Jessica Sanchez Takes on “GLEE”

My favorite singer, and easily the best vocalist, from last season’s American Idol, Jessica Sanchez wound up in second place to the very successful Phillip Philips. However, Sanchez is doing her best to make her mark on the business with a just-released debut album, Me, You, and the Music and a big guest appearance on Glee. Sanchez hits the musical dramedy for its season finale playing Frida Romero, a big voiced diva from a rival Glee club. She will be performing the current top 40 pop hits “Wings” by Little Mix and “Clariy” by Zedd. I can’t wait to see her unleash those massive pipes on the Glee kids Thursday night on Fox… In the meantime, you can check out her great new album full of pop and dance tracks in stores and digital outlets now. It will make its debut on the Billboard 200 tomorrow in the top twenty as well. For more on Sanchez, head here and check out a preview of her appearance on Glee below.

Jessica Sanchez on Glee

And here’s Jessica’s current hit single featuring NeYo, “Tonight”. Enjoy!

First Listen~ Jessica Sanchez “Tonight”

My favorite contestant and easily the best singer from last season of American Idol, Jessica Sanchez is finally about to release her debut album, Me, You and the Music. The record drops on April 30th, but her first single, the dance pop anthem “Tonight” featuring Grammy winner NeYo hit the web today. I have to say I love it after just one spin. The song sounds like a smash waiting to happen and is available on iTunes tonight after she performs it live on American Idol with NeYo. It fits perfectly in with today’s music landscape and shows Sanchez’s glorious pipes match up perfectly with any genre.
It remains to be seen if she will have the same surprisingly big success of last year’s winner Phillip Phillips. His debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon has sold over 700,000 copies so far and features and two hit singles, “Home” (which has sold over 4 million copies) and “Gone Gone Gone” which is flying up the charts. And yes, I am squarely putting my foot in my mouth after being totally wrong about his prospects for radio hits… Nonetheless, with Idol finally going to get a female winner this year (the guys have no chance honestly), it’s the perfect time for Sanchez to be embraced by the public with this great new song. I have high hopes for her and the album. Take a listen to the single below, buy it on iTunes tonight and also watch for Jessica to guest star in two episodes of Glee at the end of the season. For more on our big voice young diva, head to Jessica’s website.

Jessica Sanchez ft. NeYo “Tonight”

American Idol Quick Wrap 3/13/13

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.

“Les Miserables” Hits the Top of the Billboard Charts

They dreamed a dream and you had to have it. Yes, the Les Miserables soundtrack outsold all the competition this week to become the first soundtrack album based on a musical to hit # 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart since Mamma Mia in 2008. The soundtrack featuring surefire Oscar nominees Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman held off a charge from Mumford & Sons who flew back up to # 2 on a wave of special price sales at iTunes that also benefitted Philip Phillips, P!nk and Alicia Keys. Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard here for more on the Les Mis soundtrack and its accomplishments this week.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Les Miserables soundtrack (last week~ 2)
2. Babel- Mumford & Sons (lw~8)
3. Red- Taylor Swift (lw~ 1)
4. The World from the Side of the Moon- Phillip Phillips (lw~ 11)
5. Take Me Home- One Direction (lw~ 3)
6. Unorthodox Jukebox- Bruno Mars (lw~ 4)
7. Pitch Perfect soundtrack (lw~ 10)
8. The Lumineers- The Lumineers (lw~ 9)
9. Girl on Fire- Alicia Keys (lw~ 18)
10. The Truth About Love- P!nk (lw~ 14)

Over on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, Bruno Mars makes it 5 weeks in a row at # 1 with “Locked Out of Heaven”. Mars could see some new competition for the top spot from Macklemore & Lewis as their rap hit “Thrift Shop” rockets into the top five. Also making news in the top ten is “Scream & Shout”, the new collaboration from Will.I.Am and Britney Spears which hits the top tier for the first time this week giving Spears her 13th top ten hit… Take a look at the new top ten below and head to Billboard for all the charts here.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Locked Out of Heaven”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 1)
2. “Diamonds”- Rihanna (lw~ 3)
3. “I Knew You Were Trouble”- Taylor Swift (lw~ 2)
4. “Ho Hey”- The Lumineers (lw~ 4)
5. “Thrift Shop”- Macklemore & Lewis (lw~ 10)
6. “Home”- Phillip Phillips (lw~ 9)
7. “Beauty and a Beat”- Justin Bieber w/ Nicki Minaj (lw~ 5)
8. “Scream & Shout”- Will I Am w/ Britney Spears (lw~ 12)
9. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (lw~8)
10. “I Cry”- Flo Rida (lw~ 11)

And here’s that brand new top ten hit for Britney Spears and Will I Am, “Scream & Shout”

Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift Rule the Holiday Charts

It was a pretty carbon copy week on the Billboard Charts as Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars continued to rule the Album and Singles Charts. In the last full week of 2012, Taylor Swift’s Red makes it six weeks on top with another 276,000 copies sold holding off a debut from rapper T.I. at # 2 with his new one Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head. Bruno Mars lands in third while the Hurricane Sandy charity album 12-12-12 debuts at # 9…. Also debuting this week was the soundtrack to my favorite film of the year, Les Miserables, which checks in at # 33 and tops the Soundtracks chart. Watch for it to skyrocket up the list next week after the film hit theaters on Christmas. In the meantime, take a look at the full top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Red- Taylor Swift (last week~ 1)
2. Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head- T.I. (debut)
3. Unorthodox Jukebox- Bruno Mars (lw~ 2)
4. Take Me Home- One Direction (lw~ 4)
5. Christmas- Michael Buble (lw~ 3)
6. Merry Christmas Baby- Rod Stewart (lw~ 5)
7. The World from the Side of the Moon- Phillip Phillips (lw~ 7)
8. Babel- Mumford & Sons (lw~ 11)
9. 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief- Various Artists (debut)
10. Now 44- Various Artists (lw~ 12)

On the Hot 100 Singles chart, “Locked Out of Heaven” makes it three weeks on top for Mars who looks likely to go a few more frames in the pole position. One future contender for # 1 could be from rapper Macklemore with his first top ten hit, the infectious “Thrift Shop” featuring Ryan Lewis which charges into the top ten at # 10. For more on the Hot 100 and all the singles charts, head to Billboard here.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Locked Out of Heaven”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 1)
2. “Diamonds”- Rihanna (lw~ 2)
3. “Ho Hey”- The Lumineers (lw~ 3)
4. “I Knew You Were Trouble”- Taylor Swift (lw~ 10)
5. “Beauty and a Beat”- Justin Bieber w/ Nicki Minaj (lw~ 7)
6. “Die Young”- Ke$ha (lw~ 4)
7. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (lw~ 5)
8. “I Cry”- Flo Rida (lw~ 6)
9. “Home”- Phillip Phillips (lw~8)
10. “Thrift Shop”- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (lw~ 13)

And here’s than funky fun new top ten hit from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Enjoy some time in the “Thrift Shop” below.

Alicia Keys and Rihanna are on “Fire” on the Charts

Alicia Keys and Rihanna are certainly on fire on the Billboard charts as the ladies rule the Billboard 200 Albums and the Hot 100 Singles Charts this week. Keys lands her 5th # 1 album with her latest Girl on Fire that also debuts atop the R&B Albums chart (her sixth leader there). The album propels the title track all the way up to #11 as well. Keys holds off a bunch of holdovers from the likes of Rod Stewart, Taylor Swift, One Direction and American Idol‘s Phillip Phillips who shockingly holds in the top five for a second week. Hello TV Singing shows, this is how you make a star! Take a look at the full top ten below featuring an influx of Christmas albums. Then head to Billboard here for more on all the charts.

Top 10 Albums ont he Billboard 200:
1. Girl on Fire- Alicia Keys (debut)
2. Red- Taylor Swift (last week~ 2)
3. Merry Christmas Baby- Rod Stewart (lw~ 6)
4. Take Me Home- One Direction (lw~ 3)
5. The World from the Side of the Moon- Phillip Phillips (lw~ 4)
6. Unapologetic- Rihanna (lw~ 1)
7. Christmas- Michael Buble (lw~ 16)
8. On This Winter’s Night- Lady Antebellum (lw~ 19)
9. Cheers It’s Christmas- Blake Shelton (lw~ 18)
10. Rebel Soul- Kid Rock (lw~ 5)

Back on the Hot 100 Singles Chart, Rihanna is still shining brights as her “Diamonds” holds for a third week on top. She will likely fall out next week as the points between her and runner up Bruno Mars are getting really close. Also getting new peak positions are The Lumineers and Phillips whose coronation song hits #7. For more on this chart and the rest of the singles charts, head to Billboard and scroll down for this week’s top ten.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Diamonds”- Rihanna (lw~ 1)
2. “Locked Out of Heaven”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 4)
3. “Die Young”- Ke$ha (lw~ 2)
4. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (lw~ 5)
5. “Ho Hey”- The Lumineers (lw~ 7)
6. “Some Nights”- fun. (lw~ 6)
7. “Home”- Phillip Phillips (lw~8)
8. “I Cry”- Flo Rida (lw~ 9)
9. “Let Me Love You (Until You Love Yourself)”- NeYo (lw~ 10)
10. “Gangnam Style”- Psy (lw~ 5)

And here’s Alicia Keys fast rising new hit “Girl on Fire” featuring the ever polarizing Nicki Minaj. Enjoy

Highlights from Glee’s Thanksgiving Episode

While it seems that most viewers are enjoying the newly invigorated season of Glee, I have to say I am loving it for the most part (aside from that Glease debacle)… Anywho, this week was one of the best episodes of the seasons as they Glee kids prepped for Sectionals and Rachel and Kurt celebrated Thanksgiving in New York. Take a look at a couple of my favorite performances from the week.

First up, Rachel (Emmy/Golden Globe nominee Lea Michelle) and Kurt (Emmy nominee/Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer) take on the Scissor Sisters recent # 1 dance hit “Let’s Have a Kiki” mashed up with the classic “Turkey Lurkey Song”. They’re also joined by Emmy/Golden Globe winner Sarah Jessica Parker as Kurt’s mentor and RuPaul’s Drag Rae alum Shangela.

Next we have the Glee club’s fun take on the worldwide # 1 smash phenomena “Gangnam Style” by Psy with solos by Sam (Chord Overstreet) and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) that has a dramatic ending!

The Warblers were also a big part of the episode performing Flo Rida‘s recent #1 hit “Whistle” and One Directions’s former # 3 hit “Live While We’re Young”. Check out the later featuring Nolan Gerard Funk and Grant Gustin below.

Finally, here’s my favorite song of the episode “Homeward Bound/Home” a mashup of the Simon & Garfunkel classic and the current top ten hit by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips. It’s a beautiful interpretation featuring our favorite classic Glee characters Finn (Cory Monteith), Quinn (Diana Agron), Puck (Mark Salling), Mercedes (Amber Riley), Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) and Santana (Naya Rivera).

Rihanna Double Dips at the Top of the Charts

Rihanna had a fantastic post-Thanksgiving week as she topped both the Billboard Albums and Singles Charts. Despite releasing a new album every five minutes, she has never reached the top of the Billboard 200 until this week with her seventh release, Unapologetic. The singer also tops the Hot 100 singles chart for a second week with “Diamonds” becoming the second artist to lead both charts this year after Adele. Speaking of Adele, her 21 passes 10 million in sales this week for Diamond certification which is pretty much unheard of these days. The last album to hit that mark was Usher’s Confessions from 2004 and it just hit the mark earlier this year. Congrats Adele!… Back on the Billboard 200, American Idol proved it can keep pumping out successful music stars as this year’s winner Phillip Phillips debuts at # 4 just ahead of the latest from Kid Rock. Also, premiering in the top ten are Led Zeppelin and Keyshia Cole while the original Idol Kelly Clarkson sells 75000 copies of her first Greatest Hits album to debut at # 11. For more on all these records, head to Billboard here and check out the new top eleven below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Unapologetic- Rihanna (debut)
2. Red- Taylor Swift (last week~ 2)
3. Take Me Home- One Direction (lw~ 1)
4. The World from the Side of the Moon- Phillip Phillips (debut)
5. Rebel Soul- Kid Rock (debut)
6. Merry Christmas Baby- Rod Stewart (lw~ 6)
7. The Truth About Love- P!nk (lw~ 22)
8. Night Train- Jason Aldean (lw~ 13)
9. Celebration Day- Led Zeppelin (debut)
10. Woman to Woman- Keyshia Cole (debut)
11. Greatest Hits: Chapter 1: Kelly Clarkson (debut)

Switching over to the Hot 100, Rihanna holds off a surging Ke$ha whose “Die Young” could pose a real threat to the top next week… And giving him a matching top ten album and single, Phillip Phillip’s “Home” returns to the top-tier with a new peak at # 8. This song has become the best selling coronation single in Idol history as it nears the 3 million mark topping sales of David Cook‘s “Time of My Life” and Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This”. He’s also hit # 1 at AAA radio, # 2 on Hot Adult Top 40 and Top Ten on the Rock, AC and Pop charts now. That’s pretty amazing when you think about it. We’ll see if he can keep up with his new single “Gone Gone Gone” due to hit radio soon. In the meantime, head to Billboard to see all your favorite genre charts and take a look at the new top ten below.

Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Diamonds”- Rihanna (lw~ 2)
2. “Die Young”- Ke$ha (lw~ 3)
3. “One More Night”- Maroon 5 (lw~ 2)
4. “Locked Out of Heaven”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 4)
5. “Gangnam Style”- Psy (lw~ 7)
6. “Some Nights”- fun. (lw~ 5)
7. “Ho Hey”- The Lumineers (lw~8)
8. “Home”- Phillip Phillips (lw~ 12)
9. “I Cry”- Flo Rida (lw~ 10)
10. “Let Me Love You (Until You Love Yourself)”- NeYo (lw~ 6)

And here’s the new single from Phillip Phillips “Gone Gone Gone”. He’s making like Mumford & Sons again people. At least it’s not a Dave Matthews Band retread…

Here are your new American Idol Judges

After months of speculation, rumors, hype and insanity, American Idol has finally settled on a new judging panel for season 12. Returning is veteran Randy Jackson (who many thought might transition to a mentor role but didn’t), plus Grammy nominated rapper/headline maker Nicki Minaj, multiple Grammy winning country superstar Keith Urban and iconic Grammy winning pop superstar Mariah Carey. The first picture of the judges along with Emmy nominated host Ryan Seacrest is below. They already started working together this past Sunday with the taping of the first open auditions. I have no doubt it will be a juicy fun season. Here’s why…

Randy Jackson: is the veteran who will represent stability on the panel and grew as a type of moderator on the panel last year. It will also be fun to see how he works with Carey who he also manages and has been friends with forever.
Mariah Carey: she clearly knows music with more # 1 singles than anyone in history except The Beatles, has sold over 200 million records worldwide and has an incredible voice. She actually knows how to sing (hello Paula and J Lo!) and she’s a great songwriter, so she has the background and the insight needed for critical judgement. She’s also a little loopy so that will be fun.
Keith Urban: he’s an accomplished singer and songwriter and brings the country fan base that the show has been riding high on for the past few years. (Hello, Carrie Underwood is a huge star while Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, Josh Gracin, Bucky Covington, Casey James and Kellie Pickler have all found post-Idol success on the country charts.) Urban also seems like the most “sane” and intelligent of the judges and that’s a good thing.
Nicki Minaj: this firecracker is a wild card. She’s all kinds of fun and crazy and she brings the youth vote. Most importantly, the girl is very honest and outspoken. She’s surely gonna read a girl if need be.

So, there are your new judges. I’m actually very excited for this panel. It’s fresh and fun and should continue Idol‘s success as the best and foremost singing competition show and the ONLY show to actually and continually produce multiple viable pop stars. (Yes, Phillip Phillips‘ is the latest and his song “Home” is an undeniable smash selling over 1.5 million copies and a hit in four different airplay formats: Pop, Hot AC, AC and AAA)…. So, what do you think of the new judges? Are you excited for the new American Idol? Let me hear it below.

New Music from American Idol’s Jessica Sanchez~ “Fairtytale”!

The girl who should’ve won American Idol this season, the giant voiced diva Jessica Sanchez just announced some great news at this week’s I Heart Radio Festival: she is signed to Interscope Records (run by Idol’s own Jimmy Iovine). This comes as no surprise to anyone who watched Idol this season or has heard her incredible voice as it was just a matter of time til the runner up’s deal was in place. Her debut album will be released later this fall, probably a week or so behind winner Phillip Phillips first release. (And how shocking is it that his coronation single “Home” has become a bona fide hit selling over 1.4 million downloads and hitting # 9 on the Hot 100? And what is that sound you hear after learning this information? That is me inserting my foot into my mouth…)
Not only did Jessica announce her new record deal this week, but she also performed a new pop dance single that will likely be on the album, “Fairytale”. It’s a fun ditty that totally fits a 16-year-old singer while also showcasing her glorious pipes. There’s no word if it’s an official single or just one of the songs from her recording sessions. I will let you know as soon as I hear and I will also bring you as much Jessica info as I can in the months ahead. In the meantime, take a listen to her new song “Fairytale” live below.

Jessica Sanchez “Fairtytale”