Disney’s Tony Oller and UK newcomer sing for Zoovolution
January 04, 2009
Kristiansand, Norway, January 1, 2009 -WebandCircus (an online game and marketing company) will soon be launching an online virtual world for kids and teens called Zoovolution. Music is a big part of the project, and WebandCircus has enlisted the creative talents of Sheffield standout, Naomi Jo Biggins in addition to industry vetran Keith Thomas, responsible for 40 number one singles and album sells in excess of 30 million copies, and teen hearthrob Tony Oller, from Disney’s “As the Bell Rings”.
Naomi Jo was flown out to Norway along with Tony Oller and Vendela Palmgren (15) of Sweden to record music for the Zoovolution project. “Tony and the girls were out here an entire week. Tony recorded an additional two songs and filmed two videos that week, “ Todd Macadangdang of Webandcircus explains. “ Naomi will be recorded a duet with Tony, and Vendela also be recorded that week. So it was a fantastic week for creating music.”
Working with a Disney actor could have been intimidating, but Naomi Jo was a real pro, and the entire production team made her feel at home, “The team were all fantastic with me and even though I had never met them before, they made me feel very welcome and I will never forget them and what they did for me. “ Naomi continues, “My week in Norway was amazing from the moment we landed at the airport, right until the very end. I did not want to come home! We had a really busy week and I hardly got any sleep, but it did not matter because that is what I have always dreamed of, making music and videos, so I loved every minute we spent there. “
Naomi Jo’s song was produced by another industry veteran, Stevie Vann Lange and song writer Todd Macadangdang. State side, Keith Thomas (who produced among other hits, Vanessa William’s Colors of the Wind), has teamed up with rising Disney Radio star Savannah Outen to produce the mp3 single “Hope and Prayer” for the same audiobook that Naomi Jo’s song will appear on.
Why the focus on music? Todd explains, “Music is a big part of kids lives these days. And good music, with artists that the kids know, is the only marketing tool I know of that can also serve as a product. If we do this right, the songs will promote our virtual world and pay for themselves at the same time. “
Todd is also working with Mandy and Savvy to create music for the Zoovolution project. “There’s an incredible future with tween music,” said Deb Klein, general manager for independent label Firm Music, who signed Savvy and Mandy (who at the time were 11 and 13) to a multi-platform deal.
Tweens overall, spend about $51 billion USD a year in the United States, while family members spend another $170 billion on them, according to Alloy Media + Marketing. Webandcircus and their virtual online world hope to promote their music, and Sheffield’s Naomi Jo, to this very market.