ACOUSTIC GUITAR KARAOKEAVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON iTUNES

Well, we had to make some difficult choices, but Kris Farrow picked the top five (5) contest winners for our first Acoustic Guitar Karaoke All Stars contest.

We had so many wonderful entries from our fans.  We appreciate everyone who entered and encourage everyone who loves to sing and/or play guitar, to keep at it. 

And here are the All Stars contest winners:

1) TJ STEWART – “Hey There Delilah” (1st Place)
2) MACY MALOY – “The Way I Am” (2nd Place)
3) MADDIE LAWRENCE – “Breathe” (3rd Place)
4) KRISTEN BROWN – “Santa Baby”
5) DIANE DE MESA – “Silent Night”
6) JULIA MURRAY – “Crazier” (bonus)

Because we had so many great song entries, we decided to add an extra sixth place slot for Julia Murray’s “Crazier.”  Honorable mentions also to Maddie Schulte’s “White Horse” and to our youngest contestant, Noa Martucci, who performed “Don’t Stop Believin’”.

The Acoustic Guitar Karaoke All Stars edition album featuring all of the above  tracks will be released on March 1st on iTunes.  More news to follow soon.  Thanks again and congratulations to the winners.

Well, the time has come, folks, and we had to end the entry period for our first AGK Karaoke Contest effective Wednesday, December 9th.  We were so happy that so many AGK fans decided to enter and we appreciate your support and kind words.  The quality of the songs are very high and it’s going to be a tough job to pick out the top five best songs.

Over the next few weeks, Kris Farrow will be working on listening to each song entry for the contest.  Again, we’ll be announcing the winners sometime in late December or early January.  Once again, thanks for listening and we’ll be in touch.

AGK #14

AGK #14 is now available in the iTunes store featuring songs such as Untouchable (Taylor Swift), Vulnerable (Seconhand Serenade), Need You Now (Lady Antebellum), More Like Her (Miranda Lambert) and Mama’s Song (Carrie Underwood).

If you’re curious, the super cool cover art for most of the AGK albums is from the amazing artist SIMONOX, who resides in Japan.  He’s most famous for designing the “bird” that you see on the Twitter website.

Kris is also working on AGK #15 which will feature versions of all the new Taylor Swift tracks released on her Special Edition album last month, among many others.

Happy Holidays!

AGK #13 is now available exclusively on iTunes.  Featuring ten (10) new tracks from Kris Farrow, AGK #13 is sure to please Colbie Caillat and Demi Lovato fans with songs such as I Won’t, I Never Told You, and Begin Again (Colbie Caillat) and Catch Me, Two Worlds Collide (Demi Lovato).  The album also features If It Kills Me and The Remedy (Jason Mraz), Everybody and Maybe (Ingrid Michaelson) and Best Days of Your Life (Kellie Pickler).

AGK 13

Karaoke Contest

The first Acoustic Guitar Karaoke All Stars Karaoke Contest is now OPEN for entries!

Simply record your vocals over a track from any AGK album from Kris Farrow, upload the video/email us the song and you’re eligible to compete for cool prizes including:

1st Place) iPod Nano

2nd Place) iPod Shuffle

3rd Place) $25 Gift Certificate

The Top Five (5) winners will also get their songs released on iTunes on a special Acoustic Guitar Karaoke All Stars album edition.

Contest period is only open October 1st to December 9th (EXTENDED).  No limit on the number of entries per contestant!

Yes, we keep cranking them out.  Acoustic Guitar Karaoke Volume #12 is NOW on iTunes.  Featuring ten (10) tracks, AGK #12 is a great way to end the summer – we’ve got all the current hits from Colbie Caillat, Hannah Montana, Jonas Bros. and Demi Lovato, along with a few tribute tracks to Michael Jackson – Kris says they’re some of his best songs yet.

AGK #12

Fallin’ For You (Colbie Caillat)
He Could Be the One (Hannah Montana)
Paranoid (Jonas Brothers)
Before The Storm (Jonas Brothers w/Miley)
Here We Go Again (Demi Lovato)
Tim McGraw (Taylor Swift)
I’m Only Me When I’m With You (Taylor Swift)
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
Man in The Mirror (Michael Jackson)

AGK #11 (RINGTONE EDITION)
Kris Farrow recently completed AGK Vol. #11 (Ringtone Edition) and it’s available NOW on iTunes. Instead of pop songs as on prior AGK albums, we thought we should shake things up for summertime and produce an album full of very cool “ringtones” for your phone.

AGK #11 features movie/TV themes from The Pink Panther, Rocky, Halloween, Mission Impossible, Sex and The City, The Godfather, Hawaii Five-O, Raiders of the Lost Ark, James Bond 007 and The Office just to name a few.

Full album downloads feature a FREE bonus track of “Pirates of the Caribbean” exclusively on iTunes – along with a PDF booklet, finally! A total of 22 tracks for only $7.99. It’s awesome, don’t miss out!

MESSAGE FROM KRIS FARROW
We tried something different this time, with an album of (I think) pretty cool ringtones. When I make AGK tracks, I try to arrange and play everything all at once – just one solo guitar track. Occasionally I have to add a little something here and there (like a solo that can’t be played simultaneously, for example), but I try to stay true to the solo guitar concept. For these ringtones, I took a completely different approach.

Basically, I transcribed the full arrangements of the original pieces – be they a rock band or an entire orchestra – and then played every part separately. All on acoustic guitar, of course! I love horror movies so I enjoyed doing the themes from “Halloween” and “The Exorcist,” and I also really thought “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and the theme from “The Godfather” came out really cool on acoustic. I hope you agree! Feel free to write and let me know at agkblog@gmail.com ! Oh, and check me out on Twitter, too!

Kris and Triple Pop are currently working on a very special AGK volume…  Instead of popular songs as on prior AGK albums, we thought we should shake things up for summertime and produce an album full of very cool “ringtones” for your phone!

We’re focusing on movie and television themes such as Pink Panther, Halloween, Mission Impossible and The Office just to name a few…AGK #11 (Ringtone Edition) is going to be jam packed with all these very cool ringtones for your phone, all done up in Kris’ inimitable acoustic guitar style.

Also, in other news, Billboard has just reported Demi Lovato’s new album is coming out next month in July…some leaked tracked titles include “Can’t Stop The World,” Shut Up and Love Me,” “World of Chances” (w/John Mayer)” and “For The Love of a Daughter” …Ms. Lovato is also prepping Camp Rock 2.  The Walt Disney pop machine never stops!

Just like lightning, Kris has just completed work on AGK #10.  Wow!  It’s now been just about one year since AGK #1 was released back in May 2008 and we’re so glad to have found so many receptive and encouraging fans loving the music and using Kris’s AGK songs for their YouTube videos, wedding ceremonies and other events.

We had modest ambitions when starting this project and had no idea the AGK would find such an exciting audience out there in the big world.  We strive to pick the best songs while Kris spends a great deal of time making sure each track is note perfect.

On that note, how have you used Kris’s AGK tracks – and do you watch his acoustic guitar instructional videos on Youtube?  We would love to hear from you – please email us agkblog@gmail.com and tell us all about it.  And, as always, we’re open to taking suggestions of songs to feature on upcoming AGK volumes.  So, don’t be shy, drop us a line.

In other news, the Triple Pop lab is working on developing an Acoustic Guitar Karaoke iPhone application (app).  As an AGK fan, do you have an iPhone?  Would this karaoke app be something you would be interested in purchasing if we made it available? What songs and features/options would you like to see?  Again, please email us your thoughts at agkblog@gmail.com – thanks!

And, without further blah blah, here is the track listing for AGK #10 coming to iTunes by early July!  The “surfer” is back!  Don’t forget to check out Acoustic Guitar Karaoke, Vol. 9 (Hannah Montana Soundtrack Edition) available exclusively on iTunes.

Soulmate  (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Natasha Bedingfeld)
Waking Up in Vegas (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Katy Perry)
Hands (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Jewel)
If Today Was Your Last Day (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Nickelback)
Broken Strings (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of James Morrison)
I Run To You  (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Lady Antabellum)
Halo  (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Beyonce)
I Told You So  (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Carrie Underwood)
Just Dance (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Lady Gaga)
1 2 3 4  (Acoustic Guitar in The Style of Plain White Ts)

Acoustic Guitar Karaoke, Vol. 10

It’s finally live on iTunes for purchase, everyone.  AGK #9 (Hannah Montana Soundtrack Edition) includes 13 of the best tracks from the Walt Disney Hannah Montana Soundtrack.  Listen to Kris Farrow’s amazing acoustic guitar versions of CRAZIER (Taylor Swift), THE CLIMB, HOEDOWN THROWDOWN, YOU’LL ALWAYS FIND YOUR WAY, and BUTTERFLY FLY AWAY. 

For the best deal, DOWNLOAD the COMPLETE album for only $7.99 on iTUNES (click here for iTunes link). 

Also check out Kris’ latest and greatest acoustic guitar instructional video for Taylor Swift’s CRAZIER on Youtube – just released today!

AGK #9 (Montana Soundtrack Edition)

Hello everyone, this is Kris :-)  I get so many emails here, and comments and messages on YouTube, that I thought I’d take a few minutes and talk about the AGK process.  

First of all, why acoustic guitar-only karaoke tracks?  I know that a lot of people really enjoy the sound of a stripped-down, intimate acoustic performance.  You can really let your voice be heard…and I think it can be a lot hipper than a full-on pop recording arrangement, too!  It’s a little something different than other karaoke tracks.  

How do I choose the songs?  Triple Pop Records sends me a list every month of songs they’ve chosen from the most popular current songs, and then I sort through them and decide which songs I could make the best solo-acoustic arrangements for.  Some songs just have too much going on for me to be able to represent all the important parts, all at the same time.  Usually I can do it, though!  Sometimes I have to do some pretty wild stuff to arrange the songs- like tune all the strings down a half step, then use a capo, and then further detune two of the strings- just to be able to reach all the notes I need and play all the right chord voicings. 

How do I record the tracks?  I record the tracks just sitting in a plain old chair, in my good friend Keith’s recording studio.  I usually have some food within arm’s reach, and a soda- or one of my favorite drinks, Steven Seagal’s Lightning Bolt!  Hahaha…yes, really.  Making high-quality recordings of just acoustic guitar is its own challenge- the microphones are so sensitive (in order to really capture the natural sound of the acoustic) that I can barely move or breathe because you’ll hear it.  No chair creaks, no sniffling, no foot tapping!

I’m on the road all the time, and I have to get back to the bus and get moving- but I’ll be back with more soon!

-Kris