Todd Alsup is an American pianist and singer-songwriter based in New York City. He has been profiled in

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

and Performing Songwriter and featured on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

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, and Sirius XM Radio. He has toured throughout the United States and Europe.

Early life and education

Alsup was born and raised in Waterford, Michigan and began studying piano at the age of 11. He graduated from

Waterford Mott High School Mott High School or Waterford Mott High School is a public high school in the Waterford School District located in Waterford, Michigan. The official name of the high school is Charles S. Mott High School, named for the automotive industry pion ...

and moved to New York City where he attended the

Steinhardt School The New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (commonly referred to as Steinhardt) is the secondary liberal arts and education school of New York University. It is one of the only schools in the world of i ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

in vocal performance.

Career

Alsup began performing his original songs in Manhattan clubs in 2007. His first EP release "Facts & Figures" was produced by Major Who Media and received favorable press including features in

and Performing Songwriter. In 2008, Alsup was selected to be a Yamaha Corporate Artist, joining an impressive list of legendary artists including

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

and John Legend representing the

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

brand. In 2009, Alsup began touring colleges and universities up and down the East Coast. His follow-up LP, "Todd Alsup" (released in 2011) was produced by Steve Greenwell, Jeremy Sklarsky and James Walsh. The album features the singles "How I'm Made," "The Only Thing," and "Let's Have A Party" (which was featured on

's "The Real World: New Orleans"). In November 2010, Alsup's song "How I'm Made" became a Top 12 Finalist, alongside artists Lucius in the 5th Annual Songwriters Circle Contest in New York City. Past winners include

Kate Voegele Kate Elizabeth Voegele (; born December 8, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She made her musical debut in 2003, with the release of her ''The Other Side'' extended play. She performed numerous local live shows to promote the a ...

, Company of Thieves, and

Mieka Pauley Mary Dominica Pauley (born October 22, 1980) more commonly known as Mieka Pauley, is an American singer-songwriter. Personal and career Pauley was born in Boston and raised in Ohio, Kentucky, South Florida, and Colorado, where she attended Cher ...

. Placing in the Top 5, word of Alsup's talent reached legendary music industry blogger

Bob Lefsetz Robert Scott "Bob" Lefsetz (born April 22, 1953) is an American music industry analyst and critic. He is the author of ''The Lefsetz Letter'', an email newsletter and a blog. Background Lefsetz grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut and is a graduate ...

. "If this record came out when I was in college everybody would know who Todd Alsup was", Lefsetz writes. "If you think this guy has no talent you know nothing". A club remix of the single "The Only Thing," produced by legendary DJ Richard Cutmore was released in 2011 and "The Only Thing" won the 2012 OutMusic Award for "Pop Song of the Year." In March 2012, Alsup was invited to perform at the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City. The following month he was invited by

to showcase alongside

Vanessa Carlton Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Upon completion of her education at the School of American Ballet, Carlton chose to pursue singing instead, performing in New York City bars and clubs while ...

Jon McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaugh ...

, and

Landon Pigg Landon Pigg (born August 6, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Early life, education and childhood career Pigg was born in Nashville, Tennessee. When he was a child, his family moved to Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago ...

's annual entertainment conference, hosted by the comedian

Sinbad (entertainer) David Adkins (born November 10, 1956), better known by his stage name Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known in the 1990s from being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series such as C ...

. Alsup is currently in the studio completing his third studio album. The project was funded in part by fans (known as the Todd Squad) via a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign in April 2015. The work on this project was done across continents with Swiss producer Orlando Ribar. Much of the recording was done in Switzerland and additional recording was done at Threshold Studios in New York City.

Discography

* 2008: Facts & Figures (EP) * 2011: Todd Alsup (LP) * 2011: The Only Thing (Cutmore Mixes) * 2012: Todd Alsup Live at Sirius XM (EP)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alsup, Todd Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists American male pianists American male singer-songwriters American rock pianists American rock singers American rock songwriters People from Waterford, Michigan Singer-songwriters from Michigan Singer-songwriters from New York (state)