Hit making R&B superstar, Usher, shared his musical words of wisdom with the top 10 finalists this week.
Siobhan Magnus did her best to work her magic on Chaka Khan's Through The Fire. Her vocals were just as strong as usual, but there was a noticeable difference in her confidence. It looks like even the most talented finalists get worried about performing first.
Casey James brought his usual good guy persona to Sam & Dave's Hold On! I'm A Comin' that hit #21 in 1966. It looks like Casey is going to do pretty much the same thing every week. It appears he has no interest in growing as an artist.
Michael Lynche introduced the audience to the India Arie track Ready For Love. It was sweet and sensitive to the point of being quite boring, but the vocals were clear and strong. People may be interested in hearing this song again...
Didi Benami stood center stage in a glittery gown to perform Jimmy Ruffin's What Becomes of the Brokenhearted that hit #7 in 1966. She looked quite beautiful clearly showing that she has no interest in being pigeonholed in one musical category. She wants to take risks and try different things and she doesn't care what people think. Her voice is strong and she showed it off well tonight.
Tim Urban actually hit some good notes in his performance of Anita Baker's #8 hit from 1986, Sweet Love. So in this case, in combination with his adorable good looks there are sure to be numerous fans who are very pleased out there.
Andrew Garcia is so stuck in trying to recreate his past glory that he thought sucking the life out of Chris Brown's fun dance floor jam Forever that peaked at #2 in 2008 would win us over. His drippy acoustic version completely fell flat with weak vocals and no personality.
Katie Stevens tried to keep herself out of the bottom three this week by taking on Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools that hit #2 in 1967. She looked cute, fresh and young and sounded pretty good, but she still hasn't really lived up to her potential yet.
Lee Dewyze showed some unexpected vocal range with his version of the 1971 #3 hit Treat Her Like A Lady by the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose. Now keep in my that there was only some vocal range, most of it was still his tired old generic rock guy rasping. Being merely good should not pass for something earth shattering...
Crystal Bowersox showed everyone what it means to keep growing as an artist with her fantastic version of the classic #1 smash by Gladys Knight and the Pips from 1973, Midnight Train To Georgia. She sat at the piano instead of using her guitar and her voice was even better than usual. She looked fabulous in her stilettos as well!
Aaron Kelly can sing Bill Withers #3 hit from 1971 Ain't No Sunshine all he wants, but he's still a pixie little kid trying to be taken seriously. His voice simply isn't good enough to overcome his shortcomings.
My prediction for the bottom three this week is Tim Urban, Andrew Garcia and Aaron Kelly. This week should finally be the time when Andrew Garcia goes home.
Showing posts with label Chris Brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Brown. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, December 14, 2008
2008 Year End Charts
The #1 album for all of 2008 on the Billboard chart is As I Am by Alicia Keys. It's no surprise that the only Miss American Idol finalist to be in the top ten on the Year End Album chart is the Supreme Miss American Idol, Season Four winner, Carrie Underwood. She lands at #9 with her hit packed second release, Carnival Ride.
You have to go all the way down to #33 to find the next Miss American Idol finalist represented on the chart. Season Five 3rd Runner Up Chris Daughtry continued to have success through 2008 with his first album that was the #1 album for all of 2007 on that Year End Chart. Just a little bit behind Daughtry, Jordin Sparks, the Season Six Miss American Idol winner ends up at #35 with her debut album.
Carrie Underwood's first release, Some Hearts, that first hit the shelves back in 2005, continues to sell so well that it holds onto the #89 position on the 2008 Year End Chart. Her three year old album came out ahead of the debut release from Oscar winner and Season Three finalist, Jennifer Hudson, who sits at #93.
The only other Miss American Idol finalist is represented further down the chart, the under-appreciated album from Season Six 1st Runner Up, Blake Lewis, could only beat box it's way to #150 on the 2008 Year End Chart.
The top 5 songs of 2008 on the Billboard HOT 100 singles chart are: 1. Low - Flo Rida 2. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis 3. No One - Alicia Keys 4. Lolli Pop - Lil' Wayne 5. Apologize - One Republic.
Just missing the top 5, Season Six Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks lands at #6 with her duet with Chris Brown, No Air. Chris Brown actually ended up as the #1 Artist on the entire Billboard HOT 100 also landing at #9 and #10 with his smash hit songs, With You and Forever. Jordin Sparks definitely selected the right person to work with in 2008!
All by herself Jordin managed to end up at #30 with her hit song, Tattoo. She also made the 2008 year end chart at #61 with her third single, One Step At A Time, all from her debut album.
Season Seven Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, logs in at #69 for the year with his winning song, The Time Of My Life. That's just a little bit above the first single from David Archuleta, The Season Seven Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, who rests at #76 with Crush.
The final song from a Miss American Idol finalist to register on the 2008 year end Billboard HOT 100 chart comes from Chris Daughtry with Feels Like Tonight at #95.
Overall, it was another great year on the charts for the Miss American finalists. I can certainly say the Jordin Sparks turned out to exceed just about everyone's expectations. She got off to a very slow start, but proved she has what it takes to be a smash hit!
You have to go all the way down to #33 to find the next Miss American Idol finalist represented on the chart. Season Five 3rd Runner Up Chris Daughtry continued to have success through 2008 with his first album that was the #1 album for all of 2007 on that Year End Chart. Just a little bit behind Daughtry, Jordin Sparks, the Season Six Miss American Idol winner ends up at #35 with her debut album.
Carrie Underwood's first release, Some Hearts, that first hit the shelves back in 2005, continues to sell so well that it holds onto the #89 position on the 2008 Year End Chart. Her three year old album came out ahead of the debut release from Oscar winner and Season Three finalist, Jennifer Hudson, who sits at #93.
The only other Miss American Idol finalist is represented further down the chart, the under-appreciated album from Season Six 1st Runner Up, Blake Lewis, could only beat box it's way to #150 on the 2008 Year End Chart.
The top 5 songs of 2008 on the Billboard HOT 100 singles chart are: 1. Low - Flo Rida 2. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis 3. No One - Alicia Keys 4. Lolli Pop - Lil' Wayne 5. Apologize - One Republic.
Just missing the top 5, Season Six Miss American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks lands at #6 with her duet with Chris Brown, No Air. Chris Brown actually ended up as the #1 Artist on the entire Billboard HOT 100 also landing at #9 and #10 with his smash hit songs, With You and Forever. Jordin Sparks definitely selected the right person to work with in 2008!
All by herself Jordin managed to end up at #30 with her hit song, Tattoo. She also made the 2008 year end chart at #61 with her third single, One Step At A Time, all from her debut album.
Season Seven Miss American Idol winner, David Cook, logs in at #69 for the year with his winning song, The Time Of My Life. That's just a little bit above the first single from David Archuleta, The Season Seven Miss American Idol 1st Runner Up, who rests at #76 with Crush.
The final song from a Miss American Idol finalist to register on the 2008 year end Billboard HOT 100 chart comes from Chris Daughtry with Feels Like Tonight at #95.
Overall, it was another great year on the charts for the Miss American finalists. I can certainly say the Jordin Sparks turned out to exceed just about everyone's expectations. She got off to a very slow start, but proved she has what it takes to be a smash hit!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
One Step At A Time
Katy Perry is showing the Miss American Idol finalists how it's done. She's now spent her 6th week at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 singles charts with her provocative dance pop single, I Kissed A Girl. Perhaps the expectation of a squeaky clean image is preventing the Idols from having bigger hits these days. While Katy has achieved huge success announcing to the world that she kissed a girl and she liked it, David Cook and Jordin Sparks are struggling.
While the sales for David's The Time Of My Life have slowed down, it seems like airplay is picking up a bit because it's not dropping as fast as it was off the chart. Jordin's duet with Chris Brown, No Air, is also dropping very slowly of the charts. Chris Brown is doing very well all by himself - his hot dance smash Forever is holding strong at #3 this week. It's one of my favorite songs out right now. It's great to blast really loud while driving.
Remember back when Jordin performed her new single on the American Idol finals when David Cook was crowned the Season 7 Miss American Idol? She sang One Step At A Time and she looked and sounded amazing. This song is very fun and catchy and I am happy to report that it has finally started to get the airplay that it deserves. It's sitting at #34 this week on the Billboard HOT 100.
While Jordin is making her way up the charts one little step at a time, the reigning pop superstar, Rihanna is still topping the charts with everything she puts out. She's still at #2 with her former #1, Take A Bow, and this week her latest release, Disturbia, leaps all the way up to #4. It's not that rare for an artist to have more than one song in the top five in the same week. The biggest megastars like The Beatles and the Bee Gees did it almost every week and a Legendary Diva like Mariah Carey has done it on numerous occasions. It's still a feat that no American Idol has done yet, but it can still happen - one step at a time...
While the sales for David's The Time Of My Life have slowed down, it seems like airplay is picking up a bit because it's not dropping as fast as it was off the chart. Jordin's duet with Chris Brown, No Air, is also dropping very slowly of the charts. Chris Brown is doing very well all by himself - his hot dance smash Forever is holding strong at #3 this week. It's one of my favorite songs out right now. It's great to blast really loud while driving.
Remember back when Jordin performed her new single on the American Idol finals when David Cook was crowned the Season 7 Miss American Idol? She sang One Step At A Time and she looked and sounded amazing. This song is very fun and catchy and I am happy to report that it has finally started to get the airplay that it deserves. It's sitting at #34 this week on the Billboard HOT 100.
While Jordin is making her way up the charts one little step at a time, the reigning pop superstar, Rihanna is still topping the charts with everything she puts out. She's still at #2 with her former #1, Take A Bow, and this week her latest release, Disturbia, leaps all the way up to #4. It's not that rare for an artist to have more than one song in the top five in the same week. The biggest megastars like The Beatles and the Bee Gees did it almost every week and a Legendary Diva like Mariah Carey has done it on numerous occasions. It's still a feat that no American Idol has done yet, but it can still happen - one step at a time...
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Top 3 sing three each
It's all about threes tonight: The top three finalists sing three songs each. One personally selected by one of the three judges, one of their own choosing, and one selected by the American Idol producers.
Paula Abdul specially picked Billy Joel's And So It Goes for David Archuleta. This song barely cracked the top 40 in 1990, but David was able to work his magic and make it ooze with even more earnest sincerity than ever. For his own choice he decided to demonstrate that he is 17 and capable of singing a current smash hit on the charts this week. Chris Brown is the biggest hitmaker of the year so far and his jam With You recently peaked at #2. It was unexpected to see and hear David do something so contemporary, but with a little more practice he will show that he can do it convincingly. His final song, selected by the producers, brought him back to singing a heartfelt ballad. In 1980 Dan Fogelberg spent two weeks at #2 with Longer. This song is beautiful and sweet and all the things that David can bring to life very easily. It wasn't a big dramatic showstopper, but it was definitely enough to please his adoring fans.
Randy Jackson wanted to hear Syesha Mercado sing a song that hit #4 in 2004, Alicia Keys' If I Ain't Got You. This is a very straightforward choice that she was able to perform easily. Her vocals were perfect and she looked stunning in a glamorous gold full length gown. For her own choice, Syesha showed the all-around stage performer that she wants to be. Once again looking fabulous she added fun choreography to her rendition of the 1958 top 10 hit by Peggy Lee, Fever. It may be an old song, but Syesha made it vibrant and festive. The producers apparently wanted to pull out a much more contemporary festive vibe by having her perform the Happy Feet soundtrack toe tapper Hit Me Up. This third song allowed her to showcase a full range of styles in one evening of performances.
For six weeks in 1972, Roberta Flack stayed at #1 with The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. It's a subtle sensitive ballad that made Simon Cowell curious as to what David Cook could do with it. He did not disappoint with his strongest vocals so far in the competition and another powerful arrangement elevating the song to a new and exciting level. For his own choice, David played it very safe by selecting the top 20 hit from 2005 by Switchfoot, Dare You To Move. The song didn't allow him to do anything unexpected or special. The same can be said for the producers choice of the #1 smash by Aerosmith from 1998, I Don't Want To Miss A Thing. David performed with an orchestra and it sounded good, but it do anything exceptional from the original. He's set a pretty high bar for himself, so when he does good it doesn't really feel good enough.
I am very pleased that all three finalists proved they are very worthy of making it this far in the competition. They are all very clearly passionate about music and are excited and happy about having this opportunity of a lifetime. It will be very sad that one of them must be cheated out of making it to the finals. It is very hard to predict, so I am just going to base it on what has happened so far all season. While Syesha Mercado has put in very good performances each week, she has still ended up in the bottom three consistently. It just seems to make sense that now that we are down to only three she will be sent home since neither of the Davids has ever been in the bottom three.
Paula Abdul specially picked Billy Joel's And So It Goes for David Archuleta. This song barely cracked the top 40 in 1990, but David was able to work his magic and make it ooze with even more earnest sincerity than ever. For his own choice he decided to demonstrate that he is 17 and capable of singing a current smash hit on the charts this week. Chris Brown is the biggest hitmaker of the year so far and his jam With You recently peaked at #2. It was unexpected to see and hear David do something so contemporary, but with a little more practice he will show that he can do it convincingly. His final song, selected by the producers, brought him back to singing a heartfelt ballad. In 1980 Dan Fogelberg spent two weeks at #2 with Longer. This song is beautiful and sweet and all the things that David can bring to life very easily. It wasn't a big dramatic showstopper, but it was definitely enough to please his adoring fans.
Randy Jackson wanted to hear Syesha Mercado sing a song that hit #4 in 2004, Alicia Keys' If I Ain't Got You. This is a very straightforward choice that she was able to perform easily. Her vocals were perfect and she looked stunning in a glamorous gold full length gown. For her own choice, Syesha showed the all-around stage performer that she wants to be. Once again looking fabulous she added fun choreography to her rendition of the 1958 top 10 hit by Peggy Lee, Fever. It may be an old song, but Syesha made it vibrant and festive. The producers apparently wanted to pull out a much more contemporary festive vibe by having her perform the Happy Feet soundtrack toe tapper Hit Me Up. This third song allowed her to showcase a full range of styles in one evening of performances.
For six weeks in 1972, Roberta Flack stayed at #1 with The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. It's a subtle sensitive ballad that made Simon Cowell curious as to what David Cook could do with it. He did not disappoint with his strongest vocals so far in the competition and another powerful arrangement elevating the song to a new and exciting level. For his own choice, David played it very safe by selecting the top 20 hit from 2005 by Switchfoot, Dare You To Move. The song didn't allow him to do anything unexpected or special. The same can be said for the producers choice of the #1 smash by Aerosmith from 1998, I Don't Want To Miss A Thing. David performed with an orchestra and it sounded good, but it do anything exceptional from the original. He's set a pretty high bar for himself, so when he does good it doesn't really feel good enough.
I am very pleased that all three finalists proved they are very worthy of making it this far in the competition. They are all very clearly passionate about music and are excited and happy about having this opportunity of a lifetime. It will be very sad that one of them must be cheated out of making it to the finals. It is very hard to predict, so I am just going to base it on what has happened so far all season. While Syesha Mercado has put in very good performances each week, she has still ended up in the bottom three consistently. It just seems to make sense that now that we are down to only three she will be sent home since neither of the Davids has ever been in the bottom three.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Results - Inspiration
The inspirational spirit of Idol Gives Back was continued with the opening group performance by the top 8 finalists of Shout To The Lord. Now that Idol Gives Back is coming to an end for this year, hopefully we will not have to get any more performances like this one.
Ryan informed Brooke White, David Cook and David Archuleta in rapid succession that they were all safe and assured the opportunity to work with Mariah Carey next week. We were then treated to a performance by the reigning Miss American Idol, Jordin Sparks. She is currently in the top 10 on the Billboard HOT 100 with her duet with Chris Brown, No Air. These two hot young stars belted out this wonderful ballad that peaked at #5, but is down to #7 this week even though it is the greatest airplay gainer of the week. It is sure to gain even more sales and airplay after this performance.
Ryan then announced that both Jason Castro and Kristy Lee Cook were also safely on their way to working with Mariah. That just left Michael Johns, Carly Smithson and Syesha Mercado as the remaining bottom three. After sending Carly and Syesha to safety, Michael Johns was revealed as the lowest vote getter of the week and he is unfortunately going home too soon.
The one time I got all three of my predictions correct in this unpredictable season I wish I had been wrong. Michael is a very talented and charismatic performer and it is just plain crazy that people didn't call in to vote for him even though he had a difficult time selecting a better suited song for the inspirational theme. It's also strange that such talented singers as Carly and Syesha are having a hard time connecting with the audience. It will be interesting to see how the vocally challenged finalists (Brooke and Jason) will do given the chance to work with an exceptional talent like Mariah. Next week promises to be a music lovers dream come true. :)
Ryan informed Brooke White, David Cook and David Archuleta in rapid succession that they were all safe and assured the opportunity to work with Mariah Carey next week. We were then treated to a performance by the reigning Miss American Idol, Jordin Sparks. She is currently in the top 10 on the Billboard HOT 100 with her duet with Chris Brown, No Air. These two hot young stars belted out this wonderful ballad that peaked at #5, but is down to #7 this week even though it is the greatest airplay gainer of the week. It is sure to gain even more sales and airplay after this performance.
Ryan then announced that both Jason Castro and Kristy Lee Cook were also safely on their way to working with Mariah. That just left Michael Johns, Carly Smithson and Syesha Mercado as the remaining bottom three. After sending Carly and Syesha to safety, Michael Johns was revealed as the lowest vote getter of the week and he is unfortunately going home too soon.
The one time I got all three of my predictions correct in this unpredictable season I wish I had been wrong. Michael is a very talented and charismatic performer and it is just plain crazy that people didn't call in to vote for him even though he had a difficult time selecting a better suited song for the inspirational theme. It's also strange that such talented singers as Carly and Syesha are having a hard time connecting with the audience. It will be interesting to see how the vocally challenged finalists (Brooke and Jason) will do given the chance to work with an exceptional talent like Mariah. Next week promises to be a music lovers dream come true. :)
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