Mischa's Singing Video Blog

Use Somebody

2012-02-29T23:58:00.000-08:00

Okay.... last song for the three songs on the last day of February... seriously... this sucked. I felt so stressed to finish on my deadline that I had to compensate and settle of mediocre sound quality since I recorded this on my iPhone. Anyway, I LOOOOOVE this song and had to finish Love/Hate month with it.

Just to fill you in if you didn't read my last two blog posts... I have been having tons of issues with technology. Apparently we should be on a "break" because this relationship is not all its cracked up to be:
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I had some crazy issues getting my last three songs up. Since my iMovie is being stupid I decided to use my mini HD camera from my college film school days. I got really excited and decided I could import the footage into iMovie and still upload it... Nope, wrong... turns out the firewire cable to my camera is so old it doesn't work in my current mac computer... so I decided to pull out my old mac... it fit but low and behold the software is so old I can't even download iMovie to it. Feeling defeated I decided to import it completely from my iPhone... so the quality isn't grand but at least I am finished on schedule. That's the whole story. I have no idea what i am going to do with this iMovie dilemma... if you have any ideas PLEASE shoot them my way... I am desperate!
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Songs for next month? Questions? Concerns? Ideas? Dreams? Fancies? Share 'em and let me know what should be just around the corner. :)

Song 10 of 10 complete.

-Mischa

Alibi

2012-02-29T23:30:00.000-08:00

Okay... I apologize in advance for the poor quality but I was desperate to finish my ten by the end of the month so even though its not the grandest quality at least I meet my deadlines.

Anyway, to brief you, in case you didn't read my last blog this is what happened:
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I had some crazy issues getting my last three songs up. Since my iMovie is being stupid I decided to use my mini HD camera from my college film school days. I got really excited and decided I could import the footage into iMovie and still upload it... Nope, wrong... turns out the firewire cable to my camera is so old it doesn't work in my current mac computer... so I decided to pull out my old mac... it fit but low and behold the software is so old I can't even download iMovie to it. Feeling defeated I decided to import it completely from my iPhone... so the quality isn't grand but at least I am finished on schedule. That's the whole story. I have no idea what i am going to do with this iMovie dilemma... if you have any ideas PLEASE shoot them my way... I am desperate!
~~~

So if you have any suggestions to help me out of this crap-hole of technology failing me please let me know!

I have wanted to do this song forever... have a mad crush on Jared Leto and those gorgeous eyes of his. Anyway, when technology and I are back to being friends I will probably redo this song to fully do it justice because the sound quality isn't that awesome since it was recorded on my iphone. Alas, I do the best I can.

What should next month's songs be? Send your ideas my way... :)

Song 9 of 10 complete! :)

-Mischa

Dream A Little Dream Of Me

2012-02-29T23:01:00.001-08:00

I adore this song... it's simply perfect and was perfect for love month since the whole song is about not wanting to leave a lover's embrace because it's so wonderful. *Le Sigh...* hehehe....

But seriously, my favorite performances of this song are: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (the duet is perfect), and Dean Martin with his incredible vibrato. So charming.

So I decided this absolutely had to be done. :)

I had some crazy issues getting my last three songs up. Since my iMovie is being stupid I decided to use my mini HD camera from my college film school days. I got really excited and decided I could import the footage into iMovie and still upload it... Nope, wrong... turns out the firewire cable to my camera is so old it doesn't work in my current mac computer... so I decided to pull out my old mac... it fit but low and behold the software is so old I can't even download iMovie to it. Feeling defeated I decided to import it completely from my iPhone... so the quality isn't grand but at least I am finished on schedule. That's the whole story. I have no idea what i am going to do with this iMovie dilemma... if you have any ideas PLEASE shoot them my way... I am desperate!

Song 8 of 10 complete.

-Mischa

Love

2012-02-28T23:43:00.000-08:00

I adore Nat King Cole. I grew up on a lot of his wonderful songs while spending many of my childhood days at my grandparents house. I even still to this day play a lot of my grandpa's Nat records he saved for me.

I received some interesting messages on my youtube account the last couple weeks with people pointing fingers that I must be "altering" my voice to be able to do so many different genres.... so I decided to set the record straight after the third comment on it and decided to show what I sound like all natural.... no makeup.... no cuts... no nothing but an a cappella cover of Nat's classic "Love."

I figured I would nip it in the bud and squash any doubts people may have about what I can and cannot sing. So I decided to show the different sounds I can make within one song. I couldn't let February pass without doing this song... it's a classic for goodness sake! :)

Anyway, I had a great recording of "Use Somebody" but couldn't bring myself to upload it since the sound wasn't syncing up right with the video -_- But I did discover my mic isn't to blame... its my iMovie program... so I have 3 songs to do tomorrow to finish on deadline... I am actually going to try recording through my HD camera.... importing it into iMovie and seeing if the quality and syncing is any better. I hope so.... this is getting a tad frustrating.

Song 7 of 10 complete.

-Mischa

Wait For You

2012-02-28T00:27:00.000-08:00

Okay... I love this song, always have... but I never expected to do a cover of it. It kind of happened by accident. See, what happened was I was actually recording a Kelly Clarkson song and when I played back the recording I realized the sound was out of sync with the video which was seriously frustrating because I had a perfect take (grrrr....) and because I am a perfectionist I ended up deleting it because I was so upset about the messed up audio to video.

So.... this song got recommended to me on the sidebar of youtube videos and I took it as a SIGN.... with my burned out vocals I did this song and my range was surprisingly lower than it usually is (probably from being overworked). Anyway, I decided to do one take and see how it came out... PRESTO! Not only was the audio good but the syncing with the video was perfect... Okay... I get it... Kelly Clarkson isn't on the setlist for tonight... maybe tomorrow, if my mic permits it.

But I seriously wish Elliot Yamin would make some new music soon! His voice is too beautiful for him to fall into the background somewhere. Hope you like my: wham-bam-one-take-this-better-come-out-good.

Song 6 of 10 complete. More to follow soon... with or without mic. But hopefully with. :)

-Mischa

Every Time We Touch

2012-02-22T01:34:00.000-08:00

I have a secret guilty pleasure... I love music that makes you move. So it shouldn't surprise you that I love Cascada! She is awesome and her music makes you happy and want to dance... well, at least it has that effect on me. :)

Anyway, I decided to do the slower version for my cover because people have been requesting some more ballad stuff in the spirit of love/love-hate month for February!

Only a few days left to get those votes in! What should next month's theme be? It's basically right around the corner... shoot some ideas my way!

Song 5 of 10 complete!

-Mischa

At Last

2012-02-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

I have to say one of the saddest deaths for me recently was Etta James. What an incredible woman... Even though she made it to 70... I say that is still too young. She had a lot of good years and beautiful voice left in her.

I couldn't let Valentine's Day pass without paying tribute to the lovely Miss. James. So this crazy white girl decided to do a cover of it. And no, no one can truly compete with Etta. But at least her music continues to live on and inspire people... I am living proof of this :)

RIP Miss James, you gave a lot of couples the world over their first dance together as man and wife. No other song even comes close to competing with it for the "First Dance" title.

Song 4 of 10 complete!

-Mischa

Besame Mucho

2012-02-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

Alright, let's get one thing straight. I adore Dean Martin. I grew up listening to a lot of the classics because that was most of what my grandparents played.

I found this gorgeous version of Besame Mucho that plays the melody almost sounding like an Italian Opera... so I decided to play with that and do my own version and mix it up a bit.

I hope you like it. I'm pretty happy with it myself. :) Song 3 of 10 complete! More to follow soon.

-Mischa

Jar of Hearts

2012-02-13T01:20:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about this song you have no idea!!! I have never been able to record a duet with anyone for my singing blog and finally had the opportunity to try it out with my awesome friend Gene who also happens to be a great musician.

I love Christina Perri and have wanted to do a cover of this FOREVER... there are a lot of covers on youtube of it but I think mine is the only one done as a duet. Gene was super amazing... he learned the whole song (chords, lyrics and all) in an hour... I was impressed so you should be too!

Creative Collaboration!

I hope you like my first official duet for my blog, it also happens to be my first live cover with an instrument and not just a track! I am very happy with it. :) Let me know what you think.

Song 2 of 10 complete! More to follow soon!

-Mischa

Gives You Hell

2012-02-07T01:07:00.000-08:00

I decided it's only fair if there was a girl version of AAR's "Gives You Hell," So.... I tweaked the lyrics a tad to accommodate being sung from a girl to a guy. :)

*swoon*

This song was mine and my best friend Ashley's anthem with a lot of the stupid boys that sucked us into their "games" our early college years. Thank goodness we have learned a lot since then! :)

Anyway, I hope you like it! First Anti-love song for love/hate month is complete! More to follow soon!

-Mischa

White Flag

2012-01-31T23:58:00.000-08:00

So as much as I wanted to go out on a belter piece my voice wouldn't really tolerate it. So, I decided to go with something a little more mellow. Thus, my love for Dido came in handy! :)

I will always identify Dido with one of my favorite teenage melodramas on t.v. I was obsessed with that alien show Roswell. And her debut pop song "Here With Me" was it's theme... not much has changed in my taste of television... these days its just shifted a little to werewolves and vampires. ;) But I am still a fantasy daydreamer.

Anyway, song 10 of 10 is complete for British Invasion month; I hope you like it!

What should next month's theme be? Let me know!! See you next month! :)

-Mischa

Rolling In The Deep

2012-01-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

I absolutely adore Adele. I wish I could have done more with her stuff for this month but my allergies have been kicking my butt with the Los Angeles radical ups and downs in temperature. *sigh* I will have to thin of another way to return to Adele soon so I can cover more of her beautiful work.

A true beauty & talent.

Anyway, don't ask me what made me decide to go with Rolling In The Deep... I figured it was a nice break up song about being scorned by a lover... I think we have all been there at one time, so it made sense to mix it up a bit since most of the ones I usually pick are ballad sounding.

Song 9 of 10 complete. :)

-Mischa

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

2012-01-31T19:28:00.000-08:00

Song 8 of 10 for English Invasion month. This song is so hard for me to sing because it was one of the songs I was asked to sing when I lost my Grandpa. So for me, I always connect this song to him. With three takes of this song, this was the only one where I actually kept my composure and didn't cry. So hard to keep composed. I miss him so much... <3

More songs to come soon! :)

-Mischa

Think Of Me

2012-01-31T19:13:00.000-08:00

I was looking through my covers and realized I have not done any covers by the incredibly talented Sarah Brightman! For shame! Especially since it was her and her former husband, the equally gifted Andrew Lloyd Webber who got me to start singing in the first place.

Love, love, loveeee! <3

My mom took me to see Phantom of the Opera at the age of five and I was hooked! I will forever be in her debt that she sucked me into singing from that moment on! :)

Song 7 of 10 complete! :)

-Mischa

Blackbird

2012-01-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

Short and sweet... I have to pace myself so I don't completely blow out my voice. This is such a sweet song, I figured it was perfect!

I hope you like it. My audio is a tad funky (the perfectionist in me is talking here) My mic is still not cooperating with me. :( So I had to rely on my Mac's internal mic. *sigh* I really need technology to start working with me here...

Anyway, song 7 of 10 complete! :)

-Mischa

Come Together

2012-01-31T18:50:00.000-08:00

This has always been one of my favorite Beatles songs! So I decided to do my own interpretation with a little twist! I hope you like it... song 5 of 10 is complete... will I finish all 5 to finish with 10 for this month?

Let's hope so! :) Time Warner Cable just finished fixing my cable so finally, technology is working in my favor! I just caught word Youtube is trying to shut down users being able to upload song covers by other artists... that would be so tragic. Especially when youtube helps discover other incredibly talented artists by giving them a chance to showcase their music... (Where would Nick Pitera and Justin Bieber be without youtube? They would still be unknown.) Let's hope this is just a nasty rumor, or my singing blog will have to find a new video outlet.

More to come! :)

-Mischa

New York

2012-01-26T23:54:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to do this song for months now and I am so, so, so excited the opportunity presented itself with British Invasion month! You should know by now that I am a huge Paloma Faith fan... but regardless of that, this song is always a challenge to sing and I love a challenge! :)

Song 4 of 10 for this month is complete! More covers are right around the corner! ;)

Love to all!

-Mischa

I Believe In A Thing Called Love

2012-01-23T00:47:00.000-08:00

Okay... I had to do this song!

Seriously, so many good memories are attached to this song from my freshmen year of college... like amazing memories! I sometimes really miss those days... the friends, the days and nights running on the beach, the parties, the shenanigans... There was just something so special about them! So this song always transports me right back to some good times.

I have no clue why some people don't like this song.... apparently there are a lot of people out there who don't believe in a thing called love... I feel sad for them! This song always lifts my spirits... and I am a dork who rocked out to the guitar solo... so I hope the song at least brings a smile to your face the same way it brings one to mine... or... you at least had fun laughing at my inner dork unleashed! 8-)

More to follow soon! <3

-Mischa

Smoke And Mirrors

2012-01-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am a huuuge Paloma Faith fan! I find her songs fun, witty, catchy and honest. Those are pretty rare qualities to find wrapped up in one modern artist these days. So I had to do this song because it is so much fun and I feel it is a song every girl can relate to at some point with being disappointed in a man she loved. Honestly, if you listen to it and don't fall in love with the song you should get your head examined because there must be something wrong with you. :-P

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my cover of it.... sadly, my mic went ka-put so I had to do this one with only my computer mic... I hope the audio isn't too bad. More songs to follow soon! :)

Thank you for your continued love and support! <3

-Mischa

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

2012-01-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

This month has flown by... and was off to a rocky start! I started the new year with a sinus infection (yuck) and then went on a week's vacation up to visit my sister. I can't believe it is already the 19th! So many things are happening all at once and it's not only overwhelming but also really exciting... almost like an adrenaline rush or natural high.

I'm not going to settle for less this year. And I am definitely going to make things happen for myself. This year I'm going to be 25... that's a quarter of a century. I am determined to do more living and find my own happiness and successes.

I knew I had to start my English Invasion month with The Beatles... starting with any other artist wouldn't have been right for me. So I settled on "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" because 1) its one of my favorites, and 2) my throat has felt funky since I'm still adjusting to the climate change from chilly NorCal back to SoCal sunshine... I think my sinuses are desperately confused about where they are. So this is a great song to get me back into the swing of things before I start doing some Adele and Leona Lewis.

Anyway, I am really excited about this year! Aren't you? I even started a bucket list... you're never to young to start setting out on adventures. :)

I hope your 2012 has gotten off on a wonderful start and that it only gets better from here! More songs are just around the corner! ;)

-Mischa

Auld Lang Syne

2011-12-31T14:44:00.000-08:00

It's here, it's here! It's finally here! After a year of ups, downs and merry-go-rounds we all get to finally start fresh. I love New Years because it really makes me focus on exactly what I want to do differently. I am weird in the sense that I don't really write out a list of resolutions. Instead, I make promises to myself and don't share them with others because mine are usually skin deep.

The one thing I will share with you is that I am going to make this year extra special and unforgettable. I will be turning 25 this next year and intend on starting my quarter of a century the right way.... By making things happen! :)

I hope you guys have made your resolutions (or mental promises to yourself) and just remember... New Year means a fresh start... so leave the baggage and drama behind because 2011 was so last year. ;)

Happy New Year Everyone! :)

Love,
Mischa

The Hanukkah Song

2011-12-27T23:52:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't love a good Adam Sandler song? I mean seriously... the guy not only is hilarious but manages to make all the little Jewish kids out there who feel a little left out around the holidays a little better by having a holiday song we can relate to. I love that guy. :)

Anyway, as promised for my fellow Jewboos... hope you are enjoying the last night of Hanukkah! :)

Only one song left until the big 100! Wowzers! Thank you for your continued love and encouragement. You guys are so awesome I truly can't thank you enough... especially my regular viewers on youtube.... seriously, thank you so very much! :)

Love and best wishes to a beautiful year for all of you!

-Mischa

Santa Baby

2011-12-23T22:03:00.000-08:00

I decided to pay tribute to the very classic sassy Christmas song "Santa Baby" made popular by the multitalented Eartha Kitt.

Do bah do... Ah do ba do, do, do, do, do...

This song was so much fun to sing... especially as a belter. It was definitely fun to mix it up and do a song that was breathy and flirty... the polar opposite of what I usually do.

Anyway, I hope you like it. I am finito for the night so I hope you will check back in with me next week when I bring you guys Adam Sandler's The Hanukkah Song (I got tons of requests on this bad boy) :)

Merry *almost* Christmas Eve, and Happy Fourth Night of Hanukkah, Everyone! :D

-Mischa

P.S. 2 songs away from reaching the big 100.... how exciting! ;)

The Man With The Bag

2011-12-23T19:18:00.000-08:00

How I love Kay Starr let me count the ways.... one thousand, two thousand, three thousand! Seriously, that girl's voice was awesome and she seriously jazzed up the 50's. So even though it wasn't on my list of selections I knew I had to pay tribute to Miss Starr or I would be mad at myself once I found out she sang the original "Man with the Bag." A lot of people aren't even familiar with this holiday song, which is absolutely tragic because not only is it challenging to sing, its catchy, jazzy and fun!

Anyway, tomorrow is Christmas Eve... I have another song to do tonight and then next week's is going to be the Hanukkah song for all my fellow Jewboos. :) And for New Years the classic Auld Lang Syne. I hope you all are enjoying the holidays. My weekend is about to get seriously epic and I can't wait.

Love and best wishes to all of you... and I hope you and yours are enjoying the holidays even with the crazy hustle and bustle and psychotic Los Angeles drivers (who seem to be even worse than usual right now). :( haha.

More to follow soon! Thank you for your continued love and support! :)

-Mischa

Santa Claus is Coming To Town

2011-12-20T21:49:00.000-08:00

I found this instrumental and knew I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't take the opportunity to do a cover with this music! I am absolutely loving all these jazzy holiday instrumentals!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I know I am! :) First day of Hanukkah! Gotta love it! I have a special Jewish song right around the corner for my fellow Jewboos.... I haven't forgotten about you! ;)

Only 4 more songs in order to finish on schedule! More will follow soon.... (as soon as I exchange my mic for one that lacks the obnoxious popping!) *sighhh*

Love to All,
Mischa

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-15T23:58:00.000-08:00

I remember being a kid and listening to this song every holiday. It's one of those jolly "it's-great-to-be-a-kid-around-the-holiday-season songs." I found this fun track of it and knew I had to do it. For old time's sake.

Anyway, it's short and sweet.... and as an added bonus gets me that much closer to my goal of 100 by the end of 2011. ;)

I have some surprises planned for you that await just around the corner! :)

More to follow soon!

-Mischa

Let It Snow

2011-12-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

Another jazzy track. I really can't seem to help myself! :)

Last song I'll be uploading tonight. I will try and do another one tomorrow. I am determined to finish this month with 100. I think it's a perfect rounded number to feel accomplished with by the end of 2011.

Any suggestions for tomorrow's song? Send them my way! :)

-Mischa

White Christmas

2011-12-14T18:06:00.000-08:00

Okay... another jazzy instrumental. I am loving how many of these I have been finding lately! So I decided to put a bit of my own spin on the classic. This version is usually done as a duet so I decided to be adventurous with it and see how it comes out. I am pretty happy with the end result though the microphone was doing a bit of odd cracking here and there.

Classic.

Big thank you's go out to my recent subscribers and commenters... I have been waking up to the sweetest messages and comments of encouragement. It makes me wake up and want to do a song right away! :) My video views every day have more than quadrupled lately! So thanks you guys. All the word spreading and love alone with the holidays has me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside!

More songs to follow soon!

-Mischa

I'll Be Home For Christmas

2011-12-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

This song got voted for by you guys! Hope you like it... I decided to go with an instrumental to it from Michael Buble. The music in his version plays with the style and genre it is performed in so I thought it would be a fun one to mix up and cover.

I am really enjoying this month. I hope you are too! Thank you for your continued love and support. You guys are awesome and put a smile on my face everyday I receive your comments, e-mails, etc. I am so grateful to you all!

Well, song 5 of 13 is officially complete!

-Mischa

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-10T19:24:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite holiday song! My favorites in my inner circle know I have a strong love of jazz and so I was completely smitten upon finding this gorgeous jazzy instrumental to sing along with.

I don't know what else to say other than I am really proud of this cover. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it! :)

Song 4 of 10 complete... (though I am trying to shoot for 13 total for this month so I can finish this year with 100). I'll be uploading another in a few! Happy Holidays everyone!

-Mischa

Where Are You Christmas?

2011-12-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

This is one song I have a very difficult time singing... It's a song I relate with my Grandma. You see, my grandma's birthday was on Christmas. So for me the holiday means so much more to me because one of the most special people that was on this planet was born on that day and I worshipped her with so much love and admiration. She was not only wise, fun and loving, but she was also someone who completely supported me in every venture, ambition and she helped mold me into the person I am today. My grandma was as much of a dreamer as I am. I think that because of this, she and I had a very special relationship.

Yours truly with Grandma.

I lost her when I was seventeen and it was so hard for me to accept that she was was gone. For some reason losing her felt like I was losing my childhood. A part of me still can't accept it because Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas without her... I can't even listen to this song without it making my mascara run. My Grandma was my Christmas and every Christmas was so special to me because she made it that way.

Not a Christmas has gone by since I lost her where I don't feel a little lonely or lost without her being a part of it... but I know a part of her is still here with me... even though physically she is not.

So please ignore the slight quivering it my voice.... it was very hard for me to hold it together and to not cry... with only three takes of this... this one was the only one where I didn't "lose it." I miss her so much and I usually can hold it together pretty well, but I guess Christmas proves to be my achilles heel. I miss you, Grandma. <3

Love,
Mischa

On a lighter note... If you would love a pretty and adorable hat like the one I wear in this video contact Rebecca Ross owner of Hiccup Clothing, you can e-mail her directly by Clicking Here!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

2011-12-04T01:25:00.000-08:00

I couldn't find an instrumental that I fell in love with for this song... and I especially hold this song in high regard... after all, Judy Garland sang it in Meet Me In St. Louis. (one of my holiday favorites!) So I decided to revisit it and cover it completely a cappella. I am nervous about putting this one up... but I am completely beat so it looks like it's a "one take" kind of night.... I pray it is decent and paid tribute to the fabulous Miss Garland right!

I love this song. I hope I did it justice. 2nd song of Holiday music is officially complete! :)

Stay tuned... more will follow soon.

-Mischa

The Christmas Song

2011-12-03T01:27:00.000-08:00

So I had a few people shoot a couple emails my way asking why the "Chestnut" song wasn't on my list of possibilities for this month. What a lot of people don't realize is the actual title of that song is "The Christmas Song" and I absolutely adore it... especially since my Grandpa raised me listening to lots of Nat King Cole and the other wonderful classics.

I had to start with a classic.

Every single time I sing a Nat King Cole song I think of my grandpa. There is just something about him and how it causes a bunch of wonderful memories from childhood to come flooding back. Leaves a really bittersweet taste in my mouth because he is no longer with me.... but the holidays prove to be a way I can look back and recollect all the wonderful things we did together and how he inspired me and still, to this day, continues to.

I am sure some people will find it odd that a girl who is considered by most as "Jewish" to be doing Christmas music... and to you all who find it weird may I just say, if Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand can do it, I see no reason why I can't take part in the holiday spirit.... after all, my dad isn't Jewish so I guess in retrospect I have the best of both worlds... oy! :)

Anyway, we will see how many songs I can get through for this month... I am for sure aiming for 10 but if more happen I will be completely content with that. Unlike most who work in the world of retail I love the holidays and the music that goes with it! Hope you enjoy it too! Love to all. <3

-Mischa

Killing Me Softly

2011-11-30T23:55:00.000-08:00

I decided to end on a high note and decided to do a cover of Killing Me Softly. I became obsessed with this song from the very first time I heard it, (I think I was about nine). Anyway, I couldn't find an instrumental I was happy with so I decided to do song 10 completely a cappella.

I hope you like it. Thank you for your continued love and support. You guys make my day! I love the emails, the comments, the encouragement. You guys keep me going with this. Thank you, thank you, thank you! :)

Don't forget to pick your holiday favorites for December. Vote on the poll on the right in order to make sure your favorites get the attention they deserve! :)

Love,
Mischa

In My Mind

2011-11-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

I first fell in love with the incredibly talented Heather Headley when Aida first opened on Broadway. I remember hearing her belt out Easy As Life and found myself completely mesmerized with goosebumps completely covering my arms and legs over the sheer beauty of her rich voice and how she enunciates every single syllable of every word. Its truly stunning. If you haven't heard the music from that show you absolutely should!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my tribute song to the lovely Miss Headley. In My Mind is such a bittersweet song. I figured it would be perfect as song 9 of 10 for R&B month. Another song will be posted soon! Just you wait. ;)

If you haven't already voted for your favorite holiday songs for next month please do so... the holidays are right around the corner! Click on your favorites on the poll posted on the right! Thank you! :)

-Mischa

Fuck You

2011-11-29T22:58:00.000-08:00

Okay.... I decided at the last minute that I had to do this song. Cee Lo Green is such a funny R&B singer (and yes, he counts for R&B, he won 'Best Male R&B Artist at the 2011 Soul Train Awards').

Yeah... I went there.

So when I realized I had the chance to do a fun song like "Fuck You" I jumped at the opportunity... especially when I often get tagged as a ballad singer, its nice to switch it up every once in a while and catch people off guard. :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy song 8 of 10. I will be finishing up with 2 more covers for R&B month tomorrow! Any song suggestions throw them my way... If you haven't yet voted for your favorite holiday songs yet please do so by clicking your favorites on the poll on the right. Thank you!! :)

Love,
Mischa

Fallin'

2011-11-29T22:22:00.000-08:00

Okay... I was really nervous to post this one... This is a ballsy song to sing and after a lot of thought, I figured since it is one of my all-time favorites by Miss Keys that I had to do it! So at the risk of making a complete fool out of myself I am going to post it.

I hope you like song 7 of 10. :) Next one will be a lot less serious and a lot more fun... promise ;)

-Mischa

Take A Bow

2011-11-27T23:37:00.000-08:00

Okay... I adore Rihanna. Not only is the girl gorgeous but she also can sing and is a fashion icon. So even though I did her duet with with Ne-Yo, I had to do this one because it is not only clever (lyrically speaking) but as an added bonus it is so much fun to sing!

To anyone whoever got played or was left feeling disappointed in an ex. This song is one that can always lift your spirits and make you realize you have more worth and deserve so much better.

Gotta love Rihanna. Song 6 of 10 complete. 3 days and 4 to go! :) Thank you for your continued love and support!

-Mischa

And I'm Telling You (I'm Not Going)

2011-11-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

Okay... I am pretty sure after this song I will have absolutely no voice... but I decided spur of the moment that I couldn't get through R&B month without paying tribute to the incredibly talented Jennifer Hudson!

I fell in love with this song and actually used it as my Glee audition piece a couple years ago. So it felt wonderful getting acquainted with this song again. :)

I apologize for the audio quality... my belter voice had my mic acting up but amazingly enough my camera wasn't glitching from all the powerhouse vocals. Hope you like song 5 of 10... halfway done with 4 days to go! :)

-Mischa

Halo

2011-11-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

My second cover of a Beyonce song for R&B month. I'm starting to lose my voice but am bound and determined to finish on schedule!

This song was done a cappella. Please excuse the blips... my belter notes are still not much appreciated so I had to get a little choppy with the recording.

Song 4 of 10 complete! :)

-Mischa

If I Were A Boy

2011-11-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

I decided to buckle down after getting swept up in all the Thanksgiving celebrations. My voice is still not perfect, but I can't let being sick throw off an entire month! I decided to do this one a cappella as well.

This is not a man hater song, I just want to set the record straight from the get-go. This is a song about finding a real man instead of a guy that still behaves like a little boy. There is a difference. A lot of people out there take others for granted. And in love and life we have to wade through a population of the self-absorbed and selfish to find those who truly care, love, and appreciate having you in their life.

Life all all about experience: live, learn and grow and then grow some more.... don't let your failed relationships leave you feeling hopeless. Instead, see them as learning experiences chipping away and molding you into finding the right one. :) And thank you, Beyonce... for having songs that show women their worth.

-Mischa

If I Ain't Got You

2011-11-21T23:21:00.000-08:00

I adore Alicia Keys! The woman is a singing and songwriting powerhouse. So I decided to try and be a little daring and do a cover of "If I Ain't Got You" all a cappella.... which is extremely nerve-wracking.... especially since my voice still isn't up to par since I was sick AND since the music can help you find your way especially within her songs (she loves to jump around vocally).

So I decided to try it... after some encouragement from one of my bestest. :) I am sure it could be better... I am my own worst critic. But I gotta do what I gotta do.... which means delivering on schedule.

Thank you for ALL the love! You guys put a smile on my face every single day I sign into youtube and get all the comments and messages of encouragement. Seriously, you guys keep me doing this! <3

Hope you like! More to follow soon!

Love,
Mischa

Hate That I Love You

2011-11-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

Okay I have to be straight up from the get-go... The Fans, Friends and Family in my life told me I should absolutely not sing this month after just getting over a sinus infection a few days ago. But I felt I couldn't let another month go by unfinished. So I decided to be a rebel and try it out... I definitely don't sound like my usual self but I got through the first R&B song of the month.

I adore this song... probably because I adore Ne-Yo... his voice is absolutely chill-factor-esque (and yes I just created a word). Every time I listen to him sing I get goosebumps! Now some may not count this as typical R&B but Ne-Yo absolutely counts as a singer for the genre and so I am going to let this one slide, especially since I treated this song as a test run to see if I even sounded decent enough to put this up.

My two biggest fans were happy with it so I figured 'what the hell' and decided to upload it. I hope you like it and please if you have any song recommendations for this month's R&B genre please send them my way... either as a comment here or as a wallpost on My facebook page! :)

I am now at over 400 youtube friends who keep sending me the most amazing e-mails of encouragement! I even received a couple "get well soon!" messages last week and they warmed my heart like a hot bowl of my mom's matzo ball soup! Thank you everyone! I'm hoping my voice will hold up and I will be delivering 9 more quality R&B songs to you guys! As for right now, I am going to rest the vocals for the rest of the day. :)

Love,
Mischa

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

2011-10-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

Okay... I love Annie Lennox. Girl has got some major pipes... so after contemplating a few specific songs I could do I decided to give my girl Annie some love and do the Eurythmics instant classic!

Hope you like it! If you haven't already voted for next month's genre please do by scrolling to the poll listed on the right side of my blog! I want as much input as possible from all who want to throw a challenge my way! ;)

See you in November! Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween. :)

Love,
Mischa

Bohemian Rhapsody

2011-10-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Okay... I am a huge Queen fan! I even have their old vinyls too! So I knew I couldn't get through this month without paying my respects to Queen and the late great Freddie Mercury. So, I decided to do something a little different with this song. I treated it almost like a duet.

No one could be like Freddie, but this song always makes me want to stand up and sing. Song 9 of 10 complete. I hope you enjoy it.

-Mischa

Cold As Ice

2011-10-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

I decided to do Cold As Ice because I figured that would be a great contrast from the lovey-dovey previous one I Want To Know What Love Is.

I had a lot of fun getting into this one and putting a lot of dramatic expression into it. :) Anyway, this is song 8 of 10! So close... victory is in the near future with finishing on deadline. I am even editing song 9 as I write up this entry! Can't wait to see the finished product!

Thank you for your continued love and support. I have been receiving tons of e-mail from my youtube followers who keep me motivated and are so encouraging. Thank you, all. I definitely do not take it for granted and I wanted you all to know that.

Love,
Mischa

Don't Stop Believin'

2011-10-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

So.... I did it again. I decided to do a belter song with my effed up computer speakers sucking at picking up the notes without sounding scratchy. I apologize in advance for the sound quality. But I knew I couldn't get through 80's month without paying tribute to one of my favorite 80's bands! It sounded way better live... ::sigh:: I guess I have to save up for a higher quality belter mic now. :(

I had to post this one. My brother-in-law Juan makes his acting debut on my singing blog showing off his mad air guitar skills! :)

I hope you like it and again, sorry about the awful sound quality of my speakers. Song 7 of 10 complete! And I hope this video gives you a good laugh and that you too don't stop believin'! :)

-Mischa

Tainted Love

2011-10-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

This is definitely one of those 80's songs that always causes me to sing along anytime I hear it... and I do mean anytime! Its catchy and brings me back to my youth. :)

Song 6 of 10 is complete for 80's month! 4 more to go to finish on time with 6 more days to do it! Don't worry, I'm not trying to procrastinate.... too much. ;)

-Mischa

I Wanna Know What Love Is

2011-10-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

Okay... when I use to fantasize about being in an awesome John Hughes film this was my go-to slow dance song. Its a typical 80's slow dance love song, which is why I adore it!

Its just so good! I love Foreigner and knew I couldn't get through 80's month without doing a song (or two!) of theirs. So, here it is.... my cover of I Wanna Know What Love Is.

Song 5 of 10 for 80's month! Hope you like it! :)

-Mischa

I Love Rock N' Roll

2011-10-23T00:57:00.000-07:00

Okay... Joan Jett was one bad ass chick of the 80's. As a kid, I remember this song playing on the radio and it was one of the only 2 songs I knew really well, (the other was Ice, Ice Baby) ... mind you, I was only the age of three. So again, tribute song from childhood! Yay!

I am no bad ass like the sassy Miss. Jett, but hey, it's fun to pretend for a minute. ;) Hell, I even wore a corset top for recording the song just like her and I also go out singing in my corset in public too... though, I can get a little shy at times and may cover it up a little bit :)

Its like playing Where's Waldo. Can you
spot my corset top in hiding?

Anyway, song 4 of 10 is officially complete! More to follow soon! :)

Love,
Mischa

Heaven Is A Place On Earth

2011-10-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

Okay... I can remember one of my favorite movies from growing up was Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. I think that was the first time I heard Belinda Carlisle's Heaven is A Place On Earth. I think as a kid I instantly fell in love with the so-happy-with-life-I-can-puke-rainbows-and-butterflies lyrics and knew I had to pay tribute to one of my favorite songs from the 80's.

Christian Nichol has pushed me to do 2 songs tonight to play catch up for the delay on this month! I will be finishing on schedule, so don't you worry! :)

I hope you like song 3 of 10! More to follow as soon as it's done uploading... I decided to completely change it up and do some bad ass Joan Jett and the Blackhearts to counterbalance the light and gay with the dark and devilish. It seemed only appropriate with Halloween being right around the corner. :)

-Mischa

Hungry Eyes

2011-10-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with Dirty Dancing the very first time I ever saw it... and yes it is corny and the writing isn't the best but you have to love a good romance and Dirty Dancing was spicy! :) Especially Patrick Swayze!

Anyway, one of the best parts of the movie was the soundtrack... and that was the first place I heard Hungry Eyes so I knew I had to do a cover of it!

Hope you like! Song 2 of 10 completed. :)

-Mischa

Material Girl

2011-10-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Say what you will about Madonna, but this girl has reinvented herself more times then I can count and she's still got it... dating guys in their 20's... yeah, she even reinvented "the cougar" for a woman in her 50's. Anyway, I love 80's Madonna. So since this month's theme is the 80's I decided my first song for the month had to be a classic 80's song... and so Material Girl was recorded.

The Real Madonna.

Me as Madonna for Halloween a few years back.

I definitely admire the way she puts on a show and that woman can dance. I even was her a few years ago for Halloween. I thought I should share in this spirit of October and Halloween! :)

Hope you like it! I am very, very, very excited about this month's genre. And the number of e-mails I have been receiving from my youtube supporters... you guys are awesome! Thank you so much! More to come soon! :)

-Mischa

I Won't Say I'm In Love

2011-09-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

Okay... I absolutely adore this song. So I had to do it... and it was the last thing I was able to sing before my voice went bye-bye for the day. So on that note (har, har) I leave you this this song from the Disney Film Hercules. One of my other all-time favorites from childhood. This song is adorable. You can't help but love it. I tried to tone it down on belting the notes for better sound... hopefully that helped too.

My dear friend Everlyn pointed out to me I should do an 80's month which actually sounds like it just may be the perfect theme for October! Hope you will continue to check back for updates soon! New month is right around the corner.

And now for some much needed R&R...

-Mischa

Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

2011-09-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

So I woke up this morning with my voice definitely feeling not up to par... I kept coughing... and have felt like I was getting sick for a while now. So I decided to use my lower register in order to avoid losing my voice all together. I decided on Elton John's awesome instant classic Can You Feel The Love Tonight.

I know... another Disney song... oh well. I am a Disney nut so I had to! Besides Elton rocks my socks and so it didn't seem fair that I haven't had a song of his up on here.

Song 9 of 10 complete! One more to go for September. What should next month's theme/genre be?

-Mischa

When You're Alone

2011-09-30T00:35:00.000-07:00

So I am a bit "special"... I woke up thinking today was the 30th... Here I am freaking out that I had less than 24 hours to finish on time and I have a whole extra 24 to go for my final 2. Silly, Mischa! Oh well, thank god for mixing up the days. -_-

Hook had to be one of my favorite movies as a kid. I loved anything Steven Spielberg touched and especially when combined with the multi-talented composer John Williams... one of my absolute favorites/"besties" of film composers of all time! I learned this song as a kid so when I felt sad I had a song to cheer me up. It is totally a kids lullaby and at five it was the perfect song to lift my spirits.

The song is short and sweet but as a fan of Hook from the time it first came out in '91, (the year my brother was born!), I knew I couldn't get through movie music month without paying homage to one of my childhood favorites. :) *chants*: Rufio.... Rufio.... Rufio....!!!!

2 more to go!

-Mischa

Seasons of Love

2011-09-29T00:49:00.000-07:00

Okay... this technically could be considered cheating because Rent was a movie-musical. But Seasons of Love is definitely its theme so I had to do it. I love that the movie is about love and friendships. Its something we all struggle with finding. Something meaningful as we bounce around the space and time we are placed in.

My microphone and iMovie did not appreciate my doing this song, in fact, they both started to glitch from the huge belter notes... so the audio quality is not incredible... and the perfectionist in me hates that but I did hit the notes and that's what's important. 3 songs to go and less than 24 hours to do them... the sad part is I don't even know what those 3 other songs will be... I am going to do my best to finish on time after working a full day.

No day but today. <3

Thank you so much for all the love and support I have been receiving from my friends and subscribers on my youtube channel. I haven't exactly been my most peppy self lately but you guys are like an instant pick-me-up and keep me motivated to keep doing this. Honestly, I couldn't do it without your continued love and support. You guys are amazing and I love you for being so dedicated and inspiring. <3 Thank you!

-Mischa

So Close

2011-09-28T01:29:00.000-07:00

Okay... so perhaps you have already realized I am a huge Disney nut... the movies, the theme park, the happy endings. I'm a romantic so I honestly can't help it. When I saw Enchanted I not only fell in love with the gorgeous music and fun story. I also loved that Disney was poking fun at their own concept of "happily ever after" and how it doesn't compare to love in real life... which to put it lightly is often complicated.

The song So Close is so beautiful! Jon Mclaughlin sang this song and it melted my heart. Everyone wants a happily ever after and sometimes we don't get them. Its heartbreaking, but sometimes you have to walk away without riding off into the sunset together.

The dreamer in me can only hope I can continue to live in my fantasy world and that one day my prince will come. Thank you, Disney, I am officially jaded.. but at least you are helping me finish my blog deadlines close to on time!

More to follow! Song 6 of 10 complete! :)

-Mischa

Into The West

2011-09-28T00:48:00.000-07:00

Return of the King was the last song I got to see with my Grandpa before he passed away from Pancreatic Cancer. For this reason, every time hear the theme song from the film it makes me a little teary. My grandparents loved a good movie, and the older they got the more they appreciated how far cinema had come since they were kids.

My grandpa specifically loved watching epic films which is why I had to do a song from Lord of the Rings to pay tribute to him... which I haven't done for a few months now. Love you Grandpa, and miss you madly. <3

Song 5 of 10 complete! Half way there with 2 days to go! Oy... nothing like procrastinating.

-Mischa

You'll Be In My Heart

2011-09-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

So for the longest time I use to give my M.O.D. (my other dad) the worst time always teasing him that Phil Collins was his twin. He hated when I said that... but part of the reason I did was because I absolutely love Phil Collins (even back before he went solo). There is just something so beautiful about his music... even the depressing songs.

My little cousin Kylie loves this song and the movie too. She would have me sing it to her in the car every time Pandora radio would play it and so now every single time I think of the song or hear it I think of her. I love the messages of love, family and following your heart... all things I have strong beliefs about so I had to do this song.

Munchkin KyKy with her favorite cousin! :)

I hope you like it! More to come soon. I will be a very busy bee the next couple of days so I can finish on time... wish me luck! :)

Love, Mischa

Once Upon A December

2011-09-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

I was obsessed with the movie Anastasia as a kid. Especially since my Grandma was from Russia I always seemed to fantasize that she was a princess too. It didn't help that the movie had the most gorgeous score and beautifully written lyrics to accompany it. Yep... hooked.

So I knew I couldn't get through the movie music month without paying tribute to one of the many songs from my childhood. I hope you like it! My microphone did not like the belting... I am going to futz with it and try and get it to behave more appropriately for the other seven songs I have to dish out in a week. Hopefully the others will have much better sound quality after I tweak the mic a bit more.

More to follow soon! :)

-Mischa

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

2011-09-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

I had a very rough last week and so I had a very hard time trying to put my heart into singing. Singing with emotion is something you cannot fake.

R.I.P. Jamey

So I decided to give myself some perspective in all of this and discovered today that a fourteen year old boy named Jamey Rodemeyer from Buffalo, New York committed suicide because of gay bullying. It instantly made me feel ignorant and that my problems are so trivial. There are so many more tragic things in the world that it makes you really stop and count your blessings... not look at the things that are missing, but rather the blessings that are present.

I considered the fact that I have a beautiful supportive family... just like Jamey. I also have my brother Branden that came out on his seventeenth birthday. Which is probably why this hits so close to home for me. My brother is such an incredible person who is strong and continues to grow and surprise me every day. I couldn't have asked for a better brother and friend to be a part of my life. And when I heard the tragic news of Jamey ending his life because of the cruel taunting he received from his peers, I instantly began reflecting on how there would be a big hole in my heart without him. Our mom even told Branden to wait until after high school to come out because of the brutality of children. It can push even the strongest heart to desperate unnecessary ends just to escape the hurt and hate.

My brother is one of the most
inspirational people in my life.

I cannot even begin to imagine what Jamey's family is going through and my heart goes out to them. Life is fragile and the heart can only take so much pain. I can only pray that Jamey found peace and that his death will be a lesson to those who bully in an attempt to belittle others and that this will teach them that acceptance should be ingrained in the human spirit. We are all different and yet the same. And so my second song for this month is for Jamey and his family. <3

Love,
Mischa

Stand By Me

2011-09-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Okay so since my other passion is movies I decided to finally do a month dedicated to movie themes. I remember the very first time I saw the coming of age film Stand By Me. I must have been about thirteen and found myself falling in love with the story theme of finding yourself while transitioning from child to teenager. Such a wonderful film... if you haven't seen in you absolutely must!

Anyway, first song of September. More to follow soon! Any movie theme suggestions you would like to see done please post as a comment! Thank you! :)

-Mischa

Good Morning Baltimore!

2011-08-31T23:56:00.000-07:00

I have an affinity with the musical Hairspray. Probably because its the one musical my brother and I could always agree to belt together in the car. I was hoping we would be able to do a duet from the musical, but alas, time and sicknesses didn't permit it.

So I decided to do a song from it in honor of him since he couldn't sing with me.....

Best little brother ever!

B, song 10 is for you! I love you! :)

Month of Modern Musicals is completed right on schedule! Stay tuned for next month. Any ideas what my genre and theme should be? Let me know as a comment. Thank you for the love and support!

xoxo
Mischa

I love this song! And Kristin Chenoweth! Popular is one of the most hilarious songs written by Stephan Schwartz for the musical Wicked. Since I was still recuperating for my insane weekend with food poisoning I decided to give my voice a bit of a break and do a song that wasn't as vocally challenging. Doing my cover of Strongest Suit wiped me out so severely I took a 4 hour nap after uploading it!

So to save myself the exhaustion I decided to do a cover of this one. I hope you enjoy it! :) Song 9 of 10 for Modern Musical Month is completed! One more to go to finish on time!

Also, if you haven't had a chance to check out my two demo reels please do! I uploaded them directly to my youtube channel. Just click the videos below! Thank you for your continued love & support!

These are all covers with backing music.

These covers are all a cappella.

-Mischa

Strongest Suit

2011-08-29T21:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, this song took a lot out of me. I decided I am finishing this month on schedule come hell or high water and with having a severe case of food poisoning I settled on doing this one regardless of how crappy I felt. I cut the music breaks in between because honestly I spent most of them trying to catch my breath, so please don't be too harsh a critic.

Anyway, 2 more songs to go and 2 days to do them. I am hoping I wake up tomorrow feeling a little better than I did today. Expect to see those two songs soon! :) Thank you again for your continued love and support.

Love,
Mischa

Out Tonight

2011-08-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

I knew I couldn't finish up this month without doing a cover of "Out Tonight" my favorite rock song from a musical... though Spring Awakening is a very close second with "I Don't Do Sadness." Anyway, this is one of my absolute favorites from Rent and thus, had to be done!

And honestly, what kind of girl doesn't want a guy she is digging to take her out tonight? It is the kind of song the makes you want to get up, let you hair down and be a little bad.

On a side note.... my iMovie decided to act disgruntled and decided to start skipping in the middle of my recordings, which is really aggravating so I had to "cut" the video to the takes with the least amount of skipping. I hope it comes out at least decent... I no longer have much of a voice for today so I decided to retire the vocal chords for the evening.

Check back soon! More to come right around the corner.

Love,

Mischa

There's A Fine, Fine Line

2011-08-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone at one point or another has been in a relationship where they get heartbroken.... I don't think anyone gets through this unscathed without enduring it once. And if you are lucky, only once. Problem is, it is hard to find someone you connect to, so unless you are one of those people who falls in love all the time, the "I love you's" with someone can be few and far between.

Avenue Q is one of those musicals that is absolutely hysterical. Everyone can enjoy it and I do mean everyone. Even the most manly of men who thinks only "gay men" enjoy musicals will get a good chuckle out of this one. But in the entire musical, there is only one serious song: There's A Fine, Fine Line speaks so much truth in an otherwise goofy musical that even has puppet sex. Yes, you read right... puppet sex.

So I decided to do this song since it is the only real female solo song that has a lot of personality. I hope you like it!

Love,
Mischa

Take Me Or Leave Me

2011-08-22T01:28:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of the hardest duets I will ever attempt to sing. Its bad enough that the two parts overlap and sing over each other but to also be two entirely different sounds vocally. Oh, boy! What did I get myself into.

Anyway, I love this song. So I had to do it regardless of how real it sounds. This is all one take. So I am sure I made some mistakes but, hey! At least I made it through! haha. :)

Anyway, Rent is such a fun show! If you haven't checked it out I highly recommend you do! The rock musical has a song for everyone and really gets you wanting to go OUUUUUUTTTT Tonight! And teaches all of us to take risks and live life to the fullest... no day, but today!

Hope you like it!

Love, Mischa

As Long As You're Mine

2011-08-21T00:16:00.000-07:00

Okay... I am a Wicked nut! Seriously, Stephen Schwartz... he's so gifted! And all the songs in the show are incredible, so it honestly is hard to pick just one. I made up my mind to try something a little different. I decided to sing my first ever attempt at a duet with myself. I have big goals of doing others... and I am no Nick Pitera, so don't expect miracles. But I did recently discover I have a three octave range so I figured I should play with that and the best way to do that is to try different sounds... and in conclusion this duet was the perfect way to do it!

I love this song. It's so beautiful. If you haven't seen the show, you really should. I have seen it three times since it opened and I don't get tired of it.

Anyway, feel free to let me know what you think and to shoot other song suggestions my way for modern musical month! I have some big surprises in store! Stay tuned! :-)

-Mischa

Home

2011-08-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is my last song from the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast... I swear. But I love this song and since Belle doesn't really have any solos in the Disney movie version I loved that the musical gave her room to show more of her personality.

Anyway, Home is such a sweet song I had to do it! :) I hope you like it... my voice hates me right now, especially with doing 2 songs in one day... (I attempted 3 but I started to sound like Froggy so I retired for the evening).

Song 3 of 10 completed! More to follow soon!

Love,
Mischa

I Know The Truth

2011-08-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with Aida when I first saw it while I was still in high school. This beautiful love story just has a way of pulling at heart strings... especially with the taboo love affair between a Nubian slave and an Egyptian Captain. All those love stories of doomed romances like Romeo and Juliet always have a way of capturing audiences because everyone can relate to wanting someone they shouldn't.

This song specifically is such a sad one. Its the one the princess played by Sherie Rene Scott sings after learning her Nubian slave is in love with her betrothed. I love this song because it is so different from the playful tone she has in "Strongest Suit."

So I decided to do a cover of it because it is another beautiful song brought to life by the talented Tim Rice and Elton John. I hope you like it as much as I do. :)

Love, Mischa

If I Can't Love (Him)

2011-08-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

I did exactly what I never wanted to do... I let a month slip passed me without having the chance to finish my full 10 songs. Work took over my life the last half of July making it impossible for me to do anything else but to devote myself strictly to the project I was working on. So as hard as it is to swallow, I have to accept it. Life happens. So I have finally set aside my disappointment and am ready to start fresh for August... even though the month is already half over! I happen to know this month I will for sure be able to dominate because it is Modern Musical Month! What better genre to do than to do one this Broadway girl loves the most? :)

The other reason I picked this genre was because August is my month of birth so I figured I should do a genre I completely adore and showcase this part of myself for all to see. And since it was my birthday I received a very generous birthday gift of a microphone... yes, a real one.... so the audio should now be way better quality! (At least when I figure out how to properly use the thing!) But yay! I was so excited to try it out I had to hook it up immediately out of the box without reading the directions and start playing with it.

Isn't he beautiful?

Anyway, for my first song for Modern Musical Month I picked out one of my absolute favorite songs lyrically speaking. Tim Rice wrote this incredible solo for the Beast with beautiful words to cushion this stunningly scored piece. If you haven't heard it you should because when you hear it, it literally gives your arms chills. So I picked it because it's really suppose to be a guy's song, so I sang it in my range because I like a challenge.

The song is basically describing the longing a person has and how much they want to find love and happiness in another and if they don't find it (after so many years alone) they just want to no longer exist with only their loneliness to occupy their time. Heavy lyrics for a disney musical, huh? Not really... you'll see this in Aida too... but I'll get to that one another time! Anyway, this is my first test run with my new mic. I haven't read the directions so it still may sound a tad grainy on the belter notes. Bare with me! I will read up on my homework and improve in the not so distant future, promise!

Hope you like it!

Love, Mischa

I Can't Help Falling In Love With You

2011-07-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Ingrid Michaelson is one of those singers who sings whatever she feels like. Her songs are adorable and usually have some lyrics that make you sigh and wish you had someone to sing them to. I fell in love with her music with her first "hit," (and I use that term loosely), her song "The Way I Am" was the first I ever heard from her and I thought it was short, sweet, and perfect.

But when I heard her cover of this song... I fell in love with her all over again. It has a totally different sound from the other covers... almost more raw. Like you can feel what the singer is feeling. And so, I decided on this one specifically because of how raw she sang it. It was gutsy and I admired that!

So here it is, song 7 of 10. Three to do tomorrow before I road trip it out to Frisco! Yikes. Hopefully I will finish on time... wish me luck! :)

Love, Mischa.

Your Heart Is As Black As Night

2011-07-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with this song upon hearing it on the "An Education" soundtrack. Melody Gardot is incredible and that voice can melt butter!

So I decided to pay tribute to her by doing this song for my month of strong modern female vocalists. She definitely is something special!

Hope you like it. Song 6 of 10 complete! :) More to follow!

xoxo

Love, Mischa

Turn Your Lights Down Low

2011-07-29T22:40:00.000-07:00

I love Bob Marley. I grew up in Venice Beach where everyone plays Bob Marley. When I was perusing youtube yesterday I stumbled on this incredibly gifted singer named Gina Sicilia. Her voice had such power behind it I realized I had to do a cover of one of her songs for my month of strong modern female vocalists. She just has this captivating presence when she sings.

Anyway, a few friends of mine convinced me to do this song and so here I get to pay tribute not only to the talented Miss Sicilia but also to Marley. I am a happy camper! I hope you enjoy it. I had to do it a cappella because I couldn't find an acoustic track... only the mixed version. So yeah, something a little different.

The words to this song are so beautiful too. Song 5 of 10 complete... I am half way there and only two more days to finish on time. Yikes.

Stay tuned!

Love, Mischa

Sunday Kind of Love

2011-07-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

So work has been absolutely insane and lack of sleep has caught up to me. But I still want to find some amount of time to squeeze in a song or two to give my fingers a bit of a break from typing. At this rate, I am going to develop secretary ass or something.

Anyway, I am a huge Beth Rowley fan and was very saddened when I couldn't find two of her best songs on instrumental tracks. So I decided to be brave... and try doing one of them a cappella. For any of you who know Beth she is the queen of back-phrasing. Which is one of the hardest things in the world of singing you can do.

But yeah, I am going to attempt it. I apologize for my appearance up front. I am exhausted and yep, I look it too! But I hope you enjoy. I am going to do my "damn-dest" to finish by the 31st! Wish me luck, I will need it! *deep breath!*

Love to all,
Mischa

Arms

2011-07-23T23:44:00.001-07:00

This has to be one of the most beautiful modern day love songs I have ever heard. Feeling completely safe and secure in someone's "Arms," thats a dream come true. This song completely captures the conflict one feels when fearing the spell of love and how it can hurt you. The vulnerability Christina Perri captures is so apparent in the lyrics and tone of this song. I adore it.

The very talented Christina Perri.

I was blessed to receive a makeup session by the incredibly talented duo Juan Melendez and my baby brother, Branden Marcus. So I really got to give this song my all by changing up my usual. :)

Hair: Juan, Makeup: Branden

Anyway, I hope if you haven't heard this song you can fall in love with it the way I did. I am running a bit behind schedule so I definitely have A LOT of work to do within the next week.

Thank you for your continued love and support. More to follow very soon! :)

Love, Mischa

Big Bad Handsome Man

2011-07-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

I love Imelda May. I knew a few years ago that jazz, rockabilly and soul would be making a huge comeback and Imelda May creates a style all her own, which is why I admire her so very much. I actually first heard her in a promo for one of my favorite shows in the whole wide world... True Blood. And yep, I was hooked. Not just on the show, but also on her music!

So I decided to do the song where it all began for me with Imelda. Big Bad Handsome Man is a song that stirs hormones... at least in Imelda's version. It is sexy, fun and definitely shows how tall, dark, and handsome has a power all it's own. A power I, too, have fallen under. (Haven't we all...? *sigh*) What a spell! So I had to share it with you all. I hope you like it. I am a little nervous with this one. It is a little out of my element so please bare with me and be gentle! :)

Thank you for your continued love and support. Now, go find your own big bad handsome man! ;-)

Love,
Mischa

Make You Feel My Love

2011-07-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

I decided to do something different this month. I feel I will be boxing myself off if I do only one genre when so many of the powerhouse modern singers I love break the barriers and sing anything from Jazz, to Blues, to Rockabilly to Soul; so instead, I am going to focus on my favorite gifted modern female vocalists who do this effortlessly.

I'm starting this month with one of my absolute favorite singers: Adele. There is so much raw emotion behind her voice it actually moves me. The very first time I heard her song, Make You Feel My Love I thought: "Dear, God! I can only hope I one day find a guy I feel so blessed with that I want to sing this to him." It made me want to cry because it's such a heavy love song that I can't help but adore it!

I hope you are as excited as I am to see what other song inspirations I find for my next 9 songs. Feel free to send me any suggestions that fit into this genre combo I am working with. I love a good challenge! :)

I hope you all are enjoying your Summer! Happy July!

Love,
Mischa

I Could Have Danced All Night

2011-06-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

I decided that song 10 of 10 had to be a a Lerner and Loewe piece which led me straight to My Fair Lady. I was originally going to do On The Street Where You Live, but then quickly moved to I Could Have Danced All Night. I love this song!

Anyway, I am still figuring out what song to do for July. Any suggestions? Let me know by posting either a comment on this blog or writing it on my Facebook page by clicking HERE!

Oh, Julie! You are adorable.

Thank you, All! I have officially lost my voice going for that perfect take. Hope you can't tell that though! :) I am going to give my voice a few days of recuperation time.

See you in July!

Love, Mischa

Night and Day

2011-06-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

This song became hugely popular when Fred Astaire sang it in the Broadway musical Gay Divorce. The song was recorded by so many artists that it actually ended up as one of the most popular songs in The Great American Songbook.

I love Fred Astaire. And so, I had to do a song of his while doing the classics. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for all the love and support. You guys keep me motivated to keep this up so thank you! :)

Love, Mischa

So In Love

2011-06-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

I love the classic Kiss Me Kate. You can consider me biased because I love my Cole Porter, but come on... those lyrics. They are just beautiful! So I decided to do one of my favorite Cole Porter love songs.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! :)

Song 8 of 10 completed!

-Mischa

Funny Honey

2011-06-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

Another duplicate. Sorry. But I absolutely love this song. So I had to! :)

He had it comin'.

Chicago is another musical where I can honestly sing all of the songs from it any day. They are just that catchy and fun. "Funny Honey" is a sweet short song. I am bummed the accompaniment music I found doesn't have the action sequence in between as it's suppose to. Especially the angry part. That's my favorite. But even with only the happy/lovey-dovey part. It's still classic.

Hope you enjoy song 7 of 10!

-Mischa

Class

2011-06-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

This song has always been so funny I honestly cannot listen to it without laughing. And though it is a bit harsh, it sure does get the idea across that a level of class is sloping downward in the world.

We need to revive class. And so my contribution to helping do that is singing this song from the 1975 Broadway musical Chicago. One of my absolute favorites!

I hope you have a good laugh and enjoy. :)

Love, Mischa

Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)

2011-06-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

I knew I couldn't get away with completing classic Broadway without including a Cole Porter song. I decided on the song "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) from the musical Paris.

It is definitely one of my favorites. Specifically because Cole Porter's lyrics are so fun and witty you can't help but fall in love with them. They don't write music like that anymore. :(

Anyway, I hope you like it. I am cutting it close to the end of the month, so I have to step up on the delivery process. More to follow soon! :)

Love, Mischa

Sound of Music

2011-06-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

I decided to sing this song completely a cappella specifically because I thought it would be a little more challenging that way... and I like a challenge.

Gotta love Julie!

Newie really enjoyed it. He didn't move from my lap through the whole recording and uploading process so I have to take that as a good sign. I hope you enjoy it too! :)

-Mischa

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

2011-06-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

I will never forget the very first time I saw Evita, the story of a selfish woman who knows how to manipulate others very well... You couldn't help but get a little teary on this song even though you realize she isn't a saint.

I decided to do this song next for my blog and I am so happy I did. This is my dog's favorite song to be sung.... seriously, I have never seen a dog that actually enjoys being sung to. That is, except for my boy Newie. He adores it!

This is how he watches me, my own little creeper :)

So here it is! Hope you like it! :)

Love, Mischa

Maybe This Time

2011-06-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

I have loved Cabaret since I was a kid. I always wanted to get up and sing and dance in front of everyone since the time I was three. I remember getting up on the tables at my mom's shop and singing to her customers. I even entertained singing Phantom of the Opera at five years old at my Grandma's birthday party.

Singing showtunes for my Grandma's
friends and family at her 73rd Birthday

Even though the life of the stage performer was tragic... especially in Cabaret, (poor Liza), I loved the spotlight, the costumes, and most of all the jazz!

So I decided to sing a little softer version of "Maybe This Time." Specifically because it is a belter song... but I had to take it easy on my poor computer's speakers... it gets temperamental when I raise my voice too much ;)

Anyway, I hope you like it! More to come soon! Stay tuned! :)

Love, Mischa

Memory

2011-06-18T00:26:00.000-07:00

Okay... so I wanted to begin with this song because it was one of my Grandma's ultimate favorites. I ended up singing it at a recital when I was 15 and my Grandma completely embarrassed me with crying out, "Yay, Mischa. That's my baby." Very... Very loudly. At the time I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide. But now I realize she was just being a Stage grand-Mother... who was very proud.

A lot of people would think Andrew Lloyd Webber would be considered "new" musical theater, but I think he went through an experimental rock phase later on in his career... think like Jesus Christ Superstar and Phantom of the Opera (which incorporated aspects of Rock into its Opera with electric guitars and such). But his earlier works definitely had an old school Broadway feel to it. So I grouped Cats with it.

Anyway, I know I am a little late starting off the month of June but I will deliver my 10 classic Showtunes on schedule. :) I have just been a very busy bee lately!

I hope you enjoy!

Love, Mischa

Walk Away

2011-05-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

I love Kelly Clarkson. I really do. She is like my music crack because she has so much attitude and oomph behind her music that I love it... I especially loved her even more when I learned she writes her own music.

Anyway, I knew I wanted to do one of hers but couldn't decide which one until my mom pointed out to me most of the pop songs I sang were slower and I should do something more uptempo... and then it hit me like BAM! And so I decided on "Walk Away." It's such a great song!

So here it is: Pop song 10 of 10. I am sure I am not entirely done with this genre and it may "pop" up again up; but for now I am finito... that is until next month. :)

Thank you for the love and support. See you in June!

-Mischa

Wind Beneath My Wings

2011-05-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

I knew I would not get away without doing one of the original divas of pop and so I decided to do Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings." I decided to dedicate this one specifically to my Ema.

She has been the most influential, positive, and supportive person in my life forever and always.

And even when I lose faith in me, she stands right beside me to help me dust myself off and pick myself back up. She is the best mom and friend I could have ever asked for and I count my blessings every day for the gift I have been given: her.

Thank you, Ema. I love you!

Love,
Mischa

I Will Survive

2011-05-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

I remember listening to this song when i was a kid because my mom absolutely loved it. I think she called it her "strong song." She was right, it is a song about finding your own empowerment and realizing you need to depend on yourself and not someone else.

A real survivor song. Thank you, Gloria Gaynor. You truly knew what it meant to be an independent women. :)

-Mischa

Iris

2011-05-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, I had to. I have loved this song since FOREVER. When I was it was listed on MTV's Top 100 songs ever I had to do it...

I ended up cutting out the huge instrumental break (which I was sad to do but it is kind of awkward staring at yourself for a whole minute while a music solo goes on). So I made the choice to cut it down.

I hope you like it. Goo Goo Dolls rock my socks and that is all. Three more songs must be done tomorrow in order for me to finish on time with 10 at the end of May... will I make it? You'll find out tomorrow! ;)

Love,
Mischa

Remember Me This Way

2011-05-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

I remember first hearing this song in the movie Casper when I was a kid. It was a love at first listen moment because it is such a beautifully cheesy song about friendship. :)

Most people go through their whole lives never finding that one friend who makes a huge difference in their life. I was lucky to find this friend, not only while I was young, but to still be as close to her even with her now living eight hours away.

I am so lucky, and I definitely know it. Ashley and I have known each other since we were eleven. And I have always felt that she was my solid: I could always lean on her, trust her with anything, and know she will always be there come hell or high water.

Sometimes, life deals us not so great a hand for family. I have been lucky enough to create my true family from mainly my group of friends, After all, friends are family too, it's just they are the family we are lucky enough to choose. I count my blessings every single day. :)

Anyway, I hope you like it... my voice sounds a little strained at times... probably because I wanted that perfect take and after six times back to back of belting my voice got a little tired. Oh well, here goes nothin'. Love you, Ashley!

Time After Time

2011-05-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

I have always been a huge Cyndi Lauper Fan! Probably because I am an 80's baby! :) I wish I was bold enough to rock her look too!

So bold! :)

Anyway, I knew I had to do at least one of her songs because the pop genre wouldn't be complete without it.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day! More to follow soon!

Love,
Mischa

Stop

2011-05-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

I remember the very first time I fell in love with this song was while watching Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason. Its just such a great song and it really is challenging so I felt I had to give it a try! :)

On the bigger belter notes my computer's speakers even had some difficulty wanting to pick them up (you'll hear a rough crunching sound, it's a little weird) ... Oops. I need to buy a good microphone or something... **sigh** I guess I could ask for one for my birthday since thats around the corner.

I know I have been M.I.A. I was out of town and now have basically three days to finish six more songs. I'm back at two a day... lucky me. Anyway, thank you for the positive vibes and love (you know who you are). :)

Stay tuned... more songs are right around the corner. Literally!

Love,
Mischa

I'm Yours

2011-05-19T23:18:00.000-07:00

This song just tickles me. Every single time I hear Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" I find myself smiling... its such a happy song!

I started looking for good music covers of it, but wasn't really impressed with any of them so I decided to be adventurous and sing the whole song a cappella. It was definitely a challenge but a lot of fun because the song is such an animated one that jumps all over the place so it can be a little tricky.

However, those of you who know me know I like my challenges... so I hope you like it as much as I had fun making it. :)

Love, Mischa

Paparazzi

2011-05-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

I didn't really intend to do another pop hit of Lady Gaga's for my pop month... honest. It just sort of happened. I actually tried to be such a perfectionist while on the verge of getting sick that I actually started losing my voice. Oops. Oh well, I think the outcome was worth the small price I paid for losing my voice for the night.

I absolutely love this video... and it doesn't hurt that it has
the gorgeous Alexander Skarsgard (my favorite vamp) in it.

I have to warn you, my version isn't as "pop-py" as the radio version... it is a piano cover. But I hope you like it.

Any suggestions for my next 8 pop songs for this month? Feel free to suggest it either on here as a comment or on My Facebook Page! Thank you for all the love and support!

Love,
Mischa

Speechless

2011-05-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

My brother was the one who first turned me on to Lady Gaga. I was super annoyed with the dance hit "Just Dance" and he swore to me her other songs were different and he was right. When I first heard "Speechless" I remember thinking, "Is this the same Lady Gaga?" I was definitely impressed.

Anyway, I decided to do a cover of this song because it has such tragically beautiful lyrics and I wanted to do something to dedicate specifically to my baby brother, Branden. B, I love you and I hope I do you proud! :)

For the rest of my friends, family, and supporters... thank you for being patient with me. My voice was definitely not in its best shape last week and I feel ready to pick up where I left off with another 10 songs, this month will be pop music. I am very excited! I hope you like it, and please if you have any requests of specific songs, ideas for genres, etc. Please don't hesitate to let me know! :)

Love,
Mischa