Who do you think this week's celebrity wake up call will come from??? #Teamwakeup
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Wake Up with Jesse McCartney! Sign up for your wake up call now!
Breaking onto the music scene at a young age, Jesse McCartney was eager to make music.
Breaking onto the music scene at a young age, Jesse McCartney was eager to make music.
“When I was 16, I was so green and so naïve, and I just wanted to make an album. I was willing to sing anything and everything,” McCartney says.
A lot has changed since then. Now, with his new album, Have It All, What McCartney is finding for the first time, really, is his true musical home.
“The new album is filled with a lot of dance/electro-type, fun records. I pushed the envelope a little bit more rhythmically and urban-wise, though there are still some songs that are reminiscent of the last album. People like Sean Garrett and Tyga from Young Money [who provides a guest rap on the playful ‘I Don’t Normally Do This’] are prolific writers in the urban world and helped me to take the sound and writing to new heights.”
It’s not just a matter of turning up the production; McCartney feels like he’s finally come into his own as a singer for the first time.
“I really feel like I’m in my prime vocally. The song ‘Undo’ is the first time I’ve ever recorded a song almost entirely in my falsetto voice, which I think right now is the strongest it’s ever been. I’ve been working really hard on strengthening that part of my voice, and I wanted to stretch my legs a little bit and see if I could pull off something that kind of has an old-school Marvin Gaye-type feel.”
"I wanted to sing the kind of songs that I grew up listening to. I wanted to be a little Michael Jackson, Prince, or Stevie. I loved them so much, and loved that genre of music and wanted to be a part of it.”
It wasn't until he recorded his 3rd album Departure in 2008, that he’d allowed himself "to go against expectations and do what I wanted.” It represented a leap of faith, with no guarantee it would pay off after so much time away.
“It was a lot more pressure and people looking at me saying, ‘All right, this one’s on you!’ I don’t know what would have happened if it didn’t work. You have to be honest, trust yourself and go with your gut because the fans can spot a fake very quickly. I was determined to push myself vocally and stay in that booth as long as it took for each song. It was something that I decided I would do on my own, and it was a scary move.”
McCartney continues to do a lot of moonlighting. He’s increasingly gotten into writing songs for other artists, and one of those—“Bleeding Love,” a collaboration with One Republic’s Ryan Tedder—turned into the top song of 2008. After he and Tedder came up with it in a sudden burst of inspiration one afternoon, “it sat around in a file for like a year, until Ryan pitched it to Simon (Cowell), who wanted it for Leona Lewis. And it became one of the biggest songs of the decade. I can’t even tell you what that was like.”
And he continues to act, while admitting it’s a tough balance between that and the demands of being a full-time musician. “I love acting so much, and what I thought I would do actually when I was younger, when I started doing stuff professionally. I was theatrically trained, and I was on- and off-Broadway For fun, I was taking the money I was making from acting and putting it into demos, and that’s how I got signed. But I didn’t really expect to have a music career ahead of everything else.”
Multitalented and passionate about living his dream, McCartney has experienced success on his own terms.
“The biggest thing is that I really feel that for the first time, there are no boundaries,” McCartney says.
What kind of life would you live if you had no boundaries to your success? It starts with a great education. Let Jesse McCartney wake you up and get your day started!
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live without pressure or abuse.
* end unhealthy relationships.
* step in and help if I see someone getting harassed.
* take control of my decisions.
* disconnect whenever I want to.
Do you have other rights to add to the list? Be a part of the conversation! Visit www.athinline.org to learn more.
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Let Greyson Chance wake you up for school!
Nothing about Greyson Chance’s rise to fame screams conventional. Like many of you, he was just a regular middle schooler minding his own business and performing Lady Gaga during a choir event,
when his life changed.
His brother recorded a clip of his performance and posted it to Youtube. It didn’t take long for the word to spread that Greyson had some serious vocals and a star was born.
That performance of “Paparazzi” was the third most popular Youtube video of 2010! Among the 40 million people who watched it was a producer for the Ellen DeGeneres Show. The talk show host and comedian had Greyson on the show several times and immediately signed him as the first artist on her new label eleveneleven Records.
Greyson has seen success out of the gate. His debut single “Waiting Outside the Lines” has sold over 160 thousand copies to date and was recently the #1 physical single in the country for four straight weeks. He has also toured North America with fellow teens iCarly’s Miranda Cosgrove and Australian pop star Cody Simpson. Of his live performance, The Washington Post said that “catching Chance [perform] at this stage in his career is akin to watching a thoroughbred of impeccable breeding gallop as a yearling. He doesn’t have his legs under him yet, and stumbles are possible, but the raw materials are such that it’s hard to bet against him running with the big boys in a few years.”
“This is my dream and I’m living it,” Greyson says. “I’ve never wanted to do anything else except write songs and perform them."
The next step for Greyson is the release of his debut album Hold On ‘Til The Night which he recorded in Los Angeles with famed producers such as The Matrix (Christina Aguilera, Avril Lavigne, Jason Mraz, Britney Spears) and Billy Steinberg (Enrique Iglesias, Katherine McPhee, Miranda Cosgrove). Unlike many teen artists, Greyson took on much of the writing for this debut record. "Writing and recording this album has been such a fun and exciting journey!” said Chance. “I've put so much hard work into it and I can't wait for the world to hear it. It's about overcoming fears but always powering through, and I think it's a message my fans will really relate to," he added.
If his story doesn’t inspire you, maybe a Wake Up call from Greyson will! Sign up to now to get a wake up call from this rising star!
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Get Schooled has some great information to get you started, but we also know sometimes, it's time to bring in the experts. Robin Mamlet, the former dean of admissions at Stanford University, and Christine VanDeVelde, a journalist, have written a book called “College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step.”
They want to answer your questions about how to get into college. Ask your question through the New York Times' the Choice blog. Don't be shy, if you have a question, thousands of other students probably have the same question. If you ask a question, let us know via our Facebook page. We'll post your question and the answer so everyone can learn a little bit more about how to get into college.
Even if you don't have a question, check out their answers to other people's questions...here's a teaser just to give you a taste:
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From the New York Times, the Choice (a great resource on all things college admission)
Q. How should high school students handle alcohol on college visits? Should they attend parties to observe an aspect of the campus social life, or avoid parties where alcohol could be served?
A. Ryan Lombardi, dean of students at Ohio University, advises high school students not to attend parties on campus at all if they think alcohol might be present.
“If they were to be discovered in such a situation, it could jeopardize their ultimate acceptance to the college or university they are visiting,” Mr. Lombardi said. Any high school students found drinking while visiting Ohio University would risk losing their acceptance letter. Although Mr. Lombardi said that no prospective students had been caught drinking on campus in the past, accepted students who had been found drinking on campus before their freshman year had their acceptances revoked.
Find out how other schools handle high school students drinking during a college visit by checking out the full article over at The Choice blog!
Q. ACT or SAT? Is there really any preference among top colleges like Vanderbilt and Emory or should a student just take the test they are better suited for?
— mona
A. If the college does not indicate a preference – and we cannot think of a college that does – familiarize yourself with both the ACT and SAT and take the one with which you feel most comfortable and do best on.
You can take the PLAN and PSAT if available or simply take the practice tests in the SAT and ACT registration booklets or online at their Web sites. If you are taking practice tests from a guide from a library or bookstore, make sure that they contain actual test materials from the SAT or ACT; these materials will be characterized as “disclosed” tests.
Here is what we do not recommend: studying for and taking both tests and then submitting the higher score. This takes way too much of your time, and life is too short. Take a few practice tests for each, see which you do best on, and prepare for that one.
" addthis:title="Get Your College Question Answered by the Experts" addthis:url="http://getschooled.com/articles/170" class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style">how to pay for college can be confusing. There may be billions of dollars in aid available, but how do you find it?? We figured our tech-savvy Get Schooled followers have some great ideas on how to use technology to make finding money for college a little less confusing. That's why Get Schooled, MTV and the College Board joined forces to launch the Get Schooled: College Affordability Challenge.
There were more than 200 entries, and Devin Valencia, a recent graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was our winner. Her winning idea is Connect Fund -- the first-ever social media tool designed to help students navigate through the financial aid maze. Connect Fund is a Facebook application that automatically presents users with a tailored list of scholarship and financial aid opportunities based on their demographic information that is already provided through their Facebook profiles.
Tr3s: MTV, Musica y Mas recognized Devin's creativity and leadership by honoring her as an Agente de Cambio. Devin is the first member of her family to graduate college and she hopes Connect Fund will help others do the same. “I’m the first person in my immediate family to actually attend college and graduate. I’m normal, a normal girl from a normal town, just knowing that I can inspire anyone who is watching this makes me feel proud of my accomplishments and of myself” she said.
Congratulations to Devin Valencia! We hope her story inspires you to become an Agente de Cambio!
Connect Fund will launch by January 2012 -- check back here for more information as we ready for its launch!
" addthis:title="Meet Devin Valencia" addthis:url="http://getschooled.com/articles/148" class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style">Let Nikki Minaj wake you up for school! Sign up now!
Influenced by the unpredictable rhymes of Missy Elliot along with attitudes of Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown, Queens native Nicki Minaj was discovered thanks to her MySpace page.
It was there that Dirty Money Entertainment CEO Fendi first heard her ability to freestyle and first laid eyes on her. With a background in the performing arts thanks to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art — the school that had inspired the movie Fame — Minaj was a perfect fit for Fendi’s urban DVD magazine, The Come Up. She appeared in numerous volumes, including number 11, which spotlighted her future label boss, superstar rapper Lil Wayne.
“I am a young, female mogul before I am an artist. As a business woman there isn’t a single day where I don’t use my education or acquire new knowledge to ensure my success. Regardless of where you are today, with education you can take yourself where you want to be.”
Through Fendi, Wayne contacted Minaj and signed her to his Young Money label. They began to build her career through mixtapes like Lil Wayne’s Dedication 3 and Minaj’s own Sucka Free. Meanwhile, appearances on various remixes — everything from T.I.’s “No Matter What” to Jeffree Star’s club track “Cupcakes Taste Like Violence” — helped spread the word. The big breakthrough came when Wayne added his rhymes to her “High as a Kite” single, a mixtape favorite in 2008.
Her debut studio album Pink Friday (2010) became a commercial success, peaking atop of the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release. She became the first artist ever to have seven songs within the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. Her second single, “Your Love“, reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV’s Annual Hottest MC List.
Nicki wants to help you get up and get going to school. You can sign up here for a wake up call from Nicki Minaj and other Get Schooled celebrity ambassadors.
" addthis:title="Nicki Minaj" addthis:url="http://getschooled.com/articles/16" class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style">Almost every day, it seems, there is someone reminding you of how expensive college is. But how expensive is it really?
Paying for college is a lot like buying a car - there is the price you see on the window in the car lot, and then there is the price you actually pay. Keep in mind, that just because some of the college price tags you hear about can be discouraging - $30,000 or more for yearly tuition and fees - most colleges are more affordable than you might think. For example, did you know that about 60 percent of students attending four-year schools pay less than $6,000 for tuition and fees?
Why the big difference between the college sticker price and the actual cost? Well, after grants are taken into consideration, the net price the average undergraduate pays for a college education is significantly lower than the published tuition and fees. So how do you figure out how much the college you are interested in really costs? Check out this college cost calculator from the US Department of Education and check out the real price!
And don't forget, just like you can get financial aid to help you with your car, resources are available to help you pay for college. In fact, there is more financial aid available than ever before - more than $135 billion! Get Schooled is here to help with lots on information on different ways to pay for college.
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