Perfect (Rob Cantor song) explained

Perfect
Artist:Rob Cantor
Album:Not a Trampoline
Released:April 14, 2014
Studio:The Laboratory (Los Angeles)
Length:3:21
Producer:
  • Gregtonic
  • Andrew Horowitz

"Perfect" is a song by American singer-songwriter Rob Cantor. It was released on April 14, 2014, as the penultimate track on his solo debut album, Not a Trampoline. A video for the song titled "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song" was published to YouTube on July 1, featuring Cantor performing impressions. It became a viral video, with viewers in disbelief by it before a later reveal by Cantor to be purposefully deceiving.

Background

After the indefinite hiatus of Tally Hall in 2011, co-lead vocalist and guitarist Rob Cantor began producing solo work.[1] He first released the viral song "Shia LaBeouf" in 2012, followed by his solo debut album Not a Trampoline in 2014.[2] The album features "Perfect", co-written by Cantor with former bandmate and keyboardist Andrew Horowitz. The latter reunited with the former in Los Angeles six months after Tally Hall's hiatus, spending time together before writing "Perfect" between 11 PM and 5 AM the same day.[3]

Music video

On July 1, 2014, Cantor published the video "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song" to his YouTube channel.[4] [5] Accompanied by Horowitz on the piano, Cantor appears to sing 28 impressions of various celebrities and one of himself.[6] It received over 740 thousand views within its first day,[7] amassing 6.5 million total views throughout the week.[8] The video received particular attention for the bizarreness of being able to perform several female impressions as a male singer.[9] Cantor expressed happiness with the song's spread as a viral video, stating "I'm so glad people enjoy the clip, and I'm even happier they seem to dig the song!" to Today.[6]

The video includes impressions of Randy Newman, Jack Black, Kermit the Frog, Louis Armstrong, Christopher Lloyd, Willie Nelson, Bono, Gollum, Steve Buscemi, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Peter Griffin, Gilbert Gottfried, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler, Gwen Stefani, Patrick Warburton, Ian McKellen, Shakira, Britney Spears, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Walken, Jon Lovitz, Christina Aguilera, Cher, Flipper, Björk, and Bob Dylan. Cantor additionally whistles, imitates a trumpet, and does a "self-impression".[10]

Production

On July 9, a making-of video was published, revealing that the music video's impressions were lip synced by Cantor over dubbed audio of 11 other impressionists.[11] [12] Recorded in 39 takes, the video was recorded and edited in the style of a home movie to generate believability in the hoax.[13] A representative of Cantor described the video as "a carefully orchestrated effort",[14] successfully promoting Not a Trampoline through the video's popularity.[15]

Personnel

"Perfect"

"29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song"

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Paltrowitz. Darren. Rob Cantor Is Not A Trampoline, Even If His Career Seems Like One. TheImproper. April 7, 2014. June 24, 2024. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150806120802/http://www.theimproper.com:80/music/11848/rob-cantor-trampoline-career. August 6, 2015.
  2. Web site: BMI. Indie Spotlight: Rob Cantor. Broadcast Music, Inc.. en. June 23, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  3. Web site: Florino. Rick. Interview: Rob Cantor. Artistdirect. en. June 2, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20221129023901/https://www.artistdirect.com/rob-cantor/interviews/interview-rob-cantor/3471. November 29, 2022. June 24, 2024.
  4. Web site: Kristobak. Ryan. This Guy Perfectly Impersonates 29 Celebrities While Performing An Original Song. HuffPost. en. July 1, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  5. Web site: Crugnale. James. 29 Famous Hollywood Impressions Performed by One Guy in One Song (Video). TheWrap. en. July 2, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  6. Web site: Dawn. Randee. Singer Rob Cantor does 28 spot-on celebrity impressions in viral video. Today. en. July 2, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  7. Web site: Blum. Haley. This guy nails 28 celebrity impressions while singing an original song. USA Today. en. July 2, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  8. Web site: McKee. Jenn. Tally Hall's Rob Cantor has a video that's gone viral. MLive Media Group. en. July 8, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  9. Web site: Washington Examiner. This guy sounds more like Britney Spears than Britney Spears does. Washington Examiner. en. July 2, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  10. Web site: ABC News. Watch Singer do 28 Celebrity Impressions in One Song. ABC News. en. July 7, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  11. Web site: Bishop. Rollin. Musician Rob Cantor Reveals How He Faked His Song Featuring 29 Impressive Celebrity Impressions. Laughing Squid. en. July 9, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  12. Web site: McKee. Jenn. Tally Hall's Rob Cantor reveals his impression-packed viral video was faked. MLive Media Group. en. July 10, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  13. Web site: Sneider. Jeff. 29 Celebrity Impressions Music Video Was a Hoax; Singer Reveals 'Making Of' Video. TheWrap. en. July 9, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  14. Web site: Dawn. Randee. 28 celebrity impressions viral video revealed to be a hoax by singer. Today. en. July 10, 2014. June 24, 2024.
  15. Web site: Berkowitz. Joe. Nothing Is Real: Guy Reveals "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song" Is a Hoax In Most Charming Way Possible. Fast Company. en. July 10, 2014. June 24, 2024.

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