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Forte (; styled as FORTE) is a
classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differ ...
operatic pop Operatic pop or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic singing style or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The subgenre is often performed by classical crossover singers and acts, although that ...
trio comprising
tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
s Josh Page,
Sean Panikkar Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...
and Hana Ryu. Forte was created specifically for season eight of ''
America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...
'' (''AGT'') in 2013. After weeks of preparation online, the three original members met in person just two days before their first performance together; afterward, the show's rules forced the group to make a personnel change. The new lineup advanced to the final round in September, where Forte finished in fourth place. Following their elimination, the men accepted a recording contract offered by representatives of
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, who were waiting for them in the hallway offstage. Forte has since performed at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
and the
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, and has been the featured guest at numerous charity
galas In Greek mythology, Galas (; Ancient Greek: Γάλας ''Gálas'') was the eponymous founder of the Gauls. He was the son of Polyphemos and Galatea and the brother of Illyrius and Celtus In Greek mythology, Celtus (; grc, Κέλτος ''Keltos'' ...
. The group was the first finalist from season eight to headline a show in Las Vegas. Their self-titled debut album, released in November 2013, peaked at number 3 on the ''
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'' Classical Albums chart. Forte's second album, ''The Future Classics'', presents their operatic take on contemporary popular songs and features an original piece using the theme music composed for ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
''.


History


Background

Josh Page of Suffern, New York, won the " David Foster and Friends" competition in 2009. When Page was pulled from the audience at a 2011 Josh Groban concert to sing a duet with Groban, the resulting video went
viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
.
Sean Panikkar Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...
was born and raised in
Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania Bloomsburg is a town and the county seat of Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located southwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre along the Susquehanna River. It is the only ...
, the second son of
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
n immigrants. He is an established
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
performer, and has sung for such opera companies as the Pittsburgh Opera and the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
, and at such venues as
La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
. Hana Ryu studied at the Korea National University of Arts in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea. He came to the United States on a student visa, choosing in 2012 to pursue a Master of Music degree at
Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...
. Recurring member Fernando Varela was born in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
and raised in central Florida. Like Page, Varela won a David Foster competition, "Born to Sing", in 2011.


Formation: ''America's Got Talent''

In 2013, founding members Page and Varela met online, where Varela saw the
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video of Page with Groban. Page suggested that they form "a new kind of tenor group" to compete on ''
America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...
'' (''AGT''). They found Ryu during an online search, and spent the next few weeks preparing for their audition in Los Angeles, which came just two days after the three met in person for the first time. Forte's performance of "
Pie Jesu "Pie Jesu" ( ; original Latin: "Pie Iesu" ) is a text from the final couplet of the hymn " Dies irae", and is often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass as a motet. The phrase means " pious Jesus" in the vocative. Popular settings The s ...
" won praise from the judges; Howard Stern said they had the element of surprise because they looked like schlubs, but next time "we're going to know that you're not schlubs, but you're fantastic singers".
Howie Mandel Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film ''Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. I ...
said the trio was like the premise to a joke: a Latino, a Korean and a New Yorker "walk into a bar, and record a giant hit record. You guys are phenomenal." Before the group could perform again, ''AGT'' producers learned about Ryu's visa status; he was in the United States legally, but the show's rules rendered him ineligible to compete for the winning prize. Page and Varela found Panikkar in time for their next performance in Las Vegas, where they were sent directly to sing in front of the show's producers. Varela called it a stressful week, during which the new trio had to learn how to work together, and on a song Panikkar didn't know. When the men faced the judges,
Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...
asked them to explain the personnel change, and said it was like a second audition. After Forte sang " The Prayer", Stern said to the other judges, "the new guy is the strongest singer." The re-formed group continued to advance in the competition; in the rounds to follow, Forte performed songs including " Somewhere" and " Unchained Melody" to audience ovations and judges' praise, After their finale performance of " Caruso", Mel B said, "it's funny to think that you three came together and performed first on this show. You would never know that—it's like you're professionals, and you've been together forever." and an eventual fourth-place finish. Though the men later expressed disappointment with the outcome, Panikkar said they never expected to win the competition.


Career


2013–2014: ''FORTE'' and concert appearances

Following Forte's elimination from ''America's Got Talent'', representatives of
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
"literally stopped us in the hallway as we were leaving the stage", and Panikkar, Page and Varela signed on. Their self-titled CD was recorded within the next seven days and released in November 2013; ''FORTE'' spent two weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, peaking at No. 76. The album reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Classical Albums chart, and debuted at No. 2 on
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's best sellers list and No. 1 at
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
. Forte's live performances in 2013 included the Music of Hope concert at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
, where their fans raised more than US$3,000 for the
Golden Hat Foundation The Golden Hat Foundation is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit organisation founded by actress Kate Winslet and Margret Ericsdottir in 2010. The two met while Winslet was filming the documentary ''A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism'', whi ...
, and the
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lighting ceremony at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. Forte was the first act from season eight of ''AGT'' to headline a show in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, performing at the
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for three nights in December. In March 2014, Forte was the closing act for the 8th annual Festival of the Arts Boca in
Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...
, where they performed to multiple standing ovations. ''Palm Beach ArtsPaper'' said the men were coaxed back onto the stage for two encores, the second coming after "the thunderous applause refused to die down." In April, the trio was the featured act at the Central City Opera Theater of Dreams Gala in
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, and followed that with a performance at the Fort Worth Opera Festival.


2015–present: Ryu's return and ''The Future Classics''

Fernando Varela returned to Florida in mid-2014 to embark on a solo tour, while performing as part of Forte into December. Original member Hana Ryu succeeded Varela in 2015; Page, Panikkar and Ryu began work on their second album, ''The Future Classics'', which was funded by a
crowdsourcing Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...
campaign though PledgeMusic. The album was conceived as Forte's spin on popular music, including such songs as " Burn", " Collide" and " Free Fallin'". Producer Zach Page said the idea came after ''FORTE'' was marketed as an
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
-style album, which the men believed was the wrong approach. Instead, the "production muscle" of the follow-up album was intended to captivate listeners as Forte had done with their performances on ''AGT''. ''The Future Classics'' was self-released digitally on February 2, 2016, to those who had taken part in the campaign; CDs were shipped on April 11. The first single, "Game of Thrones", was inspired by the soundtrack for the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series, which Josh Page called "the perfect subject matter to justify an epic opera performance." Since its theme had no lyrics, Page adapted High Valyrian text from ''Game of Thrones'' and set it to the music composed by Ramin Djawadi. The video for the single was
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over two days' time at Sands Point on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, and self-released by Forte in February 2015."Game of Thrones". A1. (Forte). 2015. It was a top-five hit on YouTube's "Just-Released Music Videos" list in March. When the video was shared by the official ''Game of Thrones''
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account, Page said, "it knocked the air out of me." In concert in August 2015, Forte joined David Foster,
Nathan Gunn Nathan T. Gunn (born November 26, 1970, in South Bend, Indiana) is an American operatic baritone who performs regularly around the world. He is an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he is currently a professor of vo ...
and ''America's Got Talent'' season 9 runner-up
Emily West Emily Marie Nemmers (born July 9, 1981) is an American music artist, who performs and records under the name Emily West. Signed to Capitol Records Nashville, she debuted on ''Billboard's'' Hot Country Songs charts in early 2008 with the single " ...
at the 11th Annual Charles Evans PCF Pro-Am Tennis Tournament Gala in Southampton, New York. Forte was the headline act on September 28 at the Bloomsburg Fair. The group joined Foster for three charity events in October: the Carousel Ball in Denver, Colorado; the Global Lyme Alliance Gala in New York City; and the Tradition of Hope Gala in Los Angeles. Also in October, they gave three performances for the Hope On the Hill Gala at the
Van Andel Institute Van Andel Institute (VAI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit biomedical research and science education organization in Grand Rapids, Michigan. VAI was founded by Jay and Betty Van Andel in 1996. The institute's research focuses on cancer epigenetics a ...
. In December, Forte joined Gunn,
Isabel Leonard Isabel Leonard (born February 18, 1982) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer based in New York City. She is of Argentine ancestry on her mother's side. Education Leonard was born in New York City. For five years she sang with the Manhattan S ...
and
John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...
in performance at the
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
Prostate Cancer Foundation 2015 New York Dinner in New York City. Forte headlined a benefit for Catholic Charities of Buffalo in June 2016 at
Kleinhans Music Hall Kleinhans Music Hall is a concert venue located on Symphony Circle in Buffalo, New York. The hall "is renowned for its acoustical excellence and graceful architecture." Kleinhans is currently the home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, a regu ...
. Their first appearance in 2017 was at Tydings Auditorium in
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
in February. In March, Forte joined Broadway and Hollywood artists including
Liz Callaway Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in ''Anastasia'', Odette in ''Th ...
,
Annie Golden Annie Golden (born October 19, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She first came to prominence as the lead singer of the punk band the Shirts from 1975 to 1981 with whom she recorded three albums. She began her acting career as Mother in ...
, Telly Leung and Chris Mann to cover " With a Little Help from My Friends", a single and video to benefit Americans for the Arts. Forte released a video cover of the ''
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...
'' theme in October. Forte joined the NAMM Show in January 2018, headlining the show's Grand Rally for Music Education. For this performance, the trio comprised Page, Alok Kumar and Victor Ryan Robertson. In May, Forte joined
season six A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
''
America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...
'' winner
Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. (born August 11, 1974) is an American jazz singer from Logan County, West Virginia. He received national attention for winning the sixth season of the NBC reality show '' America's Got Talent''. Landau has released a t ...
to headline Opera Grand Rapids' 50th Anniversary Night with the Opera Gala. Founding member Fernando Varela joined Page and Panikkar for this appearance, and Varela also performed with Forte in February 2019 at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center. Page and Varela performed in March 2020 as part of Four Divo along with Craig Irvin and Devin Eatman. The concerts at The Sharon were organized by Varela to benefit earthquake victims in his native Puerto Rico. In December, Page, Panikkar and Ryu released the music video for their cover of " Without You" from ''The Future Classics''; the video includes scenes shot in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, in 2016.


Critical reception


Genre

''OperaPulse'' listed its Top Ten Best Things to Happen to Opera In the 21st Century, and the collaboration between Broadway,
pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...
and
prime-time television Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
ranked No. 2. The ''
Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. It has spawned spin-offs in over 69 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Fremantle ...
'' franchise, and specifically contestants Forte and Paul Potts, were singled out for helping the operatic genre redefine itself.


Releases

''
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
'' called ''FORTE'' "close-up, clear, and full of presence, so the artists' individual qualities are easily distinguished." The ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal'' ...
'' called it "basically a 'greatest hits' of '
popera Operatic pop or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic singing style or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The subgenre is often performed by classical crossover singers and acts, although that ...
.
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said Forte's "Game of Thrones" video is "an incredible homage to the series" that gave them chills. Revision3 named it an editor's pick for Forte's "glorious voices, and swords forged only of the finest Valyrian steel." Classic FM awarded "most epic cover" status to "a magnificently camp video in which the three tenors run around in fancy dress, and indulge boyhood fantasies of being master swordsmen."


Performances

"Forte riveted the audience with phenomenal performances" at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in 2013, wrote ''MasterClass Lady''. The group's 2014 appearance in
Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, received a mixed review from ''TheaterJones'': since only Panikkar is "truly an opera singer", the three voices blending was "sometimes compelling, sometimes problematic. ... Still, ... with more time together, Forte could be the talent America's looking for."


Discography


Singles

* " Caruso" (2013)"Caruso". A1. (Columbia). 2013. * "Game of Thrones" (2015)


Albums

* ''FORTE'' (2013) * ''The Future Classics'' (2016)


See also

*
Cami Bradley Carmen Jane "Cami" Bradley (born May 26, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist from Spokane, Washington. Bradley gained fame in 2013 as a contestant on season eight of ''America's Got Talent'', during which she advanced to the ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forte (vocal group) American musical trios American vocal groups America's Got Talent contestants Musical groups established in 2013 Opera crossover singers Tenor vocal groups Vocal trios 2013 establishments in the United States