credit for review: fresh angles

Gregory Who? by Yun-Che Lu

Who is this mysterious persona that has entered the pop industry? He roams the Los Angeles area passionately playing his music in famous clubs, but how come we’ve never heard of him? He’s been nominated for more than one Los Angeles Music Award, but how come we don’t recognize him off the bat? He could wander the streets without a swarm of journalists and television crews... because everyone asks, “Gregory who?”

The 21 year old singer-songwriter Gregory Scott has introduced himself to the pop world with his album The Waking Hour. He infuses the fresh pop sound of youth through his music, as well as amazing dancing and acting skills. However, hearing the name “Gregory” is much different from hearing “Celine” or “Jewel”; we recognize Celine Dion as the famous adult contemporary artist, Jewel as the soft and sweet pop/country artist, but have nothing to associate Gregory with- or do we?

Maybe you’ve seen him on television, perform in a club, or listened to his song on the radio without realizing that it was Gregory Scott. In 1996, Scott landed a role on the FOX kids series "Masked Rider" and appeared in several commercials. He’s performed to huge crowds at Hollywood’s biggest clubs, including the House of Blues, the Key Club, and the Whisky. Some of Scott’s music has become hot tracks on national AC radio, and test marketed to Billboard, R&R, Gavin, and FMQB reporting stations and received the highest possible mark of 4 stars.

But what exactly does this artist sound like? Like any typical pop artist, with the exception that Scott writes his own lyrics and co-writes the music, his songs are about love and heartbreak. He is most frequently compared to the Backstreet Boys, and since there’s a hint of Latin influence in his music, Scott is also constantly compared to Enrique Iglesias. His songs “Last Goodbye” and “My Light,” released independently in 2000, became hot releases gathering 800 spins per week on reporting stations. Some of his songs sound like true pop hits that could’ve been by NSYNC, while others are just missing that “something” it takes to be on top of the charts. Just the same, some lyrics on The Waking Hour flow with the music, while others don’t.

At the age of three, Scott began performing in front of his family. At eight, Scott began taking dance lessons, and in 1990, he won the California State championship for best newcomer. The next four years of his life was packed with performances for musicals and plays while taking a full schedule of singing and voice lessons. In 1994, Scott won an acting competition at Paramount Studios where a manager and agent discovered him. When working at a small radio station in 1997, Scott realized that his dream was to make music for others to enjoy. By 1999, producer Jim DeCicco began working with Scott on his first demo. Now Scott has been nominated for Best Male Singer-Songwriter and Best Adult Contemporary Artist by the Los Angeles Music Awards. His family has been with him every step of the way and Scott currently studies English at UC Irvine.

Gregory Scott seems to have hit it big along the West coast with his music, and it won't be long before his fame stretches across the nation to the East coast. Scott has proved that he can act, dance, and now, sing. His pop music is unique in style mixed with Latin influences. However, Scott is missing that “something”- that spark- needed to become a pop star, which only time can fix. It’ll be a while before Scott’s success reaches the heights of bands such as Sugar Ray, and even longer before he starts down the paths of the pop legends, the Backstreet Boys.

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credit for interview: fallen stars

Gregory Scott is Ready to Take on the World! By Rebecca Dustin

*A special thank you goes to Gregory Scott & Adee Glazer for taking the time to call us up for an interview!*

Fallenstars Hello Gregory. Just as an introduction, can you tell us how old you are and where you are from?

GS I'm 22 and I'm from Los Angeles, California. I still live here.

Fallenstars What is the best thing about being a performer?

GS You have the ability to reach and affect people in an emotional way, and on a deep level.

Fallenstars You've been nominated for awards, and you've even been offered a staff position to write songs for Sony Music. What is it about your songwriting that stands out?

GS I think that I am just being honest. I write what means a lot to me personally.

Fallenstars Who are the songwriters that you look up to?

GS I've been influenced mostly by Don Henly and Phil Collins. As far as performers go, I look up to Madonna and Mariah Carey. I always have.

Fallenstars How did you go about making "The Waking Hour"?

GS I basically talked to as many producers as I could. I met up with my producer Jim DeCicco in 1999. His music blew me away. It's amazing. Then we started working on songs and made the full album in 2001.

Fallenstars Many young musicians opt not to go to college in order to pursue their musical careers, but you decided to major in English at UC Irvine. Why?

GS I have a lot of respect for those who have continued their education. I wanted to hold myself on the same stand.

Fallenstars As you're becoming more and more famous, how important do you think it is to give back to the community, such as through charity concerts or donations?

GS That is something I am really excited about doing. I hope to play a major role in charity. My mom does a lot. She has instilled it in me.

Fallenstars You say you have a TRL-ready video. Which video is this, and is MTV & TRL something you see in your near future?

GS Absolutely. The video is for Spark, the first single off the album. We're really excited about it. It's a cool-looking video with great sound affects. It was shot by Robert Cook and Rachel Dunn, they are very talented. It was done where they edited Titanic.

Fallenstars Fallenstars Magazine is based in Canada. However, there are readers (& writers) from anywhere from Australia to the USA. Where is your fan base at the moment, and where would you like to expand it to?

GS I'm just taking it one step at a time. You can expect that in the coming months and definitely in the coming year, we'll be expanding to Canada, Europe and we're hoping to go to Latin America, because good music is universal.

Fallenstars Well, I hope that our reader get to see you perform someday.

GS Absolutely!

Fallenstars Thank you for talking with us!

GS Thank you!