Nuttin' But Stringz, also known as N.B.S., consisted of the duo Tourie and Damien Escobar who both play violin. The musicians from

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

played a blend of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, hip-hop, jazz, and R&B.

Biography

Nuttin But Stringz began studying violin at ages 8 and 7, respectively, and eventually studied at the Juilliard School. In 2005, the duo entered and won a talent competition at the Apollo Theatre in New York. Their victory on '' Showtime at the Apollo'' led to media attention and appearances on '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', '' The Today Show'' with Katie Couric, and '' The Tonight Show'' with

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

. Around the same time the duo showcased their talents at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

and performed for President George W. Bush at The White House. On January 8, 2006, Nuttin But Stringz performed their Hit song ''Thunder'' at the debut of the redesigned Cadillac CTS at the

North American International Auto Show The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show as of 2022 and prior to NAIAS, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019. ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. Nuttin' But Stringz performed after a classical string quartet. General Motors executives used the two performances as an analogy, to demonstrate that what used to be good enough (the quartet) needs to be reinvigorated (N.B.S). A video for "Thunder" is also featured on the website for ''

Jack's Big Music Show ''Jack's Big Music Show'' is an American musical children's television series produced for the Noggin channel. It was created and executive produced by David Rudman, Todd Hannert, and Adam Rudman through their company Spiffy Pictures. The main ...

'' on Noggin (Now Called Nick Jr.) The exposure continued when they were featured in the first of five commercials featuring local artists on New York's local news channel, NY1. NBS gained national attention when their unique brand of music secured the Duo a part in the 2006 dance movie '' Step Up'', and shortly after CBS featured "Thunder" during the 2007 NCAA Tournament. "Thunder" was also featured in the 1st episode of the television series

The Black Donnellys ''The Black Donnellys'' is an American drama television series that debuted on NBC on February 26, 2007, and last aired on May 14, 2007. Thereafter, NBC began releasing new episodes weekly on NBC.com until the series was canceled. ''The Black ...

, and was used in various television commercials. In spring 2009, NBS announced via the group's

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikip ...

that a new album was in the works and was followed later in that year by a hugely successful tour. Their music has sold platinum. They debuted their song "Winner" on "The Debrief with David Ushery" on New York Nonstop on July 23, 2010.

Collaborations

Nuttin' But Stringz collaborated with various artists including: Al Jarreau,Hadi abbas, Akon, Aretha Franklin, Brian McKnight, Chaka Khan, Charlie Daniels, Charlie Wilson, Drake, Gladys Knight, Gucci Mane, Isley Brothers, Jay Sean, John Legend, Jonas Brothers, Justin Bieber, Mary J Blige, Mario, Maroon 5, Miley Cyrus, Patti LaBelle, Pretty Ricky, Rascal Flatts, Stevie Wonder, The Manhattans, The Temptations, Trey Songz (on ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'') and Yolanda Adams

Print

Nuttin' But Stringz have been featured in ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

'', ''

Jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'', ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...

'', '' The Daily News'', ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' , "AMPS Magazine" and the ''

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''.

Corporate performances

Nuttin' But Stringz scored and appeared in a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

commercial for the Launch of their fruit smoothies. They performed their song "Winner" for

The Boeing Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

at the introduction ceremony of their new airplane, the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. In 2011 they performed at an event for

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Sco ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

''America's Got Talent''

Overview

Nuttin But Stringz big break came when they auditioned for the third season of NBC's ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribu ...

'' in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and received a unanimous yes from all three judges thus advancing to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

. They were subsequently named to the Top 40, advancing to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. They made it through subsequent rounds and were one of the five acts to make it to the finals. The duo ultimately placed third behind the winner

Neal E. Boyd Neal Evans Boyd (November 18, 1975 – June 10, 2018) was an American singer who developed an interest in opera after listening to the performances of the Three Tenors. Despite being raised in conditions of poverty within the U.S. state of Miss ...

and runner-up Eli Mattson. Nuttin But Stringz music was featured during a montage at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Performances/Results

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Filmography

*'' Step Up''

References

External links

Nuttin' But Stringz
at

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{{authority control America's Got Talent contestants American musical duos Musical groups from Queens, New York Musical groups established in 2004 American violinists American male violinists American hip hop groups Hip hop violinists Juilliard School alumni African-American musical groups