Maria Zouroudis
Meet Maria Zouroudis, whose videos on YouTube have garnered her a fan base all her own and allowed her to showcase her incredible talent. We talked with Maria about her future in music, the making of her most popular videos and more!
The Star Scoop:
Tell us about your musical background.
Maria Zouroudis:
I've been singing since I was really young. My first time on stage that I remember was in first grade. I wanted to be involved in the talent show because it was the cool thing to do. I wasn’t sure what my talent would be but my brother suggested that I sing [laughs]. In chorus - my teachers always took special notice to me, before I even knew about the talent show my first grade chorus teacher wrote my mom a note asking if she could give me voice lessons. I never really knew what I was doing right...that caused that much interest - but I loved singing so much, so I actually kept doing talent shows for fun, from first grade, second, third, and on. Since then I have always personally involved myself with something musical. I performed at events and won a few local competitions, including High School Idol which was a competition involving six local area schools ...I was even in an all girl acapella group [in college]. Although my major, psychology, was unrelated to music, I was thinking about possibly pursuing music entertainment law...something to that degree. If I wasn’t going to be singing I wanted my career to be involved with music somehow.
The Star Scoop:
What made you decide to actually put yourself on YouTube?
Zouroudis:
When I graduated high school, I realized I wanted to sing more than ever. But I wanted to get an education. That was important to me, so I went to college because I wanted to make sure I could have an alternative. I knew after I graduated college that I wanted to get serious with music, but I didn't have the patience to wait that long. I started going on YouTube and noticing that people were putting videos up of themselves singing, and I was watching for about a year or two. I always wanted to start my own page! I thought that’s such a cool idea, I'd love to put myself out there. But I didn't have any type of equipment. I didn’t even know how to do those things (edit, upload, etc)! Finally, the first video I made was with some friends of mine. They had a video camera, and knew that I wanted to start a channel. We recorded it, and after they edited and put it up, they showed me that it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I really thought it would be a more difficult process. So after that I said to myself ok, I really want a camera now. My dad helped me invest in one and I was finally able to start videotaping... I uploaded just to get my feet wet a little bit, just to get some exposure and learn how to use the site. Now that I finally graduated, I'm able to focus on music 100 percent and utilize YouTube as one of my main sites.
The Star Scoop:
What are your thoughts on YouTube's effect?
Zouroudis:
It's incredible. It really is. I have friends who don't even watch TV anymore...they watch a missed episode online and from there they find more and more videos. The way it's affected the world as a whole from politics to businesses is just really crazy. Musically, it's doing a lot, and I think it's going to continue to do a lot. I believe it's going to have a huge impact on the music industry in the future, and it already has.
You know how they say people like to search for music on their own, and that they don't like to be told what to buy from the big record labels? I don't think that's necessarily true. I think most people love the music the labels create. The majority search for their favorite songs and would rather not take the time to seek unknown music. But YouTube accidentally introduces these unknown artists through cover songs. So these artists most people aren’t looking for end up getting discovered anyway at one point or another.
The Star Scoop:
When making your 4 Minutes video, how did you know how to combine all the elements together to get something musical?
Zouroudis:
I really wanted to do a cover of that song, so I was playing around on the piano. I was considering the guitar. But as a joke, really as a joke, I was going all around the house picking up different things and playing with them. I had a friend of mine with me. We were just laughing because one minute I had, a cracker jack box, and the next minute I had a set of keys. I basically ran all around the house, banging on everything, trying to see what really fit. I started recording some of these things, and it actually starting sounding pretty nice. So I figured, that's awesome, let's just do it like that! It was still kind of a joke in the recording process; you can tell I thought it was funny because my laughter is in the video. But when I noticed that it was starting to sound good; I just went with it.
The Star Scoop:
You've recently posted a cover of "Love Lockdown." Tell us about the creation of this video.
Zouroudis:
That's another song I knew I wanted to cover after hearing it for the first time. I decided right away that I wanted to take that same approach, that acapella approach, because to me when I first heard the song, that's the vibe that I got from it. Really, I had no plans. I just sort of started singing and kept adding things as I was going along, whatever sounded good. I didn't physically write down an arrangement. I just started harmonizing. I wanted to kind of make the song sound a little dark and mysterious because that's the vibe that I got. Basically, I hear a song, and I give it my own interpretation, what I take from the song and what I can add to it.
The Star Scoop:
Why do you think people have watched your videos so much?
Zouroudis:
Well, it's pretty interesting because I haven’t been very consistent with my videos, especially while I was in school. I would do one every month. To garner attention from the ones that I have put on slowly is flattering. I think it's because first of all, they're popular songs that people are searching for at the moment. But also, because I think that I kind of go outside the box a little bit. I don't just sit in front of the camera and do a straight up karaoke cover. I actually take my time and kind of put a little energy into every song I sing. People can see that, you know? I think they appreciate it; I hope they appreciate it! (laughs) I want to be very versatile, kind of keep people guessing and starting this month, I’ll be making a lot more videos showcasing my creativity. You don't have to use just a guitar to do a song. Music is a fun thing and it's a huge part of expressing yourself. I think people like to see that there are different ways to being able to do that than just with one instrument.
The Star Scoop:
When are you going to post another video, and how will you decide what song(s) to cover?
Zouroudis:
I choose by pretty much whatever is out there, whatever's hot. It's something that I feel I have a connection with. Something that I enjoy singing. Something that has a good message.
The Star Scoop:
If you could duet with anyone, who would it be?
Zouroudis:
Duets are so amazing. I was in an acapella group, so I love singing with just other voices around me. The blend of two or more voices is a beautiful thing. But probably, the first person that pops into my mind is Brian McKnight. As a male singer, oh my gosh, his voice is so amazing! Every little twist and turn of his voice just melts my heart.
The Star Scoop:
Will you release a CD of original material? Or do you hope to?
Zouroudis:
I’ll definitely be releasing original material. I am actually going to be working on that this year. I've already written a lot of songs. I'm going to be collaborating with other producers and I'm going to get something together for release in probably 2010 or the year after. I have a lot of work to be done. I haven't had the chance to really put myself out there.
The Star Scoop:
What do you want your fans to know about you?
Zouroudis:
Well, there’s so much I’d like them to know about me. I think that the most important thing to me right now, is that they know that I am in this for the long haul, and that I'm serious about pursuing music. A lot of times people who contact me ask similar questions like, are you going to release a CD, have you been contacted by any labels, etc...they're really interested and quick to encourage me because I believe most of them think I'm doing this as a hobby. I just want them to know that I am serious about it, and I hope they stick around so they can see my career start to blossom from the very beginning.
The Star Scoop:
Has there been an impact on your life since you began posting on YouTube?
Zouroudis:
Yeah, definitely. First of all, it's just the sheer fact that strangers from all over the world contact me on a regular basis. I communicate with people from Brazil, the UK, from China...It's crazy and I think without YouTube, I would have never really had a reason to speak to those people. It's definitely made me realize my passion even more. I knew I've always had a huge passion for music, but when I'm able to actually put it to use by creating something so unique and visual on my own, it just makes me love it even more...YouTube has also affected me by exposing me to the music industry. I have been approached by a few different major labels, independent labels, and management teams! I haven't accepted any offers at the time because I feel like I want to develop a little more individually as an artist before I have any outside influences on my artistry.
The Star Scoop:
Check out Maria Zouroudis on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MariaZouroudis!