{"id":320818,"date":"2026-04-18T20:30:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T15:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=320818"},"modified":"2026-04-18T20:30:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T15:00:38","slug":"raptors-tap-pianist-tony-ann-for-playoff-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/18\/raptors-tap-pianist-tony-ann-for-playoff-videos\/","title":{"rendered":"Raptors tap pianist Tony Ann for playoff videos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>The Toronto Raptors are back within the playoffs, and their hype videos are doing things a bit otherwise this time.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no thumping bass or blaring beats within the promotional reels on social media. As an alternative, a more emotional, piano-driven rating accompanies Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett dunking and hitting fadeaways.<\/p>\n<p>The person behind that sound is Toronto composer Tony Ann, whose pop-leaning neoclassical style is quickly winning over the town\u2019s sports teams.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI tell so many individuals my biggest inspirations and heroes are athletes. I grew up watching Vince Carter with the Raptors and Michael Jordan with the Wizards \u2014 I do know that wasn\u2019t his prime anymore, nevertheless it was still pretty cool,\u201d says the 32-year-old, speaking from Antwerp, Belgium.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s midway through a European tour that\u2019s taken him from small towns in Switzerland to ornate concert halls in London.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad c-ad--tallSticky\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cYou possibly can really see the diligence, the labor, the dedication, motivation \u2014 , all of the training that they should endure. I take that into my practice and the way in which I attempt to perform my profession.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Beijing-born, Toronto-bred pianist was also tapped by the Toronto Blue Jays for a pump-up video during their post-season run last fall \u2014 a clip that opens with him playing the familiar \u201cCharge!\u201d theme on the Rogers Centre before drifting into something more intricate and meditative.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"related_videos\">\n<div class=\"l-inlineStories l-inlineStories--video\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"l-inlineStories__title\">Related Videos<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<section id=\"miniplayer-carousel\" class=\"l-videoCarousel l-videoCarousel--embed c-carousel\" data-video-carousel-play-inline=\"true\" data-video-carousel-init=\"false\" aria-label=\"Video carousel contains 10 videos.\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__inner\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__featured\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"true\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" data-displayinline-player-id=\"miniplayer\" data-displayinline-video-id=\"11806034\" data-displayinline-ratio=\"16:9\" data-displayinline=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/embed\/playlist\/11806034,11736470,11520120,11519608,11499192,11272226,11267415,11265148,11264380,11194605\/?poster=https%3A%2F%2Fi1.wp.com%2Fmedia.globalnews.ca%2Fvideostatic%2Fnews%2Fb2wkul1jpo-ylkk0xdczi%2FGNMNHLANDNBAPLAYOFFSSTILL.jpg%3Fw%3D1200%26quality%3D70%26strip%3Dall#autoplay&#038;stickyiframe=miniplayer\" data-displayinline-playlist=\"11806034,11736470,11520120,11519608,11499192,11272226,11267415,11265148,11264380,11194605\" data-displayinline-sticky=\"true\" data-permutive-data='{\"content\":{\"name\":\"NHL, NBA playoffs kick-off this weekend\",\"type\":\"video\",\"sections\":[\"videos\",\"toronto\",\"sports\"],\"keywords\":[\"global-news-morning\",\"montreal-canadiens\",\"playoffs\",\"short-clip\",\"toronto-raptors\",\"global-news-morning-toronto\"],\"iab\":{\"categories\":[\"Arts and Entertainment\",\"Arts and Entertainment\/Music and Audio\/Jazz and Blues\",\"Arts and Entertainment\/Music and Audio\"],\"tags\":[\"Ambient music\",\"Antwerp\",\"Arena\",\"Association football\",\"Ballad\",\"Basketball\",\"Belgium\",\"Canada\",\"Chord (music)\",\"Classical music\",\"Cleveland\",\"Cleveland Cavaliers\",\"Composer\",\"Concert\",\"Conscious uncoupling\",\"Culture\",\"Diligence\",\"Electronic dance music\",\"Emotion\",\"Fadeaway\",\"Flag\",\"Flag of Canada\",\"Fru00e9du00e9ric Chopin\",\"Free throw\",\"Harmony\",\"Instagram\",\"Jersey\",\"Language\",\"London\",\"Los Angeles\",\"Ludwig van Beethoven\",\"Maple leaf\",\"Melody\",\"Michael Jordan\",\"Music\",\"Neoclassicism\",\"Parc des Princes\",\"Paris\",\"Paris Saint-Germain FC\",\"PGA European Tour\",\"Pianist\",\"Piano\",\"Playoffs\",\"Pop music\",\"RJ Barrett\",\"Rogers Centre\",\"Rush (band)\",\"Scotiabank\",\"Scotiabank Arena\",\"Scottie Barnes\",\"Switzerland\",\"Synergy\",\"The Canadian Press\",\"The Chainsmokers\",\"TikTok\",\"Toronto\",\"Toronto Blue Jays\",\"Toronto Raptors\",\"Universal Music Group\",\"Vince Carter\",\"Viral phenomenon\",\"Washington Wizards\"]}}}'>\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'NHL, NBA playoffs kick-off this weekend'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/b2wkul1jpo-ylkk0xdczi\/GNMNHLANDNBAPLAYOFFSSTILL.jpg?w=1040&#038;quality=70&#038;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">4:55<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">NHL, NBA playoffs kick-off this weekend<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__glide glide \">\n<div class=\"glide__arrows c-carousel__buttons l-videoCarousel__buttons\" data-glide-el=\"controls\">\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--left c-carousel__button c-carousel__prev l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__prev c-longform-gallery__prev\" data-glide-dir=\"<\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Previous Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--right c-carousel__button c-carousel__next l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__next c-longform-gallery__next\" data-glide-dir=\">&#8220;><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Next Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t<button class=\"c-carousel__goto\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><\/button>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<!-- video stream item --><\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>He\u2019s not only scoring the moment \u2014 he stars within the videos as well. The Raptors\u2019 hype reels show Ann in a jersey at centre court in Scotiabank Arena, hammering out his dramatic track \u201cRush of Life\u201d on the keys.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\" alt=\"Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get breaking National news<\/h2>\n<p>Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Raptors begin their playoff run Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad c-ad--tallSticky\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI got to shoot some free throws. I missed all of them, nevertheless it was really cool,\u201d Ann chuckles. \u201cIt really was a bucket list thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He says the collaborations grew out of a conversation along with his label Universal Music Canada about his passion for sports. That led first to a partnership with Paris Saint-Germain Football Club in 2023, with a video where he showcased his piano chops at Parc des Princes stadium.<\/p>\n<p>Raptors parent company Maple Leaf Sports &#038; Entertainment says it partnered with Ann to assist excite fans \u201cregardless of their language, their age or their culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also saw a synergy between Tony\u2019s story of determination and labor to perfect his craft and the dedication and keenness the Raptors proceed to commit to this post-season,\u201d says Sherry Jean, the corporate\u2019s senior manager of digital content strategy.<\/p>\n<p>His massive online presence could have been an element, too \u2014 he boasts greater than three million Instagram followers. Ann broke out in 2017 after a video cover of a Chainsmokers song caught the EDM duo\u2019s attention and earned him a spot of their touring band. Since then, he\u2019s built a global following via a modernized tackle classical music and an instinctive feel for what lands online.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;d never categorize my music in the identical world as 1800s artists like Beethoven and Chopin. That\u2019s true classical music. I\u2019m really closer to the world of pop music,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on Sports<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad c-ad--tallSticky\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe harmonies are quite simple. The melodies are a bit easier to grasp and digest. I\u2019m probably not attempting to impress musicians by throwing a bunch of chords in my music simply to sound smart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He notes his more accessible approach appeals to a younger crowd: \u201cAfter I look out on the stands, I see a whole lot of kids or people my age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Being fluent in social media also helps.<\/p>\n<p>Ann\u2019s #playthatword series routinely goes viral on TikTok and Instagram, with the pianist improvising original melodies based on words suggested by fans. Next week, the Raptors will release a video featuring him taking up the challenge with the word \u201cRaptors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He says the team gave him some guidelines for the piece: \u201cThey wanted it to be energetic, exciting, something that was optimistic, something that sounded hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What Ann ended up creating, he adds, is \u201csomething fast-tempo, uplifting and form of like EDM.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRaptors basketball has a whole lot of high-paced intensity \u2026. I just desired to create something that matched with the atmosphere. I didn\u2019t wish to create something that felt like a breakup ballad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ann had a conscious uncoupling of his own a couple of years ago \u2014 after years of living in Los Angeles pursuing music, he decided to maneuver back to Toronto.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad c-ad--tallSticky\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI missed the seasons,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToronto\u2019s at all times going to be a really special place for me. After I see a Canadian flag there\u2019s definitely some feelings of emotions, because that is my home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for his feelings on the Raptors\u2019 matchup versus the Cavaliers?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRaptors in six,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t&#038;copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Toronto Raptors are back within the playoffs, and their hype videos are doing things a bit otherwise this time. There\u2019s no thumping bass or blaring beats within the promotional reels on social media. As an alternative, a more emotional, piano-driven rating accompanies Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett dunking and hitting fadeaways. The person behind [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":320819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[30836,20058,2441,3491,7842,5328,1595],"class_list":["post-320818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-ann","tag-pianist","tag-playoff","tag-raptors","tag-tap","tag-tony","tag-videos"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320818"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320821,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320818\/revisions\/320821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}