Tonight the top 11 finalists made a selection from the legendary Motown catalog:
I Heard It Through The Grape Vine was a huge hit twice for Motown. Gladys Knight and The Pips took it to #2 in 1967 and then Marvin Gaye took it to #1 for 7 weeks in 1968. It's a fantastic song that Casey Abrams simply screamed his way through adding nothing likeable or refreshing.
Heat Wave was also a smash hit two times. Martha and the Vandellas took it to #4 in 1963 and Linda Ronstadt hit #5 with it in 1975. Thia Megia has a sweet, pure and melodic voice that made this song sound fun and fresh. She's young and dynamic and each week we see more of her potential realized.
You're All I Need To Get By was a hit in the Billboard HOT 100 four times! The classic version is by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell that hit #7 in 1968. Thank goodness Jacob Lusk had some good back-up singers on stage with him to make his version listenable.
You Keep Me Hanging On is one of those rare songs that actually hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 by two different artists. First by Diana Ross and the Supremes in 1966 and then again by Kim Wilde in 1987. The judges have been raving about Lauren Alaina since they first saw her, and tonight she actually provided something worthy of praise.
Hello was a #1 hit for Lionel Richie for 2 weeks in 1984. Stefano Langone used this simple ballad to showcase his fantastic voice and to connect perfectly with the audience.
You Really Got A Hold On Me peaked at #8 in 1963 for the Miracles. Haley Reinhart completely butchered this lively tune with her choppy vocals and a clunky arrangement.
For Once In My Life hit #2 in 1968 for Stevie Wonder. Scotty McCreery did a wonderful job transforming this song into a meaningful classic country story song. The substance of the lyrics truly came through combined with his rugged deep voice.
All In Love Is Fair is a track from Stevie Wonder's 1973 Grammy winning Album of the Year, Innervisions. Pia Toscano completely owned this song and wrapped her outstanding vocals all over it. Fantastic!
Tracks of My Tears was a hit on the Billboard HOT 100 three times including the original 1965 version by the Miracles. Paul McDonald took his guitar in had and re-worked this into an easy going folk-rock ballad.
Dancing In The Streets is yet another Motown classic to hit the Billboard chart three times from acts as diverse as Martha and the Vendellas, van Halen, Mick Jagger and David Bowie. Naima Adedapo added her own unique diversity to her funtabulous performance with an African inspired, bongo infused dance break mixed in with her great vocals.
Living For The City was a #8 smash for Stevie Wonder in 1973. James Durbin showed off his energetic stage presence as he completely worked every member of the audience with his amazing vocals. Outstanding.
It was a great night of musical entertainment. Fans are picking their favorites and casting their votes so you voice to keep your choice safe. My prediction for the bottom three goes completely against the mis-guided gushing from the judges: Casey Abrams, Haley Reinhart and Jacob Lusk will get the lowest number of votes with Haley finally getting sent home.
Showing posts with label Lionel Richie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lionel Richie. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Season 8 American Idol is....
We've known for a full week now that Kris Allen managed to capture the Season 8 Miss American Idol crown. It was quite the unexpected surprise, but the dust has settled and I finally have some free time to review the fun musical festivities that lead up to his coronation. It was jammed packed with ten big #1 hits!
The season 8 top 13 finalists opened the show with a preview of what they will bringing on tour this summer. They brought an exuberant version of Pink's #1 smash from earlier this year, So What, to the stage to get things started with some energetic fun. Last year at this time, the audience was surprised to hear that the Season 7 Miss American Idol crown was being awarded to David Cook. In the 12 months that have followed David has struggled to make a dent on the Billboard Hot 100. He started out strong with his winning song, The Time Of My Life peaking at 3, but none of his other singles, Light On or Come Back To Me, came close to matching that success. So he is here tonight trying again to see if donating the proceeds to finding a cure for cancer will help make a hit out of his new song, Permanent.
Season 8 finalist, Lil Rounds then took the stage and never sounded better as she belted out like the true R&B diva that she is along with Queen Latifah. If Lil had done more performances like this every week, she might have made it to the finals. This amazing performance was followed by Jason Mraz singing his recent top 10 hit, I'm Yours, with finalists Alexis Grace and Anoop Desai. It just reminded us that Alexis and Anoop never really were that good anyway.
Awesome country music superstar, Keith Urban joined Kris Allen on stage to perform his latest single, Kiss A Girl. While Keith was incredible as always, nothing about this duet indicated that Kris was about to take the title. Kris was drowned out and overshadowed by Keith the whole time. Kris simply doesn't have the voice or the stage presence to hold his own next to a truly accomplished professional.
The string of #1 hits went into high gear when the top 5 girls then had some fun singing the song that Fergie took to #1 for 2 weeks in 2007, Glamorous. They followed it, along with Fergie herself, on her other #1 song from 2007, Big Girls Don't Cry. After such a hot solo album, Fergie has gone back to the Black Eyed Peas and now they are currently in their 7th big week at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 with party anthem Boom Boom Pow.
The party then went back to 1984 for a some classic #1 hit duets with the original artists! Season 8 Miss American Idol 3rd Runner Up, Alison Iraheta, gave a heartfelt rendition of Cyndi Lauper's #1 song (2 weeks) Time After Time. The time warp continued as Season 8 Miss American Idol 2nd Runner Up Danny Gokey butchered Lionel Richie's classic ballad, Hello (2 weeks). Lionel then joined him on stage to prevent his tropical dance jam All Night Long that spent 4 weeks at the top of the charts from falling victim to Danny's inability to sing.
The crowd then got their money's worth when Adam Lambert took the mic and showed off his vocal skills with the 1976 top 10 hit power ballad from Kiss, Beth. The stage then erupted in an explosion of high energy fire and power as the classic glam rockers themselves showed up in full make-up to back up Adam singing Detroit Rock City and Rock and Roll All Night. Everything that Adam did on stage exclaimed WINNER and hit maker, but we all know how that ended up turning out....
There was then this weird banjo collaboration that put finalists Michael Sarver and Megan Joy along with comedian Steve Martin. Thankfully it was followed by more #1 hits courtesy of guitar legend, Carlos Santana. Finalist Matt Giraud didn't completely destroy Black Magic Woman, but knowing that it was inevitable if he kept singing solo, the rest of the top 13 joined him on the mega huge smash from 1999 that spent 12 weeks at the top, Smooth. The top 8 boys had some fun with the song that Rod Stewart took to #1 for 4 weeks in 1978, Do Ya Think I'm Sexy. Rod then performed his very first chart topper that spent 5 weeks at #1 in 1971, Maggie May.
Kris Allen and Adam Lambert then took the stage together to declare that We Are The Champions. This outstanding song by Queen went all the way up to #4 in 1977 and the band joined the top two finalists for an exceptional rendition. Seriously, though, Adam completely owned this song while Kris almost disappeared into the background. This is a fact that Kris openly admitted just after Ryan read his name as the winner of the Season 8 Miss American Idol crown. Kris stated, "Adam deserves this" while he was in disbelief with the rest of the audience.
Kris then struggled his way with his limited vocal abilities through the winning single, No Boundaries. For the first 5 seasons of American Idol, they were able to generate a #1 chart topper on the Billboard HOT 100, but that changed with seasons 6 and 7. Does Kris or Adam have what it takes to turn things around and have Season 8 hit the top again? We'll know soon....
The season 8 top 13 finalists opened the show with a preview of what they will bringing on tour this summer. They brought an exuberant version of Pink's #1 smash from earlier this year, So What, to the stage to get things started with some energetic fun. Last year at this time, the audience was surprised to hear that the Season 7 Miss American Idol crown was being awarded to David Cook. In the 12 months that have followed David has struggled to make a dent on the Billboard Hot 100. He started out strong with his winning song, The Time Of My Life peaking at 3, but none of his other singles, Light On or Come Back To Me, came close to matching that success. So he is here tonight trying again to see if donating the proceeds to finding a cure for cancer will help make a hit out of his new song, Permanent.
Season 8 finalist, Lil Rounds then took the stage and never sounded better as she belted out like the true R&B diva that she is along with Queen Latifah. If Lil had done more performances like this every week, she might have made it to the finals. This amazing performance was followed by Jason Mraz singing his recent top 10 hit, I'm Yours, with finalists Alexis Grace and Anoop Desai. It just reminded us that Alexis and Anoop never really were that good anyway.
Awesome country music superstar, Keith Urban joined Kris Allen on stage to perform his latest single, Kiss A Girl. While Keith was incredible as always, nothing about this duet indicated that Kris was about to take the title. Kris was drowned out and overshadowed by Keith the whole time. Kris simply doesn't have the voice or the stage presence to hold his own next to a truly accomplished professional.
The string of #1 hits went into high gear when the top 5 girls then had some fun singing the song that Fergie took to #1 for 2 weeks in 2007, Glamorous. They followed it, along with Fergie herself, on her other #1 song from 2007, Big Girls Don't Cry. After such a hot solo album, Fergie has gone back to the Black Eyed Peas and now they are currently in their 7th big week at #1 on the Billboard HOT 100 with party anthem Boom Boom Pow.
The party then went back to 1984 for a some classic #1 hit duets with the original artists! Season 8 Miss American Idol 3rd Runner Up, Alison Iraheta, gave a heartfelt rendition of Cyndi Lauper's #1 song (2 weeks) Time After Time. The time warp continued as Season 8 Miss American Idol 2nd Runner Up Danny Gokey butchered Lionel Richie's classic ballad, Hello (2 weeks). Lionel then joined him on stage to prevent his tropical dance jam All Night Long that spent 4 weeks at the top of the charts from falling victim to Danny's inability to sing.
The crowd then got their money's worth when Adam Lambert took the mic and showed off his vocal skills with the 1976 top 10 hit power ballad from Kiss, Beth. The stage then erupted in an explosion of high energy fire and power as the classic glam rockers themselves showed up in full make-up to back up Adam singing Detroit Rock City and Rock and Roll All Night. Everything that Adam did on stage exclaimed WINNER and hit maker, but we all know how that ended up turning out....
There was then this weird banjo collaboration that put finalists Michael Sarver and Megan Joy along with comedian Steve Martin. Thankfully it was followed by more #1 hits courtesy of guitar legend, Carlos Santana. Finalist Matt Giraud didn't completely destroy Black Magic Woman, but knowing that it was inevitable if he kept singing solo, the rest of the top 13 joined him on the mega huge smash from 1999 that spent 12 weeks at the top, Smooth. The top 8 boys had some fun with the song that Rod Stewart took to #1 for 4 weeks in 1978, Do Ya Think I'm Sexy. Rod then performed his very first chart topper that spent 5 weeks at #1 in 1971, Maggie May.
Kris Allen and Adam Lambert then took the stage together to declare that We Are The Champions. This outstanding song by Queen went all the way up to #4 in 1977 and the band joined the top two finalists for an exceptional rendition. Seriously, though, Adam completely owned this song while Kris almost disappeared into the background. This is a fact that Kris openly admitted just after Ryan read his name as the winner of the Season 8 Miss American Idol crown. Kris stated, "Adam deserves this" while he was in disbelief with the rest of the audience.
Kris then struggled his way with his limited vocal abilities through the winning single, No Boundaries. For the first 5 seasons of American Idol, they were able to generate a #1 chart topper on the Billboard HOT 100, but that changed with seasons 6 and 7. Does Kris or Adam have what it takes to turn things around and have Season 8 hit the top again? We'll know soon....
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Top 7 sing Movie Music
Quentin Terentino, the director of movie hits Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, is a HUGE American Idol fan and he worked with each of the finalists as they prepared to perform music from the movies.
Alison Iraheta chose to sing the song I Don't Want To Miss A Thing from Armageddon that Aerosmith took to #1 for four weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1998. It started out kinda slow, but as it went on she proved she has one of the strongest voices in the competition. I would have liked to hear her sing a different more interesting song, but she really made the best of the material.
Anoop Desai chose to sing the song Everything I Do, I Do It For You from Robin Hood that Bryan Adams took to #1 for seven weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1991. As we have heard in the past, Anoop has a pleasant vocal quality, but the fact is that he has no stage presence whatsoever. While it sounded nice, there was nothing special about it.
Adam Lambert chose to sing the song Born To Be Wild from Easy Rider that Steppenwolf took to #2 for three weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1968. Week after week Adam has stepped apart from the crowd with his dynamic and energetic style. Whether it's a ballad or a rock anthem, like it was tonight, he has complete command of the stage and totally entertains.
Matt Giraud chose to sing the song Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman from Don Juan DeMarco that Bryan Adams took to #1 for five weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1995. Matt sat at the piano and brought his strained and weak vocals to this song that isn't very catchy to start with. The combination of his boring song choice with his drippy vocals made for a very forgettable effort.
Danny Gokey chose to sing the song Endless Love from the movie of the same name that Lionel Richie and Diana Ross took to #1 for nine weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1981. It's such a huge hit and popular favorite that Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey brought it back to the charts in 1994 taking it all the way up to #2. Danny is so far from being in the same league as these accomplished artists there was no where to go but down with his version. It was boring, flat and uninteresting. He brought nothing except bad vocals and dreary stage presence to this wonderful love song.
Kris Allen chose to sing the song Falling Slowly from Once that won the Oscar for best Original Song in 2008. He has the same things working for him every week. He looks great and he brings a warm sensitivity to everything he does. This song is very low key, so it didn't give him much to work with. His limited vocal range ended up becoming a more prominent factor as a result, but he can still out shine much of the competition.
Lil Rounds chose to sing the song The Rose from the movie of the same name that Bette Midler took to #3 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1980. Just like I never want to hear Lil do another song by Celine Dion again, I never thought I'd hear her do Bette Midler. The fact is that Lil can do these songs very well, but you don't necessarily imagine them being on her first album. With this adult contemporary ballad, she added some more gospel and R&B style than Bette Midler ever could. It worked out pretty well, but her chances to really steal the competition are running out.
My favorites are continuing to impress me while the others are sinking deeper and falling flatter. While they should be stepping up and offering some surprises we are getting more bland efforts. The biggest culprits who seem to be the laziest are my prediction for the bottom three this week. They just seem to be coasting at this point: Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai and Danny Gokey. None of these three have done anything exceptional so far and all should be afraid that this week could be their last. I predict that Anoop will be the one sent packing
Alison Iraheta chose to sing the song I Don't Want To Miss A Thing from Armageddon that Aerosmith took to #1 for four weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1998. It started out kinda slow, but as it went on she proved she has one of the strongest voices in the competition. I would have liked to hear her sing a different more interesting song, but she really made the best of the material.
Anoop Desai chose to sing the song Everything I Do, I Do It For You from Robin Hood that Bryan Adams took to #1 for seven weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1991. As we have heard in the past, Anoop has a pleasant vocal quality, but the fact is that he has no stage presence whatsoever. While it sounded nice, there was nothing special about it.
Adam Lambert chose to sing the song Born To Be Wild from Easy Rider that Steppenwolf took to #2 for three weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1968. Week after week Adam has stepped apart from the crowd with his dynamic and energetic style. Whether it's a ballad or a rock anthem, like it was tonight, he has complete command of the stage and totally entertains.
Matt Giraud chose to sing the song Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman from Don Juan DeMarco that Bryan Adams took to #1 for five weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1995. Matt sat at the piano and brought his strained and weak vocals to this song that isn't very catchy to start with. The combination of his boring song choice with his drippy vocals made for a very forgettable effort.
Danny Gokey chose to sing the song Endless Love from the movie of the same name that Lionel Richie and Diana Ross took to #1 for nine weeks on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1981. It's such a huge hit and popular favorite that Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey brought it back to the charts in 1994 taking it all the way up to #2. Danny is so far from being in the same league as these accomplished artists there was no where to go but down with his version. It was boring, flat and uninteresting. He brought nothing except bad vocals and dreary stage presence to this wonderful love song.
Kris Allen chose to sing the song Falling Slowly from Once that won the Oscar for best Original Song in 2008. He has the same things working for him every week. He looks great and he brings a warm sensitivity to everything he does. This song is very low key, so it didn't give him much to work with. His limited vocal range ended up becoming a more prominent factor as a result, but he can still out shine much of the competition.
Lil Rounds chose to sing the song The Rose from the movie of the same name that Bette Midler took to #3 on the Billboard HOT 100 in 1980. Just like I never want to hear Lil do another song by Celine Dion again, I never thought I'd hear her do Bette Midler. The fact is that Lil can do these songs very well, but you don't necessarily imagine them being on her first album. With this adult contemporary ballad, she added some more gospel and R&B style than Bette Midler ever could. It worked out pretty well, but her chances to really steal the competition are running out.
My favorites are continuing to impress me while the others are sinking deeper and falling flatter. While they should be stepping up and offering some surprises we are getting more bland efforts. The biggest culprits who seem to be the laziest are my prediction for the bottom three this week. They just seem to be coasting at this point: Matt Giraud, Anoop Desai and Danny Gokey. None of these three have done anything exceptional so far and all should be afraid that this week could be their last. I predict that Anoop will be the one sent packing
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