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SALT LAKE CITY -- Thirteen-year-old Devin Wolfe wowed the crowd at Churchill Junior High's talent show with an original song.
He was the perfect candidate to team up with long-time musician and Utah favorite Peter Breinholt, in order to see what it takes for a video to go viral. Our plan called for Pete and Devin to collaborate on one of Devin's songs, then post it on YouTube and see what happens.
The first order of business was to choose some songs.
The next stop was June Audio Studios in Provo, where musicians team up and the magic happens. Breinholt and his crew spent the day backing up Devin for a recording of his song, "Validation Wounds."
Producer Scott Wiley analyzed every note.
"I think we were all pretty impressed," he said, "so it was just a matter of which of these songs - I think he played six or seven songs - which of these can we tackle best with this group of musicians."
One of the musicians, Ryan Tilby, said, "I don't think I had that kind of passion at 13. I was dragging around a banjo trying to be cool at blue grass festivals, and this guy is in touch with much older music than his age."
After 12 hours in the studio, the music video debuted Tuesday on YouTube.
See the results of the viral experiment Wednesday morning on KSL 5 News Today.
E-mail: shaws@ksl.com
