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.
I Will Follow You Into The Dark
Kurt Hugo Schneider Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someday you will die
But I'll be close behind
I'll follow you into the dark
No blinding light
Or tunnels, to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
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If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
Catholic school, as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
I held my tongue as she told me, son
Fear is the heart of love, so I never went back
If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
The soles of your shoes are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
It's nothing to cry about
Cause we'll hold each other soon
The blackest of rooms
If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark
I'll follow you into the dark
The song I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Kurt Hugo Schneider is a song about two people who are deeply in love and willing to do anything for each other, even in death. The song opens with a statement about how the person he loves will someday die, but the singer will be close behind and will follow them into the dark. The idea of the dark is used to represent death, and the singer is willing to go to any lengths to be with the person he loves even after they die.
The second verse takes on a more religious theme. The singer talks about a Catholic school where he was taught that fear is the heart of love. The song is questioning the afterlife and whether or not heaven and hell will be satisfied with the person they love being gone. The idea of vacancy signs illuminating is used to represent how the person they love has left an empty space behind. The song goes on to say that if there is no one beside the singer when their soul embarks, he will follow them into the dark.
The final verse is about the journey they have had together. They have seen everything there is to see, and the person they love has worn their shoes down. The time for sleep is now, and the singer assures the person he loves that it is nothing to cry about because they will hold each other soon in the blackest of rooms. The song ends with the singer stating once more that he will follow the person he loves into the dark.
Line by Line Meaning
Love of mine
Referring to the person he loves
Someday you will die
Acknowledging that death is a part of life and that his loved one will eventually pass away
But I'll be close behind
Promising to always be there for his loved one, even in death
I'll follow you into the dark
Willingness to do whatever it takes for his loved one, even if it means entering into the unknown and scary realm of death
No blinding light
No heaven or afterlife to look forward to
Or tunnels, to gates of white
No religious or supernatural path to follow after death
Just our hands clasped so tight
Finding comfort and strength in each other's love and support
Waiting for the hint of a spark
Hoping for some sign of a continued existence beyond death
If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied
Reference to the idea of an afterlife and a higher power determining one's fate
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs
Emphasizing the emptiness and finality of death
If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks
Expressing the fear of being alone in death
Then I'll follow you into the dark
Reiterating the unwavering commitment to his loved one
Catholic school, as vicious as Roman rule
Portraying the singer's past experiences with religion as oppressive and brutal
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
Referencing physical punishment by religious authorities
I held my tongue as she told me, son
Choosing to remain silent in the face of authority and fear
Fear is the heart of love, so I never went back
Realizing that fear and love are often intertwined, leading to a rejection of organized religion
You and me have seen everything to see
Having shared a lifetime of experiences with his loved one
From Bangkok to Calgary
Having traveled the world together
The soles of your shoes are all worn down
The physical evidence of a life rich in experiences
The time for sleep is now
Looking forward to the peace of death
It's nothing to cry about
Accepting death as a part of life
Cause we'll hold each other soon
Finding comfort in the fact that they will be together even in death
The blackest of rooms
Symbolizing the unknown and unknowable realm of death
I'll follow you into the dark
Final reaffirmation of his commitment to his loved one
Contributed by Charlie W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@aboringcat6561
omfg it should be illegal for a human being to be this adorable.
@sheetalkrishna7
Totally!!!! >_<
@bunkiki844
THEY SHOULD BUT THEN THE WORLD WOULD BE SAD
@phaenon
DeannaTheSquid i love ur hair
@PrimroseEverdeen199
well if it was kurt would be in a jail cell waiting for the death sentence
@threerads464
He talked to much
@chelseafernandes4483
This is what a Disney Prince sounds like... :')
@jennahale6499
Yes! I was thinking that!
@jorjapope7827
That is so true
@chelseafernandes4483
:D