(LONDON) Radio 1 star Olly Murs has received his makeunder as a homeless guy with head lice. His mission was to perform in Covent Garden and see how well he does.The trend of stars busking on pitches around the world seems to have manifested itself. Whether for a commercial, skit, or social experiment, the stars are coming out at all hours. The celebrities over the years include Sir Paul McCartney, Joshua Bell, Guns & Roses, Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Murs, and more yet to come.

You'd think Murs would be releasing some fantastic new album but this social experiment was at the top of the list. He demonstrates how important professionalism can be when busking in the real world. Even in his condition, it was more of an audition than a handout.

Murs performed 45 minutes of his own songs and even has the video to prove...

[ Continued ]

nisantasi

Buskers, buskers, buskers,

I'm a young guy who try to get money playing a little guitare and singing english, spanish and german songs with his French accent. (I confess that :"I'm french"... So excuse me if I don't write really well english !). I'm not a "true" busker, according to the definition some people have here or somewhere else... I'm a student and during my free-time I go to streets and I "busk" for a while. Since I've started, I've decided to put, near my hat, a paper or a board : Each time I change it. First, I wrote sentences like : Je n'a pas de talent- merci (I've got not talent-thanks), Je travaille plus pour gagner plus (I work more to get more -money- thanks), and then I've choosen to write sentences about politic or economic news.

In fact, people give money, in this way, for three reason :
First : they have pitty of me -and they give money because they just see me like a hobo. They are not interrested by my music or my message.
Second...

[ Continued ]

(WWW) Before the advent of the internet, buskers had to figure out which songs were popular enough to perform in public. Now, we can simply surf the net and and learn in a matter of seconds.Of course, sprinkling the list with an original here and there is always an option. But it all depends on the pitch and audience. Some songs are drunken sing-alongs and others are thoughtful hits. One thing most have in common is a upbeat rhythm.

Two lists we've found cover the "best" songs to play. One list has 31 recommendations and the other has a top 7.


TOP 7:

1. Friends in low places
2. Summer of '69
3. Sweet Caroline
4. 3a.m.
5. When I come around
6. Free Fallin'
7. Livin' on a Prayer

These are mostly 1990's songs that tend to go over well. However, the seasoned busker will have at least one song by the Beatles...

[ Continued ]

(BOULDER, COLORADO) From Boston to Los Angeles, newspaper reporters around the country are suddenly running articles about the best buskers in their neck of the woods.Chained in ownership, it isn't hard to see that reporters in each city were given the same assignment. Other papers soon hopped on the bandwagon.

As a result, you can now take your pick of the major city in which you're most interested - or the whole sha-bang from coast-to-coast.

Of course, on any given day, there are different buskers out and about. On slow days, it isn't unusual to find full-time buskers enjoying the day off bicycling or hanging at the local café. C'est la vie.

Conversely, since buskers live for the weekend, this is the time to search and report. Unfortunately, the poor reporter may now be off work and having fun doing their ...

[ Continued ]