Some years ago, when he was nine-years-old, Jag Bentley (from Sydney, Australia) wrote a song titled Love of My Life, which he performed on piano.
A new version came out on 21-Jan-2014 in which Jag, at 13, performed with three girls (and many spooky background mannequins) — moving to choreography by Bianca Young in the Blackbox Theatre at The McDonald College.
I can’t say I am fond of either the song or the stage routine without shooting myself in the foot. However, it’s a noble effort and Jag asserts himself as a dashing ladies’ man, albeit in juvenile form. Also, it’s his first original.
Social Media Success
Jag is already quite popular on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. He describes himself as “Songwriter, Singer, Actor and Party Person” and seems to be a very active, fun-loving youngster who plays tennis and holidays on the Gold Coast.
However, it remains to be seen whether or not he has the vocal goods, musical ability and charisma to compete with many brilliant Aussie artists roughly his age.
Tracking backwards from the most recent video Internet Love (with Luca M), we get a better idea of who Jag Bentley is and what he’s capable of.
This video and the audio track are more professional, but a reverse “moon-walk” is not exactly innovative. Your Profile’s Perfect And So Are We reveals a big ego in a song about flirting via the chatroom. ”You tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.” gets to the core of this cutesy video, but is this creative musical art just mundane, puerile chit chat? A thumbs up for the lively visual though. Some freestyle moves and Jag’s voice are good here as is his acting to the “rebel lover” refrains. Fine job by Filigree Films producing this.
http://youtu.be/fKNCcyN5T9E
From September 2014, we see a live version, on a small park platform, of Jag singing We are the Champions. He does a pretty good cover of this famous Freddy Mercury song (QUEEN) considering the high parts are difficult and the stage is miniature.
An EP On Itunes
Jag already has an EP on itunes with four songs that are all about self assertion, teen love and just fun stuff — like the musical skit Transformed Me!
Another original Don’t Tell Me (2013) is a more serious song about determination to succeed. The tune is fine, but Jag’s voice waivers and misses notes here.
On the same theme, Jag entered another original “Champions” (2013) in a contest. It’s about ignoring doubters and confidence in his own ability, sung to a simple hip hop beat with some rap lines thrown in. Again, some notes are off here. In Jag’s words: “it’s about living your dream and overcoming any negativity life throws at you”.
A song I quite like (but for which I can’t establish a date) is Wonder Woman. This has a near techno beat, a very sweet falsetto part and it’s about admiration and infatuation.
Six weeks ago, Jag posted a snippet of Happy Life to his Instagram and I found some of the lyrics seem to define him well. “Let’s go out and let’s party about. I want happy times, I want a happy life. So what do you suppose I do? Rebel and shout and scream?!”
Jag seems to be working on a project for M.A.D. (Mental About Dental) atm, which I believe is a campaign to raise awareness about dental health. See his sites for upcoming videos.
I’m certain that what we’ve seen from Bentley so far (there are of course many earlier vids out) is only a prelude to a more polished performer emerging. There is a lot of creative energy bouncing around in this young artist from Sydney and I hope to see more interesting inventions from him soon. Good Luck!
Jag Bentley on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jagbentley
Youtube: http://t.co/ku0g8GmxXX
Instagram: https://instagram.com/jagbentley/
