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Group of Swedish dads bust out singing at play dates with their kids and holy moly

Their pitch perfect harmonies have made them a viral sensation.

Dad Harmony/Instagram

Dad Harmony singing with their kids

Seeing a group of young dads hanging out with their young children on playdates is already incredibly wholesome. But add in some a cappella singing in harmonies that enrapture those same children? Come on now.

That's what you get from the five Swedish fathers who make up the group Dad Harmony, a viral sensation that started with some friends just casually singing together.

The dad "boyband" hails from the northern town of Skelleftea, Sweden, and consists of two brothers, Peter and Tomas Widmark, and their friends, Michael Aberg, Sebastian Åkesson and Adam Stenlund.

“This story all started at my bachelor party,” 33-year-old Peter Widmark told the AFP. “We were hanging out and singing as we usually do when we hang out in the bath [jacuzzi]…(and) my brother filmed it and put it on TikTok with his seven followers.”

The song they were singing was "The Wellerman," a sea shanty that was all over social media during the pandemic. The next morning, the video had 40,000 views, and it shot up to 20 million within a couple of weeks.

The friends decided to start recording themselves singing various popular hits a cappella, which led to a formal band name, Dad Harmony, as well as studio recordings and a European tour.

Their beautiful harmonies have captures people’s attention around the world, but the videos that include their kids are particularly popular. Most often, the dads are sitting around a living room or dining room table holding babies and small children, just singing away. The kids seem to enjoy it, too, with Widmark explaining, “It’s a s soothing thing when we sing.”

Each of the dads has two kids and works normal day jobs like sales and janitorial. As far as singing with their kids, Widmark's brother, Tomas, told AFP they are "typical Swedish guys" who simply spend a lot of time with their children.

"Almost every guy in Sweden is used to taking paternity leave, so it's not a big deal for us," he told the AFP.

People gush in the comments of their videos:

"These kids are so lucky! They get the chance to listen to their dads creating these magical sounds (when most of other children of their age are spending their time on tablets ..)"

"I absolutely love how the kids are always seen in these videos. Never hidden but loved so much and loving the beautiful music being made 😍"

@dadharmony

#onecallaway #dadharmony #acapella #charlieputh #dads #singing #singingdads #pippi


"Every time I get to see and listening you I get so emotional!! The way the children listen!!! And the newborn is already inside the circle of love!! Thank you guys!!! 💕"

"Gorgeous! And those kids will grow up with such an appreciation of music. So important."

"Kids growing up thinking this is casually every dinner table … 'Oh, your family *doesn’t* sit at the table and sing vocal arrangements?'"

"So much admiration for these Dads who clearly make family a priority and the focus on blending their voices into a beautiful harmony that soothes those children as they listen. What an incredible legacy they are creating for their families. How inspiring!"

And no, the kids don't always sit still. Sometimes they squirm. Sometimes they dance.


@dadharmony

I guess now we’re dancing as well 🙈 #standbyme #beneking #dadharmony #singing #dads #acapella #harmony #children #father #dancing

But there's no question they are getting an unusually extraordinary experience growing up with these "dad harmonies" surrounding them.

You can follow Dad Harmony on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and find their tour dates on their website.

And if you're curious about which dad sings which part, the five of them answered that and other reader questions here:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

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Culture

Opera star delighted by stranger who stood up in the audience and started singing with her

Surprising, impressive and altogether wholesome.

Photo by Courtney Kammers on Unsplash
woman standing front of microphone

There's a certain etiquette that audience members generally adhere to while watching a live performance, and that goes doubly for the opera world. But you don't have to be an opera-goer to know that it's generally frowned upon—to put it lightly—for a member of the audience to stand up and start singing right in the middle of an opera singer's performance.

It ain't Lollapalooza, for crying out loud.

But an audience member adding his voice to an opera performance was exactly what happened at the Verdi Festival in Parma, Italy in 2022. According to Classic FM, renowned soprano Lisette Oropesa was performing an encore at the end of her recital, singing the female part from "Sempre Libera" (Always Free) from Verdi's "La traviata." Thesong is a duet, usually sung between a female soprano and a male tenor, but she was performing it solo. So when the tenor part arrived and no one sang opposite her, 24-year-old Liu Jianwei, a fan of Oropesa and a student of opera at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Nicolini di Piacenza, stood up and filled in the gap.

No one expected it. Not Oropesa. Not even Liu himself, apparently. But the pianist kept playing and Oropesa appeared to be delighted as the young man beautifully filled in the tenor part. Oropesa's initial "Oh," is written into the piece (though you can see her searching the audience for where the man's voice was coming from), but the "Oh, grazie," she added herself to say thank you.

It's a good thing he had a lovely voice. Watch:

@babatunde_hiphopera

Reply to @campmeldinal Reply to @campmeldinal This is the best one I could find #wholesome #opera

According to Classic FM, Liu took to the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo to explain himself—and to warn others not to do what he did.

“I stood up to sing because Lisette Oropesa is a musician I love very much and I happened to have learned this opera before,” he said. “It is definitely not something worthy of pride, nor something worthy of being advocated. Please don’t interrupt singers when they are singing on stage. It’s impolite behavior. Don’t imitate me and I will never do this again in the future.”

Many disagree with him on the "worthy of pride" part at least, and most people commenting on the video were thrilled with both the unexpected singing and the reaction from the opera star.

"She was so gracious and kind!! The shock and delight on her face was so wonderful!! This is beautiful," wrote one commenter.

"I love how her face just lights up, it's so sweet!!!" wrote another.

"That is the reaction of when a musician does it for the love of music," added another "They are both amazing!"

And regarding the "impolite" bit:

"Look I know it would technically be considered rude but he shot his shot and was successful 😂. Can’t blame him one bit.".

Liu approached Oropesa after the concert to apologize. She took photos with him and gave him her autograph.

Brava and bravo to them both.


This article originally appeared on 1.12.22

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13-year-old boy soprano stunned Britain's Got Talent with his angelic 'Pie Jesu' audition

Simon Cowell said, "It was like being in heaven."

Britain's Got Talent/YouTube

Malakai Boyah has the voice of an angel.

Sometimes a person opens their mouth to sing and what comes out is not at all what one would expect. We’ve seen it countless times on various “Got Talent” shows, but one unexpected young singer not only surprised the judges and audience of Britain’s Got Talent with his voice but even brought many of them to tears.

Malakai Bayoh is a 14-year-old from London. For his BGT audition earlier in 2023, when he was 13, he sang “Pie Jesu,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic in Latin that helped launch Charlotte Church’s career. "Pie Jesu" is a beautiful hymn that requires a soprano voice and includes some challenging vocal high jumps. When it’s done well, it has a mesmerizing, otherworldly quality to it.

Malakai did it well.

With the voice of an angel, he stunned everyone in the BGT studios as well as the folks watching at home. People in the live audience wiped away tears. The famously hard-to-impress Simon Cowell couldn’t stop smiling as Malakai sang, and at one point, it looked as if judge Bruno Tonioli (who is delightfully prone to dramatics, to be fair) might actually faint.

Watch:

People on YouTube haven't been able to stop raving about Malakai's performance.

"I would say this performance automatically entered into the top ten golden buzzers of all time," wrote one commenter.

"As a trained singer, watching agt and bgt usually distresses me, but my husband loves it. I was in the bedroom when i heard Malachi's voice pouring out if the living room like an angel. I"ve heard Pie Jesu performed many times, but this was not a performance, this was sound straight from the Creator to touch our souls. A message of love," shared another."

"I'm a trained singer, and a music teacher by profession, and sang this song as a young performer myself. I can say with absolute certainty this is the most beautifully I've ever heard this song sung. Not only is he a TRULY gifted singer, he sings with poise. With proper technique, proper breathing, proper everything. His vowels are PERFECTION, the smoothness with which he sings is truly impeccable. The amount of control it takes to sing slowly, that high.... this boy is truly a gift from God. Thank you for gracing our ears with your voice little one," shared another.

"I have seen it 10 times in a row and I have cried all 10 times…definitely a voice that comes from heaven," shared another.

As Simon Cowell said, "It was like being in heaven." It seems that everyone is in agreement.

Since his initial BGT audition, Boyah has continued to wow BGT judges and fans with his classical singing. You can watch his performance of "Caruso" here and enjoy his tuxedoed performance of "O Mio Babbino Caro" here. This kid in definitely going places.

In fact, Malakai has recorded his debut album, appropriately called "Golden." Watch out world, here comes Malakai.


This article originally appeared on 12.3.23

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Culture

Guy starts singing a Sam Cooke song at the barbershop and blows everyone away

With 7 million views on TikTok alone, Shawn Louisiana's incredible viral video is a must-see.

Shawn Louisiana/YouTube

Sometimes a person opens their mouth to sing, and magic happens. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what qualities make a voice transcend the average and transfix an audience, but we know it when we hear it.

Enter Shawn Louisiana.

A video of him singing in a barbershop has gone viral and it's definitely worth a watch. He wrote on YouTube, "The older guy didn't think I could pull off a Sam Cooke song," but when he started singing "A Change is Gonna Come," he definitely proved that he could. Really well. Like, whoa.

Watch:

The older guy didn't think I could pull off a Sam Cooke song #achangegonnacomewww.youtube.com

There's a reason that video has gotten nearly 7 million views on TikTok alone.

Louisiana frequently shares videos of himself just singing casually for the camera, and I don't understand why this man's talent is not more well known yet.

I mean, just listen to this "Stand By Me" cover. Like butter. Sing me to sleep, sir.

Stand By Me - Ben E. King cover #tiktokwww.youtube.com

His Instagram account says he's available to book for weddings. That's nice, but someone please get this man a record deal so we can listen to him croon all day.

For more from Shawn Louisiana, follow him on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.


This article originally appeared on 9.1.21

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