Leo Moracchioli of Frog Leap Studios has continued his trend of Friday music releases on YouTube with his latest cover of Gwen Stefani’s single “Hollaback Girl.” For anyone that doesn’t spend much time checking out indie artists or music outside of heavy rotation, Moracchioli is a multi-instrumentalist and music producer from Norway who found fame on YouTube around four years ago when he uploaded a heavy metal cover of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” which racked up millions of views. Since then, he has become a brand name among heavy metal lovers, with over 2.8 million YouTube subscribers to his channel, and nearly a quarter billion video views on YouTube alone.
According to Chapman Guitars , one of Moracchioli’s corporate sponsors, the success of his “Poker Face” cover is what convinced him to go all in on video, using the platform to make himself a global brand. His popularity has spawned tours around the world, even one that recently ended in the U.S., after working out some issues with U.S. immigration regarding proving his band actually existed. In the meantime, he has been touring Europe with his band and family. His wife, also a musician, appears on stage with him at times when their bands are touring together.
Put the bounce in ya Friday. ??? https://t.co/0ualXIowCP
— Devildude6six6 (@devildude6six6) October 5, 2018
Moracchioli uploaded his “Hollaback Girl” cover to YouTube just a few short hours ago, and it has already garnered over 40,000 views, with the number rising fast enough to refresh and watch every few seconds. While not all of his videos hit, he reached over 46 million views for his cover of Adele’s “Hello,” and has several other videos with views of 10 million or more. Whether his latest release will reach those heights remains to be seen, but his latest videos have been hitting around several million views each.
London show is sold out! Still a few tickets left for Glasgow next month, go to https://t.co/HZvIMbwner for all tickets/tourdates. #thiswillmetal #frogleapband #london #concert #soldout https://t.co/43ZE0hgwIY
— Leo Moracchioli (@FrogLeapStudios) October 3, 2018
Moracchioli has stated on his website that he will continue releasing music each Friday for the foreseeable future to help increase his fan base. His biggest upcoming shows will be in Glasgow and London, on November 22 and 23, 2018 as reported by StereoBoard . No supporting band has been announced yet, but his wife’s band does open for him when possible.
When Moracchioli isn’t working on his own music, he is producing tracks for other musicians as well as making tutorial videos for beginner and advanced musicians that he uploads to YouTube. In the past, he has been a member of the bands Lowdown, Zerozonic, and Trendkill, and he cites Steve Vai, Pantera, and Rage Against The Machine as some of his primary influences according to LastFM . He is also said to have the most magical beard in Norway, although there is really no verifying that.
