Hear Port Chester's Viral Star Sing Katy Perry's 'Dark Horse' in 20 Different Styles

It only takes ten seconds to hear “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Smells like Teen Spirit” and get get hit with a wave of personal nostalgia. There’s no mistaking the voices were behind those classic tunes, and while we all know Freddie Mercury and Kurt Cobain have passed  on to rock ‘n roll legend, their spirits live on through one charismatic musician from Port Chester with a voice of many.

Meet Anthony Vincent Valbiro. From Ozzy Osbourne to Frank Sinatra, this Westchester native can sing it all. Music is Valbiro’s full time job; he takes well known hits and revamps them in the style of several legendary artists. Valbiro’s feline sidekick, Pyretta, named after a Type O Negative song, helps his recording studio in Port Chester feel that much more like home (she even has her own Instagram page).

Valbiro’s YouTube channel, Ten Second Songs, currently has more than 2 million subscribers. In a short time, he has become a viral sensation. From appearances on other Youtubers’ channels, to a piece on CBS News, Valbiro has sprinted to fame in what seems like ten seconds (pun intended).

One must wonder: How did Valbiro develop such a passion for music?

It started with one band on one fateful night: Metallica at Madison Square Garden in November 1999.  

“I didn’t realize how much of a big deal that was until now,” Valbiro said. “That was the night that [determined] I wanted to be a musician ever since.”

So, why YouTube?

“I started Ten Second Songs as a custom songs business,” Valbiro said. “I had been unemployed for a little while and working some retail jobs … and my brother suggested a website called Fiverr.”

On Fiverr, Valbiro would create a song which would be ten seconds in length, hence the name, in any style the person wanted and would charge five dollars for it.

“It did really well,” Valbiro said.

Valbiro soon had people contacting him outside of Fiverr who wanted full length songs and were willing to pay more for them. He realized he was making a better income from creating music, his passion, than working his retail position. In addition, Valbiro recognized that he can do something much bigger with his music. He decided to use YouTube as a platform to promote his business.

However, Valbiro came to another realization: There are only so many genres one can cover but an unlimited library of musical artists.

“I wasn’t trying to impersonate them, but showcasing a portfolio of what I can do,” Valbiro said.

The first video Valbiro uploaded to the Ten Second Songs channel was a cover of, Dark Horse by Katy Perry, performed in 20 different vocal styles. A week later, the video had over 4 million views (now more than 21 million) and his channel gained over 100,000 subscribers.

“When you have Rolling Stone contacting you for interviews, you start thinking maybe there are bigger opportunities with this than [creating] custom songs,” Valbiro said.

For Valbiro, the fame could have ended after the “Dark Horse” video, but he was not going to settle for just 15 minutes. In 2014, Valbiro went from zero to one million subscribers in eight months. 

“When you go viral, especially … after not having any exposure or attention to your music, you really don’t get what viral means,” Valbiro said. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s what you do with it afterwards that determines its staying power. You still have a lot to prove to people.”

In addition to Valbiro’s Ten Second Songs channel, he has a solo project, Anthony Vincent Music, which can be found here.

Valbiro also has a rock band, Set the Charge, who most recently played The Bitter End in New York City along with releasing their album entitled, Sky Goes On. Watch the music video to their newest single, “Everything but Me” here.