Ryan Cabrera
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Ryan Cabrera

Upton, Massachusetts, United States | MAJOR

Upton, Massachusetts, United States | MAJOR
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"Cabrera Quick to Find Solo Fame"

Millions of people got their first look at spiky-haired singer-songwriter Ryan Cabrera in episodes of MTV's The Ashlee Simpson Show. He co-starred as the boyfriend, on screen and off.

Dallas native Cabrera quickly emerged from Simpson's shadow. His Take It All Away CD, released last August, went gold and his single, "On The Way Down," reached Billboard's Top 10.

Touring and many more TV appearances solidified Cabrera's solo fame. He returns to MTV soon as the host of Score, a music and dating show in which aspiring musicians compete by writing and then performing a song.

Earlier this week, Cabrera was taping Score in Los Angeles, the show business capital he moved to three years ago. His new album, You Stand Watching, arrives Sept. 20.

Hard work coupled with popularity enabled the singer to buy his first house six months ago. The swift success of Take It All Away caught Cabrera by surprise.

"It's always shocking when I think about things and I definitely appreciate every day," he said.

Once Cabrera wraps his MTV show, he's back to touring. Unlike many performers, he relishes the touring life.

"I love touring!" he said from L.A.. "Playing for people is my favorite thing in the world."

Cabrera also loved co-producing Take It All Away with John Rzeznik, singer-guitarist with the rock band, the Goo Goo Dolls.

"It was amazing," he said. "John was one of my heroes, so going to his house to write was a blast. He is so passionate and dedicated to music."

Rzeznik wasn't one of those producers who imposes his musical vision on artists.

"I wanted to co-produce my record with someone who wouldn't try to take away my sound," Cabrera said. "John understood where I wanted to go."

Cabrera composed most of Take It All Away with collaborators, including one song, "Illusions," with Rzeznik. Other co-writers previously wrote for Avril Lavigne and British pop sensation Robbie Williams.

"I love writing with people because it gives me a chance to look at the songs objectively," Cabrera explained. "And they push me to write better songs."

In a short six years, Cabrera evolved from high school punk-rocker to accomplished singer-songwriter with worldwide fame. A big step in that journey was hearing his first Dave Matthews record. The experience sealed Cabrera's music-dedicated fate.

"When I would hear Dave's music," he said, "I would pick up the acoustic guitar and never put it down. He uses guitars so percussively and his songwriting is so unique."

Cabrera met Matthews at the Grammy Awards a few years ago. "I was so nervous I could barely talk," he remembered.

After Cabrera made his commitment to music, he quit college and studied voice with fellow Dallas native Jessica Simpson's voice teacher. The impressed voice teacher contacted Simpson's father and manager in Los Angeles to recommend Cabrera. Joe Simpson saw Cabrera's promise and the rest, as they say, is pop idol history.

As for the Cabrera-Ashlee Simpson romance, Cabrera said, they're just friends now. "We still hang out and support each other," he added.

Of course, the singer's looking forward to the release of his new album.

"Can't wait for everyone to hear it," he said.

But in the final analysis, is the famous, gravity-defying Ryan Cabrera hairstyle the real secret of this heartthrob's success?

"It's really funny how much people talk about the hair! It's weird because it seems so normal to me."

- TheAdvocate.com


"Ryan Cabrera Finds Soul, Considers Tour With Kelly Clarkson"

Ryan Cabrera may have entered mainstream pop consciousness as Ashlee Simpson's on-again, off-again boy toy, but the 22-year-old singer, who has begun shaping up his sophomore LP, is hellbent on proving that he's the real deal when it comes to his music.

"I'm on a mission," he said. "I was just [in the studio] recording yesterday, and this new album is going to be crazy."

Cabrera, whose infectious pop hooks and feel-good melodies catapulted his singles "True" and "On the Way Down" to top-10 radio success, plans to expand his musical horizons this time around — think less bubblegum pop and more genuine soul.

"I've been listening to a lot of soul lately," he said. "[The album's] still going to be my style, but almost kind of like Sade, Chris Isaak or Coldplay."

While the songwriter has been penning some new tunes with his buddies, he plans to produce the as-yet-untitled album himself. Perhaps Cabrera learned a few tricks from Goo Goo Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik, who co-produced his debut effort, Take It All Away (see "Ryan Cabrera, Ashlee's Ex, Sets Sights On Album, Sorority Tour"). The 2004 LP, which hit #8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, is fast approaching platinum status.

Cabrera has been on the road since April, but he isn't ready to hop off the tour bus just yet. "The second I get done, I'm going back out. To be performing onstage is why I play music," he said. "Kelly Clarkson and I were talking about maybe going on the road — or me and 50 Cent, maybe!"

Kidding aside, the singer is also branching out with his own TV show. This fall, Cabrera will host a dating show called "Score," in which two lovelorn contestants compete over the girl of their dreams. Each contestant will have one day to pen an original song to serenade their woman with, and the winner will be rewarded with a coveted date. Cabrera will assist the producers with songwriting advice and perform at the end of every show.

"It's a little bit of everything," he said, "and you get to hear my new record before it even comes out."

In a couple of weeks, the singer will relive his high school days when he escorts Ashley Stokes, winner of JCPenney's "Rock Your Prom" Sweepstakes, to her Whitehall High School prom in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

"I'm going to sing her 'True' because that's my love song," Cabrera said. The singer, who will perform at the dance, isn't above letting loose after his set is over.

"I [may be] performing, but after that I'm gonna rock out!"
- MTV


"The Citizens Voice Tour Review - Ryan Cabrera was red hot at Staircase"

Cabrera has an artful pop-rock sound that has propelled him into platinum status on both of his recordings, Take It All Away and the most recent You Stand Watching. Under the watchful eye of the Goo Goo Dolls Johnny Rzeznik, co-producer of the first recording, Cabrera has gotten off to a fast start.

The Atlantic recording artist delivered energized versions of 2005's You Stand Watching like "Fall Baby Fall" and "Walking On Water". On the latter, Cabrera played some remarkably adept acoustic guitar and then was joined by the band half way through.

Cabrera also knows how to have fun with his audience and not take things too seriously. During Take It All Away's mega-hit "True", Cabrera toyed with the mostly adolescent female crowd by halting the song midway through and picking it back up but this time singing in Spanish.

It certainly didn't seem to faze this audience. For all of their concern, he could have even lip-synched the whole thing (which he didn't).

Also noteworthy, from Take It All Away were near perfect renditions of "Shame On Me" and "On The Way Down".

Cabrera also threw in a version of Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al", in which the audience surprised him by knowing most of the words and singing along. This after Cabrera has just explained that it was an oldie that by a gentleman that they (the audience), may not know.

Cabrera's six piece band played well off of their leader most of the evening. The sound at the Staircase is remarkably good and when Cabrera's band blended in a saxophone, violin and various synthesized sounds, the mixture was pristine.

Cabrera's handsome grin and frosted spiked hair had scores of young females pressed against the front of the stage throughout the set. Likewise, the upper tier at the Staircase was packed several deep with adoring fans vying for Cabrera's attention.

Ryan Cabrera is a captivating performer in concert. While his songs are filled with cleverly orchestrated hooks and devised popish refrains, Cabrera's music still seems to promise more down the road.

The Atlantic recording artist from Texas seems to have the complete package; songs, voice, looks and the energy and determination to deliver for his audience. And guess what? He's already over the hump of the sophomore jinx.
- CitizensVoice.com


"Cabrera Charms Teens, and Their Parents"

The line for the sold-out Ryan Cabrera show at Avalon on Sunday stretched down Lansdowne Street at 5:45 p.m., full of young girls with homemade signs and parental supervision. The first ones in line said they had been waiting since 7 a.m.

The tween-dominated crowd kept up its enthusiasm as the spiky-haired Cabrera -- the on-again, off-again boyfriend of Ashlee Simpson -- kicked his set off with his album-opener "Let's Take Our Time" to a chorus of shrieking fans.

Cabrera, 22, obliged his audience with familiar tunes from his full-length debut, "Take It All Away," which he translated almost directly from the album, rarely deviating from the established styles. But when he bantered with the crowd between songs, his nervous charm further won them over.

Despite saying he was feeling under the weather, Cabrera commanded the stage through what he said would be his next single, "40 Kinds of Sadness," as well as two new tracks, "Last Night" and "With You Gone." The new material stayed true to Cabrera's established PG-rated pop-rock formula, with catchy choruses and the potential to appear on the soundtrack of a WB teen drama.

Even parents were given a treat when Cabrera broke into a cover of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" during a breakdown in his track "Echo Park," and again when he took on Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al."

However, it was his hit single "On the Way Down" that drove the crowd into a frenzy and had the packed house singing every word. Cabrera finished out the song playing drums like an overzealous 13-year-old, and the final cymbal crashed exactly one hour after the start of his set.

"True," a standard pop ballad of longing, was an easy choice for an encore, and the crowd ate up every word, especially when Cabrera played the role of teen heartthrob perfectly by dedicating it to everyone in the crowd. The fans would have had their lighters raised if they'd been old enough to have them.

Opener Kyle Riabko, a Canadian cross between Cabrera and Dave Matthews, was impressive with his guitar stylings and funk-folk acoustic rock. Though he struggled through the falsetto on Michael Jackson's "Thriller," he won over the Cabrera-crazed crowd with his boyish good looks and confident strut.

Also on the bill was Aslyn, pop-rock's answer to Tori Amos. But no matter how hard she banged on the piano, her voice lacked raw intensity. Her generic style seemed as if it would be more at home in a "Disney on Ice" production.

- Boston.com


"Ryan Cabrera Takes Away RIAA Gold"

'TAKE IT ALL AWAY' Flies High as "On The Way Down" Single Rises Into Top Five

"TAKE IT ALL AWAY," the smash debut album from E.V.L.A./Atlantic recording artist Ryan Cabrera, has been certified gold by the RIAA for U.S. sales exceeding half a million units. The certification comes little more than a month after the album's August 17th release. "TAKE IT ALL AWAY" was produced by John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls) with Ryan Cabrera.

Fuelled by the rousing hit single, "On The Way Down," "TAKE IT ALL AWAY" made a winning debut on the Billboard 200, entering the national album chart in the #8 spot. The single continues to be among the hottest smashes in the country, currently residing in the top 5 at CHR/Pop radio outlets nationwide. In addition, "On The Way Down" is on the way up at Hot AC, where it is bulleting in the top 15. Meanwhile, the song's companion video continues to explode at MTV, where it is in Big 10 rotation and was the channel's #1 most-played clip last week. Over at VH1, the video is currently a Large rotation favorite, and it is also spinning at MTV2, Fuse, and The N.

The second single from the album, "True," is slated to go for radio adds on October 11th. The song's companion video is being shot this week by acclaimed director Kevin Kerslake.

Cabrera is slated to perform on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on October 7th. He has made a number of high-profile TV appearances in recent weeks, including performances on MTV's "TRL" and ABC-TV's "Good Morning America." The 22-year-old Dallas native also received major national exposure for his role on MTV's reality series, "The Ashlee Simpson Show." Cabrera is Launch/Yahoo! Music's "Emerging Artist of the Month" for September, and was recently featured on "Sessions@AOL."

Ryan has been touring non-stop throughout 2004, playing a range of club and college shows, as well as supporting tours by Jessica Simpson and labelmate Jewel (including a sold-out performance at New York City's illustrious Carnegie Hall). Cabrera recently drew unprecedented crowds and bona fide fan hysteria on the "Simon DTour Live," a coast-to-coast tour of Simon Malls across America. A headlining concert tour is slated for November, with details to be announced shortly.
- Market Wire


"Cabrera's Future, Like His Hair, Points Up"

With his teen-idol looks and trademark spiky, spiky hair, not to mention his appearances as Ashlee Simpson's off-again, on-again boyfriend (they're currently off-again) on her MTV reality show, Ryan Cabrera is used to attention. What's taking the 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Dallas by surprise these days, though, is that he's starting to get some respect.

His first hit, "On the Way Down," marched up the charts with help from his "Ashlee Simpson Show" appearances and loads of exposure on MTV's "TRL." Cabrera says he's comfortable with the image that kind of first impression brings.

"I think things are going to carry over," Cabrera said, taking a break from rehearsal in Los Angeles for a recent performance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." "People thought of me one way after 'On the Way Down' came out. When the second single hit the Top 10, people started thinking, 'Maybe, he's not just about that kind of music.' That will change with the third single, too. There's no point really in getting caught up in it all. I'm just so happy playing music, I don't even care."

So far this year, Cabrera has performed at President George W. Bush's inaugural celebration, as well as the Super Bowl. "They've been really special moments," he said, adding how cool it was to "hang with G-Dub." "It was an honor just to be asked to do it. It was so insane and intense."

The intensity won't let up, however. Cabrera begins his first major headlining tour across America while launching "40 Kinds of Sadness," the third single from his debut "Take It All Away" (Atlantic), and taking time to produce other artists. Cabrera said a lot of people are surprised that he produces other artists, as well as his own work. "I guess I just don't get looked at from that point of view," said Cabrera, who co-produced "Take It All Away" with the Goo Goo Dolls' John Rzeznik. "Music is my number-one thing and I like to entertain, but I'd like to do a little bit of both."

His approach to the future will also be a kind of patchwork - a little acting, a little film scoring, a little pop music, a little rock, a little Spanglish and a lot more songwriting. The strong reaction to "On the Way Down" - and its message of not getting too enamored of material possessions - has pushed him to work harder on his songs.

"It's incredible how people have applied it to their lives," he said. "It reminds you that you are listened to, that you have to watch what you say. I would hate if people only got their thoughts from me. I would hate for them to hear a song and say, 'That's what I believe now,' but it's cool if people saw it as a guideline. I think that's what makes music so amazing." - NewsDay.com


Discography

The Moon Under Water-2008
You Stand Watching-2005
Take it All Away-2004
Elm St-2001

Photos

Bio

In the mid-2000s there was a slew of young musicians climbing their way to the top of the music charts. Some were studio-created products, but others were serious musicians who penned their own songs, played their own instruments, and helped produce their own albums. In the latter category, one young man in particular emerged from the pack in 2005 and was on the verge of hitting it big in the industry. Ryan Cabrera, the personable singer-songwriter known for his halo of spiky, bleached-blonde hair, released his debut album in late 2004 and then hit the road on a whirlwind concert tour. Along the way he connected with fans who responded by snatching up his CD and firmly entrenching it on Billboard's Top 100.

Ryan Frank Cabrera was born on July 18, 1982, in Dallas, Texas. Guitarist, songwriter, and Texas native Cabrera never planned on a career in music. His hobby turned into a passion after hearing Dave Matthews, causing him to turn his back on the noisy punk rock of his high-school band, Caine, and pick up an acoustic guitar for the newly minted Rubic's Groove. The group found popularity in the Dallas area, sharing stages with Cheap Trick, Ben Harper, and Third Eye Blind, before Cabrera's departure. Making the most of a block of studio time -- a birthday present from his brother -- the high-school dropout cut three original songs that impressed the engineer enough to offer the opportunity to do a full-length -- for free. Elm Street was a self-released success, selling out locally and garnering favorable reviews and a deluge of Internet orders. In 2001, Cabrera signed to Atlantic, which scheduled the long-player Take It All Away for release in 2004. Johnny Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls) was the co-producer on Take It All Away. You Stand Watching arrived in 2005, followed by The Moon Under Water in 2008. He is currently in the studio working on his fourth record