American Idol Quick Wrap 3/6/13~ The Guys Fight Back

So, this season is all about the ladies on American Idol and um, yes, it is. However, a few guys are desperately trying to throw a wrench in the female domination. And while a few are definitely in the mix, they still pale in comparison to the fairer sex. That said, I was impressed by the improvement of a few and the confidence of the one guy we know is gonna go far, Lazaro. That adorable kid who is overcoming his stutter and confidence issues to be a real star is the only guy that I’m 100% confident is going thru to the finals next week. But, I do have my favorites and I think some of them have a shot. Just who are they? Take a look at my rankings for Guys Night below.

American Idol Rankings 3/6/13~ The Guys

1. Paul: my favorite male singer in the competition is serving up theatrical pop country and I’m loving it just as much as I love RuPaul’s Drag Race (which is a lot, lol). He has a great voice and improved greatly over last week with his cover of the Christina Aguilera/Blake Shelton duet “Just a Fool”. (Yes, I love when Paul sings the divas like Carrie and Xtina!) I really think he could go far if he just really embraces who he is. Paul also is one of only three white guys in the race and there is always at least one white guy in the finals. It’s gonna be Paul.
2. Devin: now this guy has a beautiful voice with a glorious tone and he gave arguably the best vocal tonight on Perry Como’s “Impossible”. His bilingual shtick could get old, but he’s so good at it and he totally has the Latin vote. His personality was also shining brighter tonight as he seemed genuine and humble. Well done.
3. Lazaro: well, someone is certainly coming out of his shell these days. Easily the most popular guy in the race right now, Lazaro also gave his best performance to date on “Feeling Good”. While it was miles behind the brilliant take Adam Lambert did a few years back, it was quite assured and felt natural for Lazaro. I’m glad he is continuing to grow as a singer and performer. And yes, he’s adorable like a puppy!
4. Curtis: ok, let’s be honest. I can’t stand this arrogant affected guy or his stank faces and I am not buying the Jesus juice he is selling. However, damn the guy can sing. His performance of R. Kelly’s # 1 smash “I Believe I Can Fly” started off cheesy, but then he took it to church and soared to the rafters. I think he’ll move on pretty easily. However, he needs some humility stat. Take a lesson from last season’s Joshua Ledet please Curtis!
5. Burnell: there is just something compelling about Burnell and his lovely and subtle take on “I’m Here” from The Color Purple was very good. He was out shown vocally by a few guys tonight, but he is quite likable and I’m excited to see what he’ll do next.
6. Nick: this talented guy is sorely lacking in star quality unfortunately. But he did have a strong performance with his nice reworking of the Goo Goo Doll’s massive 1998 hit “Iris”. He sits right in the cozy Hot AC wheelhouse that Idol vets (Kris Allen, David Cook, Phillip Phillips, Daughtry) do so well and that could help him. Yet, I still feel like he may suffer under the weight of bigger personalities.
7. Vincent: one of those bigger personalities, Vincent, had a great week last week. However, he squandered it all with an off pitch and plodding version of Boyz II Men’s # 1 90′s classic “End of the Road”. All the good will he won a week ago is not likely to carry him through to the finals if you ask me.
8. Cortez: well, this guy looks and acts like a star. I just wish he performed and sounded like one too. While I liked his take on Bruno Mars’ recent chart topper “Locked Out of Heaven”, it wasn’t all that memorable and even a little karaoke. Sorry Cortez.
9. Elijah: while tonight’s performance of Rihanna’s current top 5 hit “Stay” was a million times better than last week’s train wreck, Elijah still has no chance in hell of moving forward. He’s just not even on the same level as the other guys (who aren’t even on the same level as most of the girls to boot).
10. Charlie: um I don’t really want to throw salt on his wounds, but Charlie’s take on that Genesis song was horrifyingly bad. I hope his experience on the show doesn’t wound him for life, but luckily it should be over tomorrow.

Predictions~

Sailing Through: Lazaro
Likely Going Through: Curtis, Devin
I think they’ll make it: Paul, Burnell
Fighting for a wild card: Vincent, Nick
Buh Bye forever: Charlie, Elijah, Cortez

So, the boys did much better than I thought they would. But really, it’s not gonna be enough to stop the lady train… At least, not yet… So, who do you think was the best tonight and might be able to keep up with the girls? Sound off below and watch American Idol tomorrow night for the results and to see who is lucky enough to grab a “secret” wild card spot too.

First Listen~ New Whitney Houston Music “Never Give Up”

We lost a legend earlier this year with the passing of my favorite vocalist of all time, the most-Awarded female singer of all time, Whitney Houston. While “the voice” has officially been silenced, her legacy lives on with her new Hits collection, I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston out November 13th. Lucky for us, we will get some new music on this collection that will include her 11 # 1 Hits and more. Earlier this fall, I shared the new duet version of her single “I Look to You” with R. Kelly and now we get another new track “Never Give Up”. The inspirational mid-tempo R&B track sounds like it would’ve gone perfectly with the music of her last album, 2009′s I Look to You. The song, written by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael-Cox, will be available for purchase next week at all digital retailers, but you can listen to it below. Enjoy…. And watch for the CBS Whitney special We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Tribute to Whitney Houston featuring performances from Jennifer Hudson, Usher and Celine Dion along with classic Houston clips to air Nov. 16th. For more on all things Whitney, head here and check out “Never Give Up” below.

Whitney Houston “Never Give Up”

Celebrate Whitney with “I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston”

We lost the woman who many would agree had the best voice in the history of pop music earlier this year with the passing of the iconic Grammy winning Whitney Houston. The singer, actress, producer, and mother to Bobbi Kristina left us far to soon, but she also left a body of work that is simply sensational. And on November 13th, you can celebrate “The Voice” with the release of I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston, a new greatest hits collection. This one will include  her 11 # 1 Hot 100 chart toppers (including her record-breaking 7 consecutive # 1′s) plus several top ten smashes and two new recordings. The first is a duet version of her hit “I Look to You” with the song’s writer R.Kelly and the second is a never before released single from the 90′s entitled “Never Give Up”. I’m especially excited for the latter song, and you can hear her new duet below…. The album will be released in a single disc version and a deluxe set. Check out the track list for both albums below and celebrate Whitney on November 13th and watch for her the dvd of her final film Sparkle to hit stores at the end of the year.

I WIll Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston

1. You Give Good Love
2. Saving All My Love For You
3. How Will I Know? [Remastered]
4. Greatest Love Of All
5. I Wanna Dance With Somebody [Remastered]
6. Didn’t We Almost Have It All?
7. So Emotional [Remastered]
8. Where Do Broken Hearts Go?
9. I’m Your Baby Tonight
10. All The Man That I Need
11. I Will Always Love You
12. I’m Every Woman
13. I Have Nothing [Remastered]
14. Exhale (Shoop Shoop)
15. I Believe In You And Me [Film Version]
16. My Love Is Your Love
17. I Look To You (With R. Kelly)
18. Never Give Up (Unreleased Song)

Deluxe Version (2nd disc)
1. Love Will Save The Day
2. One Moment In Time [Remastered]
3. It Isn’t, It Wasn’t, It Ain’t Never Gonna Be (With Aretha Franklin)
4. My Name Is Not Susan
5. I Belong To You
6. Run To You
7. Queen Of The Night [Radio Edit]
8. Count On Me (With CeCe Winans)
9. Step By Step
10. It’s Not Right But It’s Okay
11. I Learned From The Best
12. If I Told You That
13. Heartbreak Hotel (Featuring Kelly Price & Faith Evans)
14. Million Dollar Bill

And here’s her new duet version of “I Look to You” with R. Kelly

* And here’s some interesting tidbits… Hit songs missing from both versions of I Will Always Love You include “Hold Me” (her hit debut duet with Teddy Pendergrass), “Miracle” (a # 9 hit from 1991), her iconic top ten hit version of “The Star Spangled Banner”, “When You Believe” (her Oscar-winning hit duet with Mariah Carey), “We Didn’t Know” (her R&B hit duet with Stevie Wonder),”Why Does It Hurt So Bad?” (her top 30 hit from Waiting to Exhale), “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” (her comeback anthem and the remix was a # 1 dance hit) and no songs from her 2002 album Just Whitney.

Linkin Park and Carly Rae Jepsen make Fireworks on the 4th of July Charts

Yesterday was a national holiday as we celebrated the anniversary of our country’s independence on the 4th of July, and two music artists were certainly celebrating as Linkin Park and Carly Rae Jepsen ruled the charts….
On the Billboard 200 Album charts, Linkin Park nabbed their 3rd #1 album with Living Things debuting on top and holding off the latest from Maroon 5, Overexposed, by a very slim 1000 copies. Also debuting in the top ten were new releases from R. Kelly and the Maybach Music Group (whatever that is, lol)… Meanwhile, last week’s leader, Justin Bieber, took a big hit in his second week with a 69% drop. For more on the album charts, head to Billboard here and take a look at the new top ten below.

Top Ten Albums on the Billboard 200:
1. Living Things- Linkin Park (debut)
2. Overexposed- Maroon 5 (debut)
3. Believe- Justin Bieber (last week~ 1)
4. Maybach Music Group Presents- Various Artists (debut)
5. Write Me Back- R. Kelly (debut)
6. Welcome to the Fishbowl- Kenny Chesney (lw~ 2)
7. 21- Adele (lw~ 7)
8. Up All Night- One Direction (lw~8)
9. Looking 4 Myself- Usher (lw~ 6)
10. Rock of Ages Soundtrack- Various Artists (lw~ 5)

Over on the Hot 100, Carly Rae Jepsen makes it 4 in a row on top with “Call Me Maybe”. The rest of the top ten is completely stagnant except for David Guetta and Sia charging in at # 9 with their awesome new hit “Titanium”. Perhaps they can stop Carly’s reign on top… Or maybe, it will be Carly herself as her new single with Owl City, “Good Time” makes a giant debut at # 20 on the Hot 100. We will see… For more on all the singles charts, head here and take a look at the new top ten below.

Top Ten Singles on the Billboard Hot 100
1. “Call Me Maybe”- Carly Rae Jepsen (last week~ 1)
2. “Payphone”- Maroon 5 w/ Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 2)
3. “Somebody that I Used to Know”- Gotye w/ Kimbra ( lw~ 3)
4. “Wide Awake”- Katy Perry (lw~ 4)
5. “Where Have You Been?”- Rihanna (lw~ 5)
6. “Lights”- Ellie Goulding (lw~ 6)
7. “We Are Young”- fun. w/Janelle Monae (lw~ 7)
8. “Starships”- Nicki Minaj (lw~8)
9. “Titanium”- David Guetta w/ Sia (lw~ 12)
10. “Scream”- Usher (lw~ 10)

And here’s Carly Rae Jepsen’s new single with Owl City, “Good Time”… Do you think it could hit the top?

Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars rule the final week of 2010.

Two pop stars who had a great year throughout 2010 ended it just like they spent most of it~ on top. Taylor Swift continued her massive sales with Speak Now landing another week at # 1 on the Album charts while Bruno Mars grabbed his 3rd # 1 of the year with “Grenade”. He previously hit the top with “Nothin’ on You” with B.o.B. and “Just the Way You Are” (not to mention his top five hit “Billionaire” with Travis McCoy). With Mars, climbing to the top, Katy Perry’s 3rd chart topper of the year “Firework” slides to the runner-up spot in a very close race…. Back to the album charts, the only big new releases were from Jamie Foxx at # 6, Keyshia Cole at # 9 and Keri Hilson who just misses out on the top ten landing at # 11 with No Boys Allowed. Take a look at the final top ten albums and single for 2010 below…. Oh and for you American Idol lovers, Crystal Bowersox’s Farmer’s Daughter held up well selling another 37,700 albums for a total of 95,500 in two weeks while the winner Lee Dewyze has just barely hit 97,000 over seven weeks. Watch for Crystal to easily continue to outsell him in the weeks ahead. For more on all your chart needs, click here.

Billboard’s Top Ten Albums:
1. Taylor Swift- Speak Now (last week~ 1)
2. Susan Boyle- The Gift (lw~2)
3. The Glee Christmas Album (lw~ 5)
4. Jackie Ovancho- O Holy Night (lw~ 4)
5. Michael Jackson- Michael (lw~3)
6. Jamie Foxx- Best Night of My Life (debut)
7. Eminem- Recovery (lw~ 22)
8. Nicki Minaj- Pink Friday (lw~8)
9. Keyshia Cole- Calling All Hearts (debut)
10. Rihanna- Loud (lw~ 11)

Billboard’s Hot 100 Top Ten Singles
1 Grenade, Bruno Mars (last week~ 2)
2 Firework, Katy Perry (lw~ 1)
3 We R Who We R, Ke$ha (lw~ 5)
4 What’s My Name?, Rihanna Featuring Drake (lw~ 3)
5 Raise Your Glass, P!nk (lw~ 4)
6 Black And Yellow, Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 12)
7 Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You), Enrique Iglesias Featuring Ludacris & DJ Frank E (lw~ 13)
8 Bottoms Up, Trey Songz Featuring Nicki Minaj (lw~ 11)
9 The Time (Dirty Bit), The Black Eyed Peas (lw~8)
10 Just The Way You Are, Bruno Mars (lw~ 6)

And here’s Bruno Mars new # 1 “Grenade”

Taylor Swift and SuBo take out Michael Jackson on the Charts

Last week, Michael Jackson’s second posthumous album, Michael, hit stores and many were expecting a big debut like that of his soundtrack album This is It. However, while his debut was good with 228,000 unites sold, MJ still couldn’t beat out the ladies of the season, Taylor Swfit and Susan Boyle. Swift returned to # 1 with Speak Now shifting 259,000 copies and Boyle’s The Gift slipping to second with a close 254,000 copies. There were other new debuts in this busy week that saw tons of album sales increases across the board as people get ready for Christmas. The next highest new entry was from R. Kelly at # 6 followed by Diddy Dirty Money (yeah, that’s just Sean Combs/Puff Daddy) at # 7. Also entering with her first record was this year’s American Idol runner-up Crystal Bowersox at # 28 with Farmer’s Daughter. While that may seem like a low chart number, she still sold 58,000 copies which easily trumped AI’s winner Lee Dewyze who only sold 39,000 in his debt week a month ago. Look’s like fans clearly prefer the massively more talented Bowersox (as they should, the album is great)…. For more on all the Billboard charts, head here. And take a look at the new top ten below.

Official Billboard Results for Week of December 13, 2010

1. Taylor Swift, “Speak Now” (last week~ 2)
2. Susan Boyle, “The Gift” (lw~ 1)
3. Michael Jackson, “Michael” (DEBUT)
4. Jackie Evancho, “O Holy Night” (lw~ 5)
5. “Glee: The Christmas Album” original television soundtrack album (lw~ 3)
6. R. Kelly, “Love Letter” (DEBUT)
7. Diddy-Dirty Money, “Last Train to Paris” (DEBUT)
8. Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday” (lw~ 6)
9. Kid Rock, “Born Free” (lw~ 15)
10. “Glee: The Music (Volume 4)” original television soundtrack album (lw~8)