I have to say I was so thrilled and proud of American on Thursday night when the nation and American Idolviewers crowned the brilliant Candice Glover the season 12 winner. She was the best singer, the most consistent vocalist, and the greatest entertainer and innovator of the season. Obviously she was the right winner and that’s no disrespect to the lovely and talented runner-up Kree Harrison, who should have a big country career ahead of her…. But back to Candice. I am just so thrilled that the right person and my personal favorite finally won for the first time in 6 years. That’s since Jordin Sparks ya’ll! (In case you’re wondering I think David Archuleta, Adam Lambert, Crystal Bowersox, Pia Toscano and Jessica Sanchez should’ve won their respective seasons as the best vocalists, but that’s just me.)
For further proof of Candice’s brilliance, check her out dueling with Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson on “Inseparable” below. It was the stunning highlight of the finale broadcast and let me tell you, it was even better live!
Candice Glover/Jennifer Hudson “Inseparable”
And while Candice had the best number of the night with that one, there were some other great collaborations. First I loved the duet from third place finalist Angie Miller (who is due to sign her record deal this week too) and Grammy nominated Idol alum Lambert on “Titanium”. It was beautiful and the harmonies were amazing…. Angie followed that up with the raucous duet with Jessie J on “Domino” that was awesome too. Seriously Jessie J is incredible.
Angie Miller/Adam Lambert “Titanium”
Angie Miller/Jessie J “Domino”
Another shocker favorite performance for me was from 5th place finisher Janelle Arthur who rocked some serious hair-ography with The Band Perry on their current hit “Done”. It was so good.
Janelle Arthur/The Band Perry “Done”
So, those were my favorite moments from a good, not great finale. (Seriously, what was up with all the lip synching superstars, the horrible boys number and a strange Frank Valli?)… But, I am thrilled a woman finally won and an amazing one at that. I have high hopes for Candice’s career and I think she, Kree and Angie all have a great shot at success. You can buy all three ladies debut singles on iTunes now. I sure did. =)
So, that’s it for season 12 of American Idol. I loved all the girl power this season and congratulations to Candice! Let’s hope next year, we get another great winner along with some new theme nights and better judges too. (Sorry Nicki was a mess. Mariah was lovely but long-winded and buh bye to the Dawg Randy Jackson after way too long on the panel.) In the meantime, please enjoy Candice Glover’s first official hit “I Am Beautiful” below.
Sorry for the late recap post today, but I had a crazy busy night and morning with auditions. So, I just caught up on the first live top ten show of this season’s American Idol.And while I’m a little behind, it was all worth it for the brilliance of one Candice Glover. She schooled the competition by a mile despite a few other very strong performances and a couple serious clunkers. Since this is a quick wrap and East coasters will get the results show pretty darn soon, let’s just charge on thru my rankings and predictions for last night. Oh and PS~ loved the new theme of songs by former Idol winners. I just wish these contestants would’ve actually picked better and more interesting songs by those winners. Oy vey!
American Idol Rankings 3/13/13 ~ the great 1. Candice Glover- “I Who Have Nothing”: absolute brilliance. I was on my feet. She slayed Jordin Sparks’ (and Hayley Reinhart’s) fantastic version giving us full on Shirley Bassey meets Tina Turner and Mary J. Blige. A-mah-zing! 2. Amber- “A Moment Like This”: I have to say I was a little scared she took on Kelly’s classic winner song. However, Amber turned it out and did a fantastic job. Oh and I agree with Nicki (for once)~ I totally got an early Whitney Houston vibe. I’m telling you, Amber is the dark horse to win people. 3. Kree- “Cryin”: with another flawless, beautiful and emotional vocal, Kree actually out sang the wonderful Carrie Underwood and that is no small feat. ~ the good 4. Paul- “Amazed”: with a lovely restrained vocal and his most resonant connection yet, Paul stood above the rest of the guys for me this week and even Angie! 5. Angie- “I Surrender”: yes, I was not as enthusiastic as the judges or many of the fans out there with this performance. Sure, it was vocally on point and Angie is certainly a star. However, it paled in comparison to Kelly Clarkson’s take on this plaintiff Celine Dion ballad. I mean, Kelly sang the hell out of it while sick and still sounded a million times better than Angie (who still sounded good mind you.) ~ the decent 6. Burnell- “Flying Without Wings”: singing Ruben’s coronation song was a seriously lame choice. Sure, Burnell sounded great and I like his vocal style. However, he really needs to step up his song choices, styling and emotional connection. 7. Janelle- “Gone”: Janelle gets big points for being the only one not to do a ballad this week and I enjoyed her take on the Montgomery Gentry song Scotty sang two years ago. It was fun.. But was it a little forgettable too? Um, yes. ~ the eh 8. Devin- “Temporary Home”: um, Devin may find himself temporarily in the bottom three after this boring and disconnected performance. Hello, this song should be heartbreaking~ just ask Carrie… Devin just sounded pretty and sadly, a little bored. ~ the BAD 9. Lazaro- “Breakaway”: oh dear lord, that was kinda a train wreck. Look I really like this guy and I do applaud his chutzpah. However, he needs to get some musicality, music knowledge, stay on pitch and pick better song choices for his voice. Not good. Sorry. 10. Curtis- “I Believe”: assaulting Fantasia’s coronation song, Curtis imploded or um, exploded on stage. I don’t know what he was doing flying off pitch, never once coming across as sincere, and generally sucking big time.
Predictions~ Bottom 3: Janelle, Devin, Curtis (but Lazaro should be here) Bottom 2: Devin, Curtis Going Home: Curtis (and I’m thrilled with that)
So, the ladies continue to kick ass and most of the guys really struggled this week. But just who will be in the bottom three? Will there be a shocker like Burnell in the bottom 3? I really think the only guy who is safe is Paul and Lazaro certainly should be in danger, but he has a real big fan base. We’ll see… Check out the results tonight plus the “Sing Off” between the 6th place contestants and a performance from last year’s rather successful winner Phillip Phillips tonight on Idol on Fox.
Well, last week, American Idol revealed the top ten finalists for season 12 and I pretty much predicted all of them. What I didn’t predict is that the producers held on to their promise of no “wild card” contestants. While the next-closest vote getters (i.e.: the 6th place girl and guy) will have a sing off this week to join the tour, it looks like our top ten is just that~ a top ten. And it’s a pretty good one. All five women are strong contenders and should hopefully help the “season of the girls” to the first female winner since Jordin Sparks in 2006. As for the guys, I really don’t think any of them can win, but a couple could go pretty far…. So, just who has the buzz going into the first week of the finals? Check out my all new unscientific yet surely correct American Idol Buzz Rankings below.
American Idol Season 12 Top Ten Buzz Rankings~
1. Candice: this big voiced diva has simply slayed it every week and she remains the best hope of a R&B Idol winner since Fantasia. She also is very good with her strong song choices and reinterpreting them while still being true to the original melodies. Her voice is incredible and she has great confidence. My only question is~ will being to “R&B” actually hurt her in the end? 2. Kree: this country blues girl has an amazing voice, quiet confidence and wonderful artistry. her unassuming personality is also very pleasing and she exhibits great humility. She could go the country, rock or pop route in the end and I have a feeling her vocal adaptability will help her go far in the game (much like one Kelly Clarkson in the first season). 3. Angie: you may wonder why she is not at the top of the list after all the producer and judges pimping plus some great performances. The reason is two-fold. First, her great performances plant her squarely at the piano on very similar yet great songs and second, she may end up skewing a little “too Christian” much like last season’s Colton Dixon who she covered last week. I don’t know if that’s type of artist she wants to be because she has the looks, talent, voice and personality to go all the way. We’ll see how she presents herself in the weeks ahead but arguably she’s the smart money choice as the season 12 winner. (But hey, I’m not always betting on smart money) 4. Amber: I think this beautiful girl has incredible untapped potential and could be the true dark horse to win. She has a great voice with a big range, is young, fun and relatable. Now, if she can just expand her song choices beyond Whitney and trust in her performances, she will be a true threat. 5. Burnell: he’s got the voice, the backstory (Katrina survivor! Weight loss!), and an infectious personality which will all help him in his quest to stop the ladies this season. If he does, he’d be the first African-American male winner since Ruben Studdard in season 2!!! … Now Burnell, please be smart about your song choices as you continue. More John Legend type songs, less female diva songs. Those will be sung by all your competitors anyway. 6. Paul: yes, he’s my favorite guy in the competition and yes, he’s had some shaky performances. However, he’s still incredibly likable, humble and possesses a very good voice. He’s also the only cute white guy in the race which will help him. And yes, it is time for a male-Carrie Underwood in the country pop world. So, as long as he believes in himself, relaxes and lets out true emotion in his performances, he could make the top five or more. 7. Devin: while I think he has easily the best male voice among the finalists, his personality hasn’t really popped yet. We know he has a beautiful vocal instrument and can shift seamlessly between English and Spanish. But what else can he do? 8. Janelle: the country girl we all thought would be assured a spot in the finals had a shaky road the last few weeks. However, her 3 season journey to get here, her lovely voice and affable demeanor have pushed her through. Now, if she can just pick the right song, stay away from the Carrie catalog, and nail a few performances, she could crack the top five. 9. Lazaro: ok, he is undeniably the most popular male in the race right now with a good story (He’s cute. He’s Cuban. He stutters and was bullied but has overcome!) However, he doesn’t seem like a true “artist” yet. He’s just singing well and doing songs that have been covered numerous times on Idol before. So, he needs to define who he wants to be as a pop star, embrace his special qualities, harness his confidence and really show us he’s a contender. Or else, he may be the front-runner who quickly becomes an also-ran (sniff sniff I miss you Pia!) 10. Curtis: let’s see how to I put this nicely? … Um, he has a really good voice… Yeah, that’s about it… This guy is obnoxious, arrogant, and entitled. We’ve seen his shtick many times before and done better, but with humility and grace (hello Joshua Ledet!)… I don’t think this worship leader has a prayer of winning in the competition.
And there you have it. The ladies have most of the buzz, but a few boys could be a surprise buzz kill. I can’t wait to see how they all hold up tomorrow night when they tackle the songs of former American Idol winners (both their post-Idol catalogs and any song they sang on the show). We’ll probably see a lot of Kelly, Carrie and Fantasia. But you Taylor Hicks and Lee Dewyze lovers (who?) are certainly going to be left wanting…. Now, tell me who your favorites are in the comments below and watch American Idol tomorrow night on Fox.
Earlier this year, we lost what I consider to be the best singer of the pop music age, Grammy winning icon, Whitney Houston, aka “The Voice”. She was gone too soon and we will all miss her. Today, would’ve been her 49th birthday and so I wish her a very special Happy Birthday Whitney!
Houston was such an accomplished singer and performer that the Guiness Book of World Records names her as the most awarded singer in history. Well deserved I say… And she still has some music on the way for us. The soundtrack to her final film, Sparkle, is out now and the film hits theaters next week. It features the Adult R&B and AC hit “Celebrate” a duet with co-star Jordin Sparks and her version of the gospel classic “His Eye on the Sparrow”… And today, her record company announced they will be releasing an all new Greatest Hits collection of Whitney songs this fall. The album will likely include her 11 # 1 singles (7 of which hit the top consecutively, a record which still stands today) and her 23 top ten singles. I can’t wait. When the full track listing and information are release, I will let you know. In the meantime, let’s all wish Whitney a Happy Birthday and please enjoy her very appropriate Olympic anthem from 1988 below, “One Moment in Time” which I say is arguably her best vocal ever.
Whitney Houston “One Moment in Time” (live at the 1989 Grammys)
If you ask any of my friends or read my first impressions of The X Factor last year, you know I was not a fan of the show. I found it to be a disastrous, annoying, overproduced and unfocused mess. Pretty much every element of the show was an epic fail, except one… the winner, Melanie Amaro. While I couldn’t stand most of the contestants, Amaro had a glorious voice and the potential to be a new diva for a new generation. With the release of her brand new single, “Don’t Fail Me Now”, we’ll see if she can do it. I hope she fares better than the two finalists who have released singles so far, Marcus Canty and Chris Rene, who have seen their songs come and go with the blink of an eye. If anyone from X Factor has a chance to be a hit maker, it’s Amaro. So, I wish her all the best and I do enjoy the pop dance song as well. It kinda reminds me of Jordin Sparks‘ first album. And yes, I say that as a compliment as it produced three smash singles, “Tattoo”, “No Air” and “One Step at a Time”…. But enough of my thoughts, what about yours. Take a listen to “Don’t’ Fail Me Now” below and let me know if you think she has a shot at true superstardom. Then, head to Amaro’s website here for more on her single, her top five dance hit “Respect” and her debut album due later this fall.
The late great Grammy winning superstar Whitney Houston’s final film Sparklehits theaters on August 17th and the soundtrack features her final musical recordings. The first single from the film is the awesome duet “Celebrate” by Houston and the film’s other star Jordin Sparks. The singer play mother and daughter in the film which tells the story about a singer’s rise to fame in the Motown era and her family. You can see their chemistry in the first trailer I posted a few months back and you can hear how great they sound on their new single which is already top 20 at Urban AC radio, top 30 at AC radio and about to hit top 40 on the R & B charts. Now, the video for the single has hit the web, and in it, Sparks and her films costars pay tribute to Houston. Check out the uplifting and fun video below and watch for the Sparkle soundtrack to hit stores in August.
I’ve been waiting for the next hilarious girl comedy following last year’s brilliant Oscar nominated Bridesmaids. Lots of pundits and bloggers and studio execs have been looking for the next one too. However, all they had to do was check out the trailer for this fall’s musical comedy Pitch Perfectand the search would’ve been over. Check out the trailer for the film below. It looks like a riot and it stars Bridesmaids own scene stealer Rebel Wilson plus Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick (who also sang up a storm in the wonderful indie Camp), Hairspray‘s Brittany Snow, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad), Anna Camp (The Good Wife), and the amazing duo of Elizabeth Banks (who’s also a producer on the film) and John Michael Higgins (who I had the pleasure of working with on Kath & Kim). The comedy revolves around the rivalry between a capella singing groups in college and follows a wave a music films hitting theaters this year including this weekend’s Rock of Ages, August’s Sparkle with Jordin Sparks and the late great Whitney Houston and the sure-fire Oscar contender Les Miserables with Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman out at Christmas… So, get out your pitch-pipe and get ready to giggle when Pitch Perfect hits theaters on October 5th.
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”
A few days ago, I gave you your first listen to new music from the late great Whitney Houston with her duet with Jordin Sparks, “Celebration”. The song will be included on the soundtrack to their new film Sparkledue in theaters August 17th. Now, we another new track has hit the web with Houston’s beautiful version of the Gospel classic “His Eye is on the Sparrow”. Take a listen below!
All season long on American Idol, Jessica Sanchez has been the premiere singer with pristine and perfect vocals and wonderful performances. Tonight on the finale, she did it again. With three tremendous performances, she absolutely schooled her competitor and the likely front-runner affable, southern guy Phillip Phillips. While both of these singers have good futures ahead of them, only one truly deserves to win the crown and only one is likely to become a pop superstar. That one is Jessica. The question is… can she actually win? Despite out-performing and easily out-singing Phillip throughout out the race, the white guy with a guitar has remained the fan favorite and has a huge tween girl/soccer mom (and probably some gay guys too) following because of his looks and charm. He is just the kind of guy who has won this show for the past four years (David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, Scotty McCreery) despite whether he’s worthy or not. Did he deserve to be in the finals in my opinion? No, maybe top five, but that’s it. However, we all know my opinion differs from America all the time or Carly Smithson, Adam Lambert, Crystal Bowersox and Pia Toscano would’ve been Idol winners…. So, just what is going to happen with tomorrow’s results? Let’s take a look at my rankings of the performances and my predictions below.
American Idol Season 11 Finale Performance Rankings~ 1. Jessica- “The Prayer”: with easily the best and most spine tingling vocal, Jessica blew me away with this gorgeous rendition of her song that was her “Contestant Favorite” choice. It was a simple heartfelt performance that soared into the heavens. I have no idea why the moronic judges were not on their feet… (Oh yeah, it was probably because it wasn’t in the script the producers clearly gave them for the night). 2. Jessica- “I Have Nothing”: with another powerhouse vocal, Jessica slayed the Whitney Houston classic from 1994′s The Bodyguard that was Idol creator Simon Fuller’s song choice. It was dramatic, flawless and fierce. This girl is amazing. 3. Phillip- “Home”: this was one of Phillip’s best performances of the season. Was it a get out of your seat moment, as it was for the judges? Absolutely not. The drummers and production were a rip off of winner Dewyze’s finale performance and the song was a total Mumford & Sons clone. Now, that’s actually a good thing because it sounded good on the whole. It just was no winning moment in my eyes… Oh and J.Lo, you’re a moron if you don’t know songs that sound like that. Just listen to the artists Randy mentioned right before your comments (Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes) or turn on the radio or watch the Grammys, hello! 4. Jessica- “Change Nothing”: with her assigned single song, Jessica gave another strong performance. She added a nice R&B swagger to this generic pop ballad that made it stand out from several other finale ballads in the past (Ahem, Jordin Sparks‘ “This is My Now” anyone?).. It was so frustrating to hear the judges rip apart Jessica for the song when it wasn’t her choice. Judge the singer not the song, especially when she wasn’t responsible for it. And she sang the song great! 5. Phillip- “Stand by Me”: Phillip’s song from Fuller was the Ben E. King classic and it was much better than I thought it was going to be. That said, it was just kinda blah. 6. Phillip- “Movin’ Out”: why on Earth did Phillip pick this Billy Joel song that he destroyed and ruined the first time for an encore? It was just as un-melodic and annoyingly- Dave Matthews-y as before. And yet, the judges praised it? Are they nuts? … Um, yes they are.
Predictions~ Will win: Phillip Should win: Jessica
So, I still think Phillip will win. I just hope I’m wrong because any rational person would agree that Jessica should and deserves to win. As my roommate Dave said, if only people voted with their ears instead of their eyes, then Jessica would be a shoo-in…. However, she may have to settle for being the better singer who ends up having the bigger career than the winner ala Adam Lambert (who just debuted at # 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart with his second release, Trespassing, by the way!) and Clay Aiken… But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. She still has a shot. I think both singers have rabid fan bases and Jessica could pull an upset. I know I’m voting for her. Are you? Let me know below and watch the results show tomorrow night on Fox.
And for further proof Jessica SHOULD win, watch her sing “The Prayer” one more time… Hello, goosies!!!!!
I have to say I was so thrilled and proud of American on Thursday night when the nation and American Idol viewers crowned the brilliant Candice Glover the season 12 winner. She was the best singer, the most consistent vocalist, and the greatest entertainer and innovator of the season. Obviously she was the right winner and that’s no disrespect to the lovely and talented runner-up Kree Harrison, who should have a big country career ahead of her…. But back to Candice. I am just so thrilled that the right person and my personal favorite finally won for the first time in 6 years. That’s since Jordin Sparks ya’ll! (In case you’re wondering I think David Archuleta, Adam Lambert, Crystal Bowersox, Pia Toscano and Jessica Sanchez should’ve won their respective seasons as the best vocalists, but that’s just me.)
