretty big voice. But not that smoothly toned type of voice but something more like the vocal love child of Chris Daughtry and Nickelback's Chad Kroger. It's a bit abrasive to the ears at first but the jolt of roughness is a surprisingly pleasant surprise. While his original songs were pretty good, it wasn't until I heard his cover of Rihanna's "S & M." While it was a bit racy for the all ages show, it seemed like his voice just worked so well with song. Now whether that's a good or bad thing, you can be the judge of that...

• Disney Blog Review of Taylor Swift cover video [+ Show ]
  

  Below you can hear Matt Beilis cover Taylor Swift’s new song “Innocent” off of her upcoming album “S...Below you can hear Matt Beilis cover Taylor Swift’s new song “Innocent” off of her upcoming album “Speak Now.” Taylor debuted the song at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards where the song was meant to speak toward her experience at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards with Kanye West.
  
  We think this cover is awesome! What about you?

• Bruno Mars Tweets Matt's cover of his debut single [+ Show ]
  

  "Check out this dope cover of My New single.. Go get um Matt! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsL1eKJ..."Check out this dope cover of My New single.. Go get um Matt! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsL1eKJv7Qo"
  
  -- Bruno Mars, July 22, 2010

• Ashton Kutcher Tweets one of Matt's YouTube videos [+ Show ]
  

  "He's got a Cool voice RT @elee0710: THIS GUY DESERVES TO BE RECOGNIZED!!! matt beilis. http://youtu..."He's got a Cool voice RT @elee0710: THIS GUY DESERVES TO BE RECOGNIZED!!! matt beilis. http://youtu.be/LIyH_asZdvY"
  
  -- Ashton Kutcher, August 6, 2010

• Matt Beilis Cover - Hold It Against Me
  

  Review of Britney Spears YouTube video

• Disney Blog Review of Britney Spears cover video
  

  Check out Matt’s cover of Britney’s brand new song...

• Underground Bands and Indie Music Reviews - Matt Beilis [+ Show ]
  

  Matt Beilis is a new artist out of New York City. His sound is described as “a place where soul and ...Matt Beilis is a new artist out of New York City. His sound is described as “a place where soul and hip-hop grooves meet the electricity of a rock band.” He has just released a new album called “CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER” that has caught the attention of many music lovers.
  
  “Matt Beilis‘s new album sounds polished but live at the same time, which is a tough balance to strike. He manages to be both catchy and soulful, two of the best elements of good pop music.” –Ryan Dusick of Maroon 5
  
  Here is a cover of Bruno Mars’ new song “Just the way you are.” This rendition amazed me and caught my attention. It demonstrates how Matt Beilis‘s sound connects the popularity of pop music to the soulful-rock-sound that makes it his own.
  
  Check Matt Beilis out at his website http://www.mattbeilis.com/ and see for yourself the talent of this new up-and-coming artist.

• Matt Beilis Interview with A Teen View
  

  Audio interview...

• Matt Beilis Puts On Solid Show at Noontime Series [+ Show ]
  

  New York musician Matt Beilis added to the voltage with his performance at noon on Friday in the HUB...New York musician Matt Beilis added to the voltage with his performance at noon on Friday in the HUB, continuing the Student Programming Association’s weekly Noontime Concert Series. Beilis and his supporting cast did not disappoint a fluctuating crowd of lunch-goers and passers-by. Looking around before the start of the show, I was a little disappointed that the audience was half comprised of SPA organizers. However, the attendance grew rapidly after the band’s lengthy and meticulous sound-check—an unfortunate side effect of the HUB’s open acoustics. Perhaps sensing the crowd’s apprehension, Matt jumped right into the show, starting the setlist without a word.
  
  Upon opening his mouth to sing, it was instantly apparent that Matt had a voice. It was raspy and low in register. He not only nailed the notes, but slid into them, holding them with an equally coarse vibrato. However, his voice also contained a pleasing layer of smoothness underneath its grainy exterior. This created a soulful and textured melody that was audibly satisfying and stylistically unique to Matt and his band.
  
  Matt also displayed his style through his onstage demeanor. Before the show, Matt was eager, but not frenzied. Smiles were frequent, and he joked around to band mates and SPA organizers clustered towards the front row. During the sound-check, when he had to close the lid of his piano in order to see the crowd, the vertically-challenged musician explained humbly to an organizer, “I couldn’t see over the lid because I’m 3-foot-6.” And later in the show, when a tour of prospective students was steered around the concert, Matt called to them mid-song, saying “You should come to Penn State. This is what it’s like here. Every day.”
  
  Between songs, Matt joked and engaged the audience by telling them the title of the next song, why he wrote it, and what it meant. This added a level of connectivity between him and his audience, making the performance feel like an episode of “MTV Unplugged.” His ability to casually appeal to an audience through charm and humor created a very enjoyable atmosphere that meshed perfectly with the excitement flowing through the HUB.
  
  As mentioned earlier, his twelve-song setlist was almost entirely comprised of original material, containing only two cover songs. Having reviewed cover bands in bars for the last several weeks, it was nice to feel the excitement of hearing new music. He played all but one of the songs on his debut album, “Can’t Help But Wonder,” including others likely to be on his next album.
  
  During Matt’s explanations of the songs, the strongest theme throughout all of them was in his decision to pursue a life in music over a more subdued life in the world of business. The cover of his album displays this theme, half dressed in a suit and tie and sitting at a desk, and the other half in a leather jacket sitting at a keyboard flanked by an amp. “Judge Me” and “Let Me Dream” portray his external struggle for independence, while “Without You” and “Why Don’t I Miss You” display his internal struggle with love and its effects. Although I think he could push the subject and style of his songs to gain more edgy lyrics, I liked the purity of his inspiration and his ability to revolve around a central theme for an album.

• Matt Beilis interview – The journey so far and trying to make it in NY [+ Show ]
  

  Hi Matt, How are you doing? Its great to finally have you on YHP. Thanks for having me. Before we ...Hi Matt, How are you doing? Its great to finally have you on YHP.
  Thanks for having me.
  Before we jump into the interview, could you quickly the YHP readers some background information about yourself?
  I’m a singer songwriter and piano player. I play mostly pop / rock with a hint of R&B. You may have seen my YouTube videos!
  So how did you get into music? what your story?
  Well, I started playing piano when I was about 3 and a half. My parents had an old upright piano at home, and when I sat down at it, they said I touched it really lightly and carefully, so they thought I might have some innate talent. They took a chance and threw me right into piano lessons.
  I ended up taking lessons for about 15 years. It wasn’t until later in high school, though, that I thought I’d try my hand at singing and writing songs (mostly because I thought it would get girls). I ended up falling in love with the process and the result so I haven’t stopped since.
  So you graduated from columbia studying Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, how was the whole college experience? did you use it as an outlet for your music whilst studying?
  The college experience was a lot of fun for me, but somewhat confusing goal-wise. Originally when I was applying to go to colleges, I thought to myself that I’d never want to major in music because then I’d have no outlet when I’m stressed with school work.
  Not to mention, it would be incredibly hard to making a living from that . It ended up that while I was there, music was all I wanted to do. My major ended up evolving into a backup plan, rather than THE plan. I knew that I was meant to follow this dream.
  So are you focusing on your music full-time at the moment?
  I am focusing on my music more than full-time now. I’m really passionate about succeeding in music, and it’s the kind of “job” that never really feels like work anyway. My job is called “playing.”
  So what are currently up to at the moment?
  I’m focusing on writing and producing new music for my next album and also for other artists. I’m also writing a song with producer / DJ Justin Michael to be released on Ultra Records (DeadMau5, Tiesto) early next year.
  How competitive is it trying to make a singer-songwriter in new york?
  New York is probably the most competitive place to go into entertainment. Everyone here is an actor or musician. But, it’s also the best place to try to get seen as a musician. It’s kind of a catch-22. It definitely makes you step up your game.
  Bruno Mars tweeted your cover of Just The Way You Are, how did you feel? Its almost half a million hits so far? I noticed you getting some love from ashton kutcher and a member of the marron 5?
  I’m a huge fan of Bruno Mars. He’s a brilliant songwriter and singer. I was absolutely floored when he reached out to complement my cover of HIS song. It has well over a half-million views now. It was also incredible for me to find out that Maroon 5, who I’ve been a huge fan of since the beginning, was a fan of mine.
  Then, when I heard that Ashton Tweeted my videos and it threw me over the top. To me, it’s like the ultimate validation that I’m doing what I should be, and it makes me that much more passionate about pushing further.
  I found out recently that Christina Perri, who I covered on YouTube, also had my cover on her homepage. It’s unreal to me that these people who I read about, listen to, and see on TV are reaching out to me to let me know how they feel about my work.
  How has the journey been so far, the support?
  It’s been incredible so far. My fans are absolutely amazing and so supportive. I would NOT be where I am today without such passionate people behind me.
  Where do you record all your videos on youtube? what location is that? what piano do you use?
  I actually get this question from a lot of people. Well, I’ve never formally told anyone, but people are bound to find out sooner or later. It’s actually a piano showroom in midtown. The owners of that showroom are incredibly supportive of me and my music.
  As it turns out, they have some of the best pianos in the world, so it’s really an amazing opportunity they’ve given me. I think my favorite piano to record on is a Mason & Hamlin piano. They have the biggest sound and complement my vocals.
  You got that soothing voice of soul meeting hip-hop grooves with the soft rock twist to it? what do you think? did i get it right?
  I’ll take it! My voice is kind of like Bruce Springsteen meets Gavin DeGraw.
  What style of music would you say you produce?
  My music is definitely pop rock but it does have some hints of R&B to it. I like the way that hip hop and R&B immediately make you move to the music, so I try to incorporate that feel into mine.
  Anyways let talks about your new album CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER, what was the inspiration behind it? what has the feedback been like?
  The title comes from the decision I made to take that leap of faith and make music my career. It is, by far, the hardest thing I’ve had to decide given the amount of work I put into my education and given the fact that I have bills to pay.
  But to me, there’s no greater reward than seeing that leap pay off and I can’t help but wonder where I’d be if I hadn’t decided to take that chance. On the other hand, it also describes how I felt when I was working in a dead end financial job. I could not help but wonder what my life would be like if I were singing and performing in front of thousands of fans.
  The feedback on the album has been great! It’s inspiring to me to hear that people listen to something I’ve put so much work into and tell me that one of the songs is exactly how they were feeling or that a track made them feel better about something. In general, it’s incredibly rewarding to make art for a living because it’s one thing that can immediately convey a specific emotion and have someone feel the same way you do.
  What can those that havent gottent he album expect to get from it?
  I think it’s easy for listeners to take away meaning from the songs, even if it’s not the original meaning behind the songs. A lot of my music is written about something other than love, but will come out as a song about a romantic relationship.
  I find that the easiest way for someone to relate to an emotion I want to describe is to put it in a person-to-person relationship context. For instance, in the song “Been Way Too Long” on my album, the lyrics describe a relationship gone bad. It can be taken as a romantic relationship, but I actually wrote it about the job I was in when I decided I wanted to do music for a living. It kept me from my dream so I resented being in that relationship.
  What should we be expecting from you in the future?
  Well, you should definitely be on the lookout for my single on Ultra Records in early 2011 and also a ton of live performances around the country and hopefully soon the world. Keep checking out my YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/MattBeilis for new videos and www.MattBeilis.com for new tour dates.
  Do you have any tips for others looking to make it as an independent artist?
  Never let someone else tell you when it’s time to look for a more reliable, more standard job. If you think you have what it takes to make it, you’re the only person who should make that decision.
  Thanks for your time matt, wish you the best of luck.

• Matt Beilis “Can’t Help But Wonder” Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  Matt Beilis, a New York singer-songwriter, is trying to do what so many of us spend all day dreaming...Matt Beilis, a New York singer-songwriter, is trying to do what so many of us spend all day dreaming about. I’m talking about ditching the 9-5 office job, getting a band together, putting out an album, and making it as a musician. It’s a daunting task, no doubt, and that’s why most of us are too scared to take the first step into making fantasies a reality. (That and the fact that most of us couldn’t play the freakin’ triangle if our lives depended on it).
  
  But Mr. Beilis certainly has talent, and his desire to follow his passion has now resulted in the tangible product that is his debut album, Can’t Help But Wonder.
  
  But that’s all Hallmark-style back story. What’s really important is the music.
  
  In fact, the first thing that jumped out at me when listening to this record was how well produced it is. You’d never guess that this is the debut album from an unsigned act. Matt did a lot of the production work on it himself, so kudos for that.
  
  The music itself is extremely reminiscent of Maroon 5 and their style of neo-soul adult pop rock with hints of hip-hop drum patterns. You know, the kind of music that high school and college girls go wild for. The major difference is Matt’s voice. Whereas Adam Levine utilizes a rather feminine sound, Matt’s got a distinctly masculine edge to his voice, which can be hard to pull of in this style of music.

• Tumblr Tagged Reviews [+ Show ]
  

  Nice cover performed by M. Beilis. He produces an original piano version and has a great voice ! ...Nice cover performed by M. Beilis. He produces an original piano version and has a great voice !
  
  Enjoy
  #Mike posner #cooler than me #cover
  
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  harlequinsoflove:
  
  You guys should check out this cover of Better Than I Know Myself from Adam, ofcourse. it’s really good.
  #adam lambert #better than i know myself
  
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  paperbackwriterbg:
  
  Matt Beilis covers Rihanna’s “S+M.”
  #Rihanna #Songs #Sex
  
  reblog
  keep-itclassy:
  
  So good
  #hold it against me
  
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  liveacousticheaven:
  
  Use Somebody - Kings of Leon cover by Matt Beilis
  #talent #acoustic performance #use somebody #kings of leon cover #music
  
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  carolynlmusic:
  
  Day 256: Matt Beilis, “Someone Like You” (Adele cover)
  
  Usually I would say Adele shouldn’t be touched…but I’m bias and this is actually a great cover.
  #Day 256 #Someone Like You #Adele
  
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  thatssomoney:
  
  Someone Like You - Adele (Matt Beilis Cover)
  
  Having already performed renditions of One Republic’s “The Good Life” and Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are”, Matt Beilis is at the top of my list when it comes to new covers, and thanks to his latest release there still isn’t a doubt in my mind that he has one of the most unique voices I’ve heard all year. Covering Adele’s “Someone Like You”, Matt Beilis has managed to perform an amazing cover, one that is definitely worth at least one listen.
  #someone like you #adele #cover #new cover #acoustic cover #new acoustic cover #music #song #track #new music #new song #new track #pop #contemporary #the good life #one republic #bruno mars #just the way you are #voice #unique
  
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  lveithere:
  
  Skyscraper - Demi Lovato (Cover)
  
  amazing song.. amazing voice :)
  #Skyscraper #Demi Lovato
  
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  this-restless-dream:
  
  Matt Beilis - “Someone Like You” (Adele Cover)
  
  Met this dude on Secondhand Serenade’s acoustic tour and he fucking rules in every way.
  #adele #someone like you #cover

• Matt Beilis featured on Camel Rider Music's "Whole Lotta Love" [+ Show ]
  

  Check out Matt Beilis' feature on Jared Dietch's and DJ Vanjee's club hit, "Whole Lotta Love," relea...Check out Matt Beilis' feature on Jared Dietch's and DJ Vanjee's club hit, "Whole Lotta Love," released on Camel Rider Music.

• Matt Beilis featured on Inspectah Deck's Manifesto Remix album [+ Show ]
  

  Check out Inspectah Deck's European released Manifesto Remixes Album for "Greatest Story Never Told"...Check out Inspectah Deck's European released Manifesto Remixes Album for "Greatest Story Never Told" featuring Matt Beilis and produced by Matt Beilis and Jon "Flip" Muro.

Setlist

8 to 10 original songs with 2 to 8 cover songs depending on set time and event type.

Basic Requirements

Calendar