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Tag: Tony Bennett

  • American Idol Season 10 – And The Winner Is …

    Like I said yesterday in my American Idol recap on Popblerd!, this season is a bit anticlimactic. It’s reminiscent of the Jordin Sparks/Blake Lewis clash. Neither contestant was super interesting or had a great story and they were simply nice kids. That’s how I feel about this year’s finale.

    Based on last night, Lauren clearly out-performed Scotty, but really, it’s not about what happened last night. What’s more important is how much of a fanbase each was able to create throughout the season. I’ve pegged Lauren as this season’s winner from day one based on how I think they can market her. She’s much more in the Kelly Clarkson/Carrie Underwood zone than anyone else they’ve had in the past several years. But Scotty has those girly girls voting for him in droves. And that could prove to be the difference.

    I received this tweet from elliehempleman which made me excited for the show.

    @roheblius you finally got to see @JLo shake her money maker. Worth the wait?

    (She’s on the East Coast so she was able to see the show before I was.)

    Wait, I just saw Aunt Becky (lesser known as Dixon’s and Annie’s mom) in the audience! That woman never ages.

    We’re going to do this a little differently tonight. Here come the bullet points!

    – The top 13 is singing Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. Are they trying to tell us something?
    – If Pia dressed like this during the season, she would’ve never lost.
    – Haley is wearing some of the hottest hot pants I’ve ever seen.
    – Hey, Karen Rodriguez, thanks for reminding me what you look like.
    – James Durbin is performing with Judas Priest. He’s wearing a captain’s hat and a sleeveless vest, looking like he wants to bring back The Village People.
    – Jacob Lusk and Kurt Franklin are performing together. Gladys Knight just came on stage to sing with them, but without the Pimps. Oprah Winfrey is shaking her head for not thinking of this trio for her final week of shows.
    – Casey and Jack Black are on stage together and they both have new movies coming out this weekend. For Black’s it’s Kung Fu Panda 2 and for Casey, The Hangover 2.
    – The girls of American Idol performed a flurry of Beyonce’s hits and it really made you appreciate Beyonce as both a singer and a performer. Haley has a little funk in her though. Pia, not so much.
    – Beyonce came out and just killed everything. They’ve had some fantastic performers on this show before, but she leaves most in the dust. And who doesn’t enjoy that Beyonce shake? I’ll take two.
    – They rolled out the corpse of Tony Bennett to sing with Haley. Who am I kidding? This dude has more life than I do.
    – In the “5 Years Late” department, Lil’ Jon came out on the stage. And in the “15 Years Late” department, TLC came out. But damn, Chili is still fine. The moral of the story is and always will be, “Don’t go chasin’ waterfalls, y’all.”
    – Tim McGraw came out to sing with Scotty, but really, he just should’ve started bench pressing him. Scotty’s a little light in the ass to be on stage with McGraw.
    – So this is what happens when your wife is the star of the show. Marc Anthony is out singing and I’ll be fine with this if J. Lo comes out and dances for him. If not, it’s a waste of my five minutes.
    – If Marc wasn’t a Grammy winning singer and was just some dude from the hood, wouldn’t he look like someone who kidnaps children?
    – J. Lo is out with him and she is shaking what her momma gave her. I think Beyonce threw down the gauntlet and J. Lo answered the challenge.
    – Sheila E. was banging on some drums too. It’s always great to see Sheila.
    – While the Idol dudes were out performing, my son says, “How does Scotty do it? Did he hypnotize the judges. I just don’t think he’s very good.”
    – Tom Jones came out to sing It’s Not Unusual. If Carlton comes out dancing, I will declare this show the greatest of all time.
    – It didn’t happen, though Jacob tried his hardest to channel his inner Carlton.
    – Hey, it’s Lady Gaga. At least this time, she’s actually on stage, rather than from her own concert like a couple of weeks ago.
    – Lauren started to sing some Carrie (you know, that song about Tony Romo) and you just knew Carrie was coming out to sing with her. Someone needs to feed Carrie a couple sammiches. She still has that terrible case of noassatall.
    – Beyonce is out again singing her new single 1 Plus 1. Let’s just say that this is a smidgen better than Beyonce’s current single about the girls who are running the world. Ok, maybe 100 times better.
    – Finally, we get some Steven Tyler live. Sing it Stevie!

    It’s now time. Who wins season 10 of American Idol?

    And the winner is … Scotty McCreery!

    Well, 10 years of American Idol are in the books. And I’m tired. See you next year.

    Photo of Carrie Underwood is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

  • We Are The World 25 For Haiti Video

    We Are The World 25 For Haiti
    Today, the We Are The World 25 For Haiti music video was released. Lionel Richie was on Oprah Winfrey earlier to talk about it.

    According to MTV.com, Richie told Oprah how Michael Jackson would be included in the song and video.

    He said:

    We have Michael singing that exact part [the chorus] and Janet singing along with him.

    Without further ado, here is the video along with a few comments from me underneath:

    – Justin Bieber sings Lionel’s intro?

    – Is that Nicole “The Terminator” Scherzinger singing next to Jennifer Hudson?

    – Putting MJ and Janet together was very classy and cool. I’m proud of how they included him.

    – Babs Streisand? Tony Bennett? I guess they had to average out the age because of Bieber and Miley Ray Cyrus.

    – I think Enrique Iglesias had a hard time escaping our love.

    – I think they should’ve had Jamie Foxx do Brother Ray’s memorable part.

    – I get Wyclef being a part of the song, but they should’ve told him to save the “someone please call 911” voice.

    – I thought Stevie Wonder came back for round two, but it was really Adam Levine.

    – I’m surprised Pink wasn’t singing in the air and twirling around.

    – Lionel: “Hey Usher, see, what we want you to do is do Huey Lewis’ part.” Usher: “Who is Huey Lewis?”

    – Thankfully, I didn’t enlarge the video, or else Fergie’s face would’ve made me fall out of my chair. As it was, I only hid my eyes.

    – Nicole “The Terminator” Scherzinger gets two parts? Is Lionel gettin’ that?

    – Look at Toni Braxton with the 1980s skater hair-cut. Someone un-broke her heart.

    – In the case of Lil’ Wayne, this time I approve of the Auto-tune.

    – In the case of Akon, I don’t approve of the Auto-tune. Dude can sing a little bit.

    – In the case of T-Pain, well, I would’ve rather seen MC Hammer on the track.

    – Well, I guess I got my wish with Jamie singing Brother Ray’s part.

    – I love that Uncle L, future of the funk, is leading the hip hop section. But um, where’s Kanye? And is that Tyrese with the rappers? Black Ty?

    – Ok, there’s Kanye, but what is will.i.am doing standing with Kanye. Dude can’t hold Kanye’s jockstrap in a suit case.

    There it is. I thought Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie did a really good job with the song, blending the original with some hip hop, and Wyclef’s Haitian sound.

  • The Return Of "At The Wrecka Sto’"…Albeit A Day Late…

    There will be a weekly updated new release portion of the actual musichelpweb.com site soon, but in the meantime, there are a million new albums out this week. So, no matter what genre of music you’re a fan of, you should be able to find something to enjoy.

    Country fans: While you’re basking in the glow of Reba McEntire’s #1 Album debut (the best first week of sales in Reba’s long and venerable career), you also might wanna check out “Still Feels Good”, the latest release from country
    darlings Rascal Flatts. They had 2006’s biggest
    selling non-soundtrack album (thanks, “High School Musical”), and this one should be another biggie. For those who like their
    country of a somewhat more mature, rootsy variety check out
    alt-country troubadour Steve Earle and his Washington Square
    Serenade

    Rap fans: You a Black Eyed Peas fan? I’m not, but it’s OK if you are. Band leader will.i.am has a new album out called Songs About Girls. Rumor has it that it’s quite eclectic and artistic in a way that his fellow bandmate Fergie’s album was decidely not.

    Classic Pop fans; Not only are there a few Tony Bennett reissues hitting stores, but Queen Latifah unleashes another set of sunny covers with Travelin’ Light. Listen to the Queen (who I caught last night on a very funny “Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air” rerun…it was strange watching her and Will Smith on the screen knowing that they both have gone on to be Oscar nominated) tackle classics such as “I’m Not In Love” on this release. Meanwhile, not only is Joni Mitchell covered on the new Chaka Khan album (see below for details)…not only is she the subject of a Herbie Hancock-directed tribute album (featuring Corinne Bailey Rae and others), but the Queen of Singer-Songwriters issues her Starbucks-backed Hear Music debut, Shine-which I’ve already heard and HIGHLY recommend.

    Rock fans: The Foo Fighters are back! “The Pretender” is the latest in a long line of winning rock songs from Dave Grohl and company. The name of the album is Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

    Indie Folks: Iron & Wine (who I remember from the Garden State soundtrack) and Devendra Banhart (who I remember because his name sounds like the name of some girl I went to school with) have new albums out today. I’m sure Pitchfork is already drooling all over both albums.

    R&B fans: This is the R&B Super Tuesday of 2007. To wit: Mary J.-in-training Keyshia Cole attempts to conquer the sophomore album demon with Just Like Me. First single “Let It Go” has already had #1 success. Meanwhile, Jill Scott returns for round three with The Real Thing. The singer/songwriter/spoken word artist also has what is a reportedly career-defining role in “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married”, in theaters 10/12 (co-starring Janet Jackson). Fans who prefer their soul a little more on the esoteric side will rejoice in albums from bassist/provocateur Meshell Ndegeocello (The World Has Made Me The Man of My Dreams) and singer Rahsaan Patterson’s Wines & Spirits> Finally, a singer who many soul fans say Rahsaan resembles vocally is back. Chaka Khan is back with Funk This!, her first album of all new material in a decade. Chaka rolls with producers Jam & Lewis on this one, and it also features contributions from former Rufus bandmate Tony Maiden, Michael McDonald and Mary J. Blige.

    Lovers of music? This should be a very good week for you!!