Aj Silva and Sam Santiago pay tribute to Whitney Houston

 

Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston

While this site makes ready our normal weekly publication, I felt compelled to share with you two sensational videos that demand more media attention than what our complementary Facebook site Young Artists Global could offer.

Recently this year’s American Idol contest featured the female contenders singing their renditions of the iconic songs of one of the most amazing singer/actresses of our time, Whitney Houston. Among them were Whitney’s two biggest songs “I Will Always Love You” and “I Have Nothing”. While the contestants who performed these two numbers received accolades for their interpretations, the judges also stated that both of these songs presented an enormous challenge for any singer, due to their difficulty and the vocal range required for a good performance.

After reading some of the comments on the YouTube Channels of Aj Silva and Sam Santiago, I could not allow this opportunity to slip by without sharing both of these amazing musical tribute videos here.

Aj Silva was recently featured here just two weeks ago, and while his video tribute had only been released the day before the publication, he was already enjoying hundreds of views. His video has now piled up nearly 8,400 views in just two weeks’ time and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down! It is with great pleasure that I present this video one more time for those of you who may have missed Aj’s outstanding performance which is truly a cover of unspeakable proportions.

Aj Silva Sings

Sam Santiago’s last full feature article was published back in September when he was visiting Michigan and appeared on WZZM TV singing a cover of Adele’s song “Rolling in The Deep”.  Since that time Sam has been singing at a variety of events in California and continues to amaze every audience that is assembled.  His cover of Whitney’s Song, “I Have Nothing” also serves as not only a wonderful tribute to Whitney and her amazing musical career, but also demonstrates that this nine-year-old boy has a talent that is beyond compare for one so young.

samsantiagosings

This site takes its hat off to these two young men for their very special performances. You can be sure that you will be seeing much more from both of them in the near future not only on this site, but in the headlines of major media and networks.

Congratulations Aj Silva and Sam Santiago for your outstanding accomplishment!  We wish you the very best of success in your musical pursuits and careers.

Sam Santiago Wow’s West Michigan!

Rivenmaster and boys

This past August Sam Santiago and his family from Irvine, California spent a week of their vacation to visit my home city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was a wonderful time getting to know Sam better, and being able to spend quality time with his family and Sebastian, a good friend of Sam’s older brother Penuel!

Staying only a few minutes from my home, it made it easy to travel back and forth from the Hotel to the house to meet every day for some special time together. We spent the entire week traveling around the city, seeing the sights, visiting parks, and of course doing lots of singing both in the car and at special engagements.

craigs cruisersSam is such an energetic fellow and is full of life and fun. Not unlike any other Nine year old, Sam loves to play video games and especially enjoyed our time at the Go Cart -Video Arcade called Craig’s Cruisers . The boys and I played laser tag, rode go carts, and enjoyed a game of mini golf before the day was over. His family also enjoyed visiting a small nearby tourist town on the bay featuring very unusual art and specialty items sold in small shops and stores.

Sam picked up a new hat at one of the shops which came in handy a little later that week for one of his performances.

Sam is always practicing his vocal skills. Even when he is just traveling in the car Sam is continually singing. There is no doubt that this boy loves to sing. On one occasion while traveling to one of the sightseeing points, Sam and I broke into our own cover of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” with Sam leading the way and me following with the harmony while trying to remember the words. Lol 🙂 What fun that was!

Sam did three performances while he was visiting. His first performance was for my local church assembly where he sang his medley of “As the Deer & I love you Lord”. He brought many to tears with his rendition of this song then raised the roof singing “How Great Is Our God” by Chris Tomlin. Everyone was standing on their feet as Sam was leading the entire congregation in this second worship song!

What the congregation did not know is that Sam had only learned this song the day before! He not only hit every note but remembered every word perfectly. Amazing Sam!

 

Continue reading “Sam Santiago Wow’s West Michigan!”