Category: Alternative (Page 127 of 155)

American Idol: The Final Four

May 3, 2007 / Mike Farley

Last night’s “American Idol” featured two eliminations, because the big shocker last week during “Idol Gives Back” was that everyone was safe. So it was back to business, as host Ryan Seacrest said. So after some weird banter between Seacrest and Simon, it was on to the show. Does anyone out there understand that creepy banter?

Since the results show is now typicall an hour long, with an extra performance other than by the “mentor” of the week, we were graced with Robin Thicke, who has a hit song right now called “Lost Without U.” Um, people, I have to tell you, I just don’t get it. Any schmuck could sing that song in the same falsetto he did, and it kind of put me to sleep. Let’s put it this way….including Jon Bon Jovi, there were seven better singers on the stage last night. More, if you count the backup singers.

Okay, then it was finally on to business. Melinda, Phil and Lakisha were brought to the center of the stage. Melinda was the first to safety, then Lakisha, sending Phil home in a “Blaze of Glory.” My wife cried–she really did. Simon rejoiced on the inside as another bald contestant was sent home.

Then throughout the show, they brought back former champs Ruben Studdard, Fantasia and Taylor Hicks to ask for more money to help the kiddies.

Then it was Bon Jovi’s turn. They did the single from their forthcoming album, “(You Want To) Make A Memory,” and it wasn’t exactly the rocker you’d expect after the way Jon coached the contestants. Still, it’s a really good song….the kind that I think has the potential to be one of their biggest hits.

Then it was down to Jordin, Blake and Chris. Jordin was safe, leaving best buds Blake and Chris to swap hugs and kisses before Chris was sent packing. I mean, we all knew that was coming, didn’t we?

So it’s down to Blake, Lakisha, Melinda and Jordin–or, Blake and three divas. I still think this is coming down to Jordina and Melinda, but Blake and Lakisha showed this week that they have the potential to win it all as well. It’s going to get interesting, that’s for sure….starting with what I think Ryan Seacrest called “boogie week” with mentor Barry Gibb. Which of course means that no one will be favored. See you next week…

Alternative, American Idol, Pop, Rock

American Idol: Ready To Rock

May 2, 2007 / Mike Farley

We knew going in that none of the remaining contestants on “American Idol” were rocker types. Gina Glocksen was long gone and I can’t for the life of me think of anyone else from this season that fit the mold. But there was Jon Bon Jovi and his keyboard player to help coach them and watch them perform his songs. Surprisingly, many of them brought their A game, and some of them to the point where it may have saved their ass from elimination based on last week’s holdover votes. Here are yesterday’s performances ranked, and after that we’ll have to have some fun with math to figure out who is going home:

1. Blake Lewis was ranked last here a week ago and I thought he was in serious danger after that horrible sensitive-guy-on-stool rendition of “Imagine.” But yesterday he broke out the beat boxing again, and somehow put together an awesome arrangement of “You Give Love A Bad Name.” I was skeptical, but dude had to know he was in danger based on last week, and he connected on the long ball last night. Randy said it was the most original arrangement ever on the show, Paula said Blake really put himself out there and took a chance, and Simon said it was brave and should keep him around another week.

2. Lakisha Jones sang “This Ain’t A Love Song,” a rare Bon Jovi track that has a bit of soul. Meaning, it was the perfect song for her. And I had Lakisha at #5 last week, so she also may have saved her own ass because she was incredible. Randy said it was pitchy at the start but that Lakisha brought it around, Paula said she did her thing, and Simon planted a wet kiss on Lakisha’s LIPS afterward. That was awkward, creepy and entertaining all at the same time. But what that meant is Simon really dug it.

3. Melinda Doolittle was great as usual, but she was slightly overshadowed by Lakisha and Blake last night. Melinda sang “Have a Nice Day” and I was thinking she gave it the Tina Turner treatment. Then Randy and Simon both said the same thing. Randy admitted it wasn’t Melinda’s best, but still great. Paula said Melinda is a rock star, and Simon said Melinda is still in a different league vocally than everyone else.

4. Phil Stacey kicked things off with an awesome rendition of “Blaze of Glory.” I mean, this was his best performance yet and really suited his voice. But the problem is, Phil was still out-performed by three others last night and could be in danger. Randy said it was Phil’s best performance to date, Paula said it was the best opening song of the season so far, and Simon said it was “just okay,” and that he feared Phil could be going home.

5. Jordin Sparks sang “Livin’ On a Prayer” and it was not bad, but she really took on a difficult song to sing. Jon Bon even admitted that. Randy said Jordin isn’t really a rock girl, and that the verses were rough; Paula said Jordin “went for it” but that the song was out of her range; and Simon said it was like something out of the “Addams Family,” because Jordin tried to rock out her hair style to fit the song, and it didn’t exactly work. He also said it was “shrieking” and “terrible.” That is not a good sign.

6. Chris Richardson is the obvious choice for elimination. He sang “Wanted Dead Or Alive,” and while he threw a little of his R&B flavor in, it just was very mediocre due to the fact that Chris followed Blake. Randy said Chris did his thing, Paula agreed, and Simon said Chris did as much as he could possibliy do, but that it may not be good enough. I couldn’t have said that any better.

Okay, so last week’s rankings looked like this:

1. Melinda
2. Jordin
3. Phil
4. Chris
5. Lakisha
6. Blake

Adding up the places I’ve come up with, here is the average placement of the 2 weeks’ performances:

Melinda 2
Phil 3.5
Jordin 3.5
Lakisha 3.5
Blake 3.5
Chris 5

What this means is Melinda is unequivocally safe, and Chris is the first to leave. But otherwise, this thing is completely up in the air. The other one going home, I’m thinking, is Phil. Even though he was great last night, Lakisha and Blake were that much better, and Jordin was too awesome last week.
I guess we’ll find out tonight. No two hour Idol Gives Back, just one hour of the regular fluff and results, and Bon Jovi!

Alternative, American Idol, Pop, Rock

Road Warriors 12

April 27, 2007 / Mike Farley

While there is still no official word on when Guns N’ Roses will release their Chinese Democracy album, there is word that some of the band’s tour dates overseas have been postponed. Bassist Tommy Stinson has a wrist injury that has forced the band to pull out of shows in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan that were to begin tonight.

The original members of the legendary Spinal Tap are reuniting for the Live Earth show at London’s Wembley Arena on July 7. The band even has a new single called “Warmer Than Hell,” to fit the global warming theme of the event.

With an appearance on “Dancing With The Stars” scheduled for May 1 and other numerous national TV gigs in the coming weeks, Meat Loaf is already in promotion mode for his upcoming “Three Bats” tour that kicks off July 18 in New York City’s MSG Theatre. Here are Continue reading »

Alternative, American Idol, Concerts, Electronica, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock

American Idol: Shocking, Indeed

April 26, 2007 / Mike Farley

Last night’s “Idol Gives Back” results show started off with Ryan Seacrest claiming that this would be the “most shocking result” in the history of the show. Surely he didn’t mean Melinda was going home? Or Jordin Sparks, after that awesome performance on Tuesday? I have to admit, I was scared.

Then they cut over to Ellen DeGeneres, who was the satellite co-host to a plethora of musical artists, and there was an otherwise star-studded group of guest performers and visitors. It was a long show, and I promise you I’ll try to sum it up in as few words as possible.

Musical guests who performed live: Earth, Wind & Fire, Il Divo, Rascal Flatts, Josh Groban with an African children’s choir, Kelly Clarkson with Jeff Beck, Celine Dion with the ghost of Elvis, and Annie Lennox. EWF was awesome, Josh Groban makes me irritated and I’m not sure why, and Kelly Clarkson was as good as I’ve ever heard her….and proved that she could still blow away anyone else who’s ever won this thing. Oh, and a word on Il Divo…I’d never seen these guys before….but really, who wants to watch four opera singers doing pop? Big freaking yawn-fest.

They also showed the judges visiting various places like Africa, and battered parts of America such as New Orleans….it was all heartfelt, riveting and frightening at the same time. But then, the show on this night was a telethon so this is what they had to do.

Quincy Jones and Bono both had their chances to work with the Idol contestants. Jones wrote a song specifically for this show, and the Idols performed it…and it was, as you would expect, really great. Bono coached them but they didn’t show him until the end of the show, and they performed another group song as the show ended. (And for the whole show, the contestants were dressed as the Good Humor Man…what was that all about?).

Meanwhile, other folks who made random appearances were Ben Stiller, who gave us a terrifying rendition of The Little River Band’s “Reminiscing” in various segments, trying to raise millions of dollars in the process. Dude also gave a shout out to Pure Prairie League….oddly enough, I am that band’s publicist. Ben, the check is in the mail.

They showed both Madonna and Carrie Underwood in Africa, with Underwood performing The Pretenders’ “Stand By You” to a bunch of kids there. I’m not sure why, but it was mildly disturbing.

Jack Black got up on the main stage and sang Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose,” and then asked for the judges to honestly critique him. The best was Simon, who said it was better than Sanjaya, but then it got funnier. Seal was actually sitting next to Randy Jackson! That was probably the highlight of the show…sorry, Elvis.

There was also a video of a bunch of celebs singing “Stayin’ Alive,” including Teri Hatcher, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Hugh Grant, and that’s about all I remember.

Okay, now for the shocking results. Throughout the show, the contestants were brought to safety one by one. First, Melinda. Big sigh of relief. Then, Blake. I was surprised there. Then, Phil. Good for him. Then, Lakisha. Uh-oh. That left Chris and Jordin. And all of a sudden, my wife says, “maybe the shocker is that no one gets eliminated.” Why, yes, that’s it! I agreed and knew it was coming, and that’s what happened. Chris was safe, leaving Jordin, but then Ryan said Jordin was safe too. Which means the votes are carried over and we have double elimination next week.

I think they said they raised like $30 million by the end of the show, and I’m sure that at least doubled by the end of the night. Good for them, as that much money really has to make some kind of difference somewhere.

But now back to reality, and back to the competition……Phil, Blake, Chris, Lakisha…….you’ve got a 50/50 chance next week of being eliminated. So bring your A game. See you all then…

Alternative, American Idol, Country, Pop, Rock

American Idol: Pitching In For Change

April 24, 2007 / Mike Farley

Tonight’s “American Idol” was a bit of a prelude to the bigger show tomorrow, which is a 2-hour “Idol Gives Back” episode. Basically a portion of the voting proceeds tonight will go to charity, namely to help needy communities both here and in places like Africa.

Ryan Seacrest started out the show by saying he was excited to have Bono as this week’s mentor, but then I didn’t see Bono in any of the segments with contestants. So either Seacrest was mistaken, or Bono didn’t want to be filmed. Hmmm. Well, being that this was a show for charity, I’ll reserve judgement and just get to the performances, in order of my own power rankings.

1. Melinda is still the champ until someone knocks her off that perch. She sang Faith Hill’s “There Will Come a Day” and, as you would expect, it was phenomenal. Like, in another league, again. Randy said it was “so dope,” Paula said it was magical, and Simon said the best part was that it wasn’t a “copycat” performance, but rather that Melinda made it believeable and that it was like a “vocal master class.” Yeah, pretty much.

2. Jordin went last, and used the pimp spot to her advantage. Jordin sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and though it started out just a tad pitchy, she delivered the song with a conviction you may never hear a 17-year-old match again. Jordin is the only one in this competition that comes close to Melinda, and may even have enough talent and charisma to win it all. Randy said it was her best vocal, and one of the best in the competition ever (not sure about that), Paula said it was an amazing song and a “lovely job,” and Simon said it was fantastic.

3. Phil took advantage of the fact that he may have found his niche with country music, singing Garth Brooks’ “The Change.” It wasn’t exactly twangy, but more like a Michael Bolton-esque performance.
I thought it started good but got a little boring–however, the judges loved it. Randy said Phil is “back again” with a nice vocal, Paula said Phil has found his comfort zone and that it was his best vocal, and Simon said it was a good choice and that Phil could wind up going really far here.

4. Chris went first and sang Eric Clapton’s “Change the World.” I thought it was just okay, but that Chris helped himself with some nice vocal acrobatics toward the end. Randy said that Chris was “in it to win it,” Paula said she was proud of him, and Simon said that he’s feeling like the competition is just starting and that it was a great way to start the night (i.e., Simon shares my sentiment that he’s just glad Sanjaya is off the show).

5. Lakisha once again took on another former Idol champ, singing Fantasia’s “I Believe.” Comparing Lakisha to Fantasia really only shows Lakisha’s flaws and that is a problem. It wasn’t quite as bad as when she tried to sing a Carrie Underwood song, but it was still just okay. Randy said it was a great song choice but that it’s hard to match up to Fantasia, Paula said it was great but not quite Fantasia, and Simon said it was an emotional performance but that some it was shouted.

6. Blake sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” and I’m going to come right out and say it. It was BORING. Like, really boring. Randy said it was a good choice but just “aight,” Paula said it was beautiful and simple and she liked it, and Simon said it’s hard to pick a song like that and make a great performance out of it. In other words, Simon was saying that Blake didn’t destroy it, but he didn’t really separate himself from the pack with it, either. I think Blake separated himself the wrong way and may be going home.

So that’s it. Six remaining contestants took on songs that had inspirational connotation and some were awesome, some were really good, and some were just okay. Consider that this is a competition between Melinda and Jordin, and you shouldn’t be surprised to see any of the other four make an exit from here on out. I think Lakisha and Blake have a similar chance of going home, but that Blake was less inspiring and therefore may have punched his ticket first.

A 2-hour show tomorrow? A star-studded lineup including Carrie Underwood’s legs? Will there be more leg than Haley Scarnato? Will Underwood sing as nasally as she always does? Will Bono actually make an appearance? Will 2 hours be too long? Well, I can certainly answer that last question with a resounding “YES.” But I’ll be watching with the rest of you. See you then…..