Why oh why can’t some of this season’s American Idol contestants pick the right song? Even when given the amazing songbook of Lennon/McCartney (i.e.: the Beatles), a few of them faltered or just picked obvious choices. At least many of them (ahem, the ladies) did them justice while only one really faltered. So, just how did they all stack up for the night? Take a look at my performance rankings and predictions below:
American Idol Rankings~ 3/20/13 1. Candice: in a very tight race for the top, Candice does it again with her fierce version of “Come Together” that rivaled the fantastic take Carly Smithson did back in season 7… Candice remains my front-runner and with this rocking showcase proved she can take on any genre of music. Just great. 2. Kree: with another assured and lovely performance, Kree almost took the top spot with her version of “With a Little Help from My Friends”. Her vocals were perfect of course, but Candice just out performed her by the smallest margin. How awesome would a finale with those two be? 3. Amber: originally I had Amber in fourth, but after re-watching her performance, I’ve moved her up a notch. Vocally Amber has incredibly potential with a huge range and glorious voice which was in fine form tonight. I also loved the random song choice of “She’s Leaving Home”. Well done. I really hope the audience ignores the stupid judges and she stays out of the bottom three due to their nitpicking. 4. Angie: while I didn’t love her take on “Yesterday” (shockingly I still am partial to Syesha’s subtle and beautiful take from season 7), I did love the Evanescence vibe she gave to it. I would actually really like to hear her on that kind of rock song and while her vocals were totally on point, I didn’t completely buy the connection. Something seemed a little calculated, but now I think I’m nitpicking because it was quite solid. 5. Burnell: while I’m totally starting to get annoyed with his hand gestures, Burnell sho can sang! And he gave another good performance on “Let It Be” while totally making it his own. His John Legend-ish version of the classic actually totally worked. 6. Janelle: doing a Beatles song I’m not too familiar with “I Wish”, Janelle gave a very pretty and restrained performance. I enjoyed it, but it was just a little too blah in the end. That said, I think it was one of her strongest to date. She also had the final “pimp” slot of the night which will help her in the voting. 7. Paul: I really wish the judges had been a little nicer to him. I mean, consistently they harp on him while they tell other people they’re “inspirational” when they were actually bad. Anywho, yes, Paul had some trouble on the lower parts of the song, but his mid and upper register were glorious on “Eleanor Rigby”. And I give him props for going out of his comfort zone. 8. Devin: now many of you may wonder why the best male vocal of the night is this far down the list. Well here’s why~ it was BORING. I think Devin has mad vocal skills (yes, that was me channeling Randy). However, he is a little too adult contemporary telethon in his performances. But the judges loved it, so what do I know? 9. Lazaro: um, I really don’t want to be mean, but his take on “In My Life” was atrocious. Sorry. I like this kid and he has a good voice, but it was not evident tonight.
Predictions~ Bottom 3: Paul, Lazarro, and Devin or Amber Bottom 2: Paul, Lazarro (but the damn crying will probably save him) Going home: Paul (and that makes me really really really sad)
So, how did you like Beatles night? I think it was a good effort, but still far from the best Idol night features these iconic songs. (That would be season 7′s cycle with amazing takes on these classics by the aforementioned Syesha and Carly, plus Brooke White and the Davids~ Cook and Archuleta)… And just who do you think will go home? Will there be a crazy bottom 3? Will Janelle and Burnell make surprise appearances? And will Kree, Candice and Angie be the top three again (um, yes)…. Find out tomorrow night on American Idol on Fox.
Grammy winner John Mayer and newly crowned American Idol winner Phillip Phillips share a lot in common. Both are attractive, guitar strumming, raspy voiced white guys, and now they’re both making waves on the Billboard Charts... Mayer lands his third # 1 album with his latest, Born and Raised, which sells 219,000 copies. Phillip’s compilation album from season 11 of American Idol debuts at # 11 while the combo-album from the season finale episode, American Idol Season 11: Top 2 Season Finale EP, featuring his competition (and the girl who should’ve won) Jessica Sanchez also debuts at # 21. Sanchez’s season competition album debuts way down at #126. Two other Idol contenders also hit the charts as season 10′s third place finisher Haley Reinhart barrels in at # 17 while season 8 champ Kris Allen disappoints with a # 27 debut for his sophomore album. He may have won that season but he has been upstaged time and again by that season’s runner-up Adam Lambert who hit # 1 with his sophomore album, Trespassing, last week…. For more on all these albums and the Billboard 200, head here and check out the new top ten below.
Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Born & Raised- John Mayer (debut)
2. 21- Adele (last week~ 2)
3. Blown Away- Carrie Underwood (lw~ 3)
4. Apocalyptic Love- Slash (debut)
5. Up All Night- One Direction (lw~ 10)
6. Tuskegee- Lionel Richie (lw~ 9)
7. The Hurt & the Healer- Mercy Me (debut)
8. Once Upon Another Time EP- Sara Bareilles (debut)
9. Now 42 Compilation- Various Artists (lw~ 6)
10. Little Broken Hearts- Norah Jones (lw~ 5)
And other American Idol contenders on the BB200 (along with Carrie Underwood above) ….
11. Journey to the Finale- Phillip Phillips (debut)
12. Trespassing- Adam Lambert (lw~ 1)
17. Listen Up! – Haley Reinhart (debut)
21. American Idol Season 11: Top 2 Season Finale EP- Phillip Phillps & Jessica Sanchez (debut)
27. Thank You Camellia- Kris Allen (debut)
33, Stronger- Kelly Clarkson * a former # 2 album that just passed 800,000 copies
73. Clear as Day- Scotty McCreery * a former # 1 album that has sold over 1 million copies
126. Journey to the Finale- Jessica Sanchez (debut)
Back on the Hot 100 SinglesChart, Philips also makes an auspicious debut as his coronation single “Home” hits the top ten debuting at # 10. This makes him the first Idol winner to hit the Hot 100 top ten with their coronation single since season 7′s David Cook. He also becomes the 13th Idol alum to hit the top ten on this chart following Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, Chris Daughtry, Jordin Sparks, David Cook,David Archuleta, and Adam Lambert…. Perhaps, I may have to eat my words about Phillips but I am still very skeptical that he will ever have any real pop hits with his upcoming debut album. That said, he’s off to a nice start. We’ll see how things turn out…. Holding onto # 1 is Gotye while Carly Rae Jepsen fights hard in the runner-up spot. For more on this chart, head to Billboard here.
Top Ten Singles on the Billboard Hot 100:
1. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/Kimbra (last week~ 1) * 7 weeks at # 1, the longest chart topper of 2012
2. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (lw~ 2)
3. “Payphone”- Maroon 5 w/ Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 3)
4. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 4)
5. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 5)
6. “Wild Ones”- Flo Rida w/Sia (lw~ 6)
7. “What Makes You Beautiful”- One Direction (lw~ 7)
8. “Glad You Came”- The Wanted (lw~8)
9. “Boyfriend”- Justin Bieber (lw~ 9)
10. “Home”- Phillip Phillips (debut)
And here’s the lead off single from Mayer’s new album, “Shadow Days”
Clearly American Idol viewers opened their ears for once and heard Heejun sing because he was finally booted off the program last week. Sure, he was a funny guy, with a good heart and a nice tone to his voice. However, he had no star quality, took the show for granted, mocked the program and caused the early ousting of my dear Erika! …. Alas, I need to get over that… At least he’s gone and we have a really good top 8. But just how good are they? Well, I’d say this seasons talent is up there with the best season’s like 5 (Daughtry, Katharine, Elliott), 7 (David Cook, Carly, David Archuleta) and 10 (Scotty, Pia, Haley, Lauren). But who has the current buzz to head to the front of the pack? Well, it’s time to take a look at my all new completely unscientific American Idol Buzz Rankings below….
My Season 11 Top 8 American Idol Buzz Rankings~
1. Jessica: hanging on to the top slot by the thinnest of strings, my favorite singer in the race had another great week slowing down a Beyonce jam into her own slinky groove. Jessica has the talent, ambition and is very creative with each of her song choices and performances. I’m surprised the judges aren’t pimping her more especially if we finally want a girl to win this thing! (last week~ 1) 2. Phillip: Mr. Phillips almost overtook my Jessica again this week with a really strong and totally not annoying performance of a song by Johnny Lang no one’s heard of. That takes some gumption and some great follow through. At this point, it feels like a Jessica/Phillip finale fight. We shall see… (lw~ 3) 3. Elise: holy crap, Elise is in my top three and I couldn’t be happier. She has killed it the past two weeks and finally had an Idol moment with her Led Zeppelin cover last week. Could our bluesy dark horse be a threat for the title? I hope so. (lw~ 6) 4. Colton: he went first and sang his favorite “praise” song and was super pitchy last week, yet he still was not in the bottom three. That means this pretty Idol has some serious support. I do think he needs to change things up a bit before all his songs start sounding like Daughtry clones. And PS- shut it with the god talk. You’re turning off more voters than you know with that. Trust me, Jesus doesn’t care if you win American Idol. I think he’s got more important things on his plate. (lw~ 2) 5. Skylar: yes, she was in the bottom 3 last week, but I think the fact that she went so early in the show was the real problem. She performed well and is so darn likable. I think she will bounce back this week no problem. (lw~ 4) 6. Joshua: I have no idea why America loved his wonky and pitchy performance last week. I do know that I think he’s got a great voice and is very likable, so that clearly helped. I just wonder how viable a pop artist he would be. (Hello, not much~ but he could be a great R&B and Gospel singer). This week should be interesting for him with the 80′s theme. (lw~ 7) 7. Deandre: ok, he’s a cool cat with a great falsetto and fabulous hair, but I just don’t get it. I feel like he has so much growing to do as an artist and needs to pick better songs that more people know. That said, his obscure Eric Benet pick, kept him out of danger and the judges loved it. I still feel like he’s one misstep away from getting the boot. (lw~8) 8. Hollie: oh my sweet dear little Hollie with the big voice. What are ya doin? Yes, you sing great most of the time, but you’re in a free fall. I just hope this talented girl picks a great fun upbeat song and really connects with the material so she can make a big comeback and land a place in the final five like she deserves to. (lw~ 5)
So, it seems Hollie is on a dangerous downward path, while Elise is flying high and Deandre continues to scoot by unscathed. But what will happen this week with that aforementioned 80′s theme? We’ll see. Tune in to American Idol Wednesday night on Fox and then head back here for my take.
Tonight, American Idol really gets down to business as the Top 12 boys (well, 13 because apparently there’s going to be a surprise wild card pick) perform live for the first time. Tomorrow, the top 12 girls sing and Thursday we will have our first results show. This is when the show really gets good if you ask me, and the talent looks very strong this year. My early favorites are Jessica Sanchez and Creighton Fraker. For more on all of this year’s contenders, head to mjsbigbloghere.… Now, looking back at the best American Idol contestants of all time, my favorites are in order:
1. Kelly Clarkson
2. Carrie Underwood
3. Adam Lambert
4. Jennifer Hudson
5. Carly Smithson
Each of them has had great success, (Ok, Carly is just the lead singer of the Evanescence left over band We Are the Fallen, but hey she’s had a top 40 album with them!) and won or been nominated for big awards. With that said, Billboard is counting down the most successful Idol alumni according to sales, radio airplay, download track sales, and streaming plays etc which make up their charts. (Remember this is only for domestic tracking, so the worldwide success of Lambert, Clarkson, and David Arhculeta doesn’t count here). And I’ve got the list for you below. For all the stats, head to Billboard here. Take a look and let me know who your faves are as well.
Billboard’s Top 24 American Idols of All Time:
24. Crystal Bowersox (2nd place, season 9)
23. Kimberley Locke (3rd place, season 2)
22. Lauren Alaina (2nd place, season 10)
21. Blake Lewis (2nd place, season 6)
20. Bucky Covington (8th place, season 5)
19. Katharine McPhee (2nd place, season 5…. but hey she’s a TV and movie star now. Hello, I love Smash!)
18. Bo Bice (2nd place, season 4)
17. Taylor Hicks (winner, season 5)
16. Josh Gracin (4th place, season 2)
15. Scotty McCreery (winner, season 10)
14. Kellie Pickler (6th place, season 5)
13. Elliott Yamin (3rd place, season 5)
12. Kris Allen (winner, season 8)
11. David Archuleta (2nd place, season 7)
10. Jennifer Hudson (7th place, season 3…. but um, she has an Oscar, a Grammy, a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, BET, Image Awards, the list goes on and on…. So there!)
9. Adam lambert (2nd place, season 8)
8. Ruben Studdard (winner, season 2)
7. David Cook (winner, season 7)
6. Fantasia (winner, season 3)
5. Clay Aiken (2nd place, season 2)
4. Jordin Sparks (winner, season 6… and soon to be seen in Sparkle, her film debut starring the late great Whitney Houston)
3. Chris Daughtry (4th place, season 5)
2. Carrie Underwood (winner, season 4)
1. Kelly Clarkson (winner, season 1)
And just because she’s amazing, please enjoy Kelly’s current # 1 smash “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Grammy winning rock group Evanescence last hit the charts five years ago with their first chart topping album, The Open Door, and now it’s deja vu as their third album, Evanescence, debuts on top this week. Selling 127,000 copies, the group headed by Amy Lee easily fends off Adele, the new disc from rockers Five Finger Death Punch and a strong second week for American Idol winner Scotty McCreery. He lands at # 4 just ahead of this year’s runner-up, Lauren Alaina, who makes a nice impression with her debut, Wildflower, selling 69,000 copies (the tallest amount for an Idol runner-up since Adam Lambert sold close to 300,000 copies). With Alaina and McCreery’s dual top fives, this marks the first time since season 7′s David Cook and David Archuleta that the top two finalists both landed top ten albums. The other seasons to accomplish this feat were season two (Ruben Studdard & Clay Aiken), season four (Carrie Underwood & Bo Bice) and season five (Taylor Hicks & Katharine McPhee.) In fact season five’s third and fourth place finishers, Elliott Yamin and Chris Daughtry (of Daughtry) also landed top five debuts. For more on the new Billboard 200 Albums chart, head hereand check out the new top ten below.
Billboard 200 Top Ten Albums:
1. Evanescence- Evanescence (debut)
2. 21- Adele (last week~ 2)
3. American Capitalist- Five Finger Death Punch (debut)
4. On A Clear Day- Scotty McCreery (lw~ 1)
5. Wildflower- Lauren Alaina (debut)
6. Duets II- Tony Bennett (lw~ 3)
7. Ashes & Fire- Ryan Adams (debut)
8. Own the Night- Lady Antebellum (lw~ 4)
9. Tha Carter IV- Lil Wayne (lw~ 6)
10. Eleven- Martina McBride (debut)
Here’s the new single from Evanescenc~ “What You Want”
Over on the singles chart, there’s no stopping Adele as “Someone Like You” lands a fourth week on top. Check out the new top ten on the Hot 100 Singles Chart below.
Hot 100 Singles Top Ten:
1. “Someone Like You”- Adele (last week~ 1)
2. “Moves Like Jagger”- Maroon 5 w/ Christina Aguilera (lw~ 2)
3. “Pumped Up Kicks”- Foster the People (lw~ 3)
4. “Sexy and I Know It”- LMFAO (lw~ 4)
5. “Stereo Hearts”- Gym Class Heroes w/Adam Levine (lw~5)
6. “We Found Love”- Rihanna w/Calvin Harris (lw~ 7)
7. “Without You”- David Guetta w/Usher (lw~8)
8. “You Make Me Feel…”- Cobra Starship w/Sabi (lw~ 9)
9. “Party Rock Anthem”- LMFAO (lw~ 6)
10. “Young Wild & Free”- Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars (debut)
Ok, American Idol season 10 just wrapped up and you’d think I’d be done complaining about Scotty beating Lauren. Well, I’m still upset about that and of course Pia not being in the final two. But, that’s not what this post is about… Today I want to talk about Lauren and Scotty’s coronation singles and how they compare to the top two contestants from every season. Both of this year’s songs are at the top of the iTunes charts. Scotty was at # 1 and Lauren at # 2 at the time of this posting by the way, so it looks like we may have our first hit finale song since David Cook in season 7… However, just how good are those songs? Well, take a look at my rankings of all the finale songs below and find out! And here’s to a great, albeit frustrating season of Idol!
Ranking the American Idol Coronations Songs (seasons 1- 10) 1. “A Moment Like This”- Kelly Clarkson: it’s the original and it’s simply the best (just like Kelly!) It was also a # 1 hit and remains a radio staple.
2. “Time of Your Life”- David Cook: it’s the best-selling finale song to date and it works outside of Idol. In fact, it’s a wedding fave and they used it at the Olympics!
3. “I Believe”- Fantasia: Arguably the best sung finale single and to this day Fantasia kills it.
4. “Like My Mother Does”- Lauren Alaina: talk about a perfect fit. This song is lovely and a great choice for Lauren’s lush vocals and palpable emotions.
5. “This is the Night”- Clay Aiken: a perfect Clay ballad and another ideal inspirational Idol winner song. Oh wait, he was the runner-up…
6. “Inside Your Heaven”- Carrie Underwood: Idol’s country superstar took this track that sounds like a whole lot of nonsense and turned it into a multiformat hit. 7. “Flying Without Wings”- Ruben Studdard: his update on the boyband track holds up surprisingly well. 8. “Up to the Mountain”- Crystal Bowersox: while not as incredible as Kelly’s version of this song from Idol Gives Back, Crystal still gave a wonderful performance on this Patti Griffin classic. 9. “In this Moment”- David Archuleta: it’s surprisingly catchy slice of AC pop 10. “This is My Now”- Jordin Sparks: despite some of the worst lyrics of all these winning songs, Jordin’s vocals are pure and full of conviction. 11. “Inside Your Heaven”- Bo Bice: no, the song doesn’t fit him at all, but his pipes sound good on it. 12. “No Boundaries”- Adam Lambert: if only they had let “Mad World” be his final two single. Instead we get this Kara DioGuardi cheesefest. At least Adam sings the crap out of it. 13. “Dreams”- Diana DeGarmo: ok, I don’t have much affinity for this song now, but I remember liking it a good deal back at the end of season 3 14. “No Boundaries”- Kris Allen: wow, this song is kinda annoying, yet it sticks in your head and Kris gave it his all. 15. “ I Love You This Big”-Scotty McCreery: it puts the “b” in boring, but he sings it well. 16. “Beautiful Day”- Lee Dewyze: karaoke at best… 17. “Before Your Love”- Justin Guarini: Justin had no chance when you compare this one to Kelly’s amazing version… 18. “My Destiny”- Katherine McPhee: I love me some Kat and she will be amazing on the new NBC show Smash, but this song is totally forgettable despite her lovely vocals. 19. “This is My Now”- Blake Lewis: let’s just say beat-boxer Blake should not be singing ballads… 20. “Do I Make You Proud?- Taylor Hicks : a treacly pandering disastrous cheesy mess
Last week, American Idol finally narrowed it down to the top 24 contestants, and I for one, am pretty impressed with most of them. Not only has this season been the best in years (hello, J. Lo and Steven Tyler are simply awesome), but it seems like this is the best batch of talent since at least season 5. Hopefully, they will hold up well with the live shows and this week’s semi-finals. After the guys perform on Tuesday and the girls on Wednesday, the top 10 finalists will be announced. Also, if rumours are to be believed (and I believe this one), the judges will each be picking a “wild card” contestant to make it a top 13. I love it! So, with all of that weighing in the balance, I’m here to give America and the judges some insight. This is my first big Idol post of the season and I’m ready to rank the contenders. Take a look at my first IDOL POWER LIST of 2011 and watch their performances this week to see if they hold up to my rankings.
The American Idol Power List for the Top 24 going into the Semi-finals…
1. Lauren Alaina: she’s all but been hailed the next Kelly Clarkson by Exec. Producer Nigel Lythgoe and they’ve certainly shoved her down our throats with tons of airtime. But goshdarnit, she really is that good. She’s fun, she’s young (16), cute and has a set of killer pipes. 2. Jacob Lusk: All hail the voice of the season. This emotional and excitable 23 yr old from Compton, CA took us to church each time he sang and he could end up being the first male African-American winner since Ruuuuuuben. 3. Julie Zorilla: this gorgeous 19-year-old who escaped violence in Columbia as a child has shown a divine flair for fashion AND singing. She just needs to connect to her material a little more and we could be seeing our first Latina American Idol. 4. Robbie Rozen: this adorable and incredibly talented 16-year-old is bound to grab the Archuleta vote, but I think he could cross over to all ages judging from his genre spanning auditions. He’s definitely one to watch. 5. Casey Abrams: he’s the musician’s musician and rockin’ bluesy singer who has tons of talent and got lots of airtime. He’s an individual and seems like an audience favorite… but then so was that mess Taylor Hicks (oh wait, no matter how much, I couldn’t stand him, he still won… drat!) 6. Ashton Jones: Is she this season’s Tamyra or Syesha? Well, she’s a gorgeous girl with a great voice and star quality. However, will she be overshadowed in the end? 7. Stefano Langoe: he’s the guy who survived that horrific car crash and oozes energy and personality for days. He’s also cute and has a great voice. Dang, he can sing high too! 8. Brett Loewenstern: he seems bound to be divisive to audiences, but he’s completely original and has a great quality in his unique voice and song interpretation…. And he’s totally here to tell you “it gets better”. 9. Tim Halperin: he’s the looker who really stepped up in Vegas with his duet with Zorilla. He’s also a skilled pianist and could be a dark horse. 10. Karen Rodriguez: she’s the Latina who worshiped J Lo and wowed on each audition. She’s like Gloria Estefan with a better voice! 11. James Durbin: he’s the one who can wail like Adam Lambert who has a baby, a girlfriend and overcomes his Tourette’s thru song. However, he also seems to wail as opposed to emote in his performances and he came off a bit unlikable at times during the group episodes. 12 .Paul McDonald: he’s the guy with the great gravelly Joe Cocker voice with cool style and his own original material. 13. Pia Toscano: all we really know is she can sing great and she’s gorgeous, but hey, that’s a great start 14. Lauren Turner: she’s the big haired belter who could be the next Anne Wilson .. or the next Gina Glockson depending on song choice and if her personality pops or poops. 15. Kendra Chantelle: she’s the beautiful blonde who has had little air time, but did show her strong pipes and potential in snippets, especially in her duet in Vegas week with McDonald. 16. Thia Megia: she’s the 15-year-old Filipina with the sexy big husky voice, but she is also pretty devoid of personality so far… 17. Rachel Zevita: she’s the NYer who almost made it in season 6. She has a strong voice, but for some reason, I’m afraid she could become really annoying and grating. Loved that she sang Lady Gaga’s “Speechless” in her final audition, but a little worried that she may just be Gaga-lite. 18. Scotty McCreery: he’s the 16-year-old country boy with the super low voice. He’s likable but is he a one-trick pony? (ahem, cut up “Baby lock them doors, turn out the lights…”) 19. Naima Adedapo: she’s the mama who cleaned toilets at a musical festival who has serious style and a good back story, but I’ve yet to be wowed by her talent… 20. Jovany Barreto: he’s the hunk with the 8 pack, the high tenor and a penchant for Spanglish songs… but is it me or does he seem like just a prettier wannabe Jon Secada? 21. Jordan Dorsey: the attractive vocal teacher from Louisiana who got the “villain edit” during Hollywood week has a lot of bad mojo to erase. Luckily, he has talent and looks. We’ll see if his ego doesn’t destroy his more positive attributes… 22. Ta-Tynisa Wilson: the pretty girl who was shown messing up in Hollywood several times made up for it in her final “hanger” audition with Toni Braxton’s “Un-break My Heart”, but is it too little too late? 23. Clint Jun Gamboa: the bespectacled karaoke singer has a big bold voice and can seriously sing. However, he too got a “villain” edit in the Hwood rounds and let’s be honest, he’s kinda really annoying so far. 24. Haley Reinhart: so far, I pick her as the girl who’s voice is going to bug the crap out of me as long as she’s in the competition. That whole “affected” thing is so 2010… and um, doesn’t get you far on the Idol stage (hello~ 90 % of the female contestants from last season).
She may have come in second on last season’s American Idol, but I think most everyone could agree Crystal Bowersox was the true artist to watch over winner Lee Dewyze. While he may have got the popular vote, Crystal grabbed the critical vote and is now winning over critics and fans with her debut album Farmer’s Daughter. It’s a very strong and solid record that speaks to all of Crystal’s strengths authentic vocals, moving story telling songs, great instrumentation and an honest sensibility. Here’ you can find her influences like Janis Joplin, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge mixing well with her bluesy-rock and country coffee-house roots. I sure hope she gets some good promotion and becomes the second Idol runner-up in a row (after Adam Lambert) to outshine the winner in sales. It already looks like she will outsell Dewyze’s album by at least 10,000 copies according to current projections for Daughter which came out on Tuesday, 12/14. I’ve had it on repeat all day and here’s my quick take on each of the album’s songs.
Crystal Bowersox ~ Farmer’s Daughter:
1. “Riding With the Radio”- it’s an earnest country rock track reminiscent of Miranda Lambert and Gretchen Wilson about the sad state of popular music. It’s also a good time.
2. “For What it’s Worth”: sampling Bob Dylan on this one, Bowersox brings out her inner Alanis over a shuffling country rock beat.
3. “Farmer’s Daughter”: this is the standout track and the fantastic first single. It’s a powerful song about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her alcoholic mother and the road to recovery and reconciliation. It’s very confessional and even Grammy worthy.
4. “Holy Toledo”: this is the song we heard on Idol last season when she visited her hometown and it honors the spirit of the people there~ a lovely original ballad.
5. “Lonely Won’t Come Around”: Crystal goes more commercial on this one with an upbeat Jason Mraz meets Sara Bareilles sound that features a whistling chorus and could be a radio hit. It seems like a song the producers wanted her to do to give the album a more commercial feel.
6. “Hold On”: another commercial song, this one co-written by ousted Idol judge Kara Dioguardi, “Hold On” is a standard story about young love gone wrong that is very radio ready. It benefits from Bowersox’s authentic performance that overcomes the generic lyrics.
7. “On the Run”: fun bluesy rock, another song written by Bowersox pre-Idol.
8. “Kiss Ya”: this is Crystal channelling Melissa Etheridge at her best.
9. “Speak Now”: here she brings in the bluesy gospel soul that she showed early in the competition and in her final performance of “Up to the Mountain”.
10. “Mine all Mine”: it’s a gorgeous country-tinged love song.
11. “Mason”: this duet with her new husband is a great rock ballad about the power of enduring love.
12. “Arlene”: the final track on the album is a simple song that brings you full circle to Bowersox’s coffeehouse roots.
All in all it’s a really good album. Grade: A-
Here’s Crystal’s new single “Farmer’s Daughter” from her performance on The Tonight Show
And ranking Crystal’s debut alongside other first album by Idol finalists, she makes my top 5!
Best American Idol Debut Albums….
1. Some Hearts- Carrie Underwood
2. Daughtry- Daughtry
3. Thankful- Kelly Clarkson (and mind you she’s still my fave!)
4. For Your Entertainment- Adam Lambert
5. Farmer’s Daughter- Crystal Bowersox
6. Measure of a Man- Clay Aiken
7. Jordin Sparks- Jordin Sparks
8. Jennifer Hudson- Jennifer Hudson
9. David Archuleta- David Archulta
10. Elliott Yamin- Elliott Yamin
I don’t know about you but it takes me a little while to get in the mood for Christmas music. I, for one, think it’s absolutely unacceptable to hear anything Christmas-y til at least Dec. 1st. So, now it’s Dec 10th and I’m finally ready for some Christmas music. This season there are new holiday albums out by the Glee cast, Susan Boyle, Annie Lennox and more, but one album that’s actually really good is the new holiday collection by American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee, Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You. Like previous IdolsClay Aiken and David Archuleta who’ve released hit Christmas albums, McPhee has a perfect voice for these smooth winter time tunes and lovelorn ballads. She’s gotten a lot of airplay with previous Christmas singles “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and now the first video for her new Xmas tune has been released. Check out Katharine’s “It’s Not Christmas Without You” below, and for more on Katharine and her burgeoning acting career (including roles in The House Bunny, Community and the upcoming Shark Night 3D), click here.
Today’s marks the release of the debut album from season 9 American Idol winner Lee Dewyze, Live It Up, but that’s not the only new Idol related music hitting stores and digital retailers. Also available today is the lovely new power ballad from Carrie Underwood, “There’s a Place for Us” that she co-wrote and recorded for the new film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the third film in the series). As a co-writer, Carrie is also eligible for Oscar consideration should the song be embraced by the Academy. How great would that be to have a second Idol become an Oscar nominee following Jennifer Hudson’s win for Dreamgirls. Speaking of Hudson, she also has a new song out a remake of “You Put a Move on My Heart” from the Quincy Jones album Q Soul Bossa Nostra. Other Idols with new music include David Archuleta, Fantasia, Matt Giraud, Kris Allen and Kelly Clarksonwhose duet with Jason Aldean, “Don’t You Wanna Stay”, is flying up the charts due to their performance on the CMA Awards last week. Check out all the new Idol music below and watch for news on season 9 runner up Crystal Bowersox’s new album and single in the coming weeks.
Carrie Underwood “There’s a Place for Us” (from the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Trader)
Lee Dewyze “Sweet Serendipity” (It’s the first single and video from his debut album Live It Up out now which just hit the top 40 on Hot AC radio~ Oh, and does anyone else find his goatee a bit unsettling?)
Jennifer Hudson “You Put a Move on My Heart” (from the Quincy Jones album Q Soul Bossa Nostra available now)
Kris Allen “Alright with Me” (this is the third single from the season 8 winner’s debut album)
David Archuleta “Falling Stars” (this is the third single from his second album which has been struggling despite being a stronger record than his first. Perhaps this standout track will be the one to really impact radio and put Archie back in the top 40)
Matt Giraud w/Jim Brickman ”Thank You” (It’s season 8′s fifth place finisher’s current top 20 AC hit with piano man Brickman)
Fantasia “I’m Doin’ Me” (here’s the second single and video from her latest hit record that is already top 20 at R&B and Adult R&B radio. It feels like this could be a big crossover hit ala Mary J. Blige too if you ask me.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0YrpnpaWSY&feature=player_embedded
Kelly Clarkson & Jason Aldean “Don’t You Wanna Stay” (here’s the live performance of their new smash duet from the CMA’s that could be the big new crossover smash just like Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now”)
Carrie Underwood “You’re Looking at Country” (this is her fantastic track off the new Loretta Lynn tribute album, COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER A TRIBUTE TO LORETTA LYNN, that was released last week)
Why oh why can’t some of this season’s American Idol contestants pick the right song? Even when given the amazing songbook of Lennon/McCartney (i.e.: the Beatles), a few of them faltered or just picked obvious choices. At least many of them (ahem, the ladies) did them justice while only one really faltered. So, just how did they all stack up for the night? Take a look at my performance rankings and predictions below:
