William Beckett (singer)

Infobox musical artist
Name = William Beckett

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Img_capt = William Beckett at the Vans Warped Tour 2008 in Atlanta. (Photo by Flora)
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = William Eugene Beckett, Jr.
Instruments = Vocals, Guitar
Voice Types = Tenor
Born = birthdate and age|1985|02|11Fact|date=March 2008
Origin = Hoffman Estates,, Illinois, United States
Genre = Alternative rock, Indie rock, Soft rock, Pop punk
Label = Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen
Associated_acts = The Academy Is...

William Eugene Beckett, Jr. is the lead singer of the band The Academy Is... (TAI), who are currently signed to Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen. While still in high school in 2002, Beckett and guitarist Mike Carden came together from rival bands in Chicago to form The Academy Is.... [Eliscu, Jenny. (April 5 2007) [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/13883400/rolling_stones_10_artists_to_watch Rolling Stones 10 artists to watch] "Rolling Stone". Retrieved 21/02/08.] In addition to founding the band, Beckett and Carden are credited as the primary songwriters. [allmusic|id=11:0jfoxqqaldhe~T0|label=The Academy Is...] In 2007, the BBC described Beckett as a mix of Adam Lazzara and Prince, labeling him "utterly captivating". [http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2007/03/23/210307_the_academy_is_feature.shtml]

Music

Beckett started writing songs for his own private pleasure because he didn't like the material that was on the radio anymore. He said in interview that his sister found him playing his songs in the basement and started joining him. She was his first audience and gave him her honest feedback on the material he wrote. [http://theshakedownmag.com/4.html The Shakedown Webzine retrieved September 2008]

Prior to forming TAI, Beckett performed as a single-man acoustic band called Remember Maine, [Geist, Phil. (March 18 2005) [http://media.www.theonlinerocket.com/media/storage/paper601/news/2005/03/18/Entertainment/Rock-Band.Delivers.Unique.And.Daring.Album-897267.shtml Rock band delivers unique and daring album] "The Online Rocket". Retrieved 21/02/08.] , releasing the album "The Last Place You Look" when he was 17 years old. [O'Keefe, Steve. [http://www.decoymusic.com/index.php?content=reviews&reviewid=284&oldreview=1 Remember Maine-The Last Place You Look] decoymusic.com Retrieved 21/02/08.]

Beckett has contributed vocals to a number of notable albums by other bands. He has contributed vocals on the track "Sophomore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year" from Fall Out Boy's 2005 album, From Under the Cork Tree [allmusic|id=10:0xfexq9sldje~T2|label=From Under the Cork Tree.] . Other songs he has contributed vocals to include "There's A Class For This" from Cute Is What We Aim For's 2006 album The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch [allmusic|id=10:3zfixqtdldse~T0|label=The Same Old Blood Rush With a New Touch] and "7 Weeks" from Gym Class Heroes's album As Cruel as School Children also in 2006. Also that year he lent his vocals to the Cobra Starship song Snakes On A Plane (Bring It) and appeared subsquent music video which is shown during the credits of the popular movie Snakes On A Plane the song was released on the soundtrack of the film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/soundtrack Snakes On A Plane soundtrack on IMDB] and later on Cobra Starship's album While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets under the title Bring It (Snakes On A Plane) [allmusic|id=10:gcfixqedldke~T2|label=While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets] sans the movie lines.

ide projects

William Beckett makes a cameo in Fall Out Boy's extremely popular music video for the song "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me" as the lead vampire.

According to Us Magazine, he is co-authoring a book with Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, [Us Magazine. [http://www.usmagazine.com/node/12732 Pete Wentz] . usmagazine.com. Retrieved 21/02/08.] who had originally recommended the band to label Fueled by Ramen. [Warner Music Canada. [http://www.warnermusic.ca/theacademyis The Academy Is] warnermusic.ca Retrieved 21/02/08.]

On 15 July, 2008, Beckett started his own blog on which he has been posting the lyrics to songs on the upcoming The Academy Is... album Fast Times at Barrington High as well as basic updates. Songs posted so far are "The Test", "After The Last Midtown Show", "Crowded Room", "Beware! Cougar!", "Coppertone" and "Rumored Nights," which also has a link to a streamed release of the song. The song "Crowded Room" features Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship,and Mason Musso from Metro Station.There is also addiditional piano playing from Blake Healy from Metro Station.

Reviews

Personally, Beckett has received much praise for his exceptional vocals as The Academy Is... frontman.On the official iTunes review of The Academy Is...'s debut, Almost Here, the critic stated, "William Beckett carries the latter's melody with his velvety, bording on histrionic, vocals ..."Also on the review of their sophomore album, Santi, the critic stated this while describing the first track (Same Blood), "... owing much of its earnest charm (as with most of the crew's songs) to the winsome vocals of William Beckett."

References

Further reading

* [http://www.theywillrockyou.com/index.php/interviews/william_beckett_of_the_academy_is/ Beckett web interview] , They Will Rock You
* [http://www.saintrocknroll.com/interview.php?band=The%20Academy%20Is...&date=2007-06-30 Beckett web interview] , Saint RocknRoll
* [http://www.spin.com/features/heythisisawesome/2006/11/061122_theacademyis/ Beckett web interview] , "Spin Magazine"

External links

* [http://www.theacademyis.com The Academy Is... Website]
* [http://www.purevolume.com/theacademyis The Academy Is... Purevolume]
* [http://www.myspace.com/theacademyis The Academy Is... Myspace]
* [http://www.thewilliambeckettblog.com The William Beckett Blog]