Hunter Hayes (musician)
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Hunter Hayes (born 1991 in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) This 18 year old singer-songwriter recently signed a deal with Universal Music Publishing Group in Nashville. A Cajun music sensation since the age of three, he is considered a prodigy and is an accomplished diatonic accordion player, as well as a highly talented guitar player. Well versed on many other instruments, he also produces and records in his own home studio. He’s made numerous appearances on national TV (Rosie O’Donnell, Maury, Nashville Now) and been in several movies (The Apostle, All The Kings Men) as well as performed for President Bill Clinton at a White House lawn party. A Youtube clip of a very young Hunter performing Jambalaya with Hank Williams Jr. has been viewed over nine million times. The high school graduate (he received his diploma from Belmont High in Tennessee, after attending accelerated summer classes in 2008) now balances daily songwriting and continued performances which keep him busy at festivals and corporate events worldwide. His latest CD “songs about nothing” was recently released independently and is a departure from his cajun roots into the blues/r&b/pop genre.

You could put a four year old on stage with a hurdy gurdy and people will “ooh” and “ahh” because not many people have played or have seen one, and will think the child is amazing.

My point I am trying to make is: I know what goes into playing. His playing, is that of a four year old. He is not a child prodigy. Being up on stage and being a cute four year old is a gimmick. I can hear the small mistakes, but the trick to playing in front of people when you make a mistake is to keep on playing and smile.
An analogy if you will…You are a magician. You know the secret to cutting a citrus in half to expose a coin inside. When you see someone else performing it, you know the trick. To the observer of the trick they think it is amazing. You know what is involved. Therefore you can tell that the trick is not that great.

I was explaining the weight and bellows operation to Erin – because she is the observer of the “magic trick” and believed it to be difficult, when it is not as difficult as it looks.
There is a degree of difficulty of coordination.

LULZ. arguing on the internet.

While I am no Alexander Shirunov and maybe it is because I know what kind of effort goes into playing, but I did not see his playing as anything that great.
I’ll give him credit for being four and playing a diatonic accordion on stage in front of many, but I’d give him more credit if it were a piano accordion. Even more if it were a chromatic.