This Apex dad creates minor key versions of Disney songs, popular hits on YouTube and it's kind of mind-blowing

Chase Holfelder is just a local guy, raising two kids with his wife from their home in Apex. He's a lot like the rest of us Triangle parents, except this part ... Holfelder has become a YouTube sensation with his minor key versions of popular major key songs that completely flip the meaning of the lyrics.

Like, for instance, this would be Moana singing "How Far I'll Go" if she actually never left the island and, 30 years later, she's just sad and edgy and angry ...

Holfelder tells me that he's been involved in music forever - even dropping out of college to perform with his college band "The Mile After." The group had albums, full-country tours and appeared on a few MTV shows.

After about five years, they called it quits and went back to college. After graduation, Holfelder ended up at IBM working as a software user experience designer.

"I started hating life while I was there," he said. He knew he needed to do something different with his life, but he wasn't sure what that could be. The light bulb moment came in the shower while singing "The Star Spangled Banner" in a minor key.

He posted a video of him singing the song on YouTube and, within a week, had more than 1 million views. Fast forward a few years, he has quit his day job and turned his YouTube channel into full-time work thanks to YouTube ads and revenue from Spotify, mp3 sales on iTunes and Patreon, a subscription content service.

"It's kind of like the year that we live in makes it possible to have a viable career from your bedroom as a musician," he said.

But let's get back to the music.

What really intrigues Holfelder - and a lot of his fans - is just how much the meaning of a song's lyrics can change when it's sung in a minor key.

Take "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," one of Holfelder's most popular videos with more than 3.4 million views.

"It's a bubbly pop anthem," he said. "In minor, it's almost like a woman struggling with drug addiction or depression."

Or check out the theme song from "Beauty and the Beast," which turns into an anthem for what might actually be a totally unhealthy relationship in his minor key version ...

And then there's "Kiss the Girl" from "The Little Mermaid," which will make you rethink everything you thought about the movie. I mean, it's been some time since I've seen the movie, but is it actually about some creep's obsession with a girl?

But he isn't just about turning major key songs into minor key versions. He also has fun covering other popular songs, using household objects and even his kids' toys.

In this video, he shares the screen with Mr. Potato Head as he plunks out "Titanium" on his son's toy piano.

And let's wrap up with his version of "Believer" by Imagine Dragons in which he sings from inside his pantry (see, he's just like us!) and uses sounds from the kitchen - like a roll of packing tape - as the instruments.

Holfelder says he tries to post one to two videos a month. He's usually juggling about five to six songs at any given time and he does everything - the vocals, the music, the production.

And, next month, he'll fly to Las Vegas to perform in Cirque du Soleil's annual fundraiser for One Drop, a water conservation charity. This year, Jewel is headlining the show. Holfelder got to meet her when he traveled to Las Vegas to get ready for the show.

What a wonderful world, indeed!