UPDATE II: We now have confirmation from the Saroyan Theatre on the Cody Simpson/Ryan Beatty show June 19. Tickets are $39.50 and on sale Saturday. They will be available at the Convention Center box office, through Ticketmaster at Ticketmaster outlets and at the Cherry Avenue Auction Swap Meet on Saturdays.
UPDATE: It looks like a Fresno date has been confirmed for the Paradise tour. According to Pollstar (and Beatty’s own website) the tour stops at the Saroyan Theatre June 19 (though it’s not yet listed on the theater’s event calendar for some reason). Doesn’t look like tickets are on sale yet, but we’ll keep up updated on that as well.
Original post from April 12: Fresno’s favorite pop-music wunderkind Ryan Beatty is making moves toward becoming America’s favorite pop-music wunderkind. The 17-year old announced he will be touring this summer with Australian pop-singer Cody Simpson, part of Simpson’s “Paradise Tour,” which kicks off May 30. The tour will hit more than 30 cities including Los Angeles, New York City, Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas and … FRESNO! (no dates has been confirmed, but we’ll keep you updated).
There’s also the “Win A Date with Ryan Beatty Sweepstakes,” which is what is sounds like. Beatty will take the winner (and 10 friends out for dinner). You can enter starting on Saturday.
In other big Beatty news, he’s on the front of YouTube today in conjunction with his AT&T no-texting-and-driving PSA. (which I saw the other day on FX, btw)
Remember that video of Fresno-bred teen pop singer Ryan Beatty getting swarmed by teen girls in NYC? Well, a similar mob awaited the 16-year-old during his recent trip to an In-N-Out Burger in Las Vegas.
A few more of these videos and we might have to start talking about Beatty Fever.
The six-song EP currently sits at No. 2 on the iTunes pop charts and No. 9 on the overall chart. His feverish teen-girl fanbase is making the push to get Beatty to No. 1, so it might just happen.
Here’s info on two noteworthy — albeit in completely different worlds — upcoming local music releases:
FIERCE CREATURES
We know indie rock septet Fierce Creatures is releasing its much-anticipated full-length album soon. But now word comes down the band will do so with Brooklyn-based Paper Garden Records.
The album, “Catacomb Party,” is out Aug. 7 — a couple weeks after its Fulton Mall release party. That’s happening July 21 and it’s become quite the impressive free music festival.
Check out Paper Garden’s announcement for the album’s tracklist, the label’s praise for Fierce Creatures and more. You can pre-order the album digitally, on CD and vinyl through Bandcamp.
RYAN BEATTY
Sixteen-year-old pop singer Ryan Beatty announced this morning that his debut EP, “Because of You” will be out July 24. It’ll be a largely digital release via OcSkee Entertainment, the label of DJ Skee.
Celebuzz got the exclusive with Beatty — known for his early-Bieber-esque online following. He told the site: “This EP is kind of like a bridge into the album. I really want to get something out for the fans.”
Two up-and-coming headliners and two comedy vets are the latest additions to The Big Fresno Fair’s concert lineup. And there are two ticket price changes you should know about too.
The fair added teen pop singer Ariana Grande (from the Nickelodeon’s “Victorious”) as the afternoon act on Oct. 13. She’ll play at 1 p.m. and be joined by local pop singer Ryan Beatty, a rising star in his own right. Tickets cost $12.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar, current protege of Dr. Dre., has been added for Oct. 6. Tickets cost $10-$15. We last saw him opening for Drake at Save Mart Center.
Comics Cheech & Chong will now join funk band War on Oct. 3, the fair’s opening night. Tickets have been bumped up to $20-$25. In another ticket price change: the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert on Oct. 4 has dropped to $40-$45 from $42-$49.
On-the-rise pop singer Ryan Beattywon The Beehive’s ValleyWho game, knocking off notables such as Pat Hill, Chris Colfer and William Saroyan along the way. I met with him Sunday to give him his award. But Ryan, 16, had something he wanted to say about the award and about ValleyWho.
In other Ryan Beatty news: Sunday proved to be a good day for the kid. He was on the weekend edition of “Access Hollywood” and his current single was played on influential L.A. radio station KIIS-FM.
What do Pat Hill, Steve Perry, David Mas Masumoto, Richard Kiel, William Saroyan and Chris Colfer have in common? They were all beaten in successive rounds by Ryan Beatty in our Beehive ValleyWho contest.
Never underestimate the power of a teenage fan base, especially in an Internet voting contest.
Beatty — an on-the-rise pop singer who has amassed a tidy national Internet following — was supposed to be announced as the winner at Beehive Birthday 7, but rain prevented that.
Beatty, 16, received 52% of the vote against Colfer, a star of “Glee,” in the final round, finishing less than 75 votes ahead.
Thanks to everyone who participated in ValleyWho. We hope you had fun.
UPDATE: Sad news, y’all. We’re postponing tonight’s Beehive Birthday party. Mother Nature is not cooperating. And we want this party to be what we envisioned, so we’ll pick a new date and fill you guys in soon. Look for the ValleyWho winner to be announced, right here on the site, tonight.
Well, ValleyWho is all over but the votin’. In these final hours of the final round only your votes will decide who gets to wear the ValleyWho crown — Chris Colfer or Ryan Beatty. Figuratively, of course. We didn’t get an actual crown.
Anyhow, deadline to vote is 8 p.m. today, so go here and vote. Even if you haven’t participated in previous rounds. It’s cool. Just vote.
A little bit on how the two of them got to the finals:
Colfer: Defeated California Raisins and Trent Dilfer in the first two rounds, Kopi in the Sweet 16, Philip Levine in the round of 8 and Audra McDonald in our final four.
Beatty: Defeated Pat Hill and Steve Perry in the first two rounds, David Mas Masumoto in the Sweet 16, Richard Kiel in the round of 8 and William Saroyan in our final four.
Our final matchup proves that ValleyWho was indeed a young man’s game. The bracket of 64 is now down to two — “Glee” actor Chris Colfer and rising pop singer Ryan Beatty.
A little semi-finals recap: Beatty beat Saroyan handedly, getting 67% of the vote, and, actually, getting more than twice the votes Saroyan did. Colfer/McDonald was closer — with Colfer winning 53% of the vote.
The semi-finals of ValleyWho come to a close in four hours — go vote! — and despite even his own best efforts to sway his minions, rising teen pop star Ryan Beatty continues to look unstoppable. Even against local hero and literary icon William Saroyan.
On Monday, Beatty himself took to Twitter and said he was voting for Saroyan. But would his fans listen? So far, it sounds like the Team Beatty isn’t emulating its leader.
In the other matchup: I hear things are tight between Audra McDonald and Chris Colfer. Once again, it could come down to just a handful of votes, so be sure to cast yours before 8 p.m.
I’ve know at least a few people are pulling for a Saroyan-McDonald final, but what if it ends up being Colfer-Beatty, who I believe, between the two of them, have a whopping 37 years on this planet?
Hey y’all, we’re just a few days away from Beehive Birthday 7. If you missed the previous announcement: The party is at 6:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday at Rotary Playland. We’re envisioning an after-hours party at Playland, fit for both kids and adults.
We’ve added some Fresno-centric twists to a few of the rides, set up a beer garden, recruited some familiar faces to join us and, of course, we’re going to be announcing the ValleyWho winner.
Things are starting to take shape on our end, so I thought I’d fill you guys in:
The final matchup will be announced Wednesday morning and voting will last until 8 p.m. Thursday. The ultimate winner will be announced Saturday at Beehive Birthday at Rotary Playland. Remember: We hid the results for the final two rounds to keep y’all surprised.
THE MATCHUPS
(1) William Saroyan vs. (10) Ryan Beatty
(1) Audra McDonald vs. (1) Chris Colfer
ABOUT THAT FINAL FOUR
It’s an interesting mix, I think, that will surely put generations at odds. Represented is the past (Saroyan), the present (Audra and Colfer) and the future (Beatty). Our final four is diverse in that includes an author, actors of TV and stage and a singer. We’ve got a Pulitzer Prize winner, a Tony winner, a Golden Globe winner and a teenager with 200K+ Twitter followers.
Voting for Round 4 — our Only 8! battle — is now open and runs until 8 p.m. Sunday. Go vote. Even if you haven’t voted before, you can still jump in with your vote. Your votes matter. Just ask the ValleyHopefuls who lost by a matter of votes in previous rounds.
Voting for Round 3 — our Sweet 16 — is now open and runs until 8 p.m. Thursday. Get those votes in. If you’re new to this tournament, that’s OK. Your vote still matters. New or old, head to the bracket to vote for your faves.
There are less than six hours left to vote in Round 2 of The Beehive’s ValleyWho contest, and the closest race is between The Waving Lady, who has a narrow 52-48 lead over poet Gary Soto. The contest has drawn more than 2,600 registered users, and voters have taken an obvious shine to Ms. Lady, who as a No. 16 seed knocked off former mayor Alan Autry. Who says pressing the flesh (or at least waving at it) doesn’t pay off?
Polls close at 8 p.m. for ValleyWho, the Beehive’s March Madness-style game that will wind up crowning our favorite local icon. (For those who don’t know about ValleyWho, here’s a quick link to all you need to know.)
Among the late developments:
RYAN BEATTY VS. STEVE PERRY: Beatty, the young Internet singing sensation, has been creeping up on the former lead singer of Journey all day. Perry is leading right now at 53% of the vote. At one point, Beatty was in the low 30s against Perry, but he overcame a similar deficit in the first round. Will his fans come through?
Round 1 is done and now ValleyWho Round 2 is up to you. Voting in the round of 32 started this morning and runs until 8 p.m. Tuesday. So get those votes in.
There are some intriguing matchups — Colfer vs. Dilfer, Perry vs. Beatty, Seaver vs. Radka. This is gonna be fun to keep an eye on. But first, let’s recap some of what transpired in Round 1:
Teen pop singer Ryan Beatty and his rabid fanbase pulled off a wild comeback to swing a matchup that Pat Hill had been dominating throughout. Beatty lovers made up a more than 20% deficit in the final hours. Going up against Steve Perry in Round 2 is going to be a task for Team Beatty.
The Almond Regional was full of late surges. Patrick Contreras got close to Nick Watney, Stefani Booroojian almost topped Richard Kiel and Gnarley Charley got within yee-hawing distance of Christopher Gorham. It was the Booroojian/Kiel pairing that ended closest. Kiel won by 47 votes.
UPDATE 3/19: First-round results are in! Voting has started for the second round.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: With just eight hours to go before the “polls” close for the first round of our ValleyWho competition, some interesting developments:
Poet Gary Soto seems to be pulling away from ABC 30 anchor Graciela Moreno. He’s leading with 53% of the vote. Who knew a poet could take on a TV personality?
Speaking of TV, Channel 24 anchor Stefani Booroojian has been climbing steadily in the voting. She’s up to 42% against Richard “Jaws” Kiel. Her trajectory is similar to Internet singing sensation (and former Children’s Musical Theaterworks star) Ryan Beatty, who has battled his way up from the high 20s in his race against coach Pat Hill. Beatty now has 42% of the vote.
In perhaps the most dramatic turnaround, No. 1 seed and “Glee” star Chris Colfer has swapped leads with the California Raisins. Colfer now has 53% of the vote after being stuck in the low 40s for most of the contest. Will the dried-fruit surge dry up?
The good news: If you haven’t yet voted, there’s still time. The first round ends at 8 p.m. For those who don’t know about ValleyWho, here’s a quick link to all you need to know.)
With voting under way to crown our favorite local icon in The Beehive’s ValleyWho March Madness-style bracket game, mental images abound: Anthony Taylor gripping Kevin Federline in a pretty solid headlock; Ray Appleton getting his behind kicked in the ring by Jennifer Alcorn; Chris Colfer caught in a life-and-death struggle with a California Raisin.
Of course, voting continues in the ValleyWho contest’s first round through 8 p.m. Sunday, so there’s plenty of opportunity for front-runners to fade and early stumblers to come from behind. In the meantime, think of this post as a low-rent version of one of those ESPN March Madness shows (minus the generous clothing allowances for the talent) in which we offer a mix of updates, news notes, expert commentary and blatant campaigning by individual Beehivers for their favorites. Here goes:
EARLY TRENDS
THE VOTES: At the top of the heap are Audra McDonald in the Peach Regional (the Broadway star and No. 1 seed is crushing local pitchman Crazy Bernie with 91% of the vote) and No. 6 seed Al Radka in the Raisin Regional (the radio/TV icon is pounding annoying “Bachelorette” contestant Kasey Kahl with 90%).
Compare that to the two tightest races: Channel 30 anchor Graciela Moreno has been trading the lead all day with poet Gary Soto in the Almond Regional, while Olympic snowboarder Andy Finch is locked in a tight battle with author David Mas Masumoto in the same conference.
You remember young local pop singer Ryan Beatty, right? We followed his rise to Internet fame last year with millions upon millions of YouTube views. He got endorsed by Aston Kutcher, headlined Tower Theatre a couple times and now here comes another big break for the kid — Beatty’s new music video, “Every Little Thing” premiered this morning on RyanSeacrest.com.
OK, OK, Ryan — I guess that’s better than letting us do it.
The vid is directed by Matt Alonzo whose credits include Far East Movement’s “Fly Like A G6″ and Soulja Boy’s “Turn My Swag On.” As you can see, Beatty, now 16, got a haircut and looks more grown up than when we first saw him.
Head over to RyanSeacrest.com for an interview with Beatty, pics and more.
UPDATE II: We now have confirmation from the Saroyan Theatre on the Cody Simpson/Ryan Beatty show June 19. Tickets are $39.50 and on sale Saturday. They will be available at the Convention Center box office, through Ticketmaster at Ticketmaster outlets and at the Cherry Avenue Auction Swap Meet on Saturdays.
