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 Pop rock singer Naomi Striemer. (Toronto Sun file/Debbie Holloway) |
Elvis had The Ed Sullivan Show, Celine Dion had The Tonight Show and if all goes well, Naomi Striemer can credit her debut with stardom to a modern incarnation called YouTube.
The song is called Cars by a hot new Canadian talent, but the real story here is perhaps how, in 2007, do you drive that song up the charts?
It's a new game and new approaches are needed. If it all works, the result could mean a singer with roots in Malagash Point, N.S., Portage La Prairie, Man., and Delhi, Ont., is on the verge of changing how you become a star!
Of course, it's you the people who will ultimately decide. Thanks to YouTube, you will get that chance. And so will Striemer.
Perhaps one day historians will look back and ask what did Naomi Striemer and democracy have in common? Well, it's true democracy will ultimately determine if this star-in-waiting catapults to the top. Like TV and radio for more than half a century, YouTube is the new path to the people.
If those people like what they see, they don't have to wait for a video station to play what they like.
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And an artist like Naomi Striemer could actually gain stardom without the help or control of the mega media moguls.
This is a story of a young Canadian singer with the kind of talent and material to become a massive star. But it's also a story about the new media and where the music industry is headed.
If there is a Grammy at the end of it they'll make a movie for sure. If they do, it would star a singer-songwriter named Striemer and guitarist named Santana and a dogged promoter named Steven, who is president of independent S-Records.
Before you do anything else today, take a second and Google the name Naomi Striemer and then take a second to watch her music video with the remarkable Carlos Santana on YouTube.
She's a 25-year-old wholesome beauty with a voice as equally as beautiful. Once you watch, you'll get a better idea of why I write this column today. And it might explain why a Toronto entrepreneur sold his business and invested everything into this talented songstress.
"I heard 30 seconds of her and I knew she was going to be a star," S-Records president Steven Nowack said yesterday.
He was picking up his fiancee at the Chapters store at King and John Sts. 18 months ago and heard this incredible voice. "I went up to her and said, 'What are you doing with the rest of your life?' " the former producer of the Mike Bullard Show said.
Striemer, a piano player who has written more than 200 songs, was suspicious. After all, she grew up on a hobby farm in a devout Seventh-day Adventist family, her dad sells Bibles for a living in Delhi, and she's never once tried meat and doesn't drink carbonated drinks.
"I wasn't sure what to think," she said yesterday with a laugh. "I didn't give him my phone number right away, which is kind of ironic because it turns out Steven gets everybody's phone number."
He tracked her down by e-mail. Nowack's persistence is a big part of this story. He convinced her and later famed producer Narada Michael Walden, who produced hits for Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Aretha Franklin. The next serendipitous event came when Nowack bumped into guitar legend Carlos Santana in a restaurant.
"I asked him for his home phone number," laughs Steven. "And then later I asked him to come and play on her first single."
The 43-year-old fell over when he agreed. If you look on YouTube, in addition to the Cars video, you will see footage of Carlos laying down the track -- another of what this new medium can offer. "I couldn't believe it," Striemer said yesterday when she saw Santana show up at the legendary Tarpan Studio in San Francisco. "Carlos was so gracious to me and gave me so much great advice. It was such an experience."
The result was dynamite and received a huge pat on the back from Billboard Magazine's Chuck Taylor. "Remember the first time you heard Whitney, Mariah or Celine and recognized a star was born? Naomi Striemer will -- must -- propel beyond her foray at (adult contemporary) and become the commanding diva of the decade.
"This Canadian beauty possesses so many novel traits -- exalting vocals, distinctive phrasing, masterful song writing ... the year's most promising melodic debut. A standing ovation of an endorsement."
That's some boost to her career and yet I wonder why I have not heard this song on the radio? Nowack has visited Canadian programmers, but so far, even with Canadian content rules in place, the song has not been added to any rotation -- despite selling 17,000 CDs through Chapters and other outlets.
Perhaps radio is nervous because it's not coming from a major label, but knowing that industry as I do, I suspect they will it if it does get serious hits on YouTube.
At a YouTube event in Toronto last week, Striemer released the video straight to the site, which is unusual since so many artists are in conflict with Internet sites. It's a new way of looking at it. A new way of doing things.
"Naomi is sure to be an up-and-coming superstar," said Jordan Hoffner, head of premium and information content partnerships for YouTube. "We are thrilled to feature the worldwide premiere of Naomi's music video Cars."
Sure, because they are a smart bunch about to launch a new star and a new way of doing that.