Billboard Family
Lenny Pearce had been producing electronic music and uploading it to SoundCloud for years, but it wasn’t until he made a remix unlike anything being played in the club scene that his career skyrocketed.
“The first one that really took off was ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes,’ techno version,” says the Australian producer.
He’s speaking about his edit of the classic children’s song that encourages kids to touch their head, shoulders, knees and toes. (And eyes, and ears, and mouth and nose.) But instead of being rendered in traditional sing-song, Pearce’s version is done with kickdrum and waves of dark synth.
It’s one of many canonical children’s songs that Pearce has made dance remixes of, forging a genre he calls “toddler techno,” and with it carving out a niche space in the touring world with his baby raves.
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Thus far, Pearce has hosted events in Australia, Bahrain, Singapore and the United States, where he launched a ten-date tour this week. The run hits nine U.S. cities through the end of the month, with each event welcoming between 700 to 1,500 children and parents. Most of the shows sold out within minutes, altogether selling more than 11,000 tickets. After the U.S. he’s off to Malaysia and has had offers come in from Kenya as well.
“Nursery rhymes are just known by everyone,” he says of his global demand.
DJ-ing all-ages parties wasn’t on Pearce’s radar when he started in entertainment. 15 years ago, he was part of a 10-person breakdancing crew that won Australia’s Got Talent in 2010. This team, Justice Crew, then transformed into a boy band that clocked hits like “Boom Boom,” which hit No. 1 on the Australian ARIA Singles chart. Pearce DJ’d as part of Justice Crew shows and fell in love with production, eventually leaving the group to focus on it. While his career was for a time “going nowhere,” he says he eventually became a better and better producer, working in house and tech house and uploading his music to streaming platforms while trying to get the attention of labels.
Then, two years ago his first child — a daughter — was born. “She captured my heart,” Pearce says. “I wanted to do everything for her.” He was still making music, but was suddenly also a stay-at-home dad. And as any parent who’s spent long stretches of time with their young child has likely experienced, traditional children’s music was suddenly on heavy rotation in the Pearce household.
“She liked ‘The Wheels On the Bus’ and and all that,” says Pearce of his daughter. “With my creative mind I was thinking that I could remix these songs and put them on TikTok.” Amid the bottles and naps, he did just that, working from his home studio. “And then it just started to take off from there.”
One of Pearce’s first uploads, the techno edit of “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes” quickly racked up 500,000 views, with Pearce’s follower count on TikTok growing from 30,000 to over a million as he uploaded other kid-centric club edits. (He now has 2.1 million followers on the platform.) The track’s success lead him to sign myriad remixes to the longstanding Dutch dance label Spinnin’ Records, an imprint he’d been trying to get the attention of for years. In 2024, Spinnin’ released his slinky club version of “Wheels On the Bus,” which now has 2.3 million views on YouTube alone.
Pearce’s career was also buoyed by the fact that his identical twin brother, John Pearce, is a current members of Australian kids group The Wiggles. (The brothers were also both members of Justice Crew.) The connection made it possible for Lenny to remix an entire Wiggles album into The Wiggles Soundsystem: Rave of Innocence, which featured 14 edits of classics by the group. The album hit No. 1 on the ARIA Australian Dance Albums Chart.
Pearce’s work isn’t entirely reinventing the wheel. Snoop Dogg has done his own interpretations of children’s music, and in 2020, Marshmello and his team capitalized on the artist’s popularity among children and launched a kids-focused content platform. Dance edits of kids songs have been around for years, but mostly as one-offs, making them harder for parents to find in aggregate.
“There’s not one artist who has been doing it,” Pearce says. “There’ll be a random guy who does a trap version of ‘Five Little Ducks’ or something. But in the eyes of toddlers and parents, there hasn’t been an artist who they can go to for this sound.”
Pearce says the messages he gets from parents around the world are often ones of gratitude, given that his music provides something that children love, but which is different than the traditional kids fare that can become mind-numbing with repetition. His music is also a way for parents to connect with the club vibe that, for many, defined their pre-child years.
As such, Toddler Techno live events was the next logical step, with Pearce signing with WME for representation late last year.
“A DJ performing for kids and families sounded wild enough to be huge, and that’s exactly what it is,” says Pearce’s agent at WME, Peter Schwartz. “The family market has always been strong — parents need entertainment! Lenny’s engaging both kids and the parents who were raving not too long ago and still want to have fun.”
To wit, Pearce’s current U.S. tour sold out every show in ten minutes, Scwartz says, with second shows added in most markets. The run comes on the heels of Pearce’s debut album Toddler Techno (Vol. 1), released in March. Pearce is playing traditional pop/rock venues like Los Angeles’ Roxy Theater, The Brooklyn Bowl and Chicago’s Outset, and a bigger fall tour currently in the planning stages. Show tickets range between $30 and $40, with some venues letting very young children in for free.
“What Lenny’s doing is fun, fresh, and a little edgier than other kids’ acts,” says Scwartz, “which we think really sets him apart.”
Pearce, who has a warm personality, a wide smile and a long, colorful braid that in fact gives him an aptly cartoonish quality, says kids have always just naturally been drawn to him, making him the perfect artist to play a party designed for families. (To wit, he’s also collaborated with kids entertainment juggernauts including Nickelodeon, Disney and Hasbro.) His shows welcome even the newest of newborns (“There’s like, babies in carriages,” he says) and are not seated, meaning kids and parents can roam the dancefloor like attendees do in adults-only settings.
On the road, Pearce has seen entire families come dressed in matching mermaid outfits and others in tutus. (His now two year old daughter also prefers this latter accessory, with Pearce and his wife also welcoming a baby boy in April.) Shows also offer face-painting, hair braiding and photo booths, and a recent event had a giant inflatable octopus in the middle of the dancefloor. These elements are obviously kid-centric, but they’re also not really different from standard activities and styles at adults clubs and festivals. At a show in Philadelphia earlier this week, kids clutched glow sticks and wore sunglasses on the dancefloor, and their parents did too.
Pearce has heard plenty of jokes about attendees taking shots of apple juice versus alcohol and acknowledges that one of the reasons why what he does is so popular is because “it’s like an extreme to an extreme. Rave culture is supposed to be all about drugs and partying and this and that, and then kids are so innocent. But it’s not about the party aspect, it’s about music, entertainment, unity and including the whole family.”
There’s a lot of forthcoming music to keep the tiny fists pumping. Pearce has a new album of remixed kids classics dropping soon, with his ability to reconfigure these songs possible because many are old enough to be covered by public domain and are not under copyright. When Pearce does eventually get through the well of kids classics, he says he’ll simply shift genres and do all of the same music in drum & bass, or deep house, or reggaetón. “By the time that cycles around, we’ll all be retired,” he says.
In the meantime, he seems to have found his calling as both an artist and a dad.
“A lot of parents say they play my remixes in the car on the way to school or daycare and it’s not a buzzkill,” he says. “The kids enjoy it, and they do, too.”
Charlie Wilson teams up with Gracie’s Corner, the popular, animated sing-along series on YouTube, on “Have a Good Time,” a new single released by the family-run channel Friday morning (June 13). The R&B mainstay sings on Gracie’s dance groove and stars in its music video, launching below.
With a little help from Wilson — aka “Uncle Charlie” — Gracie’s latest song inspires young viewers to get up and move along to the music: “Uncle Charlie says clap your hands! Clap, clap! And do your dance! Uncle Charlie says stomp your feet! Stomp, stomp!”
Kids should catch on the Uncle Charlie’s feature fast, as it’s a reference to the classic childhood game Simon Says.
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“Working with Charlie Wilson on ‘Have A Good Time’ has been an absolute dream. His energy and passion for music are contagious, and he brings such a joyful spirit to everything he does. This song is all about celebrating movement, fun, and togetherness — something Uncle Charlie embodies effortlessly. Seeing Gracie and Charlie share the mic is a special moment for families everywhere, and we can’t wait for kids to dance along!” Dr. Javoris Hollingsworth, the real-life Gracie’s dad and co-founder of Gracie’s Corner, tells Billboard Family.
“Have a Good Time” is now available on streaming services including YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music.
Gracie’s Corner is known for positive, fun content like 2024’s viral “Veggie Dance,” the “yum, yum, eat ’em up!” dance number reminding children to eat their asparagus (and broccoli and Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, et al.), and the empowering 2020 breakthrough hit “I Love My Hair.”
The creators behind ‘Gracie’s Corner’: Graceyn “Gracie” Hollingsworth and her parents, Dr. Javoris Hollingsworth and Dr. Arlene Gordon-Hollingsworth.
Cécile Boko
The winner of two NAACP Image Awards — for outstanding children’s program and outstanding animated series — in 2025, the channel starring an animated Graceyn “Gracie” Hollingsworth aims to entertain and uplift with educational, inclusive content that speaks to a diverse audience.
It’s a family pursuit and passion, as it was all started by Gracie and her parents, Dr. Javoris Hollingsworth and Dr. Arlene Gordon-Hollingsworth. At press time, their YouTube account has more than 5.5 million followers, with total views surpassing 4.6 billion since its inception in 2020.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. After years as one of the music industry’s most respected singers and songwriters, Victoria Monét has now added another title to […]
“Long live carranga!” shouted Sara Lu. The Carranga Kids were celebrating their big win on the reality show La Voz Kids Colombia 2024, and in the heat of the moment, that was the first thing the teenager could think to say. The other kids joined in, jumping with excitement — they all seemed to agree. After all, it was carranga that got them there.
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Almost a year and a half later, the young group — who had already released an album before joining the competition — dropped their album A Bailar Carranga (or Dance Carranga) in May and are now gearing up for a new one in the coming months, along with a collaboration with their former La Voz Kids coach and Latin Grammy winner Andrés Cepeda.
But what exactly is carranga, and how did it win over this young quartet? Born in the Cundiboyacense and Boyacá of Colombia, this musical genre blends Indigenous, African and European elements while celebrating love for the countryside, ecology, good humor and social critique, with Jorge Velosa as one of its greatest pioneers.
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Sara Lucía, who plays the requinto guitar and sings backup vocals, listens to reggaetón, vallenato, merengue, and salsa — a mix of trendy music and the sounds she picks up from her parents. But it was her grandfather who introduced her to carranga. “It’s a genre that’s purely Colombian, and we feel the need for young people to learn more about it,” says the 14-year-old.
The origins of Carranga Kids trace back to a musical tribute Contreras wanted to dedicate to his late grandfather. The group already existed, having formed during school breaks, but this would be their first big live performance.
Jerónimo Arias Villamizar (guacharaca and backup vocals) recalls that, at first, carranga wasn’t even one of his favorite types of music. But the experience of playing with the other musicians was so special that the 14-year-old decided to stay. At the time, Carranga Kids also included a set of twins who eventually left the group. They were replaced by Juan José González and Esteban de Jesús Suárez, who are 10 and 12 years old, respectively.
“I was invited during a school break, and I’ve been singing since I was three years old — thanks to my dad, who’s a mariachi,” says Arias Villamizar, highlighting that the success of Carranga Kids isn’t just rooted in their deep knowledge of the Cundiboyacense musical genre, but also in their ability to learn from other styles. For example, Jero, as he’s called, shares his deep admiration for the late Mexican legend, Ariel Camacho, leader of the popular group Los Plebes del Rancho.
With their original lineup, they recorded their first EP, Huellas Coloridas, in 2021. However, one of the prizes from the reality show was the chance to record an album with Universal Music Colombia (the other prize was 150 million Colombian pesos, roughly $35,000, which can only be used for their college education). This led to the release of their first studio album, A Bailar Carranga, in May of this year. The most popular song from the album was “Coquetica y Juguetona” (meaning “coquettish and playful”) a response to the hit “Coqueta” by Heredero, which went viral on TikTok.
The song came from a reflection by Contreras that is as simple as it is brilliant: “‘Coqueta’ is a song that men relate to, so we wanted to create a response that offered a female perspective.”
“A Bailar Carranga” and “Al Campo Me Fui” (meaning “to the country I went”) were also songs that were well-received on streaming platforms.
They haven’t even finished promoting this album, and they’re already working on their second record with Universal, which will feature Andrés Cepeda as a collaborator on a version of “Los Sabanales,” a song they performed during the final stage of the popular competition.
One of the reasons behind Carranga Kids’ success is that, as children, they can captivate both the traditional audience of the genre and younger listeners who might not typically engage with this type of music. Sara Lu also recognizes that blending genres has helped them reach new audiences, emphasizing that while carranga is their foundation, rock and urban music can also be part of their fusions.
She also hints that now that they’ve conquered Colombia — or at least a large part of the country — it’s time to expand across the continent. “There are many Latin American rhythms that are very similar, like what’s happening in Peru with its sound, which is highly globalized.” She brings up “Coqueta” again, but this time not to talk about their response song, but to emphasize how Heredero’s hit reached unimaginable places, even in Europe.
She concludes, “Now, taking carranga to the international stage is much easier.”
This story was originally published by Billboard Colombia.
For every milestone in a kid’s life, there’s a CoComelon song — and now parents have a brand-new potty-training anthem to add to their toolkit, premiering exclusively on Billboard Family.
As part of the “CoComelon Can Help” campaign, an animated video for “When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go!” hits CoComelon’s YouTube page on Tuesday (June 9) to help steer kids and caregivers alike through the often trying times of potty training.
JJ, the face of countless CoComelon clips, stars in the video as he figures out what to do when that moment strikes.
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“I gotta go, go/ Oh no/ When you gotta go, you gotta go!” J.J. sings in the instantly familiar CoComelon tune. “Trying something new can be hard/ And being brave is such a good start/ So come on, come on, it’s time to be smart/ ‘Cause when you gotta go, you gotta go!”
Watch the “When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go!” video here:
In addition to the new song, CoComelon has also curated a Potty Time Songs playlist, filled with a lineup of previous CoComelon potty tunes, as well as a YouTube playlist of potty-training videos, in which JJ and his toddler buddies model real-life scenarios that kids run into when they’re potty training.
Finally, for families in Los Angeles, New York and Nashville, the Gotta Go Zone! tour is heading your way, with CoComelon Gotta Go Zones that include a family restroom designed for little ones with step stools, a soap bar and sensory play. There will also be music, kid activities, face painting, giveaways, snacks and character meet-and-greets. (You can RSVP for the events here.)
Need more CoComelon? The CoComelon: Sing-A-Long Live Tour is also currently on the road, with dates through June 29 in Louisville. You can also watch the CoComelon animated series on Netflix before it makes its way to Disney+ in 2027.
Taboo is joining the universe of Dora the Explorer. The Black Eyed Peas member wrote a new song titled “Melodía” for Paramount+’s DORA animated series, and Billboard has an exclusive first look at the number.
In a preview of the upcoming episode — titled “Dora’s Song for Papi” — Dora and her trusty BFF Boots travel through a colorful rainforest to create a special song for her dad before they can celebrate Papi-Dora Day together. On the way, the duo encounter cockatoos Quickatoo and Quickatina, voiced by Taboo and his 9-year-old daughter Jett.
“There’s no easy way of knowing/ Lo que te puede hacer/ Once the rhythm gets you goin’/ You feel it otra vez/ Ritmo, ambiente, flavor, sabor/ This music will give you that hunger for more,” Quickatoo sings in the sneak peek, as Quickatina plays along on a rainbow xylophone.
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Get an exclusive preview of Taboo’s performance of “Melodía” below.
In perfect harmony with the episode’s themes, Jett tells Billboard Family that working with her famous dad was “a great opportunity to have a father-and-daughter day together.”
“Jett and I, we spend a lot of time — whether we’re reading books at night creating characters and dialogue, or we’re making videos dancing — we’ve always had this creative spirit,” Taboo chimed in. “So to be able to channel that in such a great project like the DORA brand and experience, it’s a reflection of who we are as father and daughter.”
(Stay tuned for Billboard Family‘s full video interview with Taboo and Jett, coming soon.)
“Melodía” will also be featured on the show’s upcoming soundtrack, The Great Dora Fiesta (25th Anniversary Tribute Album), which arrives on June 13 and includes reimaginings of classic Dora ditties like “Swiper No Swiping,” “Backpack” and “I’m the Map,” as well as the original songs “Súper Bien” and “Dora-cappella.”
Taboo and Jett’s episode of DORA will begin streaming on Wednesday, July 2, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and internationally where the streaming service is available.
Taboo and Jett onstage at Black Eyed Peas’ New Year’s Eve concert on Dec. 31, 2023, at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas.
Courtesy
While riggers hung massive lights and construction workers assembled the stage on a grueling day before Tyler Childers‘ June 2024 concert at the United Center, three young locals showed up: Cheryl, Larry and Ted. And Cheryl gave Kyle Crownover, Childers’ tour manager, a look.
“I was like, ‘I think that’s the one,’” he tells Billboard.
Cheryl, a small terrier-chihauhua mix who tends to “collapse in people’s arms and just look at them,” as Crownover puts it, was a delivery from Chicago’s One Tail at a Time, an animal-rescue group that admitted 1,126 dogs in 2022 and found homes for 1,066, a 97% save rate. Over the past few years, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Kelsea Ballerini, Ed Sheeran, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Blink-182, Maggie Rogers and many others have been beneficiaries of adorable furry deliveries to cheer up artists and crews.
“We’re usually on the road three weeks at a time, so that’s three weeks away from your family. We’re close with the crew, but, on a show day, there’s not time to go meet your friends in the city, so we’re confined to whatever spot we’re playing,” Crownover says. “To bring that in” — the puppies, and occasionally kittens — “and instantly see everyone’s mood change, it’s hard to be stressed.”
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The trend of bringing adoptable pets backstage kicked in about a decade ago, when members of Slayer, Testament and Carcass posed for adorable photos in which they were cuddling with rescued animals before a Seattle show in 2016. But it took off after the pandemic. Returning to work and dealing with strict COVID-19 protocols, inflation and supply-chain issues, crews could be glum.
In some cases, artists — especially those involved in their own animal-rescue charities, such as Miranda Lambert’s Mutt Nation — request the perk in advance. In others, venue managers emphasized “taking care of crew and making sure that the backstage is more of a place where they feel welcome and more at home,” says Amy Tavares, a Nashville-based Live Nation backstage experience manager who has worked with Wags & Walks and other groups to bring in puppies, kittens, goats and pigs to arena and stadium concerts over the last few years.
“It absolutely could be therapeutic. The road can be isolating for everybody, and it makes sense to me that these animals who are offering love and connection are highlighting a deep need for that,” Lucy Kozak Cesnik, a Nashville psychotherapist who used to work as a CAA music agent, tells Billboard. “Animals can lead the way to access being seen and heard, with people who’ve had trauma in their relationships, without their defenses up. Healing can’t just happen in the therapy office.”
Adds Marika Anthony-Shaw, a former Arcade Fire violinist who is founder and CEO of Plus1, a philanthropy group that partners with Carpenter: “You go from bus to backstage and bus to backstage, maybe a couple hotels and maybe a couple flights. There’s a sense of Groundhog Day. The mental-health benefits of interacting with animals reduces stress. There’s a mood boost.”
Working with managers and concert venues, the local rescue groups identify three or four young animals — usually pups — who are more likely to be friendly to people because they haven’t yet learned to be scared of them, then cart them in carriers to the show. They bring playpens, food and treats, and the venues provide a backstage room and bowls of water. So far, no dogs have been reported to have escaped and roamed the stage, disrupting shows, This Is Spinal Tap-style.
“They did not do that!” says Greta Palmer, chief communications and brand officer for Best Friends Animal Society — a Utah-based animal sanctuary with programs in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere — which provided three puppies and three kittens at a Carpenter show last year, and six kittens as part of a “cuddle lounge” for a 2023 Kesha concert in Atlanta. “We have a bunch of staff that go, and we’ll set up an area with a gate, and people can come in and hang with them, play with them, love on them [and] ideally adopt them.” (Best Friends did not do on-site adoptions for the Kesha show, and none of the animals were adopted at the Carpenter event.)
The strategy worked for Crownover and Cheryl, whom the tour manager adopted shortly after Childers’ Chicago concert. Cheryl has been on the road with the crew ever since, meeting 100 new people a day and greeting visiting foster puppies in various cities. (Crew members on the Childers tour also adopted Larry and Ted after meeting them at the United Center.)
“The main reason we do it is to promote the dogs and promote adoption,” says Alli Rooney, One Tail at a Time’s marketing manager. “And everyone needs a bit more lightness in the world right now.”
The animal visits are pure good-vibes publicity too. When Motley Zoo Animal Rescue brought dogs to the 2016 Slayer-Testament-Carcass show in Seattle, the most tattooed and scowling of metal stars melted in photos with adorable puppies; when Brighter Days Dog Rescue brought dogs to Billie Eilish’s Denver show in November, the organization’s social media post showed the singer-songwriter cheek to cheek with puppies and said they were “showered with love” by the star; and Sheeran has posed with tiny backstage-delivery kittens multiple times, including in 2017, when the SPCA of Wake County surprised him before a Raleigh, N.C., show with animals rescued from a nearby horse farm. At CMA Fest’s kickoff in Nashville June 5, Wags & Walks provided adoptable puppies at an “artist oasis” area, luring country performers such as Gavin Adcock, Ashley Cooke, Meghan Patrick and Kaylee Rose.
Gavin Adcock
Wags & Walks
Some venues, according to Mallory Kerlie, marketing director of Muddy Paws, a New York dog-rescue group, have restrictions on both dogs and cats, many relating to the potential for rabies or injuries. And some rules disallow pit bulls or dogs heavier than 25 pounds. “Here in New York, that’s a particular challenge,” she says. But Muddy Paws accompanies the puppies with trained staff and reliable carriers, and navigates public transportation in case parking is an issue. At the venues, she adds, “It’s a small room with doors. That’s usually the best way to keep them safe.”
Kittens are slightly easier to haul into concerts than dogs, notes Best Friends’ Palmer. She explains: “We can just set up an X-pen and they tend to stay pretty contained.”
Wags & Walks has provided puppies, kittens and even baby goats and pigs for Nashville arenas and stadiums. The non-profit animal rescue group placed the dogs in a soundproof room during Rufus Du Soul’s Ascend Amphitheater soundcheck in May (“So they wouldn’t get scared,” explains Taveras), and also surprised Kelsea Ballerini at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles by presenting her with three small sibling puppies for a photo op.
Neither Ballerini nor her team was available for a post-pup interview, but Lesley Brog, founder of Wags & Walks, knew the country superstar’s own dog, Dibs, was going through cancer treatment. “She’s a huge dog lover, and they thought it would make sense,” she says.
Shortly after the puppies arrived before Ballerini’s show, Wags & Walks set them up in a conference room near the office of Cara Vanderhook, the arena’s vp of marketing and communications. The exec mentioned them in a staff chat, and within half an hour, Vanderhook tells Billboard, “I’m not joking, I probably had 30 people in the conference room playing with these puppies. It gave everybody a moment to take a breath when they needed it.”
It’s an understatement to say it was a dream come true for Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying to write and record the new song “Great Rainbow” for the 70th anniversary of the Disneyland Resort.
The Grammy winner tells Billboard he’s a “Disney stan, deep down.” But Hoying didn’t stop with one song: He can be heard throughout the new Disney California Adventure Park nighttime spectacular World of Color Happiness!, including harmonizing on new renditions of familiar Disney favorites like “I 2 I” (from A Goofy Movie) and “Nobody Like U” (from Turning Red).
World of Color Happiness! is a razzle-dazzle show that, per Disney, “explores happy through a kaleidoscope of emotions,” as told through visual projections on choreographed fountains enhanced with lighting, lasers, flames and of course, a musical soundtrack.
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The entire show, staged on Paradise Bay, is hosted by Joy and the other Emotions from the animated film Inside Out 2, while a pre-show moment kicks off with The Muppets – who, like Disneyland, celebrate their 70th anniversary in 2025. (In the show, Boyz II Men are heard singing The Muppets’ iconic tune “The Rainbow Connection.”) Then, following the show, Hoying’s soaring “Great Rainbow” is heard in full while the fountains and lights in the Bay dance along to the tune. The track was created by an army of more than 100 musical individuals – including an orchestra, choir and a team of production technicians and wizards.
Much of the music from World of Color Happiness!, including “Great Rainbow,” can also be found on the recently released album from Walt Disney Records, Music From Disneyland Resort 70th Celebration.
So what does it feel like for Hoying to quite literally be part of a show at a Disney park, where his voice is heard by guests most every night?
“I don’t even have the words to accurately explain. It is such a dream of mine. There’s videos of me at [age] 3 singing ‘I Just Can’t Wait to Be King’ [from The Lion King] for anyone that would listen. I am such a Disney stan, deep down. I know the catalog through and through.
“To help create the soundtrack to such amazing memories that kids get to have – it’s just a dream,” he adds. “It gives me a sense of purpose and fulfillment that’s really, really meaningful.”
Hoying found his way to World of Color Happiness! thanks to his work on Walt Disney World’s Epcot spectacular Luminous: The Symphony of Us. That show, which premiered in December 2023, featured a song Hoying co-wrote (with A.J. Sealy and Sheléa, performed by Sheléa) titled “Heartbeat Symphony.” Perhaps surprisingly, the song was selected for the show in a “blind” audition, so to speak, where the writers were not revealed during the initial selection process.
Stef Fink – who was the music producer for Luminous and World of Color Happiness! – invited Sealy and others to “blind submit” songs for Luminous. Sealy called up Hoying (whom Fink did not know personally at the time), and the pair submitted a track, which was among the songs the Disney team initially selected for consideration. Then, Sheléa teamed with Hoying and Sealy, and the three tinkered with the track and added Sheléa’s vocals to the demo, and Disney ultimately selected the song for the show.
So when it came time for World of Color Happiness! to begin production, the relationship Hoying and Fink had built with Luminous graduated to a new level. Knowing that World of Color Happiness! was going to be a “more vocal-forward and a more pop-forward show,” Fink thought of bringing Hoying into the creative process. “I like to surround myself with people who are smarter and musically better than I am, so I was like, ‘Scott, what are you doing?’”
On this show, Scott “stepped into so many different roles creatively, by himself and alongside me,” Fink says. “He’s not just a singer on the show and he’s not just a vocal arranger – he really informed a lot of our fun decisions, along with our incredible creative director Steve Davison and our entire team over at Disney Live Entertainment.”
The creative synergy between Fink and Hoying extended to the new song “Great Rainbow,” which the pair wrote and produced together, with Hoying singing the track alongside an orchestra and choir.
Recording the song with a live orchestra was “one of the best parts of the whole experience and why I have so much respect for the Disney Music team, because they don’t cut corners,” Hoying says, stressing the lengths Disney will go to for authenticity and accuracy in their music production.
“It’s so cool to work on a project that has so much integrity for music. … I don’t get to record with an orchestra very often – obviously, Pentatonix is a cappella – and it was so magical. As magical as you’d think it’d be. I was just bawling [in the studio] to the point where I was like, ‘All right, it’s kind of cute to cry for a second, but now it’s kind of getting crazy.’ [Laughs] I was just so moved. It was the most beautiful thing I ever heard.
“And the concept of the show is about connection, and to see 70 people who all dedicated their life to their instrument come together and play an arrangement that I worked on and they loved to play, and it made this beautiful sound… and I was like, ‘Humans, we’re all connected!’ I was just in my feels and just going through it. It was just magical.”
KATSEYE, which recently notched their first Billboard Hot 100 hit with “Gnarly,” is set to perform that feisty song on the 2025 Kids’ Choice Awards. The show, with Tyla hosting, is set to air live on Saturday, June 21, at 8 p.m. ET/PT from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.
KATSEYE, a Los Angeles-based girl group (Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia and Yoonchae), has been steadily building its fanbase over the past two years. With members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland and the U.S., KATSEYE is often described as a “global girl group.”
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The group first formed through HYBE and Geffen Records’ The Dream Academy competition and artist development program, later chronicled in the Netflix docuseries Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE.
The group received two nominations at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards: favorite K-pop dance challenge for “Touch” and favorite on screen for Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE.
The group made Billboard’s 21 Under 21 list for 2025 and has been named an Artist to Watch for 2025 by VEVO, DSCVR and TIDAL.
In September, KATSEYE attended New York Fashion Week for the first time. In November, joined by the L.A. Rams Cheerleaders, they performed on the MAMA Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. In December, they performed on select dates of the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concert. This year, they were added to the performance lineups for L.A.’s Wango Tango in May and Lollapalooza, scheduled for August in Chicago.
“Gnarly” is set to appear on KATSEYE’s second EP, Beautiful Chaos, which is due June 27 via HYBE x Geffen Records. The group’s first EP, SIS (Soft Is Strong) — which featured contributions from such A-listers as Ryan Tedder, Omer Fedi and Blake Slatkin — reached No. 119 on the Billboard 200.
Now, they’re the first performers announced for an awards show whose young teen fanbase will overlap to a large degree with their own EYEKON fan army.
Nickelodeon is calling the show the biggest party of the summer. It is certain to have more epic slimings than any other show. Kids’ Choice Awards 2025 will simulcast across Nickelodeon, TeenNick, Nicktoons, the Nick Jr. channel, MTV2 and CMT, and also air on Nickelodeon channels around the world.
Leading the pack with four nominations each are Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar, followed by Jack Black, Dwayne Johnson, Selena Gomez and Jelly Roll with three apiece.
First-time nominees include Gracie Abrams, Zach Bryan, Jordan Chiles, Frankie Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Doechii, Keith Lee, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey, Shohei Ohtani and Florence Pugh, among others.
Following in the footsteps of Hannah Montana and The Cheetah Girls before them, it’s time to meet your new favorite fictional Disney pop stars: Electric Bloom. The new musical comedy series Electric Bloom tells the story of how three budding BFFs — Posey (Lumi Pollack), Jade (Carmen Sanchez) and Tulip (Ruby Marino) — became “the […]