Music
Press
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Discography
You're All I Need To Get By - itunes single from American Idol Season 8
(Sorry Seems To Be) The Hardest Word - itunes single American Idol season 8
Photos
Bio
Von Smith, 23, is a native of Kansas City, Missouri. Born of musical parents, his mother Valinda, a jazz/blues singer/piano teacher, and father Doug, a rock singer (inducted into the Iowa Rock'n Roll Hall Of Fame in
1998) always made sure music was a part of the family. Even after they
split when Von was only 2, music was still a part of everyday life for
the Smiths.
Von began singing at age 5 when his mother let him sing at her
students' piano recitals, and soon after, he was doing local theatre in
Kansas City. By age 12 Von began exploring soul music, discovering the likes of Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle and others. At age 13, Von began performing in his new soulful style, and made it all the way to the finals of Ed Mcmahon's competition "Next Big Star".
Shortly after Ed McMahon's show, Von decided to homeschool so he could focus more on furthering his singing career. Then, at age 18, Von left home for Mexico, in search of independence and musical self-expression, and worked as a singer at various resorts in Cancun and Mexico City for over a year.
With newfound confidence and experience under his belt, Von returned home to start over in the states, exploring and pursuing his true pop/soul style. After finding kindred spirits in local Kansas City jazz musicians, Von was asked to perform several pop standards at a small reception for a local chamber of commerce. One of the songs he was asked to sing was "And I Am Telling You" from the popular "Dreamgirls" musical and film. Not thinking it would lead to anything of significance, Von posted a recording of his performance on YouTube.
Three months later and nearly 400,000 fans later, Von's performance had
garnered him national attention (including features on MTV and BET) as
one of the first young singers to emerge from obscurity through the
tremendous YouTube phenomenon. Rosie O'donnell invited him to perform on
The View, and shortly after, he signed a record deal with Akon's record label, Kon Live Distribution.
With Akon at the helm, Von began work on what would be his first album, but later opted to be released from his contract before finishing it to audition for the 8th season of American Idol, where he made it all the way to the top 17.
Still writing and recording, Von continues to hone his craft and can assure you that he ain't gon' stop for nothin'!
For more info on Von, visit his MySpace at
www.myspace.com/vonleesmith
or his facebook at:
www.facebook.com/vonthevonatron
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