This guy has an very easy and effortless voice… I wouldn’t compare him to Von because for one, Von was performing for a crowd and this guy is just at home singing to a webcam. He arranged those songs so well…check out his Youtube page! Apparently he’s British and he has a deep love for gospel and soul music (Patti Labelle, Cece Winans, Karen Clark, Shirley Caesar, Celine Dion to name a few)..and he’s only 20!
He’s got some serious raw talent…I say big thumbs up; he blew me away..imagine what he can do when he *really* puts the effort in.

i agree with 9 Goliano, if youre going to showcase someone from youtube, pick someone who can actually sing pls. NEXT!

He has a nice voice. I looked him up on YouTube and he sings other songs. Check him out singing “Listen.” He sounds pretty good.

Oh, I typed in “and i am telling you i’m not going” and TOO many people are trying to sing that song…many gays, a few vids of J Holiday herself, Frenchie from AI, whites, blacks, kids, etc. This song is the new National Anthem!

I’m with fungirl, it was lacking

Yeah, Seen him on The View. He’s very talented. Hope to see him get a record deal and who knows……he can be the next Jennifer H. (Lol, just saying)

uuuuuuuuup Wrong white guy! Lol, Did bother watching the clips.

I like his voice much better than the other guy. The one who is being asked to come to 106th and The View.

Okay I just looked at the second clip and why is he singing like a bored kid in chior class?! Looking at the ground, like he’s waiting for it all to be over quick. He has a voice……but very little passion!

this whiteboy is a monster he needs a record deal his facial grimace needs work but the vocals are masterful and please alow him to show his talent i understand its a quote quote black song but still the same its a song that he impressively did well and he deserves props such as any other good singer color should not have anything to do with talent

Wow, it’s VERY DISHEARTENING reading this board where “black people” are showing their A$$es. I won’t even call it ignorance because WE ALL KNOW BETTER!

I mean I expect to go on AOL message boards and see them filled with racism and hate any time a black person is highlighted for any reason, good or bad, but the fact you can’t give your opinion on this without bringing up race is ridiculous.

This dude is just trying to display his talent and is showing a greater appreciation of Black Music and Culture probably more than 50% of you on this board!I’ve been in this world long enough to realize that as Black people, we do have problems, but at this point….90% of it is US!

Nice!

That boy can sing…he missed a few words but oh well. Why does EVERYTING have to be about black and white. DAMN..IT’S A YOUTUBE VIDEO CALM THE HELL DOWN.

He should be on AMERICAN IDOL because the contestants this year suck.

THAT DUDE VON SMITH OR WATEVA HIS NAME IS KILLED IT

You better git it boy! lol

Yeah Von is from Lees Summit, MO (Kansas City outskirts) and he has been all in the news here..He has got a record deal now I believe..He should have been on AI this year too because the boys just dont have it..This dude sounded pretty good. I cannot say what is good or not because I could only dream of having a voice like some of these people so there is no room for hate out of my mouth..

whatever.

He should be on American Idol than the no talent people they have on there now. I like the surprise of it you know. Looking at him you would never think he could sing at all but what a surprising voice.

This guy can sing, maybe i should start making my video’s public on youtube…hmmm…Something to think about..He has a beautiful voice..

Gotta agree with #37, that guy is awesome!

Am i the only on unimpressed by this? Also, why do people with webcames always keep a nasty ass house? His room looks like two tornadoes were swing-dancing in it!

he sings listen 2! lol

“Everybody wanna be a nigga but Don’t wanna be nigga” by the great Paul Mooney. lol j/k. That dude did a good job and he really wasn’t even trying.

dude was jammin’

Haters will be EVERYWHERE!

Dude can sing. He isnt the best no. And neither is this Von dude. He can sing his ass off, and better than this dude above, but Von isnt the best either.

Nonetheless, Von is very gifted. Both are.

And another thing, yall wouldn’t find it as annoying if a black person said something about white people, majority of yall would sit back and laugh at it. So why is it that we gotta sit here in 2007 and still be pissed about the old days? Let it go man. Yes I am aware that racism will always be there, but to get closer and closer to getting over it, starts with us.

Bad choice of words, but Im sure he didnt mean anything by it.

Hi my name is ashley, im the singer in this video, and thanks for showing it, i cant believe how much fucking controversy this video has caused on this site. first of all, yeas im white, but ive grown up listening to shirley ceasar, lauryn hill, the clark sisters etc….not to mention the generic whitney, mary J blige, jill scott, chaka etc…. and newly, Fantasia, kiki sheard etc…. i am from the UK, which is why, in answer to some peoples questions, i havent auditioned for American idol, which i love, shout out to Fantasia, Vonsell, Kelly, Paris Bennett…cant remember any others, some cool ones this year also.
anyways, getting off point, if anyone was to read my channel on youtube.com, they would see the type of music i love, and its soul, motown, gospel, r&b etc…. and i hate the whole race issue, but in contradiction, i will say, as a personal prefrence, i prefer black vocalists, cus’ generally, their better that white people, and im generalising, not being racist. weve got barbra streisand, madonna (shit) and elvis, to your Stevie wonder, Aretha and ella, and i could go on forever. i have about 2000 cd’s and i think ive got about 20 white people, anastacia, pink, joan osbourne, umm, im struggling, celine dion, peggy lee. cant think of any others. Its just the type of music im into, how can you complare white british gospel singers, to Karen Clark Sheard. you fucking cant. black gospel is ammmmmmmazing! power house voices, and i feel a fucking dick having to say all this, but ive felt, although most of the comments about my vid were cool, thanks very much by the way, some were dissing, for me trying to make money off the back of hard working, pain stricken black families, and im like, WHAT?3&^%?…… I JUST LOVE THE SONG!!! i sang it quite shit actually, ive got a cold, and in no way shape or form does it compare to Sam Cookes…..and i never said it did, and on the same level, my ‘and im telling you, im not going’ is shiote too, i go flat in the end, what the fuck is that. ???? but anyways, i will get better, and i think this site is brill, and im just a heavy white guy, from the uk, who loves black music, i could name 5000 people i love, gospel, soul r&b (the first cd i baught was killing me softly, lauryn hill, when i was like 10 i think, changed my life, trying to learn the riffs (runs, in the US) at the end…….anyways, who cares, im just babbling, but keep enjoying, or slagging me off, lol, all comments are constructive, apart from ‘another white boy can shit on my head at this song’ which sounds fucking horrable, no thanks. anyways, just incase you think this isnt actually white boy in his kitchen singing black songs, and you think its someone else, this is my hotmail address, leyash@hotmail.co.uk, and its on youtube too, its all fun. thanks for shout out, p.s, i listen to Karen Clark sheard every day, im learning my ‘runs’ from a good teacher. and ‘tonex’ - fucking awesome, makes me sound shit. goodbye!

Well frankly, what can I say. This guy sings has more notes inside him than a safe at the federal reserve bank in New York. What a beautiful emodiment of soul, and tasteful character.

We need to stop bringing the whole “making money” thing off of this. If he was making money, he would be selling this, not putting it on youtube. This guy idolises the music that african americans have been producing for many years, he is paying kudos to everything they have achieved.

Give him a break, and let him do what he loves.

This stuff is ridiculous. Cant you stick to one note. It sounds like a fairground ride exploded in my face.

Frankly this entire realm of music is a waste of air.

You guys should hear some of the middle eastern sumi music and then you’ll know what music is. This is running up and down a blues scale like a child on an escalator. Next!

i got up to 3:07 and couldn’t take anymore.

it sucked
it lacked emotion

he was trying to emulate, instead of put his own spin on it.

i want thht 1 min of my life back.

He is black isnt he, or is that just me watching it with a ‘black’ eye, that one of ‘you people’ gave me for asking a polite question on the subway last week.
- what a race!

son def. got some sugar in his tank lol

Not bad, but nothing to cry over. “A very black song” though?!? Easy with the generalizations buddy!!!

W-WHAT THE FUC-….BEYONCE,IS THAT YOU?!!

That was nice!!

I truly enjoyed hearing this young man sing. The Loop sure has changed. Keep up the great work kids!

WOW!!
thats all i..can really say.

Terrible rendition. Some YT on the view singing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRexSeidRF0

Damn I posted w/out seeing number 37. You must be deaf if you think all that yelling, screaming, and theatrics is singing. Its bullshit. Dude may have a decent voice but all that way over the top shit takes away from the song and the voice.

#103 Get ur terrorist ass outta here then. Go to sunniloop.com. You obviously dont understand and cant appreciate the nature of gospel, soul, and r&b so you dont need to be here. And yeah I know my comment was a little ignorant and racist but I dont give a…

Oh and I fuck with his rendition of A Change is gonna come.

O MY GOD, This site is full of ass holes who cant construct oppinions. this guy can Blow!! ive never seen a white guy sing like this EVER! and i havent seen a new black guy sing like this for a while, and this dude pisses over all the guys on this years american idol….thir shit. JUST STOP HATING, hes a brilliant singer, and for those who are saying he has overworked the song, check out his other videos, LISTEN is lovely, he really tones it down. id like to see white boy with Gospel choir, hes got the pipes to handle it. really good! im so impressed!

Are all of you deaf er somethin, cuz ive heard better white bois on youtube.com.

What’s Sad to me is that if he was black no one would give a shit..His voice is nice but its not amazing..because he’s white we give him extra points..lets be honest people..if he was a skinny little black boy..we would all say soo what!! it’s like justin Timberfake..dont get me wrong the dude can dance his ASS off and has a Cute voice..but their are so many other black people who dance and sang better..who never make it to mainstream beacause of their race. Its like We applaud white people for mimicking us, but dont support our own, to whom it comes naturally!! Think about it. The only SUPERSTAR mainstream black pop artists are Beyonce and Usher maybe ciara..everyone else is a star and household name but not Mainstream..get your mind right people

BLACK PEOPLE NEED TO STOP THINKING EVERYTHING A WHITE PERSON DOES IS GOOD. HE SOUNDS LIKE CRAP, JENNIFER HOLLIDAY IS NOT PROUD AND SAM COOKE DEFINITELY IS NOT…HE’S EMBARASSING, YOU CAN’T TOUCH A SAM COOKE SONG, HE COULDNT COMPETE WITH SAM COOKE ON HIS DEATH BED, BLACK PEOPLE WAKE UP AND GET SERIOUS IF HE WAS BLACK SINGING THE SONGS THE SAME WAY NO ONE WOULD BE PUTTING HIM ON THE SITE LIKE HE SOUNDS SO GREAT, HE SOUNDS LIKE A FAT WHITE FAGGOT, PERIOD DOT!

Dang he sang that Jennifer Holliday song!, although I don’t particularly like the way he sang the Sam Cooke song.

man dude can blow no doubt he goin far 4real

Can’t see what the big deal is about his voice, I think people get carried away when a white boy sings like this. Next black people will be calling him the next Luther.

why doean’t he audition for american idol - he should.

HIS RACE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE QUALITY OF HIS VOICE. I LIKED HIS VERSION OF CHANGE IS GONNA COME. HE SANG THE SONG AND WASN’T STRAINING ACTUALLY HE WAS RATHER EFFORTLESS. PLEASE STOP THROWING OUT THE OVERUSED RACE CARD EVERYTIME SOMEONE WHO ISN’T BLCAK DOES SOMETHING THAT NARROWMINDED PEOPLE THINK THAT ONLY BLACKS DO WELL. DOES HE HAVE THE GREATEST VOICE NO BUT NEITHER DO JUSTIN USHER(CANT SING AT ALL) MARY J BLIGE AND MOST OF THE PEOPLE OUT WHO ARE SELLING MILLIONS OF ALBUMS. HE DOES HAVE GENUINE TALENT AND A POSSOBLE FUTURE IN MUSIC LET HIM SING WHAT HE LIKES TO SING IF YOU DONT LIKE IT DONT BUY IT.

He looks like he sings for burgers!!

@#44, CLEARLY I HAVE TO BE ANALYTICAL B/C TOO MANY TIMES WE SETTLE FOR MEDIOCRITY. YES, HE CAN SING. I DON’T THINK HE’S THE BEST THAT I ‘VE HEARD. I’M NOT IMPRESSED THAT HE’S WHITE AND KNOWS THE WORDS TO OR TUNE TO SONGS BY SAM COOKE OR FROM DREAMGIRLS. DREAMGIRLS WAS AN ICONIC BROADWAY PLAY THAT RAN FOR YEARS. SAM COOKE WAS AN AMAZING AMERICAN (not just Black) ICON.
SOOOO, YES, I WILL ANALYIZE AND STUDY THE THINGS BEHIND PEOPLES ACTIONS. ALSO, I’M NOT SAYING THAT HE HAD TO HAVE EXPERIENCED ANY OF THAT PAIN, MY POINT WAS THAT IF YOU ARE GONNA SING A SONG, SING IT. RESPECT IT. RESPECT IT’S STORY BEHIND IT. THE ROOT WORD FOR MUSIC IS “MUSE”. INSPIRATION IS WHAT MUSIC IS (or at least was) IF NOT, SING SOMETHING ELSE, SOMETHING EASY AND THOUGHTLESS LIKE A BEYONCE SONG. LOL. (I HAD TO. LOL) I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT MUSIC…..THAT’S WHY YOU GET AN EARFUL FROM ME.

P.S #95 -LMAO!!!!

You Have a Beautiful voice…
You should try American Idol, the men this year don’t need to be on there.

Dang that white boy can sing… He really should pursue that… I would by music from him!!!

He was aiight. Good but she blew it away for real!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioFOw28HwbE

He can sing but the Tourette-like twitches and facial expressions took away from his performance. And is it me or did he look confused at times?

@15 im saying.donny was going through depression but his voice was amazing

really theres is no best in this industry.everybody has their own sound (well some).nobody is shooting a gun to your head an listen to anything.its your choice.he was ok though.but a “very black white song?”.you wont hear lady t say some ish like that.

At first I wasn’t interested, but yes he can sing.

He was okay. I am a white girl from little old Ireland, and I have to say, black people can outsing white people any day.

I love black singers - my favourite is whitney. Black people have such incredibly powerful voices. I wish I could sing like whitney, mary etc.

My cd collection is made up of mainly black artists. When it comes to music, white people are nowhere near as talented as black people. its a fact.

i think that he blew that song up… very nice…. i have a question though,, how come i only see larger people singing that song????.. anyway…. it dont matter i love my larger people and he did tooooo goood.. he wasnt even straining to sing those notes…..KUDOS>>>

Hell Yea @ #124….I bet he be tryin to get a double whopper wit no fuckin money and break into song through the drive-thru!!!!

*cheers*

for all you idiots who keep saying “if he was black…”

if he was black, this video clip wouldn’t've been posted in the first place.

if he was black, we would all agree that he sucks. (some of you are saying he sounds good just b/c he’s white and sounds a lil more seasoned than the avg white signer)

if he was black, he would’ve done a much better rendition

let’s stop basing our arguments on probability, and instead focus on the truth of the matter: he IS white, and he DOES suck.

he’s trying to emulate something he can NEVER be, instead of putting his own spin to it. he sounds like he’s trying to hard; he’s not singing from the soul (for obvious reasons; and he’s extremely boring.

NEXT!

HE SOUNDED HORRIBLE. THE SONG WAS BLAND AND BORING. HE CHANGED THE KEY SO SEVERELY IT ENDED UP SOUNDING LIKE A WACK ASS KARAOKE SONG SANG OFF KEY, OFF TEMPO, AND SINGING THE WRONG WORDS AT LEAST ON TWO OCCASIONS.

THERE ARE A KAZILLION BLACK MEN IN THE CHURCHES, IN CLUBS OR JUST WALKING AROUND HIS JOB SINGING AND MOPPING THAT PUTS THAT TIRED FAT FAIRY TO SHAME.

Go head white boi!!!!. I think he should write his own songs (if possible). Then sing from his own heart. He has a great voice, so I think he could pull it off. Robin Thicke did.

hey 15..aka…Al Sharpton..settle down. geez. if i were white people id be so tired of that same old underground railroad mentality. stop crying wolf! let the whiteboy sing whatever the hell he wants. he’s even singing in his damn bathroom! what are you really worried about?

he is good . good voice

I didn’t detect not one hint of the British accent, that dude is from the United Kingdom…wonderful!

this site is full of fucking sad, racist, arseholes, it has nothing to do with music or any sort of culture. im shocked at how black people are treating this singer, he didnt put this song on youtube to be posted on this site, or be fucking cut up by any of you, gealous, talentless losers.
Id love to see how Oprah winfrey would react reading this website….i cant believe people are so racist in 2007. you deserve, as a race, all u get. im so ashamed as a human to even share this earth with such fucking racist, bullies. a website of arseholes.

P.S and for all those fucking uneducated, narrow minded bullies - Look at the Grammy awards, which give ‘you people’ most of its fucking awards, cus the Oscars certainly dont, the highest winning male is Stevie wonder, and highest winning female is aretha franklin, both legends in everyones eyes, not just black’s…and guess what, their both fucking fat asses….people still buy their records…. you idiots, i cant believe i feel the need to comment in a room full of such fucking twats.

NOT too impressed. His voice is very nice at best, but he does NOT capture the emotions behind the songs. JHud got all that acclaim, because when you hear her version, you don’t just hear the words and the music, you hear the pain and fear behind what she is saying. He’s okay, but…. whats with all the praise?

somebody get this boy on Idol! Paula will love him!

I don’t think you all read the post by Ashley - - Either that was someone posing as the singer, or that post (by Ashley) was actually this guy defending himself against all you haters!!!! Congrats man… Keep practicing and developing your talent. When you get a chance, come over to the US and go to the Gospel Music Workshop of America. I go almost every year - it would be an excellent place for you to network and meet people and get your voice in front of many thousands of people. Congrats.

That was hotttttttt!!!!

He has a nice voice, he should try American Idol. He sounds like Elliot Yamin to me though and i’m already in love with elliot “yamean”.

Ummmm he sounds horrible he was boring me with how he stretched the words just horrible.If he were on AI he would not last.

Hey Ashley, I’ll help you out with a few more great white artist. The best Janice Joplin,Ann Wilson of Heart,Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, Pat Benatar,Stevie Nicks, Candy Givens of the great 70’s band Zephry, and MAMA Cass Elliott of the mama and Popas!!! I saw this funky white boy on the View and he blew me away he sang with the passion that some of you said he was missing. He could win American Idol hands down. This years american Idol sucks dick I wont even vote this year. I loved Bo and last years Elliott Yazmin!!! God somebody please vote Hindu boy off!!!