Justin Bieber article written by Ashton Pike, a young writer

WHO IS ASHTON? Ashton Pike is sixteen years old. She does not aspire to be a writer. She IS a writer. Her articles have been published and she wrote and sent this to me. She wants to write for magazines and possibly write a book someday. I believe she will.
I want to thank her for sending this to me. I am glad she was so inspired.

It’s More Than Just a Saying, It’s A Lifestyle
By Ashton PikeJune 15, 2011

Everyone knows the hair flip. Everyone knows that angelic voice as it sings the catchy words to “Baby.” No matter how much some people may deny it, everyone knows Justin Bieber. It’s the Bieber Fever, and it spreads. Fast. In just four short years, the small town Canadian hockey player went from below the poverty line to above and beyond everything he could’ve imagined. Now seventeen years old, Justin Drew Bieber released his first-ever documentary film of his long journey on February 11, 2011. Never Say Never being the title shows Justin’s true charisma for doing what he loves.
Being a true Belieber myself, I was in line the day it came out, dragging my friends along with me. It wasn’t easy trying to get in to see it. I figured if I went around five in the afternoon, the lines wouldn’t be as bad. Wrong. I got to the movie theater around four –thirty, and didn’t see the movie until seven o’clock later that night. Three times I went to buy tickets, and each time it was sold out. Most people would’ve gone home and come back later, but I was determined. I sat on the bench until the next show time, and raced to the ticket booth, and finally on the fourth try, I was holding the official ticket to Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 3D and my heart couldn’t have been beating faster. I was excited!
The opening was phenomenal and creative. It shows the one thing that helped Justin climb to the top of stardom: the internet. Justin was discovered on YouTube after him and his mother, Pattie, posted videos of him singing in a local singing contest, Stratford Idol, so his family who couldn’t attend the shows could watch his amazing performances. Scott “Scooter” Braun was one of the many who happened to stumble upon the videos of Justin performing to artists such as Alicia Keys and Chris Brown. Scooter happened to be looking for new talent under which he could manage, and when he found Justin, he looked no further. Scooter tried everything in his might to get a hold of Justin’s mother, but she was skeptical about the situation. Finally, when the two were able to talk, Justin was on an airplane, his first one ever, to a recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia.
The movie counts down the days until Justin is to perform at Madison Square Garden, which is a major step in any artist’s career. The auditorium sold out in 22 minutes. It holds 22,000 seats. That is 1,000 seats per minute. Absolutely amazing. Justin knows how much his fans do for him, and he is always finding ways to give back. He never forgets where he came from, and is constantly making sure he surrounds himself with people that keep him grounded. Justin connects with his fans mostly through Twitter. Me being a frequent follower in a totally non-creepy way, I’ve witnessed how he asks his fans what they think of things, and how he personally takes the time to follow them. Currently, he is following over 115,000 Beliebers and has over 10,400,000 Beliebers following him. Three years ago, barely anyone knew who he was, now over ten million people have been struck with Bieber Fever.
Never Say Never truly inspired me. After I left the theater, I felt like I could do anything. Some artist say things like “never give up on your dreams,” but they have no real proof of how doing that will get you somewhere. But Justin Bieber is living proof of how anything can happen. One day he’s sitting in his living room strumming to Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake, and the next Justin Timberlake and Usher are fighting over him. All because Scooter Braun happened to click on his YouTube link.
Ever since that movie, now whenever I compete in swim team or cheerleading, Never Say Never is blasting through my headphones. It gives you the message that you CAN do anything if you believe in what you do. Even though I am only a sixteen year old girl writing on her laptop and no professional critic, Never Say Never earns five stars in my book. Unlike any other movie I’ve seen, it SHOWS people what can happen when you believe in yourself and never say never.

Listen NOW to the Enoch Anderson Special on The Paul Leslie Hour

15 Minutes is the new album from the legendary Barry Manilow. Over the past 10 years, Barry Manilow has been wildly successful releasing collections of his renditions of popular songs, including The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. He's recorded songs that make the whole world sing, but his last album of original music was the 2001 release Here at the Mayflower. In 2011, Barry Manilow has shown he's willing to take a chance again. He's released his latest album 15 Minutes, on his own independent label, Stiletto Entertainment. 15 Minutes is a concept album about a 23 year old guitar player who gets caught up in the world of fame. Because it is about a guitarist, the album is more guitar and rock oriented than Manilow's normally piano-driven albums. The album title 15 Minutes is a reference to the 1968 Andy Warhol quote saying "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."

Barry Manilow co-wrote the songs on 15 Minutes with lyricist Enoch Anderson. Enoch Anderson, or Nick as Barry calls him, has been writing lyrics for Barry Manilow since almost the very beginning of Manilow's career as a recording artist. He wrote songs like "I Want to Be Somebody's Baby" and "Sandra" from the album Barry Manilow II, "Break Down the Door" from the album "If I Should Love Again," as well as four songs from the Here at the Mayflower, among others. We are very honored to welcome lyricist Enoch Anderson as our special guest. He joins us to share his story and to talk about the new Barry Manilow album 15 Minutes.

Listen NOW to the Diane Schuur Special

Jazz legend Diane Schuur has released her new album "The Gathering," on Vanguard Records. Although Diane Schuur is one of jazz's leading singers, "The Gathering" is a collection of country songs mostly written during the 1960s. Produced by Steve Buckingham, the album features Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Larry Carlton, Mark Knopfler, and Kirk Whalum. Diane Schuur or "Deedles" as she is called by fans and friends alike, has a career spanning almost 30 years. She's collaborated with the likes of jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Caribbean Jazz Project, Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow, Ray Charles, and bluesman B. B. King. She is a two time Grammy award-winner and it is our pleasure to welcome her on The Paul Leslie Hour.

Listen NOW to the Larry Carlton Special on The Paul Leslie Hour

It is a great honor we welcome a very special guest known for both his solo records and his guitar session work. Larry Carlton is one of the greatest guitarists alive. He is a 4-time Grammy winner and 19-time Grammy nominee. He is a recipient of the George Benson Lifetime Achievement Award. He was named one of the 10 Greatest-Ever Session Guitarists by Gibson. Larry Carlton has been playing guitar since he was six years old. He began listening to to jazz music in Junior High School. In 1968, at 20 years old, Larry Carlton recorded his first album entitled "With a Little Help From My Friends." From 1971 to 1976 he played with jazz rock group The Crusaders. In 1973 he released his second solo project "Singing | Playing," featuring not only his guitar work, but also vocals. While still touring with the Crusaders, he contributed as a guitar session player to albums from Sammy Davis, Jr., Herb Alpert, Quincy Jones, Paul Anka, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, and Jerry Garcia just to name a few.

Over time, Larry Carlton appeared on o ver 3,000 studio sessions. His accomplishments are many. He has written and co-written theme songs for TV shows including the hit sitcom "Who's the Boss?" and the drama "Hill Street Blues." He has written and recorded a film score and has appeared on more than 100 Gold Albums. He was voted the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences "Most Valuable Player" 3 consecutive years. NARAS then named him Player Emeritus and he became retired from eligibility. Larry Carlton's mesmerizing guitar playing has appeared in 4 videos, 6 DVDs and 28 solo records.

It is our pleasure to welcome him on The Paul Leslie Hour for an interview. We also take a listen to his incredible recorded music.

Listen NOW to the Percy Sledge Special on The Paul Leslie Hour

It is our pleasure to present a special featuring music and an interview with Percy Sledge on The Paul Leslie Hour.

Percy Sledge is a true legend in Soul and R&B. His song "When a Man Loves a Woman" was a hit song in 1966 and has been receiving continuous radio airplay ever since. The song reached #1 in the US and went on to become an international hit. Percy Sledge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, the Delta Music Museum, the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame and he was an inaugural Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Honoree.

Rolling Stone magazine lists Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman" 54th in their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Some of his other classic songs include "It Tears Me Up," "Take Time to Know Her," "Love Me Tender," and "Cover Me." At the age of 69, he continues to record and perform to this day.