Some of these articles come courtesy of the inimitable lisab over at MJ s. Thanks!
So I m feeling better this morning, which is good.
But I m still going to take it easy. Just cause.
Hunt comes from a family of artists and musicians, and she’s performed self-composed vocal and piano pieces locally at various establishments, including the Norris Cultural Arts Center.
Hunt is a fan of artists such as Bjork, Nina Simone and Fiona Apple, who have made a living on the outskirts of the pop mainstream. And she has always been determined to become known for her own material — not for rehashing someone else’s songs.
An admirable and laudable goal, but I don t see it completely happening if she wins the whole shebang.
She may be one of the contestants who benefits from going out third or fourth and signing indie. We ll just have to see. Oh, and here s what one of Leslie s former employers had to say about her voice:
Leslie’s voice is like velvet, while everybody else paints in Technicolor.
That s very cool. And true, from what I ve heard so far. A lot of the girls just seem so interchangable this year.
Here s a about Nicole Tranquillo. She sings in a group called Soul School at U of Arts, and her parents encouraged her to try out for Idol. She never got to sing in New York, because police cut off the lines, so she went to Memphis instead.
I haven t heard a lot of her, but the buzz is that she s a very talented girl.
Contender Rudy Cardenas plans to with a little rock (more Journey), then move to some Latin-tinged performances if he advances. That could be cool and different the closest this show has ever come to Latin is Gloria Estefan night and Shakira, singing in English, belly-dancing with Wyclef Jean.
But Rudy, just remember singing Ricky Martin doesn t count.
Nicholas Pedro, who bowed out of the competition last year, he ever made that decision. He also enjoys the nickname Boston Nick.
Oh no.
And finally, read more about Lakisha Jones and how she dedicated one of her performances to her daughter, Brionne, .
Hey, remember that Chris Daughtry article I linked to yesterday?
I missed one very interesting quote in it, and it comes from everyone s favorite Dark Sith, Clive Davis. Says Clive:
He was the first Idol that I d ever met who had material that he had written That was compelling.
Umm no, actually.
Bo Bice had plenty of original music up his sleeve, too. But whatever, Clive. Whatever.
Katharine McPhee got another craptastic review today. From the :
McPhee’s self-titled disc is full of bad generic knockoffs inspired by established artists, including Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani and even the Pussycat Dolls. It’s hard to catch McPheever when McPhee doesn’t even break a sweat.
Instead, anyone with a smidgen of musical taste might have an allergic reaction listening to this disc While you’re at it, how about standing up being your own person, not a cookie cutout of Beyoncé, Britney, Christina, Gwen or Mariah? (two out of four stars)
To be fair, the reviewer does seem impressed with the work she does on the ballads, so check out the full review if you get a chance.
I have the flu.
Probably divine retribution for all my snarking. Because God only likes good people.
So we ve got a barrage of interviews and news articles to round up here.
Let s begin with a nice big piece on Chris Daughtry. EW describes how Daughtry, who was playing an afternoon set at a children s hospital, cancelled a Q A conference, calls a collection of photos from his Idol days cheesy, and just generally is sick and tired of being associated with the show that is single-handedly responsible for his fame:
When a hospital administrator introduces him as Chris from American Idol, the tightly wound singer snaps. He turns discreetly to a member of his entourage and whispers, Are they even going to mention the album?
Are they even going to talk about the band? It s just Idol, saying the last word with special disdain.
You know what d be really cool?
Like, if three weeks from now, the New York Post picks up on this story and runs its own piece, perhaps with a headline like CHRIS DAUGHTRY: DON T MENTION MY NAME AND IDOL IN THE SAME SENTENCE. Then Chris can spend the next few weeks issuing press releases and going on talk shows to explain how his statements were taken out of context and how he s truly very grateful to Idol. I think that would be pretty cool.
Oh, and the audience at a typical DAUGHTRY!!1111!
! show? Not quite the hardcore rawker set you might be imagining:
A sold-out midweek show at Los Angeles El Rey is filled with moms in bedazzled peasant shirts and clumps of kids sipping Shirley Temples.
When the compact, muscular singer bounds on stage wearing his standard uniform — dark T-shirt, flared jeans, and wallet chain — the room erupts in shrieks. A woman screams repeatedly, You re so hot, Chris!
Bedazzled?
HA! Sounds like the Soul Patrol and the Chrisaholics are probably members of the same PTA.
The Krewe of Endymion, one of Carnival s best known groups, was set to make its annual march through the city streets today, with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks leading it.
Hicks was given a standing ovation when he appeared at a Bourbon Street restaurant Friday, as elated diners waved their napkins to a brass band s beat. It s amazing to me what a difference a year makes, said the 30-year-old singer, who was expected to perform with Al Green and Journey at Endymion s ball tonight.
Parade, schmarade!
What I want to know is, did Randy Jackson play bass? Get your priorities straight, L.A.
Times!
Katharine McPhee, last seen shilling for Gillette razors (hey, a gal s gotta make a living), has some harsh words for shock jock (not potential Anna Nicole baby daddy) Howard Stern. And I have to say I back her 100% on this.
Apparently, Katharine was invited to appear on Stern s show. Here s her response:
Howard Stern is a pig. I would never do his show.
Why would I do a show that degrades women the way Howard does? No thank you.
Good for you, Kat.
Just promise me that no matter what direction your career takes or how successful you are, you ll stick to your guns about this.
And finally, want to know some more about your new Top 24? Some local news outlets have published interviews with their home contestants.
Get the scoop on Chicagoans , as well as U of Arts student . Oh, and for those of you who (like me) mourn the premature exit of the sensational Tami Gosnell, you can check out some of her original music .
"Sundance got lots of airtime, but he's getting the Savol Edit which is the opposite of pimping.
The whole artificial Tommy vs Sundance setup is a prime example- as though the judges went through all 40 contestants and the absolute last undecided slot for the guys came down to Tommy and Sundance, and they just *had* to choose between them. It's " "What in the world is this girl [Leslie] doing on AI? She should have already had a record deal somewhere.
Love her voice! To me she is like a and my love for Lisa knows no bounds. Leslie is the only contestant I give a crap about this season so far and that means that she'll be out before the top 12.
" "I'm kind of on the fence with Chris. I like his personality, but it might wear on me after a while, especially if the judges laugh at his jokes. From what I've heard so far, I don't think his voice is particularly special, but .
Also, he has a more interesting range of musical tastes than most of this year's contestants (looks like it's going to be R B week every week, regardless of the actual genre, so Chris might bring a welcome change of pace)." "I'm not that impressed with [Antonella's] singing. When her voice sounded nice, I thought her diction was poor, eg.
in her group performance. Although she was the best of the three of them, that was in comparison to Baylie, who was a trainwreck, and Amanda, who was Not Good. She was in The Chair episode.
" "With the success of people like Justin Timberlake, it wouldn't surprise me at all if this year turns out to be Blake Lewis. There's a lot of money to be earned for TPTB if an actual "pop" performer wins this time.
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