- Anwar Robinson
Infobox musical artist
Name = Anwar Robinson|anwar is kool
Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Anwar Farid Robinson
Born = birth date and age|1979|4|21
Origin =Newark, New Jersey
Occupation = Singer/Music Teacher/Songwriter/Pianist/Producer
Instrument = Vocals,Piano
Genre =
Years_active = 2001-present
Label = Anwar Farid Robinson (bornApril 21 ,1979 ) is an American singer/songwriter/musician who was the 7th place finalist on the fourth season of "American Idol ".Robinson grew up in
Newark, New Jersey . He first started to sing when he was eight and was accepted to the Newark Boys' Chorus School. As a student atWestminster Choir College ofRider University inPrinceton, New Jersey , he trained classically as a tenor in college for four years under Dr. Scott J. McCoy. He graduated in 2001.During his senior internship at New York City's High School of the Performing Arts (known as LaGuardia High School), Robinson landed a gig as the keyboardist/musical director for "Patti's Kitchen", a pilot for
Patti LaBelle 's cooking show with the Food Network.Also during his senior year in college, he joined an R&B group called the A.R.T. of SOUL under the direction of world renowned songwriter/producer, Joshua Thompson. A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for Anwar, Randy (Beasley), and Terry (Carpenter), the members of the trio. The group signed a production deal with Thompson, who later took the group to sing live for
Clive Davis . This was during February 2001, when Davis was still in the interim stages of developing his own new label, j Records. Davis signed the group on the spot.Some two years later, the group disseminated and was subsequently dropped from the label due to creative differences between the production and the label.
During the term of the A.R.T. of SOUL, Robinson, who is also an accomplished pianist, became a junior high school music teacher, settling in Elizabeth, New Jersey and West Orange, New Jersey. Robinson was also a member of a local group called "The Perfect Combination" and played for churches in the greater Essex County area, as he had been a church musician and choir director throughout high school and college.
One of these churches was Zoe Ministries, where Bishop E. Bernard Jordan is the Chief Prelate. During Robinson's tenure there, he was one of several vocalists and musicians that contributed to "Resurrection", an album that was made for Easter 2003. Anwar is a featured soloist on the song "Saved" and sings the hook/refrain with Reverend Run of
Run-D.M.C. (Joseph Simmons , Sr.) andLayzie Bone (ofBone Thugs-n-Harmony ) on the track, "His Love Will Never Die". This song also features two of Reverend Run's sons, Joseph, Jr. and Daniel Simmons.Anwar also had the opportunity to be featured as a member of a Christmas Choir for a holiday episode of "
Emeril Live " during Christmas 2003. He would later return to the show as a guest whenAretha Franklin made an appearance on the show during April 2006, almost a year after his run on "American Idol".In August 2004, Robinson successfully auditioned for Season Four of "Idol" in Washington, DC. He proceeded to the Top 12, but was voted off on April 20, 2005 (the day before his 26th birthday), after his performance of
Earth Wind and Fire 's "September" during 1970s dance music week. Only six contestants remained after Robinson's departure.He went on to tour with the Top 10 contestants of Season Four and sang for over 500,000 people in over 40 cities in the United States and Canada.
Robinson has completed an album of cover songs entitled "The Truth (About Love)". A CD sampler was previously available from his fan site. Then, he began working on original material for his second album, "The Truth II", according to his MySpace. Also, Anwar lent his voice to the project, "InSPIRATION", a collection of inspirational songs composed by Reverend Nolan Williams, Jr. which was released in 2006.
Mr. Robinson also had the opportunity to serve as the Vice-Chairperson of the "Celebrity Read Program" for the United Way of West Essex and Hudson Counties in New Jersey during the 2007 term.
Recently, Anwar took on the role of "Collins" in the 2007-2008 National/International Tour of Jonathan Larson's iconic Rock Opera, "
RENT ". The tour made stops in over 40 cities in the United States, Canada (Toronto, London, & Kitchener, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta), and Japan (Tokyo and Osaka). [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/110912.html Playbill News: "Idol" Finalists Will Join Rent Tour This Fall ] ]In addition to the "RENT" Tour, Anwar has made his film debut in Renowned Director/Writer/Actor Maurice Jamal's "The Ski Trip 2: Friends and Lovers" as "Owen". The film debuted on July 13, 2008 at the Fairfax Regency Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Moreover, during the final week of the "RENT" tour, Anwar was allowed to leave the tour for one night to debut with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in the Prudential Hall of the
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on June 25, 2008. This was a fundraising concert for the 13th Annual Community Partners and was conducted by the renowned Maestro Thomas Wilkins.Since then, Anwar has participated in "Idols In Concert" at the newly built Rrazz Room at San Francisco's Hotel Nikko, was asked to play the lead role of "Raymond Tyler, Jr" in the musical adaptation of
E. Lynn Harris ' award-winning novel, "Invisible Life", during the July 2008 workshop with score composers-world-renowned songwriters,Ashford & Simpson , and has resumed his work on his album of original songs for fall release 2008.Performances on "American Idol"
Week# Song Original Artist Result Top 24 Moon River Andy Williams Safe Top 20 What's Going On Marvin Gaye Safe Top 16 What A Wonderful World Louis Armstrong Safe Top 12 A House Is Not a Home Dionne Warwick Safe Top 11 Ain't Nobody Chaka Khan Safe Top 10 I Believe I Can Fly R. Kelly Bottom 2 Top 9 If Ever I Would Leave You From "Camelot" Safe Top 8 I'll Never Love This Way Again Dionne Warwick Safe Top 7 September Earth, Wind, and Fire Eliminated References
External links
*AI contestant|4|anwar_robinson|Anwar Robinson
* [http://www.anwarmusic.com/ Anwar Robinson MySpace Page]
* [http://www.anwarrobinsonfansite.com/ Anwar Robinson Fan Site]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1869247/ Anwar Robinson at Internet Movie Database (IMDb)]
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