Working with Lemons

Working with Lemons is an American family musical group based in Riverton, Salt Lake County, Utah. Robbie Bagley is the group's director. The group's members consist of Bagley's family and friends. His siblings, Camrey, Porter, Ari, Anson, and Mia, star in the group's covers.
The Working with Lemons YouTube channel was created in October 2008. On March 15, 2014, the family uploaded a cover of "Frozen"s "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" starring Bagley's sisters, Mia and Ari. It became a viral video, achieving 16 million views by April 2014. The group made more "Frozen" videos: "Love Is an Open Door", "In Summer", and "Let It Go".
Their "Let It Go" cover became the fifth most-watched YouTube video in the United Kingdom in 2015 when not considering music videos and became the group's most-watched video with about 350 million views by August 2017. By the end of 2014, the group averaged 18 million monthly YouTube views and made between $7,000 and $10,000 every month from its videos. The family has created covers of songs from "Hamilton", "Moana", "Beauty and the Beast", "Matilda the Musical", "The Greatest Showman", "Beetlejuice The Musical", "Anastasia", and "Dear Evan Hansen".
History.
The Working with Lemons YouTube channel was created on October 27, 2008. The family lives in Riverton, Salt Lake County, Utah. The group's motto is "When life gives you lemons, make movies." Robbie Bagley directs the group, which produces music videos that have accrued millions of YouTube subscribers and views.
After Working with Lemons uploaded its "Frozen" covers to YouTube, Robbie Bagley entered negotiations with The Walt Disney Company over granting the group the rights to create the Disney covers. YouTube videos make roughly $1 for every 1,000 views. Working with Lemons and Disney each get a percentage of the revenue generated by the videos. By November 2014, the group was making $7,000 to $10,000 a month from its videos, which were receiving 18 million monthly views. In 2014, YouTube granted Working with Lemons no-charge access to YouTube Space LA, a Los Angeles production studio available for content creators with 10,000 subscribers or more and no YouTube copyright strikes.
On December 1, 2014, Working with Lemons participated in a Radiant Foundation event at Rock Canyon Park in Provo, Utah, that broke the Guinness World Record for most people participating in a live nativity scene reenactment. According to a 2014 Tubefilter article, James Koo of Maker Studios handled the group's business affairs. In August 2015, the YouTube channel had 530,000 subscribers and its videos had 428 million views. By August 2017, the YouTube channel had 1.1 billion views and over one million subscribers.
Members.
The parents of the Working with Lemons family are Ernest and Jean Bourne, each of whom are divorced parents. After they married around 2010, their blended family had nine children. Jean's children are Robbie, Camrey, Porter, Ari, Anson, and Mia. Ernest's children are Taylor, Jordan, and Nathan. The family is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Covers.
"Frozen" covers.
Robbie Bagley and Jeane Bourne, his mother, conceived of making a cover of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" starring his sisters, Mia and Ari, after they noticed Mia looked like Anna from the 2013 film "Frozen". On March 15, 2014, they uploaded their cover. Filmed by Robbie, the video starred Mia as a young Anna and Ariana as a teen Anna and received over 16 million views by April of that year and over 46 million views by July of that year. Jeane Bourne reused fabric at their home to make a costume for Mia, and they used duct tape for Mia's oversized shoes. They spent $5.49 to produce the video. The expense was from purchasing contact paper which they covered in blue paint for the door in the video. They filmed the video with a digital single-lens reflex camera a friend lent them, recorded the dialogue and singing using a "Rock Band" video game microphone, used GarageBand's no-cost software, and created a pop filter from nylon tights and a clothes hanger. They filmed for two days for seven hours each day. Sean P. Means of "The Salt Lake Tribune" called the cover "accurate and quite touching".
The popularity of their "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" cover convinced Robbie Bagley and Jeane Bourne to create a cover of a second "Frozen" song, "Love Is an Open Door", which they had earlier considered making. Starring Mia and her brother Anson, the cover was released on YouTube on May 22, 2014, and by July of that year, it had received over 14 million views. With the money earned from their first cover, Working with Lemons was able to increase the budget for "Love is an Open Door" by purchasing higher quality costumes. They filmed the music video at the Thanksgiving Point complex in Lehi, Utah, and attempted to model their set after the movie's. "Bustle" reviewer Olivia Truffaut-Wong said that although the "vocals might leave something to be desired", the cover was "simply adorable" and "absolutely irresistible" by having ""Frozen" with kids" with a "a mini Anna and mini Hans".
Working with Lemons on June 24, 2014, uploaded to YouTube their cover of "In Summer" starring Robbie Bagley. The group's cover of "Frozen"s "Let It Go" song was the fifth most-watched YouTube video of 2015 in the United Kingdom when not considering music videos. Released on March 20, 2015, the cover featured Robbie's sister, Camrey Bagley. With about 350 million views by August 2017, their "Let It Go" cover is their most-watched video.
"Hamilton" covers.
Working with Lemons uploaded their first "Hamilton" cover, featuring the songs "Aaron Burr, Sir" and "My Shot". Released on August 26, 2016, the cover featured Anson Bagley starring as Alexander Hamilton.
They released a cover of the Hamilton song "The Schuyler Sisters" on September 30, 2016. Filming for the music video took place at Salt Lake City's This Is the Place Heritage Park. The group published to YouTube their cover of the Hamilton song "Dear Theodosia" on June 9, 2017. The music video features costumes and a set from Hamilton's era and according to "Deseret News" reviewers is an "early Father's Day tribute" that "gives insights into a father's perspective as he watches his child grow up". On May 25, 2018, Working with Lemons uploaded their cover of another Hamilton song, "Helpless", which they filmed at This Is the Place Heritage Park.
Other covers.
Working with Lemons on March 24, 2017, uploaded a cover of the film "Moana"s "I Am Moana" song that they filmed at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii. They released a cover of "Belle" from "Beauty and the Beast" on YouTube on March 31, 2017. For "Belle", they collaborated with participants in Camp Kostopulos, a Salt Lake special needs camp, to commemorate Camp K's 50th anniversary. The music video was filmed at Emigration Canyon, Utah. Don Hudson, a KTVX anchor, was Gaston in the cover.
On September 29, 2017, Working with Lemons uploaded a cover of "Revolting Children" from "Matilda the Musical" that supports "a kid's right to be a kid". They uploaded a cover of "A Lovely Night" from the "La La Land" film on August 4, 2017. Starring Mia Bagley and Cooper Johnson who tap dance through the street, the cover "highlight[ed] the witty jabs in the lyrics" by having it performed by 11-year-olds according to "Deseret News" reviewer Danielle Christensen. The children wore clothes that matched those in the movie with Bagley wearing a yellow dress and Johnson wearing a wool suit.
Working with Lemons uploaded a cover of "A Million Dreams" from "The Greatest Showman" film on February 1, 2018, starring Mia Bagley and Cooper Johnson. They released a cover of "Journey to the Past" from the film "Anastasia" on February 23, 2018. "Deseret News" reviewer Syndey Jorgensen said that the cover's star "sings and dances through the wintry forest and befriends a cute puppy as she brings the music to life". The group on July 27, 2018, posted a cover of "Waving Through a Window" from the musical "Dear Evan Hansen" to alert viewers about suicide prevention.