Kyle Gordon has arrived! From viral alter egos like DJ Crazy Times to his genre-bending comedy albums Kyle Gordon Is Great and Kyle Gordon Is Wonderful, Kyle takes us behind the wigs, accents, and absolute chaos to reveal the real artistry behind parody. We dive into the wild ride of going viral, crafting characters that stick, and what it really takes to write music that’s both hilarious and genuinely good. It’s a laugh-out-loud, unexpectedly heartfelt journey through comedy, creativity, and the beautiful absurdity of the internet.

Episode Breakdown:

0:00 - Intro & Catch Up

4:20 - Welcome Kody Redwing!

8:00 - Kody’s Childhood and family

10:30 - Kody’s American Idol Experience

13:00 - Comparisons to other “millennial” bands

15:00 - Career Choices and their impact on family

17:00 - Favorite versions of “Hallelujah”

18:30 - What’s Next for Kyle

20:00 - “Married in a Year in The Suburbs” collab

22:10 - Welcome Kyle Gordon!

23:00 - A Cappella Roots

25:00 - Wardrobe Malfunction

26:30 - Transitioning into Musical-Comedy

27:45 - Music Background

29:00 - Tiktok Beginnings

33:00 - Kid Who’s No Fun

36:00 - Brendan Abernathy Collab

38:30 - Patterns of “Hate” on the Internet

43:30 - DJ Crazy Times Controversy

46:30 - Performing with the Jonas Brothers

50:45 - Running into Joe Jonas in NYC

53:00 - Jonathan and Paul McCartney

54:30 - Kyle’s new album!

1:00:20 - Game time!

Follow Kyle Gordon:

Listen to Kyle Gordon is Wonderful everywhere.

Follow @kylegordonisgreat on social for all the sparkle.

Follow the Hosts:

@AnthonyGargiula

@ JonathanTilkin

@CounterMelodiesPod

Listen and Watch:

⁠https://pods.to/countermelodies⁠

Credits:

Executive Producer / Showrunner / Editor: Louis Gargiula

Consulting Producer: Renée Colvert

Everybody welcome Dara Reneé! From her breakout role on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series to Descendants: The Rise of Red, Dara opens up about growing up on set, navigating mental health, and the journey to owning her power. It’s a hilarious, emotional, inspiring ride through Broadway dreams, Disney magic, and the deep inner work it takes to truly love yourself.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 – Intro and catch up!

04:00- Dara’s here!

05:00 – Being homeschooled, raised by a single mom, and growing up backstage. Dara shares her early years of performing (and Beyoncé karaoke)

8:30 - Early Broadway auditions

10:15 – Auditioning for HSMTMTS with no agent, no reel, and no clue she was about to book her breakout role

19:30 - One year later: Freaky Friday reboot and still no HSMTMTS

20:45 - Working on “Black-ish”

25:00 – Origins of HSMTMTS and auditioning for every role except Courtney

27:45 - Callbacks with Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, and Sofia Wylie and booking the show!

31:30 - Dara’s relationship with Olivia Rodrigo

32:30 - Kylie Cantrall and wanting to be the best big sister in the business

34:00 - OG High School musical lore

36:30 - Overcoming anxiety both in real life and on-screen

39:00 - Dara’s actual mom playing her mom on TV

40:30 - How HSMTMTS evolved over the 4 seasons

43:30 - Working on Descendants: The Rise of Red

45:00 - The infamous Josh Colley fire alarm story

48:30 - Favorite moments from Descendants

52:00 - Dara’s acting process

53:00 - Upcoming Descendants/Zombies tour!

58:00 - Game time: blind ranking disney channel theme songs!

Follow Dara Reneé:

Watch Descendants: The Rise of Red and stream her music everywhere.

Follow @dararenee on social for all the sparkle.

Follow the Hosts:

@AnthonyGargiula

@ JonathanTilkin

@CounterMelodiesPod

Listen and Watch:

https://pods.to/countermelodies

Credits:

Executive Producer / Showrunner / Editor: Louis Gargiula

Consulting Producer: Renée Colvert

He’s here! Kevin Olusola of Pentatonix is in the kitchen! From beatboxing in a dorm shower to winning three GRAMMYs with Pentatonix, Kevin shares his incredible journey of combining cello and beatboxing into a genre-bending career. He opens up about immigrant expectations, viral YouTube beginnings, how Yo-Yo Ma changed his life, and presenting Ed Sheeran with his Grammy-Award alongside Stevie Wonder. Plus, Kevin gives an exclusive peek into his upcoming solo album Dawn of a Misfit and competes in Anthony and Jonathan’s ultimate beatboxing challenge.

Episode Breakdown:

• 00:00 – Episode Trailer

• 01:00 – Listener shoutouts! The hosts read glowing reviews from fans and reveal their Uber rating drama.

• 05:00 – Welcome Kevin Olusola! The best intro ever (with a “crash out” pun), and Kevin returns the love.

• 07:00 – Wikipedia connections. Kevin and Jonathan realize their paths crossed years ago at Quincy Jones’s office, and Jacob Collier’s wiki page gets a name-drop.

• 09:00 – Musical beginnings. Piano at 4, cello at 6, saxophone at 10—and Carnegie Hall by college.

• 11:00 – Discovering perfect pitch. Kevin plays “House of the Rising Sun” by ear at age 3, and his dad takes notice.

• 13:00 – The birth of cello boxing. It all started with a Mandarin-speaking professor in Beijing.

• 15:30 – The beatboxing origin story. From annoying his dad to an acapella discovery in a shared dorm shower.

• 17:00 – The immigrant dilemma. Kevin explains how cultural expectations almost kept him from a music career.

• 18:00 – Grammy joke of the year. After performing with Stevie Wonder, Kevin’s dad hits him with a savage comment.

• 19:30 – YouTube beginnings. Kevin starts posting videos after getting support from Yo-Yo Ma and KRS-One.

• 24:00 – Going viral with “Julie-O.” A year of perfecting one video leads to his Pentatonix discovery moment.

• 25:30 – The Pentatonix call. Kevin gets a mysterious audition request... from Ben Bram and Scott Hoying.

• 27:00 – The first rehearsal. Kevin meets the group, hits Roscoe’s, and sings “Telephone” for the first time.

• 30:00 – Sing-Off champions, then dropped. The band wins big—only to be dropped by their label days later.

• 31:00 – The YouTube strategy. Their manager pushes them to go all-in on YouTube—and he was right.

• 32:45 – The Christmas pivot. “Little Drummer Boy” saves the day and leads to their RCA deal.

• 34:00 – Collab favorites. Kevin names his favorite collaborators (Tori Kelly, Kelly Clarkson, Stevie Wonder) and shares why Tori’s vocals are impossible to comp.

• 37:30 – The Stevie Wonder moment. Stevie hits a note so perfectly, Kevin literally stops singing.

• 39:30 – Behind-the-scenes magic. Kevin talks about rehearsing with Matt Sallee and how their friendship powers the rhythm section.

• **41:30 – Dawn of a Misfit. **Kevin opens up about his solo debut, what “misfit” means to him, and the intention behind the project.

• 43:30 – His version of “Crazy.” Kevin breaks down his cinematic Gnarls Barkley cover and the emotional storytelling behind it.

• 45:00 – Miss Rachel! The inside story on how Kevin landed a spot on Songs for Littles—and why it’s his daughter’s favorite credit.

• 47:15 – Game time: Beatbox the Clock. Can Kevin recreate famous beats in under 10 seconds? From “Billie Jean” to “Shake It Off,” he brings the heat.

• 53:00 – Anthony’s theme park beatbox fail. A very questionable “Crazy in Love” moment from Orlando.

• 55:00 – Bonus beatbox tips. Kevin teaches the inward K-snare and reveals how he breathes through performances.

• 56:00 – Final plug: Dawn of a Misfit. Kevin shares his hopes for the record and where to find it.

Follow Kevin’s Journey:

Pre-save Dawn of a Misfit (out May 9) and follow Kevin at @kolusola on all platforms.

Socials:

@AnthonyGargiula

@JonathanTilkin

@CounterMelodiesPod