He’s responsible for some of the biggest names in music. Tan Mom. Octomom. Sydney Leathers (remember her from the Anthony Weiner scandal?). And he doesn’t even have a Grammy.
Meet Adam Barta, the singer-songwriter behind the viral eardrum assaults featuring the nation’s most notorious tabloid fixtures.
“I like to think of myself as Weird Al meets Adam Lambert for the new generation,” he tells The Post.
Born and raised and still living in The Bronx, the 34-year-old singer (who says his “Botox age is 26”) got his start in music as a child, when he’d perform Michael Jackson songs for his parents, complete with a glove. He studied musical theater at SUNY Purchase, signed with a record label and found niche success in club music, hitting number 20 with Kathy Sledge on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 2011.
But Barta wanted to take his career to the next level. So he hooked up with manager Gina Rodriguez, a former porn star who now represents many tabloid D-listers. It was her idea to pair him with Octomom.
The result was a 2012 song called “Sexy Party.” An instant viral success, the track paved the way for a new career direction for Barta.
Now he regularly writes and produces these novelty singles — the latest is “The Plastics.” Dropped last Monday, the song features Toby Sheldon (who spent $100,000 on plastic surgery to look like Justin Bieber), Kitty Jay (who spent $25,000 to look like Jennifer Lawrence) and Venus D’Lite (a drag queen who spent $65,000 to look like Madonna).
And no, it doesn’t matter if they can carry a tune.
“When I started, the mentality was ‘We’re going to try to get them to sound perfect and try to get them to be singers.’ But they’re not,” says Barta. “They’re personalities. The more Auto-Tuned and funny it can be, the more obvious it is that they’re not trying to be [singers].”
For the record, he says Tan Mom was the worst singer — she showed up drunk for “It’s Tan Mom” — and Kris Humphries’ ex-girlfriend Myla Sinanaj, who got surgery to look like Kim Kardashian, was the best with her single, “I’m No Angel.”
Barta insists that though comedy is the goal, it’s not about embarrassing the subjects. “People make the comment that we’re taking advantage of them, but we’re helping them acknowledge their fame in a positive way,” he says.
Barta usually gives himself a verse and a video appearance. “Well, I have to be!” he says. “It’s my brand.”
Asked whether she hopes that Barta will become a radio star, Rodriguez replies, “Adam [should be] a reality TV star. That’s the goal.”
Which media sensation will we get to hear Auto-Tuned next? Barta says he’s dying to work with a Kardashian, and RuPaul, Lindsay Lohan and “Apprentice” star Omarosa Manigault are also on his wish list.
Rodriguez has her sights narrowed on a more likely prospect: Donald Sterling’s ex-girlfriend V. Stiviano. “I’ve already been trying!” she laughs.
Video stars
Adam Barta’s biggest YouTube successes. (Octomom’s “Sexy Party” and Sydney Leathers’ “Weinerizer” don’t have videos.)
1. Jonah Falcon (who allegedly has the world’s largest penis),“It’s Too Big”
1,862,000 views
2. Lisa Lampanelli, “Q&A”
625,000 views
3. Toby Sheldon, Kitty Jay and Venus D’Lite, “The Plastics”
515,000 views
4. Tan Mom, “It’s Tan Mom”
94,000 views
5. Angelina Pivarnick (from “Jersey Shore”), “Serendipity”
64,000 views