YOU'RE A MEAN ONE MR. GRINCH | VoicePlay Feat. Adriana Arellano (Reaction/First Listen!)

#voiceplay #reaction #grinch #musicreaction #songreaction
I heard your demands - you want more Voiceplay! So here we are today for Festive Friday with You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch! Let me know what you thought of this one..and also, what happened to J.None!?
Link to official video:
• YOU'RE A MEAN ONE MR. ...
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[@AudioVile]

To your question about membership... yes. All men. They often have featured ladies who are fantastic... but the core group is Geoff, Layne, J None, Cesar, and Eli (pronounced like jelly). When this was recorded, I don't think Cesar had joined full time yet. The gent you singled out is J None. He is currently not a "full time" member because he is in the Navy. He records with them when he's able. And you have a good ear... his vocals are superb!

[@AudioVile]

This is a GREAT example of VoicePlay being playful AND good. Silliness combined with amazing vocal talent??? What a mix! This "funky vibe" (as you put it) is what makes this so GOOD!!! It has a feel most would never associate with this song. But VoicePlay pulls it off (as usual)! Great reaction!

[@Aurora-cv5to]

They frequently bring in women to sing with them - these days it's just the four of them. They started in 1997, so a lot of years and some changes through the years. J None does have a gorgeous voice and we always look forward to him coming back as a featured singer. They're all pretty busy - Layne has a production studio, PattyCake Productions, and produces videos there - sometimes for VoicePlay. Eli does voice work on the side, and is going to start producing a song w/ VoicePlay every 3 months. (Geoff & Layne have been alternating months, now with three of them it'll give them more breathing room.) Whoever is producing does the arrangement, creative vision, video, etc etc. Grinch and Oogie Boogie were both productions that Layne took on. I don't know of any other musical ensemble that works the way they do. They take 100% control of their work, but alternate responsibility and control. Usually they also balance the singing so that everyone has an equal chance to shine. Although they each have a musical role (tenor, baritone, bass, beatbox) they all have amazing ranges and you might hear Eli (the tenor) go high, then drop down and be singing lower than Geoff while Geoff is suddenly up in tenor. The way their voices weave through a harmony is one of the things that makes them sound so different.

[@chriso6719]

You saw J. None in Oogie Boogie song too, with another former member Earl Elkins Jr. You have not seen current member Cesar De La Rosa yet. Geoff and Layne are founding members, Eli (rhymes with jelly) has been with them since 2010. Earl left in 2020, Cesar joined in 2021 after J. None left for the Navy. Currently the 5th spot is a guest spot. A couple of vids with Cesar : the cover of "We Don't Talk About Bruno" featuring Ashley Diane( from Encanto), and the cover of Aerosmith's "Dream On" feat, Omar Cardona.

[@nikkireviews]

Ooh okay, thank you for explaining!

[@CynicalTesuji]

J. None left VoicePlay to sing with the US Navy. But when he's on leave, he still features with VoicePlay. If you look at their more recent videos, J. shows up quite a lot- Nothing Else Matters, Valhalla Calling, Hellfire, and In the Air Tonight are some examples, plus lots of Minis. A lot of folks more or less consider him to still be a member, or at least a member-in-waiting once his stint with the Navy is over. He's definitely still tight with the guys; I think it's hard not to love J. None.

[@ilonadever8249]

Yes, Voiceplay is all male, and currently one man short. They lost their high tenor in 2020, he has not been replaced. J None was recruited by the US Navy to sing with them. He has returned several times to sing with Voiceplay as featured artist. Layne Stein owns a production company with Tony Wakim, a former Voiceplay baritone. They do original work at PattyCake Productions and rent their facilities to other artists in the Orlando area. Voiceplay frequently uses their studios as well. J None left in 2018 and was replaced by Cesar de la Rosa. React to their version of Hoist the Colours from Pirates of the Caribbean 3. You will find that you love Eli's (rhymes with jelly) voice. He is a rocking tenor beast when the song requires it.

[@hwyla4416]

J left 2-1/2 years ago now, so 2021? He apparently has another 2-1/2 years left on his contract with the US Navy. But he does often come back home to Orlando on leave and records with them as a featured artist when he does.

[@Traci2000]

I'm really hoping J comes back after his stint in the Navy. I don't know if he plans on staying longer than his initial 5 years or not, but either way, I want him back full time when he can. They sound so gorgeous with him and Cesar in there together. It's my VoicePlay dream team, lol

[@thisismetoday7423]

Someone already explained about J None but if you want more holiday stuff their version of Christmas Don’t Be Late is fantastic. Looking forward to more! ❤

[@bjspeck4337]

VoicePlay is a certified American treasure. Right now, they are down to 4 members after J None (black guy in this one) was recruited into the US Navy Chorus. He comes back regularly and other featured vocalists. He was back for Friends on the Other Side, Nothing Else Matters (Metallica), Valhalla Calling (Miracle of Sound), In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins), Hellfire (Hunchback of Notre Dame). A lot of us are really rooting for J None to come back full time. Layne Stein (beatboxer, baritone, violinist (also called VioLayne and an alternate name is the Carrot Lord)). Geoff is the amazing bass with the 5 octave range, both Layne and Geoff are original members since high school 25 yrs ago. Geoff also does non-acapella soloes under Geoff Castellucci. Eli (rhymes with jelly) Jacobsen joined in 2010 and is the bald tenor 1, aka the Rock God, Cesar de la Rosa is the newest member and is both baritone and tenor. He also comes with sass. Because the members have worked in the Orlando theme parks, they have a contingent of fine vocalists that they can call on for the fifth member on a video. We're Good was Cesar's last audition before he was a full member. It also starred Adriana Arellano from this one and it is one of my favorites. Another beauty is I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt), Hall of the Mountain King (Edvard Grieg 1875), Drunken Sailor, Hoist the Colours (Pirates of the Caribbean) will give you a start. Have seen it only through VoicePlay.

[@ruthrussell1329]

JNone is on a break. He is in the Navy at the present. Cesar came just around the time JNone left. He visits when he can. There are previous members you will run into as well, if you stick with them. Tony Wakim and Earl Elkins. Tony co-owns Patty cake Studios with Layne Stein, the beatboxer. They seem to have a business relationship with Disney, as many characters from Disney appear on Pattycake videos, hence the Grinch was "borrowed" here. While I've not read anything official, I think JNone will be back eventually as a regular member. As for a suggestion, I do strongly suggest the Metallica cover. For on of Geoff's, check out Ain't No Sunshine.

[@nightthornkvala94132]

This video must have been done after Earl Elkins left for personal (health?) reasons and before J None (black guy in the brown plaid) left to sing for the navy in a 5 year stint. J None does join the group for videos when on leave but they're officially a 4 man group with a guest, at least for now. Layne Stein (beige shirt) is their beat boxer. Eli Jacobson is the one here with glasses and hat. Eli is short for Elizer is is pronounced like Ellie. Cesar DeLaRosa isn't part of the group yet. See their great cover for Metllica's Nothing Else Matters to see J None and Cesar.

[@nikkireviews]

Thanks for explaining! I will definitely be checking out Nothing Else Matters. 😁

[@ronprince1478]

👍😊😎

[@Bolo2028]

I have seen The Grinch. It is worth watching. Also, although it isn’t rock, I recommend checking out “Dante’s Prayer” and “Never Ending Road” by Loreena McKennitt, if only for yourself. They are very beautiful songs with great lyrics.

[@Tarkus_]

I've never seen "The Grinch" either, though I have seen "The Nightmare Before Christmas" about a million times. 😉 Love these guys, so it's always great to see them (or solo Geoff) on your channel! 👍🤟

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

I mean, I'm Gen X, so to me, the Grinch will always be primarily a book. There have been several movie versions of it, but none of them really stand out to me as particularly notable.

[@nikkireviews]

That's interesting. A different view for sure. 🤔 I actually forgot about the book. 👀

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

@@nikkireviews I always loved Seuss books, mostly for the illustration style, but the writing was good in some of them too. I think Fox in Socks was my favorite, but I loved most of them.

[@Ebay772488]

You realize that the original cartoon movie came out in 1966 right?

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

@@Ebay772488 I knew that there were different movie versions from different years, some older than others. I hadn't paid attention to the specifics. Bear in mind that just because a movie *existed* already, did not mean that you could just watch it whenever you wanted. VCRs weren't common in working-class households until the late eighties, and even then, you had to go to a video store, find it, and rent it, and at least half the time the one you wanted wouldn't be available at the time because somebody else would have it checked out. There were holiday Christmas specials that aired on television, but I don't remember ever seeing any of the various Grinch movies that way. Charlie Brown aired every year without fail, Frosty the Snowman, some years, Rudolph a couple of times, and various others.

[@DennisKovacich]

The only thing I don’t like about this is when they have the Whos from Whoville making fun of the grinch. They were always nice no matter what he did to them.

[@barbarakennedy2667]

I wonder if the noses interfered in singing normally?

[@Ebay772488]

They would have recorded the track in a both or somewhere else there's no chance they could sing with the makeup on

[@thisismetoday7423]

They pre-record all of their videos.

[@Wildecat10]

@@thisismetoday7423If you check out one of the ‘Loops’ they have on their channel, you’ll see that they each have the ability to record in their home. (Layne has a professional recording studio attached to his home - Raines Room.)

[@raycardy4843]

As Ebay772488 said, they pre-record seperately, whoever is arranging does the initial mix before sending it to the genius that is Ed Boyer for final mix - they generally sing along to the track in the video (makes it seem more natural), although in the spoken part in this, it definately sounded like Ariana was speaking with the 'nose' on, so that part may have been recorded 'in character'...! The description on their original will always list who is doing what, so the 'Grinch' was provided by a company that provides 'characters' and make-up to theme parks, films and other productions, and also did the make-up for them..

[@Traci2000]

Oh, they should've recorded some audio with the noses on just for fun. I'd love to know what it sounded like.

[@janeteitsworth8824]

Great Reaction to Voiceplay they are amazing. Since you like Nightwish so much you should check out Dan Vasc's covers of Nightwish they are phenomenal.