Alexis Jordan has made me so very happy this spring. The 18-year-old former America’s Got Talent contestant, now signed to the Jay-Z/Kanye West-run Roc Nation label, has just released her official debut single, “Happiness.” I first heard the song via a Sony sampler I picked up from one of my local record stores’ giveaway box last month, and ever since, it’s been getting heavy rotation on my car stereo system, usually at such an extreme volume as to embarrass and/or totally annoy my teenage son. “Happiness” represents the kind of delicious unexpected meeting of two distinct flavors that commercials for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups celebrated when I was a kid. Instead of chocolate and peanut butter, here we have a defiantly un-guilty pleasure teen pop song built over a composition by up-and-coming Canadian hipster-bait trance-house artist deadmau5 called “Brazil (2nd Edit)”. “Happiness” isn’t just based on a sample of the deadmau5 song. It is the deadmau5 song… only with the Alexis Jordan song slathered all over the top of it like so much sweet, sweet, frothy, frothy Ready-Whip. A genius proposition executed in genius fashion, sure to turn as many people on to Miss Jordan as it will to Mr. mau5. This week, the song’s video premiered on Vevo. You can also currently pick up a free download of the song by signing up for her e-mail list at her website.
To summarize last night’s show, Casey sucked, Crystal was good, and Lee was money. Now let’s get to business.
(By the way, if anything I write from here on out is goofy, I blame the medicine the doctor prescribed for me for what she described as whooping cough. If you ever want to know what whooping cough feels like, cough 100 times in a row without stopping. Take a breath. And then do it again.)
Ryno just asked Casey if he ever thought he’d be this far and if he thought that he’d win. He said no. Well, at least he agrees with the rest of us. Crystal said she envisioned herself winning. Lee said he wants to win. At least I think that’s what he said. He has a way with words. The only way I can describe how he answers a question is to pretend that answering a question directly is like walking in a straight line. Lee walks around in a circle, a squiggly line, does it backwards, and with his eyes closed.
The first video package is of Casey James and his trip back home to Texas. He signed a guitar for the hospital that helped him heal after an accident. You got to see Casey’s mom who has hair like Reba McIntyre from 1990.
Perez Hilton is on this show which has to be a sign of the apocalypse. He’s supporting a kid named Travis Garland who is another YouTube sensation like Justin Bieber. Perez just said he’s better than Justin Timberlake. I’ll go out on a limb and say that he’s not better than Justin Timberlake, nor Justin Bieber, or any of your friends named Justin who sing drunken karaoke.
Next we see Crystal in Ohio. She was a guest at her own parade and performed at her own concert called Bowerstock.
A friend asked me why she does the LeAnn Rimes eye squint and I think it’s a combination of being very tired and having heavy eye lids.
Lee was able to throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. Now that was cool. Lee went back to the paint store that he used to work at and cried. I think he cried tears of joy because he’ll more than likely never have to work there again.
Those were some long video packages. Bieber-Mania Is Runnin’ Wild!And now, it’s Justin Bieber time! Woohoo! I mean, um, hey, Justin Bieber’s on stage.
He reminds me a lot of Joe McIntyre from the New Kids On The Block. He just has to be able to get over the upcoming voice crack that will happen sometime this year. I will admit to buying Baby on iTunes for the kids. At the end of his performance, he grabbed some sticks and did a drum solo to show that he’s not your average pop idol. That was pretty cool.
And finally, it’s time for someone to go home.
Lee DeWyze is the first person to move on so it’s between Crystal and Casey. If Casey wins, we riot.
Crystal Bowersox is going to the finals. We get Lee vs. Crystal for all the marbles next week.
Don’t feel badly for Casey. Casey James is about to run rough shot through American Idol groupies like no one has done since Constantine. Fathers, be good to your daughters, and keep them away from Casey James for the next three months.
So who is it going to be? Lee or Crystal?
Photo shared via Wikipedia and through creative commons
Metal vocalist Ronnie Dio, best known for his role as Black Sabbath’s lead vocalist, died t0day according to a posting from his wife.
Wendy Dio’s message read:
Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away…
Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss.
Dio repeated the post on Facebook, where she said people could leave their condolences by liking the page. After just 12 hours, nearly a quarter-million people had done so.
Besides Sabbath (where he is credited with popularizing the devil horn gesture), Ronnie sang in the band Dio and a relationship with Jack Black led to his appearance in Tenacious D – The Pick of Destiny.
Ronnie Dio later formed Heaven & Hell with former Black Sabbath members, including Tommy Iommi, touring through multiple countries in 2008.
Wendy Dio announced last Thanksgiving that her husband had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Despite treatment at The Mayo Clinic, Dio was dead less than six months later at the age of 67.
