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Robert Howard Cantor is an American singer-songwriter and creator of multiple
viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
s. He is mostly known as a vocalist, guitarist, and co-writer for the "fabloo" indie rock band
Tally Hall Tally Hall is an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December 2002. The band is known for upbeat melodies and whimsical lyrics. The members originally described their musical style as "wonky rock," later redefining their sound ...
. In addition, Cantor is also known for his solo work as a
comedy music Comedy music or musical comedy is a genre of music that is comic or humorous in nature. Its history can be traced back to the first century in ancient Greece and Rome, moving forward in time to the Medieval Period, Classical and Romantic eras ...
ian and viral video creator, particularly from the viral comedy song "
Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...
", in which actor
Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...
is depicted as a
cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...
istic
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
. His other work has included a solo album titled ''Not a Trampoline'', and another viral video, "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song".


Early life

Cantor was born and raised in
Bloomfield Hills Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern bo ...
, Michigan. Later, in 2002, while attending
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, he formed
Tally Hall Tally Hall is an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December 2002. The band is known for upbeat melodies and whimsical lyrics. The members originally described their musical style as "wonky rock," later redefining their sound ...
with bassist Zubin Sedghi and musician
Andrew Horowitz Tally Hall is an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December 2002. The band is known for upbeat melodies and whimsical lyrics. The members originally described their musical style as "wonky rock," later redefining their soun ...
. He majored in
molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...
, with a minor in nonprofessional music. He graduated in 2005, and turned down a full scholarship to
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
in order to pursue music full-time with Tally Hall.


Career


Tally Hall

Between 2002 and 2011, Cantor performed as a guitarist and vocalist of the
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
-based band
Tally Hall Tally Hall is an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December 2002. The band is known for upbeat melodies and whimsical lyrics. The members originally described their musical style as "wonky rock," later redefining their sound ...
. Tally Hall is currently on hiatus. The band's five members are distinguished by the color of their neckties, with Cantor's signature color being yellow. Cantor's career as a member of Tally Hall saw the release of two full-length albums: ''
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, is an arcade/museum devoted to a large collection of coin-operated animatronic dummies, mechanical games and other oddities. Exhibits include, for example, the classic ...
'' (2005), '' Good & Evil'' (2011). The band also released one full demo album, titled ''
Complete Demos ''Complete Demos'' is the compendium of Tally Hall's first two EP disks, ''Welcome to Tally Hall'' and ''Party Boobytrap'', both of which were recorded in Joe Hawley's attic. " Good Day" won Andrew Horowitz $10,000 in the 2004 BMI Foundation's Joh ...
'' (2004).


Viral videos

Since 2011, Cantor has worked on multiple viral projects, including songs and corresponding
viral videos A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
, posted on his
SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
and YouTube pages. In 2012, he released the
comedy songs A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...
"
Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, including ...
Is at Your Party" and "
Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...
" (also known as "Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf"). In the latter, Cantor narrates a story about the actor
Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...
as a
cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...
istic
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
. Cantor posted a demo of the song to his SoundCloud page, from which it spread virally. On July 1, 2014, Cantor posted a video titled "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song", in which he and Tally Hall member Andrew Horowitz performed Cantor's song "Perfect" in 29 different celebrity impressions. A week later, he released a
making-of In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK (electronic press kit) vid ...
video, demonstrating that the act was a
hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
done through audio and video editing, and in fact featured 11 different impressionists. On October 21, 2014, Cantor posted a video titled "'Shia LaBeouf' – Live", the music video to his 2012 song of the same name. The video is a mockup of a live concert, featuring numerous dancers and performers, primarily the
Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) is an amateur choral group composed of gay men from the Los Angeles area. Established in 1979, GMCLA has grown in size, gained professional artistic and administrative staff, toured nationally and int ...
, the West Los Angeles Children's Choir, and the Argus Quartet. At the end of the video, the actor Shia LaBeouf is seen applauding the performance, in a parody of a scene from ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
''. Cantor has stated that the video took four months to organize and one day to shoot, and that it was worked on by 161 people, including Cantor's former musical collaborators Zubin Sedghi, Bora Karaca and Zach Krasman.


''Not a Trampoline'' and other work

During Tally Hall's hiatus, Cantor has focused on his solo career, working as a commercial songwriter and eventually releasing a solo album, ''Not a Trampoline'', in 2014. In recent years, Cantor has done a notable amount of work with
Disney Junior Disney Junior is an American pay television network owned by the Walt Disney Television (part of Disney General Entertainment Content) unit of The Walt Disney Company through Disney Branded Television. Aimed mainly at children two to seven yea ...
contributing his musical talents to the soundtracks of multiple shows, including '' T.O.T.S.'' and ''
The Ghost and Molly McGee , creator = Bill Motz & Bob Roth , voices = {{Plainlist, * Ashly Burch * Dana Snyder * Jordan Klepper * Sumalee Montano * Michaela Dietz , theme_music_composer = {{Plainlist, * Michael Kramer * Allie Feder , opent ...
''. He frequently partners with Genevieve Goings in producing Disney-affiliated nursery rhymes, lullabies, and other simple children's songs, and ''
The Ghost and Molly McGee , creator = Bill Motz & Bob Roth , voices = {{Plainlist, * Ashly Burch * Dana Snyder * Jordan Klepper * Sumalee Montano * Michaela Dietz , theme_music_composer = {{Plainlist, * Michael Kramer * Allie Feder , opent ...
'' features one-minute Cantor originals once per each episode.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantor, Rob 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American comedy musicians American male singer-songwriters Living people Singer-songwriters from Michigan University of Michigan alumni 1983 births