Category: Country (Page 17 of 33)

American Idol: Welcome To Dollywood

So after dumbass host Ryan Seacrest told America that “American Idol” was being postponed due to some writer’s strike, pulling a fairly predictable April Fool’s joke, it was on to business. For a split second though, I forgot it was April 1, and thought “Awesome, I can go back to watching the Mets/Marlins game,” but no dice.

The mentor this week was Dolly Parton, and the remaining nine contestants were asked to sing something from Dolly’s catalog. This could go a few different ways for these singers, and you might expect just a few of them to do well. But what happened was that many of them stepped up their game, some in surprising fashion. Here we go….

THE GOOD

David Cook came clean before his performance, saying that some of his previous arrangements Continue reading »

Road Warriors 58

George Michael has a new album coming out this Tuesday, Twenty-Five, and for the first time in almost two decades, he will be coming to the US for a 20-city tour beginning June 17 in San Diego. For more information, please visit www.georgemichael.com.

Pop/rock powerhouses Maroon 5 and Counting Crows will hit the road together this summer beginning July 25 and running through October 4. In addition to the two bands, Sara Bareilles and Augustana will split support duties.

The Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis kicks off May 2, and some of the confirmed acts are Lou Reed, My Chemical Romance, Santana, Disturbed, Seether, Finger Eleven and Fergie. For more information, go to www.thebealestreetmusicfestival.com.

Fall Out Boy was all set to make history by performing in Antarctica Continue reading »

American Idol: Ramiel Hangs On

Remember how bad Ramiel was on “American Idol” Tuesday? Remember how I wrote yesterday that she was just about a lock to go home? Well, she wasn’t even in the bottom 3 in last night’s results show. I know there are always surprises, but geez. Anyway, here is how the show went down.

30 million votes, blah blah blah. Group song, blah blah blah. Recap of Tuesday, blah blah blah.

Chikezie, bottom 3….I didn’t think he was all that bad but apparently America did. Brooke White, safe. Carly Smithson, safe. Then a break, blah blah blah.

David Archuleta, safe. David Cook , and we find out he didn’t arrange that cool version of “Billie Jean”…it was in fact Chris Cornell, who Ryan Seacrest had to mention called in to the show and said he loved Cook’s version of his version. Anyway, David, very safe. Syesha Mercado, Bottom 3. What? She was amazing on Tuesday, so America in my mind right now is not a great judge of talent. Michael Johns, safe.

“Idol Gives Back,” blah blah blah. Dolly Parton mentoring next week, blah blah blah.

Then Season 2’s Kimberly Locke performed her song, “Fall.” She looked great and has an incredibly powerfull voice, but this song was as bland as a plain potato. The music industry suits need to start letting real songs back in instead of formulaic crap, or it’s all going to blow up in their faces.

Then they took some phone calls….and this was pretty funny last night, as one of the callers asked Simon Cowell if he thought it would be easy for her to eventually take Ryan Seacrest’s job. Then another caller asked David Archuleta why he picked that awful song, “You’re the Voice,” on Tuesday.
David claimed that it’s one of his favorite songs, and he was hoping he would get to perform it at some point. Um, dude, your musical taste is um, not very good.

Back to the results. Ramiel, safe. Here we go….I mean, she’s cute and all, and has a decent voice…but better than Syesha? No way. Did Danny Noriega call 5000 times to vote for his pal? Kristy Lee Cook, safe…and that was no surprise, because she really did a very smart thing by grabbing all the red state votes with “God Bless the U.S.A.” What’s that, Ryan Seacrest? Lee Greenwood also called in and said he loved it? Lee also says thank you for the royalty check. Oh, and if Dolly Parton is the mentor this coming week, can we assume country music theme? If so, Kristy just got another free pass. So it was Jason Castro in the bottom 3 along with Syesha and Chikezie, but he was almost instantly sent back to safety.

So down to Syesha and Chikezie. Mrs. Mike said Chikezie, and she said it as soon as he was sent to the bottom 3. Well, she has been right for 2 weeks in a row, so no reason to doubt her, and she called it AGAIN. So no more Chikezie on Idol, but I know this guy is going to find a recording niche as a young Luther Vandross type.

So now, my power rankings for the remaining nine:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Brooke White
4. Michael Johns
5. Carly Smithson
6. Syesha Mercado
7. Jason Castro
8. Ramiel Mallubay
9. Kristy Lee Cook

There you go….eight more weeks of Idol, or maybe nine if you include “Idol Gives Back”…remember, last year no one was eliminated on that show. See you next week, I’m going back to watching the NCAA tournament tonight.

American Idol: Top 10 Step It Up

Last night’s “American Idol” featured the Top 10 finalists, and with it only being 90 minutes, it’s like Fox handed me change back from a $20 bill. Good stuff. Anyway, the contestants had to sing a song from the year they were born, and most of them really stepped up their game. But it’s also worth mentioning this…..that it had to make most of us feel REALLY OLD seeing years like 1987 and 1990 come up.

Anyway, here is the recap…

THE REALLY GOOD

That sound you just heard was David Cook stamping his ticket to superstardom. He closed out the show last night with a grungy version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” What, you say? Just how far can Mr. Cook push the envelope with his song choices? Well, he saw the ball coming and hit it clear around the world. It was that good, and dare I say one of the best performances I’ve ever seen on the show. I’m getting goose bumps thinking about it. I turned to Mrs. Mike and said, “There is your winner,” and then the judges agreed with me. Randy said “You might be the winner” and used the term “molten hot.” Paula said it was brave and brilliant. And Simon, who rarely uses such words, uttered this one: “Amazing.” This is clearly David’s competition to lose.

THE GOOD

Syesha Mercado was born in 1987, and sang Stephanie Mills’ “If I Were Your Woman,” and it was, for me, her best performance yet Continue reading »

Road Warriors 57

Pop/rock band Augustana will release their new album, Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt, on April 29. And if you missed their performance at SXSW last week, fear not, because you can watch some of the show on www.crackle.com, or get there through the band’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/augustana.

The Samsung Sound Check series of free private concerts will kick off March 27 with Ne-Yo performing at House of Blues in New Orleans. Other acts in the series are Jimmy Eat World in Charlotte on March 30, Gym Class Heroes in Chicago on April 10, Paramore in Houston on April 29, and Sean Kingston in Las Vegas on May 14. A limited number of tickets will be available through radio promotions, street teams and online registration.

In advance of their new album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings, Counting Crows will head out on tour Continue reading »

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