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  • Vital Idol: All This And A Jar Of Kellie Pickler

    Week 2 was a terrific example of why this show works even if the contestants have off nights. If you ask those who watched last night, based solely on the performances, it was definitely below par. But then again, what are we asking of these barely less than amateurs? They were doing Beatles songs which are some of the most revered records of all time. How could these folks pull off any of the material well? And when they didn’t for the most part, you could just feel music fans going, “How could you not know that song?” The Beatles’ music is so personal to people and there was no way that these poor Idol contestants could win. But those very average performances did make me yearn for the originals. Maybe that’s the trick now. Have your songs ravaged by contestants so that people buy them on iTunes. Wait, the Beatles aren’t on iTunes. Never mind.

    Based on last night, I predicted that Michael Johns, Kristy Lee Cook, and Amanda Overmyer would be in the bottom three. Kristy Lee Cook’s nickname should be “Bottom 3”.

    Before we get to the elimination, why Kellie Pickler? I guess they’ll tell us.

    Let’s get to the elimination.

    – It looks like Ryno is doing this one by one style rather than talking to the contestants as a group.

    – Brooke White is back to the straight hair if anyone cares. I do! And I like the curly better!

    – In the shocker of all shockers, Carly Smithson is in the bottom three. I blame the tattoos.

    – And we get another shocker. Michael Johns is in the top ten. He’s thankfully hiding the chest hair again tonight.

    – Kristy Lee Cook is in the bottom three, living up to her brand new nickname. Only one spot left.

    – They really need to dump the segment where they take calls. It’s never been done well on television and some of the lamest calls get through, like what song Ramiele recently downloaded to her iPod. She actually said she only steals music through Limewire. Ok, she didn’t say that.

    – Kellie Pickler is singing Red High Heels while wearing her red high heels, and I totally thought she was going to take a header walking down from the platform, but she made it safely.

    – They are showing Fantasia with a homeless guy visiting Angola. Wait, that homeless guy is Elliot Yamin.

    – Amanda Overmyer is the final contestant in the bottom three, which means, I got two out of three right. Last week I got all three right. Too bad that my NCAA Tournament picks will be a complete failure.

    – Ryno tells Carly she is safe which makes Carly whisper, “Are you kidding me?”

    – Kristy Lee Cook must have nine lives. Big Rube Studdard is going to celebrate Amanda Overmyer home.

    So far, no surprises when it comes to the departed. But I’m banking on a surprise in the next couple weeks. If Johns keeps making it through, someone is going to have to pay. Seacrest out!

    GG

  • Danity Kane, Flo-Rida, YAWNNNNN: New Music Releases 3/18/08

    Maybe I’m getting old, maybe I’m slowly growing out of touch with popular music nowadays.
    What does it mean when I’m completely disinterested in the two potentially biggest-selling releases of the week?
    For those of you that care, “Making The Band” favorites Danity Kane release their second album, “Welcome To The Dollhouse” today. Their debut album entered the charts at #1 and sold a million copies, so there’s a lot riding on this release, as my buddy GG mentioned a couple of blog entries ago.
    The other release of note comes from T-Pain protege Flo-Rida, whose debut single “Low” reigned on top of Billboard’s pop charts for an amazing 9 weeks. “Mail On Sunday”‘s follow-up single “Elevator” (which features the typically omnipresent Timbaland) has made it into the Top 15 in just a couple of short weeks.
    Daniel Lanois is much better known as a producer than an artist, but to give you an idea of the kind of clout this man has, the guests on his new album, “Here Is What Is”, include: U2, Willie Nelson, Sinead O’ Connor and Aaron Neville. Quality stuff.
    Other releases of reasonable note include: a new album from underground rap favorite Lyrics Born, a set from LOX rapper Sheek Louch, indie favorites The Kills and dance gurus Groove Armada.
    Yeah. I’m excited too!!
    Get a complete list of this week’s releases here:

  • Biggie & Tupac: The Plot Thickens Again

    Chuck Phillips of the L.A. Times is at it again.
    The man who, several years ago, implicated The Notorious B.I.G. in Tupac Shakur’s murder has come forth with a new story: saying that Biggie and Sean “Puffy” Combs were part of a set up that led to Shakur being robbed of his jewelry and shot in the lobby of a New York recording studio back in 1994. Allegedly, B.I.G. and Puffy were among the conspirators behind the robbery based on Shakur’s refusal to join Bad Boy Records, the label Combs owns and B.I.G recorded for.
    As a lifelong hip-hop fan, a fan of both artists, and someone who was upset enough about the murders and the pervasive aura of violence that seemed to surround hip-hop back then that I temporarily took a breather from ingesting hip-hop as a whole, this report upsets me, but I’m not naive enough to think that there could potentially be some truth in what Phillips has allegedly dug up.
    Of course, this means I have to share my thoughts on the murders of the two rappers and the whole manufactured “East Coast/West Coast” rivalry that may have played a part in them.
    Let’s face facts: Tupac was killed on the Las Vegas strip directly after a Mike Tyson fight, while in the passenger seat of a car. Is it possible that no one witnessed his murder? Not really. Biggie was gunned down six months TO THE DAY later while in the passenger seat of an SUV that was leaving a widely attended music industry party. Is it possible that no one witnessed his murder? (especially when there were numerous people in the vehicle with him). No, not really. Someone knows something. The events were too widely seen and the time frames were too coincidental, and I’m betting that the two people that know the most are Death Row Records chairman Suge Knight and Sean “Puffy” Combs.
    I’m no “JFK”-style conspiracy theorist, but is it possible that Knight and Combs may have planned the murders of their biggest artists in concert? For all the talk about the two being bitter rivals, they were spotted together at a Prince concert (of all places) last year. Knight is quite obviously evil, and Combs doesn’t seem to possess much of a conscience, so I wouldn’t put it past them.
    The alleged involvement of Jimmy “Henchmen” Rosemond, a former associate of both Tupac and Biggie (who now manages The Game) complicates things. Rosemond’s close associate, a gentleman by the name of “Haitian Jack”, was allegedly the person who REALLY sexually assaulted the young lady who went on to charge Tupac with rape (remember, ‘Pac didn’t go to jail for actually sexually assaulting someone, he went to jail for being an accessory to the assault). Rosemond was allegedly in the studio with B.I.G and Puffy when Tupac was assaulted, robbed, and shot.
    All this adds up to one hell of a tangled web that won’t be completely unwoven until someone spills their guts, which likely won’t happen until either Combs or Knight (or both) passes away.