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Songify the News

October 21, 2023

Songify the News (known as Auto-Tune the News for the first thirteen episodes) is an American musical web series popularized by Brooklyn musician Michael Gregory, and later his band The Gregory Brothers. The Gregory Brothers digitally manipulated recorded voices of politicians, news anchors and political pundits to conform to a melody, making the figures appear to sing.[1][2] The group achieved mainstream success with their "Bed Intruder Song" video which became the most watched YouTube video of 2010.[3]

Songify the News
GenreComedy
Music
Auto-tune
News
Parody
Created byThe Gregory Brothers
ComposerThe Gregory Brothers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes35+ (not including specials)
Release
Original releaseApril 10, 2009 (2009-April-10) –
present
Related
Songify This

Similar videos, often non-political, thereafter appeared as part of the continuing Songify This series.[4] The Gregory Brothers continue to create films pertaining to politics and current events on their YouTube channel Schmoyoho[5] using Auto-Tune-like software, in a format much like their original Auto-Tune the News videos. After a hiatus in the series, these clips were rebranded in early 2012 under the title of Songify the News.[6]

Production Edit

Michael, who graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in music and a concentration in recording and production,[7] first created a "debate musical" using footage of the first presidential election debate of 2008 titled "Debate Highlights—in song and dance". This early effort did not use the Auto-Tune software to manipulate the voices of the presidential candidates in the video.[8] His brother Evan, a music major at Swarthmore College '01, encouraged Michael, who had prior experience with Auto-Tune, to attempt to use the software in his next video to make the political figures appear to sing along with the music.[9]

Michael used footage from the vice-presidential debate of 2008 as the basis for the Auto-Tune experiment, and the resulting creation, "VP Debate in Song and Dance,"[10] became the prototype which the Auto-Tune the News videos would expand upon. As the concept began to attract notice, Michael recruited the rest of the Gregory Brothers to collaboratively develop the Auto-Tune the News series.[7]

Because it draws its source material primarily from news footage, the Auto-Tune the News series has covered myriad topical issues including Arctic shrinkage, health care reform debate in the United States, texting while driving, tobacco regulation, and the alleged sexual assault of Kelly Dodson. Andrew Rose Gregory, who graduated from Swarthmore College in 2004, believes that focusing on unusual or obscure topics is a source of strength for the series, asserting that "[p]eople are frustrated with pop music because it's all the same over and over again, in terms of being love songs or a song about someone going away. These are songs that aren't about anything you've ever heard a song about."[11]

As Songify the News, the series has continued in a format indistinguishable from its predecessor. Further topics, largely United States-related, have been covered, including the 2012[12] and 2016 elections,[13] LGBT rights,[14] gun laws, and military drone usage.[15]

Recurring elements Edit

 
Keith Olbermann (center) manipulated via superimposition to appear to play the cowbell in the ninth Auto-Tune the News video

In the videos, the Gregory Brothers perform alongside TV news clips altered with the Auto-Tune effect. One recurring element is a closing in which special recognition is given to the "Best Unintentional Singer"[16] or other ad hoc awards such as "Best Fictional Bromance" (awarded to Paul Krugman and David Brooks).[17]

In addition, it is common for the Gregory Brothers to alter footage by superimposing their own mouths or arms onto individuals who were in the original video clip; compare Syncro-Vox. This effect is often used to make those individuals appear to be singing along or enthusiastically getting into the music. The Gregory Brothers sometimes use this technique to make people appear to play percussion (such as drums, the tambourine and the cowbell) or other instruments (such as the theremin) along with the music.

Characters Edit

 
A duet between Katie Couric and Andrew Rose Gregory in the second Auto-Tune the News video

Some recurring public figures and characters featured in the videos include:

  • CBS anchor Katie Couric, commonly referred to as "Katie Coo" and "Shawty" (slang for an attractive woman) in the videos. The Gregory Brothers describe her as "outstanding" in her suitability for auto-tuning.[18] As of September 2010, she has appeared in more videos than any non-Gregory character, appearing in every Auto-Tune The News video except Auto-Tune the News #12 and #13. Her best known "hook" is the phrase "very thin ice", originally uttered by Couric as a black-humor pun during a news story covering the diminishing ice levels in the Arctic. This phrase was used by the Gregory Brothers to construct a duet between Couric and Andrew in "Auto-Tune the News #2: pirates. drugs. gay marriage." This sample has also been used in #3 and #8 (which included a duet between Couric and T-Pain).
  • The "Angry Gorilla" (variably identified as, e.g., "Frank McGee"[16] or "Angry Gorilla (R—South Dakota)"[17]), who is one of the brothers wearing a gorilla suit handed down by their grandfather.[18] In one interview, the Gregory Brothers stated that this character serves to "act as a foil for the commentators and talking heads that use anger as a calling card, or at least fabricate cheap ire to chase viewers."[19]
  • Senator Junkie Einstein (R—South Dakota),[20] who continually appears when any reference to drugs in the news comes up. Notably, in #5, he is seen attempting to smoke lettuce (his "leafy green fetish"), satirizing comments made by Congressman Steve Buyer in the video asserting that smoking dried and rolled lettuce would cause "similar problems" compared to smoking tobacco.[20]
  • Bølverk, a Scandinavian Viking character, whose dialogue is entirely sung in an Opera-esque fashion. His most notable appearances come in #9, discussing the Nobel Peace Prize with Katie Couric; and in #11, arguing against the Angry Gorilla and Nigel Farage and instead took the side of EU president Herman Van Rompuy. Bølverk was also described as a "Nobel War Prize Laureate".[21]
  • Vice President Joe Biden, among the first figures to be Auto-Tuned, regarded as "an all-star unintentional singer".[22] In the series' later incarnation as Songify the News, Biden received three out of the first six awards for "Best Unintentional Singer", and appeared in person alongside Michael and Andrew Gregory in a Valentine's Day Songify This clip to promote HealthCare.gov.[23]

Many of the costumed characters played by the Gregory Brothers are designated as "R—South Dakota" (i.e., Republicans representing South Dakota). Characters who have been labeled as such include Senator Junkie Einstein,[20] Olga Barth,[20] Bølverk,[24] and Angry Gorilla.[17][21]

Guest cameos Edit

Singers Edit

Cameos Edit

Dancers Edit

Puppeters Edit

Reception Edit

Auto-Tune the News has spread virally, accumulating millions of viewings.[25][26] The series' subject matter and its explosion in popularity yielded an interview on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC on May 1, 2009,[18] and sustained media attention left the Gregory Brothers "fielding a number of inquiries" regarding turning the series into a full-time occupation for the group[7] (see commercialization below).

Representative Michele Bachmann (Republican-Minnesota 6th) was auto-tuned in "Michael Jackson. drugs. Palin.", the sixth episode of the series. In the video, she makes a speech regarding her thoughts on the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Bachmann said of the video that her children "think it's really funny to watch it...it's a riot" and that "it is really clever, really funny."[27]

The Bed Intruder Song video spread virally much faster than any previous episode, ultimately becoming the most-viewed YouTube video of 2010 (excluding major label music videos).[28] Dedicated solely to the news story of an attempted sexual assault, the episode gave a musical treatment to interview footage of the victim, Kelly Dodson, and her brother, Antoine Dodson. The episode was released on 31 July 2010 and was viewed 7.1 million times over the course of its first month online.[29] As of May 2012, Bed Intruder Song has over 100 million views. The Gregory Brothers subsequently remade the song and video as episode 12c, "iTunes Version – Bed Intruder Song", and released the accompanying song on the iTunes music store. It made an entry to the Billboard Hot 100 at #89 and debuted at #5 on Heatseekers Songs chart.[30][31] The Gregory Brothers pledged half of the song's earnings to the Dodson family.

In an interview with Barry, the Gregory Brothers reported that they had sold over 100,000 copies of The Bed Intruder Song on iTunes.[32]

Guest artists Edit

Aaron "Blackdata" Steele, a professional drummer from the New York area, was featured in "Auto-Tune the News #7: texting. rhyming. pat buchanan fail."[17][33] T-Pain was featured in "Auto-Tune the News #8: dragons. geese. Michael Vick" which also promoted his new iPhone auto-tune app, "I Am T-Pain."[24] Joel Madden was featured in Auto-Tune the News #11: Pure Poppycock, singing a duet with Katie Couric regarding the made-up news proliferating on the internet.[34] Mike Penny, a shamisen player, was featured in Auto-Tune the News #11 Pure Poppycock, playing his shamisen during the EU meeting. He had previously arranged several Auto-Tune the News songs for his shamisen and posted videos of his solo performances on YouTube. Weezer was featured in Auto Tune the News 13, opening the video by playing various instruments related to freedom, liberty and justice. Rivers Cuomo sang a short verse parodying a quote from Charlie Rangel. The entire backing track for ATTN 13 was Weezer's own song "Memories".

A notable feature of the newly titled Songify the News series has been its consistent inclusion of guest stars. A wide range of comedians and musicians have sung intentionally alongside the Gregory Brothers with minimal use of Auto-Tune; largely from the YouTube community, but including those popular in other media, such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Darren Criss, Blondie, and Nev Schulman.

Collaborations Edit

The Gregory Brothers' work on the Auto-Tune the News series has led to them being called upon by other outfits to assist in the production of videos. They assisted Comedy Central television show Tosh.0 in the production of a remix and music video for artist Reh Dogg's song "Why Must I Cry". The Auto-Tune the News signature shout of "shawtay!" can be heard in the video. The segment aired on the show on July 30, 2009, showing an abbreviated cut, while the full video is available online.[35]

They also assisted ABC's late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the production of a video segment in which T-Pain performs with an auto-tuned President Obama to promote his new iPhone app, I Am T-Pain (the same reason he appeared in Auto-Tune the News #8). The segment aired on the show on September 30, 2009.[36]

They also worked alongside popular YouTube comedian Ray William Johnson to make an episode for his webshow Equals Three (=3). The episode is called 'Sunny-D and Rum', and references a viral video of a woman singing about SunnyD and rum. The Gregory brothers auto-tuned the episode, and included previous elements from his previous =3 episodes. The word "Shorty" can be heard in the background throughout the song.

Michael Gregory has done various projects in the vein of Auto-Tune the News with comedy website and video producer, Barely Political, home of Obama Girl. He wrote and starred in "Election Memory Dance Off!", posted on November 2, 2008.[37] He wrote and mixed the song for "Obama Girl + Obama Duet!" posted on January 18, 2009,[38] and he wrote and performed in "Obama Girl Stimulus Bill Song (ft Michael Gregory!!)" posted on February 18, 2009.[39] This relationship has continued as Barely Political has reposted each episode of the Auto-Tune the News series, occasionally altered slightly for running time. Andrew Rose Gregory has collaborated with Joe Raciti on the latter's Audio Quilt project.[40]

Evan and Michael Gregory worked with the group Improv Everywhere to create Mall Santa Musical,[41] in which Evan Gregory played a Jewish delivery man who empties a box of styrofoam snow onto the performers and Michael Gregory plays an anthropomorphic Christmas present. This was the first Improv Everywhere performance for the Gregory Brothers[42]

After the third debate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Gregory Brothers collaborated with "Weird Al" Yankovic on a video based on Donald Trump's usage of the phrases "such a nasty woman" and "bad hombres."[43]

Commercialization Edit

The Gregory Brothers partnered with Sony to create a viral marketing campaign for the 2009–2010 holiday season based on their "Auto-Tune the News" series.[44] One offering in this campaign is the video entitled "Auto-Tune the Ads: Sony. Justin Timberlake. Peyton Manning."[45] When asked about a possible backlash by fans due to client integration in Auto Tune The News, Michael Gregory said "The audience gets it. It used to be where any type of sponsorship you might have fans say 'they sold out' but nowadays if you can do it on your own terms, your fans are rooting for you."[32] In an interview with Wired, the band said they are going to be working with Comedy Central to produce a TV pilot for a television series to be aired sometime in 2011.[46] The band's "Songify This" videos were parodied in The Simpsons' episode, "The Falcon and the D'ohman" and The Cleveland Show's episode, "Frapp Attack!". Aside from that, the band worked with app developer Khu.sh to create Songify, an Apple iPhone app that allows the users to autotune any speech into song. Provided with the app is an template that autotunes speech to the Double Rainbow music, with additional template packs from the band available for purchase in-app.

Episodes of Auto-Tune the News (2009–2010) Edit

Episode[47] Name Length Release date (YouTube) "Best Unintentional Singer"[citation needed]
1 march madness. economic woes. pentagon budget cuts. 2:14 2009-04-10 Jim Nantz
2 pirates. drugs. gay marriage. 2:41 2009-04-20 Katie Couric
3 Cuba. afghan friendship. 2-party woes. 4:27 2009-05-14 Ron Paul
4 spa regulation. serbians. sotomayor. 5:05 2009-05-28 Katie Couric
5 lettuce regulation. American blessings. 3:26 2009-06-18 Steve Buyer
6 Michael Jackson. drugs. Palin. 3:02 2009-07-10 John Boehner
7 texting. rhyming. pat buchanan fail. 3:16 2009-08-02 Katie Couric
8 dragons. geese. Michael Vick. 3:33 2009-09-01 Joe Biden
9 Nobel. health care. United Nations. 2:56 2009-10-14 Alan Grayson
10 Turtles. 3:18 2010-02-22 Nancy Cordes
10b Behind the Scenes with the Gregory Brothers 2:23 2010-03-31 Katie Couric
11 Pure Poppycock. 4:20 2010-04-05 Nigel Farage
11b OBAMA SINGS KICK ASS SONG?!?! 1:50 2010-06-08 Barack Obama
12 weed. lesbian allegaytions. 3:14 2010-06-17 Pat Buchanan
12b BED INTRUDER SONG!!! (now on iTunes) 2:08 2010-07-30 Elizabeth Gentle
12c iTunes Version – Bed Intruder Song 3:24 2010-08-06 Kelly Dodson
12d Bankers' Song – We Didn't See It Comin 2:11 2010-08-26 Rob Portman
12e BACKIN UP SONG!! 1:35 2010-09-03 Matt Lauer
13 driving. stripping. swinging. (ft. Weezer) 3:40 2010-09-12 Barack Obama
13b Sanity Song 1:37 2010-10-31 Shaycarl
13c Rent: Too Damn High! Song. 2:40 2010-11-04 Jimmy McMillan
13d KANYE VS. BUSH?! 1:37 2010-11-15 Matt Lauer
13e iTunes Version – Backin Up Song 3:14 2010-12-18 Al Roker

Episodes of Songify the News (2012–) Edit

This list is complete and up to date as of July 2022.
Episode[47] Name Length Release date (YouTube) Guest starring[a] "Best Unintentional Singer"
1 GET MONEY, TURN GAY 2:51 2012-01-23 Joseph Gordon-Levitt Newt Gingrich
2 MUFFINS IN CONGRESS 3:16 2012-06-21 Nice Peter Joe Biden
3 Flying Robots 4:22 2013-08-05 Darren Criss
4 America Gone to Pot 3:11 2014-01-27 Nice Peter, Kassem G —
5 Bang the President 4:07 2014-12-10 Nicholas Megalis Rick Santorum
6 Too Many Abs 3:35 2015-03-30 Hank Green Sarah Palin
7 Naked Men 2:35 2015-04-23 Blondie Joe Biden
8 Of Murder & Catfish 3:56 2015-06-09 Nev Schulman, JonTron Rand Paul
9 Smoking Crayfish & Gay Marriage 3:37 2015-07-03 Casey Neistat Jared Polis
10 Sleep Over Tonight 3:50 2015-07-14 Hannah Hart, John Green, Nat Wolff Nigel Farage
11 The Fish Awakens 3:02 2015-12-18 h3h3Productions —
Songify 2016 Schmoyoho published many news-related Songify videos during the 2016 presidential campaign, the most viewed of which included "BAD HOMBRES, NASTY WOMEN", "Trump Goes Hard", and "TRUMP VS. CLINTON", but these were part of a Songify 2016 series rather than an episodic continuation of Songify the News. Blondie, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Weird Al" Yankovic
12 Alternative Facts, Dead People 3:26 2017-02-17 Anna Akana
13 Microwaves & Goats 3:22 2017-03-19 Boogie2988 Drew Ferguson
14 Trump vs. Comey 3:28 2017-05-18 — Jeffrey Toobin
15 Trump Vs. Macron 4:23 2017-06-09 Gabe Dunn, Allison Raskin Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Bernie Sanders (tie)
16 Porn Stars, Video Games, & Weed 3:38 2018-03-26 Jon Cozart, Jesus Presinal Bakari Sellers, Rand Paul (tie)
17 I Like Beer 3:51 2018-10-21 Audyssey (Net Neutrality beat)[48] Ted Cruz
18 Wind Cancer, Dumps, and Babies 3:33 2019-04-09 — Donald Trump

References Edit

  1. ^ These artists performed intentionally alongside the Gregory Brothers in their productions, actually singing rather than being autotuned.
  1. ^ "Band's Parody Helps Keep Auto-Tune Alive", John D. Sutter, Time Magazine, Sep 2009
  2. ^ , Claire Suddath, Time, April 2009
  3. ^ "Double rainbows, annoying oranges, and bed intruders: the year on YouTube" YouTube Blog, Dec 2010
  4. ^ "schmoyoho: SONGIFY THIS". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  5. ^ Schmoyoho
  6. ^ "schmoyoho: Songify the News". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  7. ^ a b c Beebe, JD (2009-06-02). "Interview With Michael Gregory: The Shawtayee Behind 'Auto Tune The News'". newantisocial.com. from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  8. ^ "Debate Highlights -- in song and dance". YouTube. 2008-09-27. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  9. ^ Tagle, Steven (2009-05-18). "The Rumpus Mini-Interview with The Gregory Brothers". TheRumpus.net. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  10. ^ "VP Debate in Song and Dance". YouTube. 2008-10-03. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  11. ^ Heussner, Ki Mae (2010-08-17). "From Sex Assault Fury to Internet-Fueled Fortune". ABC News. from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  12. ^ "Get Money, Turn Gay - Songify the News #1". YouTube. 2012-01-23. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  13. ^ "Smoking Crayfish & Gay Marriage: Songify the News #9". YouTube. 2015-07-03. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  14. ^ "Muffins in Congress - Songify the News #2". YouTube. 2012-06-21. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  15. ^ "Flying Robots - Songify the News #3". YouTube. 2013-08-05. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  16. ^ a b The Gregory Brothers (2009-04-21). "Auto-Tune the News #2: pirates. drugs. gay marriage". YouTube. from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  17. ^ a b c d "Auto-Tune the News #7: texting. rhyming. pat buchanan fail". YouTube. 2009-08-03. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  18. ^ a b c 'The Rachel Maddow Show' for Friday, May 1, 2009. NBC News. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  19. ^ Gann, Patrick (2009-07-14). "Special Interview With "Auto-Tune the News" Creators, The Gregory Brothers". OriginalSoundVersion.com. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  20. ^ a b c d "Auto-Tune the News #5: lettuce regulation. American blessings". YouTube. 2009-06-19. from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  21. ^ a b "Auto-Tune the News #9: Nobel. health care. United Nations". YouTube. 2009-10-15. from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  22. ^ "The Gregory Brothers interview: 'We'd love to perform in the UK'". Digital Spy. 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  23. ^ "Joe Biden Appears With YouTube Celebrities The Gregory Brothers In Music Video To Promote Government Health Care Website". International Business Times. 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  24. ^ a b "Auto-Tune the News #8: dragons. geese. Michael Vick". YouTube. 2009-09-02. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  25. ^ Westhoff, Ben (2009-06-30). . The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2009-07-05. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  26. ^ Suddath, Claire (2009-04-27). . Time. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  27. ^ Schroeder Mullins, Anne (2009-07-31). "Michele Bachmann talks Auto-Tune". Politico. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  28. ^ "Official Google Blog: Double rainbows, annoying oranges and bed intruders: the year on YouTube". The Official Google Blog. Blogger. 2010-12-12. from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
  29. ^ The Gregory Brothers. "Bed Intruder SONG!!! (now on iTunes)". YouTube. from the original on 7 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  30. ^ Monica Herrera (2009-09-14). "Paramore's Hayley Williams Puts Rock Twist on 'Bed Intruder Song'". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
  32. ^ a b . Barry. 2010-09-17. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  33. ^ "Aaron BLACKDATA Steele". MySpace Music. from the original on November 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  34. ^ "Auto-Tune the News #11: Pure Poppycock. (ft. Joel Madden)". YouTube. 5 April 2010. from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  35. ^ ""Why Must I Cry" Full Music Video". Comedy Central. 2009-07-30. from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  36. ^ "T Pain Obama Auto-Tune". YouTube. 2009-10-01. from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  37. ^ "Election Memory Dance Off!". YouTube. 2008-11-02. from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  38. ^ "Obama Girl + Obama Duet!". YouTube. 2009-01-18. from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  39. ^ "Obama Girl Stimulus Bill Song (ft Michael Gregory!!)". YouTube. 2009-02-18. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  40. ^ "Audio Quilt #2: Double Rainbow for Choir". YouTube. from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  41. ^ "Mall Santa Musical". YouTube. 2011-11-29. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  42. ^ "Mall Santa Music". 2011-11-29. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
  43. ^ "Bad Hombres, Nasty Women". The Gregory Brothers. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  44. ^ Hustvedt, Marc (2009-11-12). "Auto-Tune the News' Signs Sony Ad Deal". Tubefilter. from the original on 16 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  45. ^ "Auto-Tune the Ads: Sony. Justin Timberlake. Peyton Manning". YouTube. 2009-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
  46. ^ Buskirk, Eliot (2010-08-13). "Gregory Brothers of 'Bed Intruder' Fame Discuss TV Pilot, Antoine Dodson". Wired. from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  47. ^ a b The Gregory Brothers. "Auto-Tune the News". YouTube. from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  48. ^ schmoyoho (2018-10-21), I Like Beer - Songify the News 17, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2018-11-17

External links Edit

  • The Gregory Brothers' official Website
  • The Gregory Brothers' channel on YouTube; contains the Songify the News videos
  • The Gregory Brothers' second channel on YouTube
  • Songify the News official episode listing on YouTube
  • C-SPAN Q&A interview with Evan and Michael Gregory about Auto-Tune the News, April 11, 2010

October 21, 2023
songify, news, known, auto, tune, news, first, thirteen, episodes, american, musical, series, popularized, brooklyn, musician, michael, gregory, later, band, gregory, brothers, gregory, brothers, digitally, manipulated, recorded, voices, politicians, news, anc. Songify the News known as Auto Tune the News for the first thirteen episodes is an American musical web series popularized by Brooklyn musician Michael Gregory and later his band The Gregory Brothers The Gregory Brothers digitally manipulated recorded voices of politicians news anchors and political pundits to conform to a melody making the figures appear to sing 1 2 The group achieved mainstream success with their Bed Intruder Song video which became the most watched YouTube video of 2010 3 Songify the NewsGenreComedyMusicAuto tuneNewsParodyCreated byThe Gregory BrothersComposerThe Gregory BrothersCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of episodes35 not including specials ReleaseOriginal releaseApril 10 2009 2009 April 10 presentRelatedSongify ThisSimilar videos often non political thereafter appeared as part of the continuing Songify This series 4 The Gregory Brothers continue to create films pertaining to politics and current events on their YouTube channel Schmoyoho 5 using Auto Tune like software in a format much like their original Auto Tune the News videos After a hiatus in the series these clips were rebranded in early 2012 under the title of Songify the News 6 Contents 1 Production 2 Recurring elements 3 Characters 3 1 Guest cameos 3 2 Singers 3 3 Cameos 3 4 Dancers 3 5 Puppeters 4 Reception 5 Guest artists 5 1 Collaborations 6 Commercialization 7 Episodes of Auto Tune the News 2009 2010 8 Episodes of Songify the News 2012 9 References 10 External linksProduction EditMichael who graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in music and a concentration in recording and production 7 first created a debate musical using footage of the first presidential election debate of 2008 titled Debate Highlights in song and dance This early effort did not use the Auto Tune software to manipulate the voices of the presidential candidates in the video 8 His brother Evan a music major at Swarthmore College 01 encouraged Michael who had prior experience with Auto Tune to attempt to use the software in his next video to make the political figures appear to sing along with the music 9 Michael used footage from the vice presidential debate of 2008 as the basis for the Auto Tune experiment and the resulting creation VP Debate in Song and Dance 10 became the prototype which the Auto Tune the News videos would expand upon As the concept began to attract notice Michael recruited the rest of the Gregory Brothers to collaboratively develop the Auto Tune the News series 7 Because it draws its source material primarily from news footage the Auto Tune the News series has covered myriad topical issues including Arctic shrinkage health care reform debate in the United States texting while driving tobacco regulation and the alleged sexual assault of Kelly Dodson Andrew Rose Gregory who graduated from Swarthmore College in 2004 believes that focusing on unusual or obscure topics is a source of strength for the series asserting that p eople are frustrated with pop music because it s all the same over and over again in terms of being love songs or a song about someone going away These are songs that aren t about anything you ve ever heard a song about 11 As Songify the News the series has continued in a format indistinguishable from its predecessor Further topics largely United States related have been covered including the 2012 12 and 2016 elections 13 LGBT rights 14 gun laws and military drone usage 15 Recurring elements Edit nbsp Keith Olbermann center manipulated via superimposition to appear to play the cowbell in the ninth Auto Tune the News videoIn the videos the Gregory Brothers perform alongside TV news clips altered with the Auto Tune effect One recurring element is a closing in which special recognition is given to the Best Unintentional Singer 16 or other ad hoc awards such as Best Fictional Bromance awarded to Paul Krugman and David Brooks 17 In addition it is common for the Gregory Brothers to alter footage by superimposing their own mouths or arms onto individuals who were in the original video clip compare Syncro Vox This effect is often used to make those individuals appear to be singing along or enthusiastically getting into the music The Gregory Brothers sometimes use this technique to make people appear to play percussion such as drums the tambourine and the cowbell or other instruments such as the theremin along with the music Characters EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp A duet between Katie Couric and Andrew Rose Gregory in the second Auto Tune the News videoSome recurring public figures and characters featured in the videos include CBS anchor Katie Couric commonly referred to as Katie Coo and Shawty slang for an attractive woman in the videos The Gregory Brothers describe her as outstanding in her suitability for auto tuning 18 As of September 2010 she has appeared in more videos than any non Gregory character appearing in every Auto Tune The News video except Auto Tune the News 12 and 13 Her best known hook is the phrase very thin ice originally uttered by Couric as a black humor pun during a news story covering the diminishing ice levels in the Arctic This phrase was used by the Gregory Brothers to construct a duet between Couric and Andrew in Auto Tune the News 2 pirates drugs gay marriage This sample has also been used in 3 and 8 which included a duet between Couric and T Pain The Angry Gorilla variably identified as e g Frank McGee 16 or Angry Gorilla R South Dakota 17 who is one of the brothers wearing a gorilla suit handed down by their grandfather 18 In one interview the Gregory Brothers stated that this character serves to act as a foil for the commentators and talking heads that use anger as a calling card or at least fabricate cheap ire to chase viewers 19 Senator Junkie Einstein R South Dakota 20 who continually appears when any reference to drugs in the news comes up Notably in 5 he is seen attempting to smoke lettuce his leafy green fetish satirizing comments made by Congressman Steve Buyer in the video asserting that smoking dried and rolled lettuce would cause similar problems compared to smoking tobacco 20 Bolverk a Scandinavian Viking character whose dialogue is entirely sung in an Opera esque fashion His most notable appearances come in 9 discussing the Nobel Peace Prize with Katie Couric and in 11 arguing against the Angry Gorilla and Nigel Farage and instead took the side of EU president Herman Van Rompuy Bolverk was also described as a Nobel War Prize Laureate 21 Vice President Joe Biden among the first figures to be Auto Tuned regarded as an all star unintentional singer 22 In the series later incarnation as Songify the News Biden received three out of the first six awards for Best Unintentional Singer and appeared in person alongside Michael and Andrew Gregory in a Valentine s Day Songify This clip to promote HealthCare gov 23 Many of the costumed characters played by the Gregory Brothers are designated as R South Dakota i e Republicans representing South Dakota Characters who have been labeled as such include Senator Junkie Einstein 20 Olga Barth 20 Bolverk 24 and Angry Gorilla 17 21 Guest cameos Edit Lester Holt Carson Daly Drew Barrymore Rosie Perez Joe BidenSingers Edit Frank McGee Ann Curry T Pain Barack Obama Ron Paul Donald Trump Brian Oxeman Henry Waxman Chris Wallace Katie Kate Coo CouricCameos Edit Sarah Palin Gene Shalit Shaycarl Anderson Cooper Phil Hartman Jon JafariDancers Edit Al Roker Barack Obama Donald Trump Katie CouricPuppeters Edit Hank Green Hands Nice Peter Mouths Gene Shalit Little Puppet Reception EditAuto Tune the News has spread virally accumulating millions of viewings 25 26 The series subject matter and its explosion in popularity yielded an interview on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC on May 1 2009 18 and sustained media attention left the Gregory Brothers fielding a number of inquiries regarding turning the series into a full time occupation for the group 7 see commercialization below Representative Michele Bachmann Republican Minnesota 6th was auto tuned in Michael Jackson drugs Palin the sixth episode of the series In the video she makes a speech regarding her thoughts on the American Clean Energy and Security Act Bachmann said of the video that her children think it s really funny to watch it it s a riot and that it is really clever really funny 27 The Bed Intruder Song video spread virally much faster than any previous episode ultimately becoming the most viewed YouTube video of 2010 excluding major label music videos 28 Dedicated solely to the news story of an attempted sexual assault the episode gave a musical treatment to interview footage of the victim Kelly Dodson and her brother Antoine Dodson The episode was released on 31 July 2010 and was viewed 7 1 million times over the course of its first month online 29 As of May 2012 Bed Intruder Song has over 100 million views The Gregory Brothers subsequently remade the song and video as episode 12c iTunes Version Bed Intruder Song and released the accompanying song on the iTunes music store It made an entry to the Billboard Hot 100 at 89 and debuted at 5 on Heatseekers Songs chart 30 31 The Gregory Brothers pledged half of the song s earnings to the Dodson family In an interview with Barry the Gregory Brothers reported that they had sold over 100 000 copies of The Bed Intruder Song on iTunes 32 Guest artists EditAaron Blackdata Steele a professional drummer from the New York area was featured in Auto Tune the News 7 texting rhyming pat buchanan fail 17 33 T Pain was featured in Auto Tune the News 8 dragons geese Michael Vick which also promoted his new iPhone auto tune app I Am T Pain 24 Joel Madden was featured in Auto Tune the News 11 Pure Poppycock singing a duet with Katie Couric regarding the made up news proliferating on the internet 34 Mike Penny a shamisen player was featured in Auto Tune the News 11 Pure Poppycock playing his shamisen during the EU meeting He had previously arranged several Auto Tune the News songs for his shamisen and posted videos of his solo performances on YouTube Weezer was featured in Auto Tune the News 13 opening the video by playing various instruments related to freedom liberty and justice Rivers Cuomo sang a short verse parodying a quote from Charlie Rangel The entire backing track for ATTN 13 was Weezer s own song Memories A notable feature of the newly titled Songify the News series has been its consistent inclusion of guest stars A wide range of comedians and musicians have sung intentionally alongside the Gregory Brothers with minimal use of Auto Tune largely from the YouTube community but including those popular in other media such as Joseph Gordon Levitt Darren Criss Blondie and Nev Schulman Collaborations Edit The Gregory Brothers work on the Auto Tune the News series has led to them being called upon by other outfits to assist in the production of videos They assisted Comedy Central television show Tosh 0 in the production of a remix and music video for artist Reh Dogg s song Why Must I Cry The Auto Tune the News signature shout of shawtay can be heard in the video The segment aired on the show on July 30 2009 showing an abbreviated cut while the full video is available online 35 They also assisted ABC s late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live in the production of a video segment in which T Pain performs with an auto tuned President Obama to promote his new iPhone app I Am T Pain the same reason he appeared in Auto Tune the News 8 The segment aired on the show on September 30 2009 36 They also worked alongside popular YouTube comedian Ray William Johnson to make an episode for his webshow Equals Three 3 The episode is called Sunny D and Rum and references a viral video of a woman singing about SunnyD and rum The Gregory brothers auto tuned the episode and included previous elements from his previous 3 episodes The word Shorty can be heard in the background throughout the song Michael Gregory has done various projects in the vein of Auto Tune the News with comedy website and video producer Barely Political home of Obama Girl He wrote and starred in Election Memory Dance Off posted on November 2 2008 37 He wrote and mixed the song for Obama Girl Obama Duet posted on January 18 2009 38 and he wrote and performed in Obama Girl Stimulus Bill Song ft Michael Gregory posted on February 18 2009 39 This relationship has continued as Barely Political has reposted each episode of the Auto Tune the News series occasionally altered slightly for running time Andrew Rose Gregory has collaborated with Joe Raciti on the latter s Audio Quilt project 40 Evan and Michael Gregory worked with the group Improv Everywhere to create Mall Santa Musical 41 in which Evan Gregory played a Jewish delivery man who empties a box of styrofoam snow onto the performers and Michael Gregory plays an anthropomorphic Christmas present This was the first Improv Everywhere performance for the Gregory Brothers 42 After the third debate in the 2016 U S presidential election the Gregory Brothers collaborated with Weird Al Yankovic on a video based on Donald Trump s usage of the phrases such a nasty woman and bad hombres 43 Commercialization EditThe Gregory Brothers partnered with Sony to create a viral marketing campaign for the 2009 2010 holiday season based on their Auto Tune the News series 44 One offering in this campaign is the video entitled Auto Tune the Ads Sony Justin Timberlake Peyton Manning 45 When asked about a possible backlash by fans due to client integration in Auto Tune The News Michael Gregory said The audience gets it It used to be where any type of sponsorship you might have fans say they sold out but nowadays if you can do it on your own terms your fans are rooting for you 32 In an interview with Wired the band said they are going to be working with Comedy Central to produce a TV pilot for a television series to be aired sometime in 2011 46 The band s Songify This videos were parodied in The Simpsons episode The Falcon and the D ohman and The Cleveland Show s episode Frapp Attack Aside from that the band worked with app developer Khu sh to create Songify an Apple iPhone app that allows the users to autotune any speech into song Provided with the app is an template that autotunes speech to the Double Rainbow music with additional template packs from the band available for purchase in app Episodes of Auto Tune the News 2009 2010 EditEpisode 47 Name Length Release date YouTube Best Unintentional Singer citation needed 1 march madness economic woes pentagon budget cuts 2 14 2009 04 10 Jim Nantz2 pirates drugs gay marriage 2 41 2009 04 20 Katie Couric3 Cuba afghan friendship 2 party woes 4 27 2009 05 14 Ron Paul4 spa regulation serbians sotomayor 5 05 2009 05 28 Katie Couric5 lettuce regulation American blessings 3 26 2009 06 18 Steve Buyer6 Michael Jackson drugs Palin 3 02 2009 07 10 John Boehner7 texting rhyming pat buchanan fail 3 16 2009 08 02 Katie Couric8 dragons geese Michael Vick 3 33 2009 09 01 Joe Biden9 Nobel health care United Nations 2 56 2009 10 14 Alan Grayson10 Turtles 3 18 2010 02 22 Nancy Cordes10b Behind the Scenes with the Gregory Brothers 2 23 2010 03 31 Katie Couric11 Pure Poppycock 4 20 2010 04 05 Nigel Farage11b OBAMA SINGS KICK ASS SONG 1 50 2010 06 08 Barack Obama12 weed lesbian allegaytions 3 14 2010 06 17 Pat Buchanan12b BED INTRUDER SONG now on iTunes 2 08 2010 07 30 Elizabeth Gentle12c iTunes Version Bed Intruder Song 3 24 2010 08 06 Kelly Dodson12d Bankers Song We Didn t See It Comin 2 11 2010 08 26 Rob Portman12e BACKIN UP SONG 1 35 2010 09 03 Matt Lauer13 driving stripping swinging ft Weezer 3 40 2010 09 12 Barack Obama13b Sanity Song 1 37 2010 10 31 Shaycarl13c Rent Too Damn High Song 2 40 2010 11 04 Jimmy McMillan13d KANYE VS BUSH 1 37 2010 11 15 Matt Lauer13e iTunes Version Backin Up Song 3 14 2010 12 18 Al RokerEpisodes of Songify the News 2012 EditThis list is complete and up to date as of July 2022 Episode 47 Name Length Release date YouTube Guest starring a Best Unintentional Singer 1 GET MONEY TURN GAY 2 51 2012 01 23 Joseph Gordon Levitt Newt Gingrich2 MUFFINS IN CONGRESS 3 16 2012 06 21 Nice Peter Joe Biden3 Flying Robots 4 22 2013 08 05 Darren Criss4 America Gone to Pot 3 11 2014 01 27 Nice Peter Kassem G 5 Bang the President 4 07 2014 12 10 Nicholas Megalis Rick Santorum6 Too Many Abs 3 35 2015 03 30 Hank Green Sarah Palin7 Naked Men 2 35 2015 04 23 Blondie Joe Biden8 Of Murder amp Catfish 3 56 2015 06 09 Nev Schulman JonTron Rand Paul9 Smoking Crayfish amp Gay Marriage 3 37 2015 07 03 Casey Neistat Jared Polis10 Sleep Over Tonight 3 50 2015 07 14 Hannah Hart John Green Nat Wolff Nigel Farage11 The Fish Awakens 3 02 2015 12 18 h3h3Productions Songify 2016 Schmoyoho published many news related Songify videos during the 2016 presidential campaign the most viewed of which included BAD HOMBRES NASTY WOMEN Trump Goes Hard and TRUMP VS CLINTON but these were part of a Songify 2016 series rather than an episodic continuation of Songify the News Blondie Joseph Gordon Levitt Weird Al Yankovic12 Alternative Facts Dead People 3 26 2017 02 17 Anna Akana13 Microwaves amp Goats 3 22 2017 03 19 Boogie2988 Drew Ferguson14 Trump vs Comey 3 28 2017 05 18 Jeffrey Toobin15 Trump Vs Macron 4 23 2017 06 09 Gabe Dunn Allison Raskin Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron Bernie Sanders tie 16 Porn Stars Video Games amp Weed 3 38 2018 03 26 Jon Cozart Jesus Presinal Bakari Sellers Rand Paul tie 17 I Like Beer 3 51 2018 10 21 Audyssey Net Neutrality beat 48 Ted Cruz18 Wind Cancer Dumps and Babies 3 33 2019 04 09 Donald TrumpReferences Edit These artists performed intentionally alongside the Gregory Brothers in their productions actually singing rather than being autotuned Band s Parody Helps Keep Auto Tune Alive John D Sutter Time Magazine Sep 2009 Auto Tune the News Claire Suddath Time April 2009 Double rainbows annoying oranges and bed intruders the year on YouTube YouTube Blog Dec 2010 schmoyoho SONGIFY THIS YouTube Retrieved 2015 07 04 Schmoyoho schmoyoho Songify the News YouTube Retrieved 2015 07 04 a b c Beebe JD 2009 06 02 Interview With Michael Gregory The Shawtayee Behind Auto Tune The News newantisocial com Archived from the original on 23 June 2009 Retrieved 2009 07 15 Debate Highlights in song and dance YouTube 2008 09 27 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2009 07 15 Tagle Steven 2009 05 18 The Rumpus Mini Interview with The Gregory Brothers TheRumpus net Retrieved 2009 07 15 VP Debate in Song and Dance YouTube 2008 10 03 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2009 07 15 Heussner Ki Mae 2010 08 17 From Sex Assault Fury to Internet Fueled Fortune ABC News Archived from the original on 20 August 2010 Retrieved 20 August 2010 Get Money Turn Gay Songify the News 1 YouTube 2012 01 23 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2015 07 04 Smoking Crayfish amp Gay Marriage Songify the News 9 YouTube 2015 07 03 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2015 07 04 Muffins in Congress Songify the News 2 YouTube 2012 06 21 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2015 07 04 Flying Robots Songify the News 3 YouTube 2013 08 05 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2015 07 04 a b The Gregory Brothers 2009 04 21 Auto Tune the News 2 pirates drugs gay marriage YouTube Archived from the original on 11 June 2009 Retrieved 2009 07 12 a b c d Auto Tune the News 7 texting rhyming pat buchanan fail YouTube 2009 08 03 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2009 08 03 a b c The Rachel Maddow Show for Friday May 1 2009 NBC News 4 May 2009 Retrieved 2009 07 01 Gann Patrick 2009 07 14 Special Interview With Auto Tune the News Creators The Gregory Brothers OriginalSoundVersion com Retrieved 2009 07 15 a b c d Auto Tune the News 5 lettuce regulation American blessings YouTube 2009 06 19 Archived from the original on 16 August 2009 Retrieved 2009 09 16 a b Auto Tune the News 9 Nobel health care United Nations YouTube 2009 10 15 Archived from the original on 14 November 2009 Retrieved 2009 11 10 The Gregory Brothers interview We d love to perform in the UK Digital Spy 2013 05 30 Retrieved 2015 07 04 Joe Biden Appears With YouTube Celebrities The Gregory Brothers In Music Video To Promote Government Health Care Website International Business Times 2015 02 14 Retrieved 2015 07 04 a b Auto Tune the News 8 dragons geese Michael Vick YouTube 2009 09 02 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2009 08 03 Westhoff Ben 2009 06 30 An Evening With the Brain Trust Behind Auto Tune the News The Village Voice Archived from the original on 2009 07 05 Retrieved 2009 07 01 Suddath Claire 2009 04 27 Auto Tune the News Time Archived from the original on April 30 2009 Retrieved 2009 07 01 Schroeder Mullins Anne 2009 07 31 Michele Bachmann talks Auto Tune Politico Retrieved 2009 08 30 Official Google Blog Double rainbows annoying oranges and bed intruders the year on YouTube The Official Google Blog Blogger 2010 12 12 Archived from the original on 23 December 2010 Retrieved 2010 12 15 The Gregory Brothers Bed Intruder SONG now on iTunes YouTube Archived from the original on 7 August 2010 Retrieved 2010 08 11 Monica Herrera 2009 09 14 Paramore s Hayley Williams Puts Rock Twist on Bed Intruder Song Billboard com Retrieved 2011 01 27 Top 100 Music Hits Top 100 Music Charts Top 100 Songs amp The Hot 100 Billboard com Archived from the original on 29 January 2011 Retrieved 2011 01 27 a b Meet The Team Behind The Meme Barry 2010 09 17 Archived from the original on 21 September 2010 Retrieved 2010 09 20 Aaron BLACKDATA Steele MySpace Music Archived from the original on November 30 2009 Retrieved 2009 08 03 Auto Tune the News 11 Pure Poppycock ft Joel Madden YouTube 5 April 2010 Archived from the original on April 16 2010 Retrieved 2010 04 05 Why Must I Cry Full Music Video Comedy Central 2009 07 30 Archived from the original on 24 November 2009 Retrieved 2009 12 09 T Pain Obama Auto Tune YouTube 2009 10 01 Archived from the original on 10 December 2009 Retrieved 2009 12 09 Election Memory Dance Off YouTube 2008 11 02 Archived from the original on 19 December 2009 Retrieved 2009 12 09 Obama Girl Obama Duet YouTube 2009 01 18 Archived from the original on 14 November 2009 Retrieved 2009 12 09 Obama Girl Stimulus Bill Song ft Michael Gregory YouTube 2009 02 18 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2009 12 09 Audio Quilt 2 Double Rainbow for Choir YouTube Archived from the original on 19 April 2011 Retrieved 2011 05 14 Mall Santa Musical YouTube 2011 11 29 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2011 12 01 Mall Santa Music 2011 11 29 Retrieved 2011 12 01 Bad Hombres Nasty Women The Gregory Brothers Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved October 21 2016 Hustvedt Marc 2009 11 12 Auto Tune the News Signs Sony Ad Deal Tubefilter Archived from the original on 16 November 2009 Retrieved 2009 12 07 Auto Tune the Ads Sony Justin Timberlake Peyton Manning YouTube 2009 11 19 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2009 12 07 Buskirk Eliot 2010 08 13 Gregory Brothers of Bed Intruder Fame Discuss TV Pilot Antoine Dodson Wired Archived from the original on 15 August 2010 Retrieved 2010 08 13 a b The Gregory Brothers Auto Tune the News YouTube Archived from the original on 23 January 2011 Retrieved 31 January 2011 schmoyoho 2018 10 21 I Like Beer Songify the News 17 archived from the original on 2021 12 21 retrieved 2018 11 17External links EditThe Gregory Brothers official Website The Gregory Brothers channel on YouTube contains the Songify the News videos The Gregory Brothers second channel on YouTube Songify the News official episode listing on YouTube C SPAN Q amp A interview with Evan and Michael Gregory about Auto Tune the News April 11 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Songify the News amp oldid 1170754948, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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