Cheryl B. Engelhardt
New York City, New York, United States
Music
Press
Over 4000 entries, narrowed down to 12 songs. - Songwriters-circle.com
Cheryl B. Engelhardt Named January “Best Vocalist Of The Month” With Her Song “Keep”
By Dale Kawashima
Cheryl B. Engelhardt, a talented rock/pop singer/songwriter & pianist based in New York, NY, has won the January SingerUniverse “Best Vocalist Of The Month” Competition, for her performance of her song “Keep”. This is one of six cuts which will be included on her upcoming EP, which will be her first release since her 2004, full 12-song CD, Shoes Off And Run.
Cheryl B. Engelhardt
Cheryl B. Engelhardt
“Keep” is a powerful, midtempo rock tune, which not only showcases Engelhardt’s clear, assertive vocals, but also her songwriting and production skills. The song starts off with a graceful piano intro, then gradually builds towards a soaring, radio-ready chorus. The recording was expertly produced by Engelhardt, and she also plays keyboards, does the programming, and contributes solid harmony vocals in the chorus.
Engelhardt was born in Mt. Kisco, NY, and grew up in Connecticut. She began playing piano and writing songs at a very young age. Engelhardt enjoyed listening to jazz and classical music, and to such rock & pop artists as U2, Dave Matthews Band, Alanis Morissette and Sarah McLachlan. In high school, she sang in a Madrigal choral group, which performed at the White House. And for college, she attended Cornell University in NY, where she subsequently graduated with majors in both Biology & Society and Music. It was also at Cornell that she took a poetry class, which inspired her to focus on her lyric writing
Following college, Engelhardt seriously pursued her music career, and she wrote and recorded the songs for her 2004 debut album, Shoes Off And Run. This CD has since sold about 1,500 units, and it has led to her receiving several accolades. Last year Engelhardt was named by Keyboard magazine as their “Unsigned Artist Of The Month,” and she has also been a finalist in some major, songwriting competitions.
Her song “Keep” is definitely a key cut on her upcoming EP, which she hopes will generate further exposure, and help her build a team for her music career. “I loved doing the indie route [and promoting my career on my own},” said Engelhardt. “But if I could build a team that could take on booking, managing, or even financing, that would be amazing, as long as they can do a better job than I can.”
Thus far, Engelhardt has been doing a terrific job of promoting her music. She has assembled a band, and they have toured the Northeast, the west coast, plus played shows in Texas and Nashville. In addition, she recently traveled to Switzerland, where she performed solo gigs, and established new connections for herself and her band.
Top Five Vocalists Of The Month
"Best Vocalist Of The Month" Winner
"Keep." Written and performed by Cheryl B. Engelhardt of New York, NY. - Singer Universe
November 7th, 2006
Renaissance Woman to the 7th Degree
Cheryl B. Engelhardt gets her credibility numerous ways. First, she graduated from an Ivy League university. Second, she writes, performs, and produces her own music. Third, her music is actually good. Cheryl's debut album, "Shoes Off And Run", is an arrangement of very tasteful music and one cannot help but notice that this girl has got the skill when it comes to song-writing. If you don't believe me, then check her out with your own three ears.
Soar,
Dave-Os - http://www.bandoftheday.com/CherylBEngelhardt/
" . . . a young songwriter with a quirky lyrical gift . . . immensely appealing . . . her knack for the killer piano hook is so consistent on Shoes Off And Run . . . "
- Greenwich Magazine, June 2005
"On Wednesday, May 11, The Improper Bostonian held its Luxury Event at The Hotel Commonwealth. Guests treated themselves to hord'oeuvres... and enjoyed Grey Goose cocktails... Invitees encountered luxury at every corner, including a Bentley display from Bentley Boston and a live performance by Cheryl B. Engelhardt and the CBE Band." - Improper Bostonian
Cheryl B. Engelhardt has put out a really fun pop recording. There's nothing terribly unpredictable about this stuff. It goes pretty much where you expect it to. What's unexpected is that it was released last year. It just has a older pop feel to it. These songs have a kind of show tune-y sound… theatrical. It reminds me of Helen Slater's CD I reviewed in 2004.
"The Warning" is probably a stand out for me be because I saw the video first. The CD is enhanced and this means that when you pop it in, you see the video for this songs. It is a tad on the cheesy side, like your average 80s video by John Wait or some such, but it is catchy and the song is too. I don't mean that to be an insult. I grew up on that stuff and still love it. I found the song was swimming around in my head for a good day and a half (and I liked that).
Track three, "Proof", is worth the whole CD. Gorgeous piano stuff. This song does not sound dated to me. She displays a nice use of minor keys. Has some very intricate and fast-fingered stuff. I'm mucho impressed. She doesn't just go up and down the scales like some pianists do.
I surprise myself a little by saying this because I didn't expect to, but I really like this recording. It's almost like a guilty pleasure. Not that it's bad or wrong to like it. It's just that it seems so unlike the stuff I usually listen to and admire. In the same way I'm a little hesitant to admit that Billy Joel is my musical god. It seems a little too pat, fluffy, whatever. Either way, I don't care because it's comforting and makes me smile. And that's what music should do. I mean, it's cool if it moves you in other ways too, but smiling is a nice result don't you think?
I put this on shuffle with the other CDs I was reviewing at the time and each time a song came on and I thought, "ooh I like this, who is it?" is was Cheryl B Engelhardt. So even if you think this may not be your bag, give it a shot. You might be pleasantly surprised.
- Collected Sounds, March 23, 2005
UNSIGNED ARTIST OF THE MONTH
"I'm not who you think I am", sings Cheryl B. Engelhardt, supported by crunchy guitar and her own driving arpeggios on piano. "I'm going to break your heart and this is your warning". Consider this YOUR warning of big things to come from this pop pianist, singer, composer, and songwriter. With a knack for catchy piano licks and a voice honed by collegiate a capella, Cheryl has the tools and talent to bring her songs - thought and touching as they are - to innocent and energetic life. Cheryl's skill isn't limited to pop, though. Be suer to check out the high-level arranging and counterpoint chops she uses on "We", an excellent, thickly harmonized track available only on her webpage. - Keyboard Magazine
Discography
ONE UP the Album, 2011 (in the making)
ONE UP, 2010 (one single released per month)
NOTHING TO CHANGE, 2008
(single)
CRAVING THE SECOND, 2007
(12 tracks)
SHOES OFF AND RUN, 2004
(12 tracks, debut album)
Enhanced CD includes music video for "Warning" (track 2), a photo album, and web links.
"Warning" included on Millenium Music Conference Compilation CD
Photos
Bio
AS HEARD on FOX, ABC and NBC NEWS, THE REAL WORLD, ALL MY CHILDREN, and in many of the webisodes and videos on COLLEGEHUMOR.COM!
A few short years ago, Cheryl B. Engelhardt, armed with her biology degree from Cornell University, got a cool government job that found her SCUBA diving with research teams. But the minute she had an opportunity to compose music, the lifelong pianist—who was playing Beethoven at age three and began composing her own material at five—took off the gear and jumped into competitive waters of the music industry, first as a composer for websites, then as a jingle writer and music supervisor for Bigfoote Music. She then took the ultimate plunge as a full-time DIY indie singer-songwriter, a creative leap of faith that has made her one of NYC’s fastest rising. Just as the title of her acclaimed new CD implies, for Engelhardt, life is about risktaking, living and making music in the present, and most of all, Craving The Second.
The versatile, Harlem-based artist’s mix of heartfelt and hard-hitting piano driven songs and dynamic ambition has led her to become a popular presence in the music scene in New England, where she regularly wins over new listeners at New York venues or on the streets of Boston. She as appeared and performed on Fox, ABC and NBC regional news segments. Her song “Keep,” the soaring, infectious first single from Craving The Second was performed at her favorite NYC venue, The Bitter End, after it made the Final 12 out of 4,000 entries in the first New York Songwriter’s Circle contest. In April 2007, she joined many of the city’s top artists as part of the 1st Annual Musicians For Mobility Concert, a show she organized to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. Last summer, she performed before 4,000 fans at the Blue Balls Festival in Switzerland, and this year she completed a successful ski resort/radio tour in Colorado and an acoustic tour in the UK with her drummer as well as a return stint in Switzerland. Her music has been placed several times on MTV's Real World, PBS's "Roadtrip Nation" and ABC's "All My Children".
While her self-produced 2004 debut album Shoes Off and Run was a product of sheer determination that radiated incredible potential, Engelhardt truly hits her creative stride on the more distinctly pop-oriented Craving The Second. The project includes performances by numerous A-list NYC musicians, including drummer Shawn Pelton (from Saturday Night Live and Sheryl Crow’s band). At one point, Engelhardt makes a fascinating detour from the piano-focused vibe of the disc with “We,” a track she constructed line by line with only her voice building towards a five-part harmony. Ironically, when Keyboard Magazine chose her in 2006 as one of their “unsigned artists of the month,” the article focused on that song, the one she did without a keyboard. Her 2008 single “Nothing To Change”, an empowering anthem Cheryl wrote for the "Women, Wisdom and You" event held at the Times Center in Manhattan. Part of the song’s proceeds benefit Girls Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and boldSM. She is now working on a third album project called "One Up" where she produced one single per month for all of 2010 and is turning the result into a third record, due out 2011.
Cheryl has gone on to write music for nationally-airing commercials, write articles for magazines like Performer and Keyboard, hit the US airwaves and tour internationally. Her on-air performances and interviews, both radio and television, are endearing as much as they are entertaining. Cheryl has recently become the newest hot composer at www.CollegeHumor.com and continues to work on parodies and weekly webisode episodes as their music source. She is currently booking a spring tour around the USA and booking summer shows in Europe. Moving forward with a catchy and marketable album, continuously honing her skills, living with no regrets and the belief there’s really nothing to change, Cheryl is on the fast-track to success.
Links
