Numa Numa

There are now at least ten different versions of Numa Numa video, listed below. Blige, Usher, Fantasia , Beyonce, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Alicia Keys, Elton John, Celine Dion, Wyclef Jean, Babyface, Patti LaBelle, John Legend, Angie Stone, and Jamie Foxx. It is very popular even with many teenagers and is often sung by children at schools. The artists on this compilation include Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Gary Brolsma continues this style of word-play in his "Numa Numa" video, in which someone super-imposed several pictures onto his dance routine, among them pictures of "feta cheese" during the lyric "fericirea" ("happiness") and a LEGO representation of Bob Ross during the singer's words: "sunt eu Picasso" ("it's me, Picasso"). The album is a collection of some of Luther's songs performed by various artists. In an interview, in answer to the question "What is the song in the video?" Gary responds: "The song was pretty random, I found it in another (I believe it was Japanese) flash animation with cartoon cats or something." The 2channel version may seem completely random, but the images and text are a series of puns based on interpreting the lyrics of the song as English or Japanese words that they sound like (for instance, in the first line, Alo = Arrow/Alone/Arlong(A character of One Piece) (or Hello, ), salut = saru [monkey], sunt eu = sugee [incredible], un = un [yes], haiduc = haidoku [to read], şi te rog = ji bero [tongue characters]), and "fericirea" = panchira (upskirt). On September 20th the album "So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross" was released.

It was one of, if not the original. In 2002, BET put the question to Vandross in an interview televised on its show Journeys in Black. Vandross refused to address questions of his sexuality, and instead told BET it was none of their business and separated his personal life from his professional one. The Japanese 2channel version actually preceded Gary Brolsma's video. Vandross was as famous for keeping his personal life private as he was for his singing. One version even includes a sim from the computer game The Sims 2 dancing to the song, but none have ever come close to the international cult-like following of Gary Brolsma's. The entertainer said his "busy lifestyle" made marriage difficult; and indicated that "it was not what he wanted.". There are a number of other videos using the song, including several Japanese cartoons based on 2channel Shift JIS art and a LEGO dancing video. The "lifelong bachelor" never had any children, but doted on his nieces and nephews.

Brolsma has stopped taking phone calls from the media; he canceled an appearance on NBC's Today Show on February 17, 2005, and he did not cooperate with The New York Times for their February 26, 2005 article about him. There have been many questions regarding Vandross' sexuality, mainly due to the fact that he remained a bachelor all of his life. According to The New York Times, Brolsma has become an "unwilling and embarrassed Web celebrity". He has been quoted as calling Vandross "a very worthy rival," and "one of the best singers in the music industry.". Reportedly, he was not happy with his fame, although he happily created tweaked versions of the video after it became popular (see below). However, since Vandross' death, Jackson's feelings have turned noticeably softer. Brolsma lives in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. Even some music critics joked, "Well, it's a shame that Luther Vandross and Freddie Jackson never did 'The Girl is Mine' together!".

Since then it has popped up on hundreds of other websites and blogs, and he has made appearances on ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's The Tonight Show and VH1's Best Week Ever. When the song came out, Brandy was often compared to Vandross, and Monica was inserted into Jackson's role. Gary Brolsma first published his "Numa Numa Dance" on the Newgrounds site on December 12, 2004. Because of this, they are blamed for inspiring future rivalries in R&B/hip-hop music, especially that of Brandy and Monica, who recorded a duet called "The Boy is Mine" in 1998.
The phrase "Numa Numa" comes from the words from a refrain of the song, "nu mǎ, nu mă, nu mă iei", meaning, roughly, "(you) won't take, won't take me". Many times, Vandross and Jackson were very unfriendly to each other, and their encounters were often heated. . Vandross' best-known rivalry was the one with Freddie Jackson, which was started in the mid-1980s.

Specifically, it refers to a Flash-based video of 19-year-old American Gary Brolsma (born July 7, 1986) lip-synching the song energetically on his webcam. In later years, artists like Gerald Levert, James Ingram and Phil Collins shared friendly rivalries with him. Numa Numa is an Internet phenomenon based on the Moldovan Romanian pop song "Dragostea Din Tei" by O-Zone. In the early stages of his solo career, Vandross' rivals included Peabo Bryson, Teddy Pendergrass and Jeffrey Osborne. According to the description, it was created by two brothers who were "bored and had nothing to do.". It was with Beyoncé that he recorded yet another cover of a well-known song, "The Closer I Get To You", originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. Sock Puppet Numa Numa: This flash video shows a sock puppet singing the Numa Numa. Besides Studdard, Vandross also inspired countless other artists, both male and female, such as Boyz II Men, Usher, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Brandy.

HII!!!: This flash video shows Mario and Luigi fighting for the honor of dancing to the Numa Numa. Vandross inspired his J Records labelmate, Ruben Studdard, the American Idol of 2003. Numa Gone Wild: This is an interesting Flash movie of a man who detests the Numa Numa, which is shown with comical results. His hit "Love Power" included snippets of the soul classic "The Power of Love." Another hit, "Bad Boy (Having a Party)," contained a passage from Sam Cooke's "Having a Party.". Numa Numa PopoZão: Kevin Federline's obnoxious PopoZão video remixed to Numa Numa [[2]]. Vandross did many covers of older songs, such as "Since I Lost My Baby" (originally recorded by The Temptations), "Superstar (Until You Come Back To Me)" (originally recorded by The Carpenters and most recently covered by Ruben Studdard), "Love Won't Let Me Wait" (originally recorded by Major Harris), "Always and Forever" (originally recorded by Heatwave), "Knocks Me Off My Feet" (originally recorded by Stevie Wonder), and "Lovely Day" (originally recorded by Bill Withers), and "A House is Not A Home", a Burt Bacharach standard. It can be viewed at [[1]]. Vandross was inspired by the soul divas of the 1960s: Dionne Warwick, Patti Labelle & the Bluebells, Diana Ross & the Supremes and Aretha Franklin, for whom he eventually produced a few albums.

Hebrew Numa: This version became VERY popular in Israel when it was used as the theme song of a children's song contest. After two days of viewing, Vandross was buried in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey. Red Vs Blue Numa Numa: The members of the Red vs Blue Community have also created a version of this video, as a tribute to the original using footage from various members of the site, as well as pieces of the original. His funeral was in New York on July 8, 2005. It can be found at newgrounds.com. We lost Luther very early because of his medical condition, but his legacy will be a powerful legacy.". Napoleon Dynamite Numa Numa Dance: This version was made by fans of the flash video and shows a clip from the popular movie Napoleon Dynamite where he is shown dancing to the hit song. Jesse Jackson, a friend of Vandross, described him as "a boy so mellow, so powerful; a boy of rare, rare vintage.

Brolsma is introduced last and performs on the stage with his trademark skyward arm thrusts. The Rev. It does feature a longer runtime as it introduces all of the 2005 American Idol finalists, and the judges complete with caricatures. It was reported that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends. Done in Flash animation, it parodies the original nicely. At this time, the cause of death is not known, although hospital spokesman Rob Cavanaugh has said that Vandross never recovered from the 2003 stroke. American Idle: This may not be so much a version, but a tribute. He was 54.

Also known as "The Talent Show". Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey. This version is still hosted on Newgrounds as of December 15th, 2005. On the videotape on which Vandross appeared he sent an emotional message that said: "Whenever I say goodbye it's never for long because I believe in the power of love." Vandross died on July 1, 2005 at John F. Numa Numa Relived: This version has recently become available on Newgrounds, and features a video of what appears to be decent quality video capture of a boy who is only identified as "Dean" at a Cable access or public televison talent show in Ozark, Missouri called "Wednesday Night Live." This version is notable as it shows the full dance, as done on stage. (Although the cause of Vandross' stroke was not specifically attributed to diabetes, diabetics have been identified as being much more susceptible to strokes.) Although he appeared briefly on videotape at the 2004 Grammys to accept his Song of the Year award, he was never seen in public again. Special Edition: This version is available on newgrounds.com and allows viewers to choose to view a cleaned up version without pictures, and with or without subtitles. On April 16, 2003, Vandross suffered a stroke in his home in Manhattan.

The version was lost when Brolsma's website was shut down due to bandwidth limitations. Luther Jr.'s two sisters and a brother also predeceased him. Real High Quality: This version, made by Brolsma himself, is in sync and is of very high quality. was eight years old. High Quality: This version, made by one of Brolsma's friends, is off-sync, but has noticeably improved video quality. His father, Luther Sr., died of complications from diabetes when Luther Jr. This one is rarely seen online. His weight fluctuated several times over the years, and Vandross had weighed over 300 pounds (136 kg) at his heaviest.

The subtitled version: This version was made by fans of the band who sang the music, who were upset in regard to the song being given no credit. Vandross had diabetes, a disease that ran in his family, as well as hypertension. The movie contains pictures that were popular at the time. The stars include Beyonce, Ruben Studdard, Stevie Wonder and Quincy Jones submitted home videos or pictures of their families for the music video. The movie screen was noticeably small and low in quality. The video for the title track features a various celebreties alongside their dads and family members. The Original: The original version submitted by Gary Brolsma to Newgrounds.com. The album was also the first album by Vandross to reach #1 on the Billboard album chart.

The song also won Vandross his fourth and final award in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category. The title track, which was dedicated to the memory of the younger Vandross' childhood dances with his father, won Luther and his co-writer, singer Richard Marx, the 2004 Grammy Award for Song Of The Year. In 2003, Vandross released the album Dance With My Father in memory of his father. His first album on Clive Davis' new label, entitled Luther Vandross, was released in 2001, and it produced the hits "Take You Out," "Grown Thangs" and "I'd Rather.".

After recording "I Know" on Virgin Records, he signed with J Records. A second greatest hits album, released in 1997, compiled most of his 1990s hits and was his final record released through Epic Records. In the Grammy Awards of 1997, he won his third Best Male R&B Vocal for the track "Your Secret Love". He also sang a duet with Frank Sinatra on Sinatra's Duets album.

Vandross hit the top ten again in 1994 with "Endless Love", a duet with Mariah Carey and a cover of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's hit song from the film Endless Love. In 1993, Vandross had a nonspeaking role in the Robert Townsend movie Meteor Man. He played a hit man who plotted to stop Townsend's title character. In 1992, "The Best Things in Life are Free", a duet with Janet Jackson from the movie Mo' Money became a hit. He won his second Best Male R&B Vocal in the Grammy Awards of 1992 with the track "Power of Love/Love Power" winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in the same year.

More albums followed in the 1990s, beginning with 1991's Power of Love which spawned two top ten pop hits. His songs also became popular on smooth jazz radio. In addition, the song allowed him to expand his musical horizons beyond R&B. "Here and Now" became a staple at weddings, and on Soft AC radio.

He also won his first award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in the Grammy Awards of 1991. The 1989 compilation of greatest hits, The Best Of Luther Vandross...The Best Of Love, included the ballad "Here And Now", the first Vandross single to chart in the Billboard pop chart Top Ten. (Franklin saw some moderate commercial success with those Vandross-produced tracks after a long chart absence.). He was also in demand as a producer; he was at the helm for Aretha Franklin's albums "Jump To It" and "Get It Right".

He also sang duets with Dionne Warwick and Cheryl Lynn. During the 1980s, Vandross had two other singles that reached #1 on the R&B charts: "Stop to Love" in 1986 and a duet with Gregory Hines "There's Nothing Better Than Love". Vandross had more modest success on the pop charts during this time. Although the albums were very successful overall, many of his earlier albums made a much bigger impact on the R&B charts.

Vandross released a series of million-selling albums during the 1980s and continued his session work with guest vocals on groups like Charme in 1982. Their 1980 hits, "The Glow of Love" and "Searching" led to a recording contract with Epic Records, and in 1981, he made his solo recording debut with the LP "Never Too Much." The album, which contained the track "A House is Not a Home" went double platinum, with the song "Never Too Much" reaching #1 on the R&B charts. He eventually made his breakthrough as a guest singer with the group Change. His lead vocals can be heard on the Gregg Diamond produced single "Hot Butterfly" from Bionic Boogie in 1978 which gained moderate nightclub success.

He created and/or sang jingles for such well known advertising campaigns as Kentucky Fried Chicken's "We Do Chicken Right," NBC's "Proud As A Peacock" & The US Army's "Be All You Can Be." Vandross continued his successful career as a popular session singer during the late 70's. Vandross also wrote and sang commercials jingles during the late 1970s & early '80s earning upwards of $600,000 per year around the New York area. Vandross bought back the rights to these albums after the record label dropped the group, preventing their later re-release. The group had a successful single entitled "It's Good for the Soul," although their two albums - the self-titled "Luther" in 1976 and "This Close to You" in 1977 - failed to make an impact.

Before his breakthrough, he released two albums with a singing group he formed, also called Luther, on Cotillion Records. She believed he was an incredible talent who, in addition to his songwriting and production skills, deserved to be heard for his si. Roberta Flack pushed Vandross into starting his own career. During the beginning of his career, Vandross was content to remain mostly in the background, as a producer and backup singer for other artists.

Vandross also sang backing vocals for Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Chic, and Barbra Streisand. He ended up singing background vocals on Bowie's album Young Americans.. Vandross wrote "Everybody Rejoice," for the 1972 show The Wiz. However, Vandross had dropped out of the music scene when a friend from theater workshop invited him to sing in David Bowie's soul-influenced Diamond Dogs tour and appear as the opening act with the Mike Garson Band in 1974. His next recording credit was on an album by Roberta Flack in 1972.

He was also a member of a theater workshop at the time and appeared on the first episode of Sesame Street in October 1969. His first recording credit was as producer of the album Soul Christmas in 1968 and appeared as a vocalist on a Quincy Jones album Best in 1969. Vandross formed a vocal group in high school which once played at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. He knew then that he wanted to be a singer.

His life-changing moment came when at the age of 13 he heard Dionne Warwick sing Anyone Who Had A Heart (a song he would cover in his later years). His sister sang with vocal group The Crests who had a number one hit in the early 1960's with "Sixteen Candles." Vandross' father died of diabetes when Vandross was eight years old. Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, Vandross grew up in a musical family that moved to the Bronx when he was 13. .

He won four Grammy awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance With My Father," co-written with Richard Marx. During his career, Vandross sold 25 million albums and won eight Grammy awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. Luther Ronzoni Vandross, Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American R&B singer. ISBN: 0060594187.

New York: Harper. Luther : The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross. (2004). 2004 "Dance with My Father" #38 US, #21 UK.

from Dance with My Father