54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club, presents Bianca Marroquin on July 9 at 9:30 PM.
Bianca Marroquin, the beloved singer, songwriter, dancer & actress will perform songs from her debut album ‘El Mundo Era Mio’ as well as Broadway standards and Mexican folk songs. Marroquin will be accompanied by 5 piece band on stage with Tom Gallaher on piano, Dennis DelGaudio on guitars, Steve Singer on drums, Malcolm Gold on bass and Marshall Coid on violins.
Wednesday, July 9, 9:30PM
54 Below – 254 W 54th St, Cellar – New York, NY 10019
Bianca’s first album “El Mundo Era Mio” was introduced to the press at a meet-n-greet and CD release party at La Pulperia in midtown Manhattan (371 West 46th Street). Young Pals Records International hosted the event at this elegant restaurant featuring rustic Latin cuisine from Chef/Owner Carlos Barroz and Victor Medina, La Pulperia offers Barroz’s simple yet refined cuisine from the countries of Latin America with European influences. The cocktail party was co-sponsored by Hiro Sake.
Bianca celebrated the release of her long-awaited debut album with guests that filled the room, including some of her colleagues from the entertainment industry like Latino heartthrob and recent “Mira Quien Baila” star Pedro Moreno, telenovela actress and “Bailando por un Sueño” judge Livia Brito, fashion designer and Velasco Couture founder Rogelio Velasco, singer and Aventura co-founder Henry Santos, and her co-stars from the Broadway hit Chicago, Brent Barrett, Amra-Faye Wright, Christopher Fitzgerald, Carol Woods …
This special day was only complete with some of her fans attending the party, where she gave away autographed CDs, while songs from her 11-track album co-written by Marroquin, Young Pals proprietors Ayhan Sahin & Dennis DelGaudio was echoing through the walls of the venue. Tom Gallaher, the album coordinator and Bianca’s long-time music director introduced her with a personal speech, followed by Bianca’s speech explaining the last 9 months when the album was conceived and the work put through during recording sessions.
Following the cocktail reception, media was invited to attend that evening’s performance of the acclaimed, Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre (219 West 49th Street), starring Bianca in her award-winning performance as merry murderess Roxie Hart.
‘El Mundo Era Mio’ launches Tuesday, May 13, on Young Pals Records International,
with 5 co-writes from the beloved singer, songwriter, dancer & actress
Award-winning Mexican TV & musical theater actress Bianca Marroquin will release her first-ever full-length solo album “El Mundo Era Mio,” on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. The flavor of the 11-track album—with five songs co-written by Marroquin—is contemporary pop with a healthy splash of Latin, comprising live studio musicians offering a mesh of electric & acoustic guitars, piano, chamber strings, percussion and bass.
The project is being released by New York City-based Young Pals Records International, helmed by co-composers/producers Ayhan Sahin and Dennis DelGaudio, with Album Coordinator Tom Gallaher. Famed photographer Jose Quintero lensed artwork for the album, with mastering by New York City’s esteemed Sterling Sound.
“This album is very significant to me, because I’m finally recording my own creation. There is a time and place for everything, and this is the perfect moment for me to release my music,” Marroquin says. “The process was a sacred experience: It’s you, the music and your mind going to a place where you interpret and express what each song is saying in the most intimate, honest way. I close my eyes and lose myself in the meaning of the lyrics… and my voice follows.”
Accompanying “El Mundo Era Mio,” Marroquin’s new website biancamarroquin.com will debut in early May, with an online “Launch Party” on the day of release, where fans can chat live with the ingénue and hear her perform acoustically, beginning at 4 p.m. (Eastern). She will also appear on Univision’s “Despierta America” on May 12, performing launch single “One Lie/No Mas,” with a live band.
The album’s title “El Mundo Era Mio” was Marroquin’s vision for the overall theme of her solo album, reflecting her missive of maintaining positivity: “The world was mine. Life is short. Stay forward. Accept, learn the lesson, let go and open to receive what’s next,” she says. “Never lose hope. Let your faith be greater than your fears.”
As a whole, the project is a wondrous showcase for her vocal versatility. One moment, Marroquin imparts a guttural growl akin to Alanis Morrissette and the next, soars as a definitive Celine Dion-worthy diva. First single “One Lie” is the consummate showcase for her gifts, a sweeping, full-bodied pop/rock tour de force with acoustic guitars & tinkling piano amid a theme of redemption; while album opener “Gone,” a giddy, jangly rock anthem, offers a fervent froth of foot-stomping beats and acoustic instrumentation.
Other highlights include joyous dance-club twirler “You Blow Me Away,” one of those windows down, pedal to the metal summer-ready refrains; hit-worthy lovesick ballad “Something More Than Sideways”; and haunting ballad “Marquee,” power packed with taut strings and cello, which delivers a universal missive about falling hard… and searching for the power within to restore confidence. She sings, “Been so long since I’ve wondered who I am, gottaput my name back in lights… Marquee.”
Among songs that Marroquin wrote is emotive Spanish-language ballad “Salvame” (“Save Me”). She says, “I wrote this about a person fighting for their life, as they implore their lover to stand by and pray for their soul. Their steadfast love is the only hope for salvation.” She also wrote the title track “El Mundo Era Mio” (“The World Was Mine”), which amps the tempo with lovely acoustic instrumentation and pounding percussion; and reinterpreted first single “One Lie” with a Spanish-language lyric.
Hispanic audiences are intimately acquainted with Bianca Marroquin. As a triple threat entertainer—singer, dancer and actress—she plays Roxie Hart on Broadway’s “Chicago” the musical, winning the Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress in a Musical at Washington’s Kennedy Center. She also won five awards from the Mexican Critics Association, including Best Actress. Theater roles at home include “Beauty and the Beast,” “Rent,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Vagina Monologues” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”
On Broadway, she is the first Mexican actress to ever headline a show—and in 2014, her role as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” was renewed for another full year. She has also performed on the Great White Way in “In the Heights” and “The Pajama Game.” And in March, Marroquin was named the first-ever National Ambassador for Viva Broadway, a partnership with the Hispanic community.
In addition, Marroquin served as one of three judges during all four seasons of Univision’s reality dance competition series “Mira Quien Baila,” the Spanish-language franchise of “Dancing With the Stars”; and she judged reality series “Pequeños Gigantes.” Televisa cast her as the main protagonist in telenovela “Esperanza del Corazón” (she also sang the show’s theme song). And she is a Judge on TeleVisa’s new reality talent show “Bailando Por Un Sueno,” which launched April 24 in Mexico City.
Now, with the release of “El Mundo Era Mio,” Marroquin is ready to check off yet another career achievement. She offers, “This album has so many different and contrasting messages. In the end, it’s about life’s journey and the different paths we take to gain knowledge. Our most valuable lessons turn us into feisty, fearless and proud individuals. You live and learn. And that is life worth living.”
Marroquin adds about the release of her first album: “I’ve dreamed of this moment all of my life. I can’t wait for my songs to catch light. I have learned to trust that there is a time and place for everything. No earlier, no later… but now.”
New York City-based full-service music label continues versatile musical palette with R&B, rock, pop, dance, musical theater & jazz projects over past year
Best year ever? It certainly sounds like it, judging the accomplishments that Young Pals Music/Young Pals Records International logged in 2013, its sixth year as a New York City-based full-service independent record label. Since its launch, the company—helmed by accomplished composer, producer and arranger Ayhan Sahin—has released more than two dozen albums and singles for its proprietary acts.
Leading the charge in 2013 was the August launch of Erica Jacob’s 10-track debut album “Extraordinary Woman,” with a standing room only live performance in Manhattan’s East Village. First single “Run,” shot by Christopher Holmes/Holmeswood Features on location in Long Island City’s famed 5 Pointz (the world’s premiere outdoor “graffiti Mecca”), fostered nearly 40,000 views on YouTube in its first month of release, while Jacob performed songs from the album at renowned venues in New York and Los Angeles.
In fact, Jacob’s “Extraordinary Woman” has become Young Pals Music’s bestselling project to date. With its abundance of pop, R&B and dance tracks, music journalist Chuck Taylor deemed the album “a joyous pageant of sing-along anthems, offering musical mastery akin to the 100-watt persona of Jennifer Hudson, and the vocal chops of Alicia Keys.” The disc also garnered praise from nearly a dozen media outlets in Sahin’s native Turkey, including the lofty phrase, “Ayhan Sahin is following in Arif Mardin’s steps.”
Young Pals Owner Sahin, who produced the album, notes, “This process felt so right from the first note. Erica is among the most talented, natural singers I’ve worked with. We spent three years recording dozens of songs before choosing the magic 10 to include on the album. Yes, I’m proud of the album’s success—but I also have so much pride in working with an artist I’m certain is going to be a name brand in the coming years.”
The label opened the year with a revised & refashioned double-CD soundtrack recording of “Swedish Style: The Musical,” a dramatized retelling of the break-up of Swedish super-group ABBA, originally written by Sahin and Selcen Pamuk in the 1990s. The new version comprises 14 songs from the show, mastered for licensed productions by theatrical groups and schools. It features a new NYC-based cast with a 13-piece live band & orchestra.
In July, Young Pals issued singer/songwriter Dacada Summer’s 10-song “Fourth And First,” chronicling the artist’s coming of age in the big city versus his Midwestern upbringing.
A month before, singer/songwriter Michael Gastaldi released five-song debut solo EP “I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You,” a true-to-life snapshot about love, faith, fate and life in the moment. The two acts frequently showcase their album tracks with live performances in various NYC venues, building up their fan base.
Another highlight of 2013—demonstrating Young Pals’ ongoing versatility—was the September release of “Casino Music” by The Swing Set with Alex Cook, featuring a nine-piece jazz big band, alongside the Rat Pack-inspired musings of its lead singer. Included with a regimen of standards are reimagings of modern pop songs, including Duran Duran’s synth-pop “Rio” as a bluesy piano-tinkling refrain befitting New York’s Rainbow Room, George Michael’s “Faith” originating from a 1920s speakeasy, and a Bacharach-inspired reworking of “More than Words” from rock band Extreme. The album has been doing very well on You Tube — over 200.000 hits since its release.
In the fall of 2013, Young Pals was notified that it was winner of a Best Of Manhattan Award in the Independent Label category for Music Licensing & Royalties. The annual contest is sponsored by the Manhattan Award Program, which showcases companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success in the local community, while enhancing the positive image of small businesses.
Another highlight of the year gone by is the signing of an exclusive deal for Young Pals to produce, record and release the debut solo album from award-winning Mexican musical theater and TV actress Bianca Marroquin. The beloved superstar is the first Mexican actress ever cast in a leading Broadway role, as Roxie Hart in “Chicago.” Marroquin also serves as a judge for the Univision reality dance competition series “Mira Quien Baila” (the Spanish-language franchise of “Dancing With the Stars”).
Marroquin’s debut album on Young Pals, set for release in 2Q 2014, will offer 10 Spanish- and English-language songs, including her own original compositions, as well as co-writes with Young Pals producers Ayhan Sahin and Dennis DelGaudio (DNA). A second version of the album will be released exclusively on iTunes, with reverse translations of all 10 songs. The project is being coordinated by Tom Gallaher.
And finally, in December 2013, Young Pals launched a new location for its 2C Recording Studios, relocating from Manhattan’s East Village to Tribeca.
As 2014 spreads it wings, the label will also helm the Musical Cast Album for “The Guardian,” which Sahin is producing and composing with collaborators Michael Merritt (playwright) and Jerri Bocchino (lyricist). In addition, the label is working with singer/songwriter Jade Zabric on her first full-length project., as well as dance artist Michael Anthony and R&B singer Dre Arc Amp.
Since its 2008 launch, Young Pals Music has released 100+ albums, singles and theatrical soundtracks, and four full-length original stage musicals. With its accompanying 2C Recording Studios in Manhattan, the label was born out of a theatrical troupe in Sahin’s native Turkey, evolving into a bona fide record label when Sahin relocated to New York at the dawn of the millennium.
Today, the full-service independent record label offers artist development, songwriting and collaboration, vocal and instrumental recording, mixing, graphic design, merchandising and consultancy services.
Over the past decade, Sahin has worked with Olivia Newton-John, Melba Moore, Phoebe Snow, Turkish superstars Sezen Aksu and Sertab Erener, Sandra Bernhard, Jill Gioia from “Rockstar Supernova,” and five “American Idol” finalists, including Vonzell Solomon, Norman Gentle, Jon Peter Lewis and Anthony Fedorov.
For information contact: Janet Castiel, Redwood Entertainment, Inc. — (212) 543-9998 — info@redwoodentertainment.com
New York City-based Young Pals Records International has signed an exclusive deal to produce, record and release the debut solo album from award-winning Mexican musical theater and TV actress Bianca Marroquin.
“This album is very significant to me, because I’m finally recording my own creation,” she says. “I have written these songs throughout my life and am just dying for them to catch light. There is a time and place for everything, and this is the perfect moment for me to release my music… no earlier, no later… now!”
Marroquin’s debut album will comprise 10 Spanish- and English-language songs, including her own original compositions, as well as co-writes with Young Pals International proprietors & producers Ayhan Sahin and Dennis DelGaudio (DNA). A second version of the album will be released exclusively on iTunes, with reverse translations of all 10 songs. Due for release in first-quarter 2014, the project is being coordinated by renowned pianist Tom Gallaher and recorded at New York’s 2C Studios.
The flavor of the album, according to Young Pals’ Sahin, is “contemporary pop meets Latin pop, a la Enrique Iglesias, with guitars, piano, chamber strings, percussion and horns. When you add the sweet, velvet-lined textures of Bianca’s voice, the results are pure magic. She is such a sincere woman, and that authenticity rings true in her music.”
Marroquin adds, “The sound is organic because of the acoustic guitars and strings, feisty because of the tempo of the drums, sensitive and honest because of the lyrics that come from my heart, and diverse because it is sung in both Spanish and English. I think it offers something for everyone.”
The beloved superstar is the first Mexican actress ever to be cast in a leading Broadway role, and one of the youngest to play Roxie Hart in the original production of “Chicago” in New York City. Marroquin also commandeered the role of Hart in the Spanish-language version of “Chicago” in Mexico, which won her the esteemed Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, as well as five awards from the Mexican Critics Association, including Best Actress and New Revelation.
Her stage career in Mexico also includes “Beauty and the Beast,” “Rent,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Vagina Monologues” and “The Phantom of the Opera”; while she has also appeared on Broadway in “In the Heights” and “The Pajama Game.”
In addition, Marroquin has served as one of three judges during all four seasons (2010-2013) of the highly rated Univision reality dance competition series “Mira Quien Baila,” the Spanish-language franchise of “Dancing With the Stars.” She also judged reality series “Pequeños Gigantes.” Televisa cast her as the main protagonist in telenovela “Esperanza del Corazón,” while she also sang the show’s theme song. In 2007, she performed at “The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts.”
Independent music company Young Pals International is a burgeoning force among post-millennial record labels, with a full-service focus on the artist. It offers developing and established artist development, songwriting and collaboration, vocal and instrumental recording, mixing, merchandising and consultancy services.
Celine Dion performed new songs from her new album at “Pandora Presents Celine Dion” at the Edison Ballroom. We were lucky enough to say hi to her after her dazzling performance.
MANHATTAN October 4, 2013 — Young Pals Music has been selected for the 2013 Best of Manhattan Award in the Music Licensing and Royalties category by the Manhattan Award Program.
Each year, the Manhattan Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Manhattan area a great place to live, work and play.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2013 Manhattan Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Manhattan Award Program and data provided by third parties.
The Manhattan Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Manhattan area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.
The Manhattan Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.
Music video directed by Christopher Holmes/Holmeswood Features Entertainment lensed at Long Island City’s famed 5 Pointz
Following the successful August 2013 launch of Erica Jacob’s debut album “Extraordinary Woman” on Young Pals Music, the New York-based singer/songwriter’s music video for first single “Run” is now featured on YouTube.
The uptempo kiss-off song “Run,” produced by Ayhan Sahin (Olivia Newton-John, Sandra Bernhard, Chaka Khan) was shot on location in Long Island City’s famed 5 Pointz, the world’s premiere outdoor “graffiti Mecca.” The site has become an immense canvas for sanctioned street artists from around the world, who have painted vivid works across the walls of a marquis 200,000-square-foot factory building and dozens of surrounding warehouses.
Making Jacob’s colorful videoclip all the more timely, 5 Pointz owner David Wolkoff announced that the beloved destination will be demolished at year-end 2013.
The artist was raised in Houston, singing in church and cherishing the gospel & blues of Ella Fitzgerald, along with the diverse talents of Judy Garland, Fiona Apple and Jeff Buckley. Eight years ago, she relocated to New York City, performing at Town Hall’s “Broadway’s Rising Stars”; in “Emma the Red” at the BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre; and in numerous musicals, including “Scarlet Takes A Tumble,” “Confessions of a Reality TV Star,” “Angels” and “Dear Mr. Rosan.”
Since the release of “Extraordinary Woman,” Jacob has performed at numerous club spaces throughout Manhattan, as part of an ongoing promotional campaign for the album.
“Extraordinary Woman” is digitally available on iTunes, physically available on Young Pals Music
For information contact: Janet Castiel, Redwood Entertainment, Inc. — (212) 543-9998 — info@redwoodentertainment.com
Erica Jacob ably demonstrated that every Extraordinary Woman has multiple layers, via her performance at Manhattan’s Hourglass Tavern on Sunday evening, September 15, 2013. On this second stop of her promotional tour—following the August release of debut full-length album “Extraordinary Woman” on Young Pals Music—the singer/songwriter delivered a powerful acoustic set that showcased a stripped-down version of the album’s full-on pop, R&B and dance production.
At Jacob’s album release party in August at the East Village’s Penny Farthing, she captivated a standing-room-only crowd of 150+ followers. On this night, the vibe was a creative change of pace at intimate Midtown performance space Hourglass Tavern—which has been a beloved showcase space for burgeoning talent and Broadway actors & singers for more than 30 years. And once again, she packed the comfy setting to capacity—with an approving roar that was as enthused as the previous venue.
The beauty of Jacob’s set at Hourglass was an opportunity for the singer to demonstrate her god-given vocal prowess unvarnished with the (appreciable) mainstream-driven production on her album. She sang alongside an organic four-piece ensemble— Tom Gallaher on piano, Jade Zabric on guitar, Daniel Jamieson on sax and flute and Nezih Antakli on percussion. How many of today’s commercially successful pop stars would dare to put themselves in such a position, right?
The acoustic set included a spirited new take on first single “Run,” and wondrously emotive re-rubs of ballads “Too Many Reasons” and “Falling”—proving Jacob’s stance as a diva with all the savvy of Jennifer Hudson—along with scintillating new arrangements of album cuts “Lost and Found,” “Kryptonite” and “Look What You’ve Done.” She also delivered a velvet-lined, sirenic version of Chaka Khan’s “Through The Fire” and a lush, easy-flowing reading of Eva Cassidy’s “I Can Only Be Me,” written by Steve Wonder. Two words: Damn, girl!
With each step forward, Erica Jacob proves that she is a talent as immeasurable as the fervor that pervades New York City—with a passionate and demonstrative voice that is as capable of reaching the high heavens as the Empire State Building.
“Extraordinary Woman” is available on iTunes. Physical album can be purchased through YoungPalsMusic.com
Accompanied by Tom Gallaher on piano, Jade Zabric on guitar. Daniel Jamieson on sax and flute and Nezih Antakli on percussion, the acoustic set affirms Jacob’s god-given talent as a vocalist, sans the appreciable abundance of pop, R&B and dance production that pervades the recorded version of “Extraordinary Woman,” which music journalist Chuck Taylor deemed “a joyous pageant of sing-along anthems, offering musical mastery akin to the 100-watt persona of Jennifer Hudson, and the vocal chops of Alicia Keys.”
The acoustic set will include her single “Run,” the album title “Extraordinary Woman,” the ballads
“Too Many Reasons” and “Falling” as well as album cuts “Lost and Found,” “Kryptonite” and “Look What You’ve Done” with their newly acoustic arrangements. Jacob will also sing Chaka Khan‘s 1984hit “Through The Fire” and “I Can Only Be Me” written by Steve Wonder and recorded by Eva Cassidy.
The event will take place at Hourglass Tavern in midtown Manhattan (373 W 46th floor 2 New York, NY 10036 – (212) 265-2060) on Sunday, September 15 at 8:00pm.
