web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Ryan Seacrest

  • Gaga, John Open Grammys

    beyonce
    Beyonce: How A Star Shines.

    Live blogging the Grammys tonight and away we go once Ryan Seacrest scampers in from the red carpet after letting slip (yeah, right) that he’ll be performing on We Are The World.  To quote Lionel Richie, “We had Dan Akroyd there so yes, you can sing.”

    Gaga updated the opening with the real Gaga that mashed a circus, steampunk and a power ballad that has the likes of Alice Cooper and Elton John gushing to mainstream media about the latest to ascend the throne they built. Lady Gaga relises being a monster. That’s why Sir Elton donned specs years after shedding them from his act.

    Gaga pulled all the specs and eye patches off and dueted with Sir Elton brilliantly. Alice Cooper said it best. Gaga works as an artist because she can sing.

    Stephen Colbert does his schtick to a flat crowd including a once-over glance from Jay-Z. One liners: Jeff Beck has the all-time high score on Guitar Hero. Then he told his daughter to stay away from Katy Perry.

    Finally Song of the Year on an iPad. Beyonce and co-writers win for Single Ladies. I’m not sure the songwriter award belonged to that track. It was certainly my choice as Record of the Year. Colbert talked so damn long that they played the songwriters off lightning-fast.

    Jenny from the Block is up. We told you years ago that American Idiot would be a Broadway show. The Broadway cast and the once-punkers met onstage for GD’s title track. Writing hellacious hooks was never a problem although Joey Ramone probably revoked their place in Punk Heaven. The good news is that Tres Cool’s kids will never want for college tuition. So Green Day has been Glee’d. They won’t be the last.

    There’s a promo for When in Rome masked as presenting. The actors shill for people to get interactive and vote for Bon Jovi to play one of three songs. Oy. The Pro Bowl is before the Super Bowl and now we get to vote on Grammy performances.

    Best Country Album was Taylor Swift’s when the nominations were announced although Zac Brown Band sure had a chance. No Kanye sighting although Taylor’s delight is getting a bit tired. Taylor, you’re winning everything on every show. Accept it. Nice young woman. I’m sure it’s a dream.

    CBS shills The Mentalist by trotting out Simon Baker without worrying about his accent. Hugh Laurie was undoubtedly jealous. I’m simply jealous because he introduced Beyonce. She is our generation’s Streisand and Cher rolled into one mixed with a supermodel’s looks.

    The mix sounded off on my set, but was resolved about halfway through. The holding pen she sang to moved a little of the gravitas from the show, but music is about people so no complaints here. Beyonce threw a fake cold ending at the audience and owned the venue.

  • Is That Paula Abdul’s Voice?

    On Ryan Seacrest’s blog (which I found through his Twitter account), he premiered Paula Abdul’s new single (I’m Just) Here For The Music.

    A couple of weeks ago, Paula instructed the American Idol contestants through a dance routine, which basically showed that the girl can still go. But can she go on the mic?

    The song is exactly what you’d expect a Paula Abdul song in 2009 to sound like. Abdul’s voice is doctored with to the extent that it could be anyone singing, but there’s something fresh about hearing her again. Check it out for yourself below.

    Paula Abdul’s (I’m Just) Here For The Music

  • Is Four A Crowd For The American Idol Judges?

    When word got out yesterday morning that American Idol was introducing a fourth judge, my immediate response was to question why. And when I found out it was songwriter Kara DioGuardi, my next response was, “Who dis?”

    Money Mike smartened me up.

    She’s a pretty popular songwriter. Her name’s probably not known much outside of industry circles, but then again, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell’s weren’t either. She’s written for Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson-basically she’s Sony BMG’s right hand girl.

    She definitely has credentials. However, if they want to make some changes to the show, I don’t think they looked in the right place. While they are definitely a batty bunch, Simon, Paula, and Randy have really good chemistry together. And adding a fourth voice either takes away some of the Simon/Ryno Seacrest back and forth (which is either the best or worst thing on the show based on your sense of humor), or it makes the show feel more rushed. They are rushed enough.

    This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0).

    Money Mike thinks it’s a change directly related to sliding ratings and it definitely could be that. But if that’s the case, I think it’s a bad move. It’s still the biggest show in America. I think they’ve made changes for the better recently. They’ve allowed the artists to play their own instruments and the show feels a little more human because of it. But changing the judges feels way too much like a publicity stunt. Mike thinks it’s there to create drama and I think he’s right. But it could create the wrong kind of drama. The kind that gets you to turn off the television.

    But the show is too iconic for it to really be hurt by anything short of Simon leaving, so I think they’ll be ok.

    Paula Abdul agrees with me though. And that’s a scary thought.

    She was interviewed by MTV.com’s Jocelyn Vena and had this to say.

    “I am concerned about the audience and acceptance. Time will tell. We’ll see.”

    She also added that having a fourth judge will take all the fun out of tie breaking and now breaking ties will probably fall into the hands of Simon.

    “I’m sure Simon will get to make the final [call]. It takes the fun out of all the hard work I do to push those kids through.”