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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Maroon 5

  • The M Now Stands For "Mess"…A Hot One…

    So, I’m an award show junkie. Well, specific to music awards shows, anyway. You won’t catch me watching the Oscars (at least not with both eyes open), but…the Grammys? American Music Awards? BET Awards? Soul Train Awards? I’m there! Which is why it hurts me to say that the majority of these ceremonies blow chunks now.

    I didn’t actually watch last night’s MTV Video Music Awards…I was actually at Farm Aid’s inagural trip to NYC (yeah! Mellencamp!!), but anyone who stops by www.mtv.com can pick and choose which parts of the show they’d like to see…pity that most of the show (at least the parts I decided to click on) weren’t worth seeing.

    The performances were cut into little chunks (very few of them were complete), and the amount of awards given out has shrunk to damn near zero. There were no nutty acceptance speeches (someone call Fiona Apple or Macy Gray stat), and even the presentation of an award by 50 Cent and Kanye West together didn’t generate any sparks.

    What we were left with was the last nail in the coffin of Britney Spears’ career (although, to be fair about it, her performance was no better or no worse than any previous VMA performance…say, has anyone EVER seen/heard Britney sing live on TV???), a performance of “Wake Up Call” that signaled that Adam Levine might be taking the jump soon from lead singer of Maroon 5 to former lead singer of Maroon 5, a WHOLE lot of Justin Timberlake, and Mary J. Blige making mincemeat of her teleprompter.

    Oh, and Beyonce’s boobs nearly fell out of her dress. Awesome!!

    Actually, the chopped up format by which you can view on MTV’s site is better than having to sit through it on TV because you can skip around to the good parts, which were few and far between: I’m not sure how I feel about Chris Brown, but damn it, the boy can dance. After Cee-Lo’s performance of “Darling Nikki” with the Foo Fighters, it’s my contention that he would do the best black rock album of all time. Ah, and have I mentioned Beyonce’s boobs?

    Oh, and Justin implored the powers that be at MTV to play more videos. Wise call, considering the network only airs actual music during the graveyard shift.

  • Chesney, Brooks and Dunn Lead ACM Awards

    Perhaps putting the telecast of the Academy of Country Music Awards up against American Idol was thought to be a way to neutralize the television juggernaut. Instead, country music fans simply waited to flip from Fox to CBS to watch the coverage of same old, same old.

    Pop singer hiding under a cowboy hat Kenny Chesney won a third straight award, and perhaps the second he deserved, for Entertainer of the Year. George Strait and Brooks & Dunn also were honored with the country duo winning their 14th consecutive award as best duo. That means the last time someone else won the award was in 1993, and if you think country hasn’t changed since then, it’s worth noting that Billy Ray Cyrus notched song #11 on Billboard’s year end country charts. Yes, Billy Ray was still relevant…or at least still moved units.

    Former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood was appropriately honored for her smash Some Hearts, while Underwood wannabe Kellie Pickler was frozen out. The clock is ticking on Ms. Pickler, and she appears to be at minute 16 of the 15 she was allotted. Buh-bye, Kellie and remember to take your red shoes.

    Country is on an up cycle again, and if you find your joy in cool beats or in alt-guitar pop, you might want to listen to some country going on. Gretchen Wilson (out this month with a new album) rocks as hard as Melissa Etheridge, with just a twang’s difference, while Chesney channels everyone from 1970s singer-songwriters to Jimmy Buffett. Country is mainstream and worth a listen.

    Spinning In the CD:

    I am grooving to Maroon 5’s new single, Makes Me Wonder. Little Adam has grown up since his Kara’s Flowers days and is showing the world that the band was no one-hit wonder. You’ll be listening to Makes Me Wonder for the rest of the summer if you go near a radio dial.