Schneider was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Laurie S. Auth, a visual artist, and Michael Schneider, a mathematician. He grew up in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, where he lived just a street away from Sam Tsui, whom he met while attending middle school. They both later attended Wissahickon High School. He is of German and Austrian descent on his father's side but does not speak German. Schneider has an older sister who is a classical pianist. He graduated as class Valedictorian from Wissahickon, and magna cum laude from Yale University in 2010 with a degree in mathematics and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Schneider played for Yale's chess team. He currently holds a USCF Elo rating of 2235 and can play multiple games of chess blindfolded simultaneously. He played against Magnus Carlsen at the CES 2014 HRM Chess Tournament, hosted by Nordic Semiconductor in Las Vegas. He is also a self-taught musician.
According to Business Insider and SocialBlade, he is believed to make over a six-figure income from YouTube.
Schneider began collaborating with Tsui while both were in high school and continued while they were at Yale; Schneider matriculated a year before. He produced videos of Tsui singing covers and medleys, and has since made an online musical series (College Musical) and produced original songs.
They garnered wide media attention with a video of a Michael Jackson medley. This video remains the 9th most viewed (more than 34 million) on Schneider's YouTube channel KurtHugoSchneider. This medley is one of several in which Schneider, using video editing, creates the illusion of a one-man a cappella choir, with Tsui covering lead and backing vocals, playing multiple versions of himself. Their medley videos have been described by Time as a combination of Glee and Attack of the Clones. The viral videos led to a few appearances on national television, including The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. On February 3, 2011, Schneider's video of Tsui covering Hold It Against Me, in which Tsui sang and played the piano with Schneider on percussion, was featured on Britney Spears' official website.
The popularity of their videos has encouraged the duo to branch out to other projects. Shooting for an independent film, College Musical: The Movie, based upon their online musical series, has been completed in the summer of 2010 and the film was released September 3, 2014. A series of behind-the-scenes videos for the movie, filmed and narrated by Nick Uhas, has been released on YouTube. Since September 2010, Schneider and Tsui have also begun to release videos of original songs and in May 2013, Sam Tsui's debut original album, "Make It Up", was released.
Schneider has also made music videos in collaboration with other artists. Popular videos include a Miley Cyrus medley sung by Christina Grimmie, a duet between Tsui and Grimmie singing Just a Dream (the most viewed video on 'KurtHugoSchneider', with over a hundred and twenty million views), and a Starcraft-themed parody video, with Husky, of Baby. He has also parodied the infamous "Friday" by Rebecca Black with his variation being known as "Void Rays". He has collaborated with Tiffany Alvord on a Taylor Swift Medley and Matisse on a Medley of Rihanna songs. He has also collaborated with Max Schneider on a number of occasions: for example he directed a Bruno Mars medley for Max Schneider & Victoria Justice, a Maroon 5 Medley and a Christmas Medley. Schneider also co-wrote 'Standing In China' with Max Schneider for Cody Simpson's album Paradise. Schneider was also an associate producer for a musical admissions video for Yale, which features a cast consisting of Tsui and fellow Yale students.
He has also performed a cover of Beauty and the Beat by Justin Bieber with Alex Goot and Chrissy Costanza from Against the Current as well as a cover of Counting Stars by OneRepublic and a cover of Heart Attack by Demi Lovato.
In 2013, Schneider and Coca-Cola created music videos featuring creative covers of two 2013 singles: Calvin Harris' "Feel So Close" and Of Monsters and Men's "Little Talks" for a campaign called "The Sounds of AHH". Commercial edits of the singles premiered on the inaugural episode of season 13 of American Idol on January 14, 2014 on FOX.
In the two new versions, recreated by Schneider, he is shown making the track playing only Coca-Cola bottles, glasses and cans. In addition, "Feels So Close" features the vocals of Sam Tsui whereas on the track "Little Talks", he is accompanied musically by beatboxing cellist Kevin Olusola.
Drag Me Down
Kurt Hugo Schneider Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Right now I need a miracle
Hurry up now, I need a miracle
Stranded, reaching out
I call your name but you're not around
I say your name but you're not around
I need you, I need you, I need you right now
So don't let me, don't let me, don't let me down
Think I'm losing my mind now
It's in my head, darling I hope
That you'll be here, when I need you the most
So don't let me, don't let me, don't let me down
Don't let me down
Don't let me down
Don't let me down
Running out of time
I really thought you were on my side
But now there's nobody by my side
I need you, I need you, I need you right now
Yeah, I need you right now
So don't let me, don't let me, don't let me down
Think I'm losing my mind now
It's in my head, darling I hope
That you'll be here, when I need you the most
So don't let me, don't let me, don't let me down
Don't let me down
Don't let me down
Don't let me
The lyrics of Kurt Hugo Schneider's "Drag Me Down" describe a desperate plea for help from someone who is feeling stranded and alone. The lines "Crashing, hit a wall / Right now I need a miracle / Hurry up now, I need a miracle" convey a sense of urgency and the need for immediate assistance. The singer is reaching out for someone to help them, but no one is around to answer. The repetition of "I need you right now" emphasizes the urgency of the situation and the singer's need for someone's help.
The lines "Think I'm losing my mind now / It's in my head, darling I hope / That you'll be here, when I need you the most" suggest that the singer is feeling overwhelmed and is struggling to cope with their situation. They hope that the person they are reaching out to will be there for them when they need them the most. The repeated plea of "Don't let me down" reinforces the idea that the singer is relying on this person to provide them with much-needed support and assistance.
Overall, "Drag Me Down" is a song about feeling stranded and alone, and the desperation that can come with that feeling. The repeated pleas for help and the urgency conveyed in the lyrics make it clear that the singer is in a state of crisis and needs someone to be there for them.
Line by Line Meaning
Crashing, hit a wall
I've hit an obstacle and don't know how to move forward
Right now I need a miracle
I'm in a desperate situation and need a sudden stroke of luck
Hurry up now, I need a miracle
I need this miracle to happen fast
Stranded, reaching out
I feel helpless and am searching for someone to help me
I call your name but you're not around
I'm reaching out for you, but you're not there to assist me
I say your name but you're not around
I keep calling but you're not there to answer my call for help
I need you, I need you, I need you right now
I am in dire need of your help at this very moment
Yeah, I need you right now
I absolutely require your assistance immediately
So don't let me, don't let me, don't let me down
I am relying on you to come through for me
Think I'm losing my mind now
I'm becoming mentally unstable due to the stress of my situation
It's in my head, darling I hope
I fear that my anxiety will take a toll on my mental health
That you'll be here, when I need you the most
I need you to be by my side when I am most vulnerable
Don't let me down
Please don't disappoint me or fail to help me when I need you most
Running out of time
I'm quickly running out of options and time to solve my problem
I really thought you were on my side
I believed that you were my ally in this situation
But now there's nobody by my side
You're not here to support me and I feel alone
Don't let me
Please don't abandon me in my time of need
Don't let me down
I am counting on you to help me in this difficult situation
Don't let me down
Please don't disappoint me, I need your support and help
Lyrics ยฉ Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Andrew Taggart, Emily Warren Schwartz, Scott Harris Friedman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Vayona N
but seriously how many instruments can Kurt play?!
Akshitha P
Creepypasta Trash and the fidget spinner
Wes W
Vayona Narekuli even if u give him tree and rock he could make a music of it lol
Kida O'Connor
He can turn everything into instruments. I don't think there is an exact number of instruments he can play because he keeps using bizaare things to make music. Anything and everything is an instrument. xD
Charis Lee
pretty much any instrument.
CB Kelly
Maybe hundreds๐๐๐
thatperson
Props to the camera, talent and production team damn all this in one take plus the amazing music masterpiece ๐๐๐
bee
you know your talented when you can choriograph a video on freaking hoverboards.
Amer Barznjy
Shelby Overbeck I donโt even think I can balance myself on a hover board
And Kurt is freaking playing pretty much every instrument on a hover board
KHS India
This never gets old! :1