JockBoyMusic - What makes you Dance? | Music Blog

A Wacky Night on American Idol

Last night on American Idol the one and only Neil Diamond was the mentor for the night with his booming voice the Idols all had a hard time living up to his vocal abilities.  However the night really ended up being a bit wacky.  With a rather weird format the judges didn't make comments after the first song but after the entire set.  This somehow must have really messed with Paula(see video below) due to the fact she thought 2 songs had been preformed but in "reality" only one song had been preformed by each singer!?!?  Guess Paula took a little to much of her "pain" medicine!  I really thought that every performance was weak even from strong singers like David Cook and David Archuleta however the strongest of the night may have come from Syesha Mercado.  Who will be in the bottom if America gets it right this week... Jason Castro and Brooke White?  Your thoughts?

Ashlee Simpson: Bittersweet World [Album Review]

I admit it...I like Ashlee Simpson. *GASP* She's a guilty pleasure of mine. God, I am so ashamed. I just can't help myself, she makes me dance around like a crazy person and Ashlee's music makes me smile. I was not disappointed with Bittersweet World either. It did exactly what I expected, it had me dancing around in my back yard as I listened to it on my disc-man. Sooo good! Here's the highlights of Bittersweet World:

Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya): I have been singing this song involuntarily for months now. It's so catchy that it's infectious. The rock beat overlays a great electro groove and it makes me want to shake my ass. If you haven't heard it yet...you should give it a listen.

No Time For Tears: I love the electronica loops against the strong bass through the verse, and I really love that it breaks into a great rock jam in the chorus. I was practically screaming No Time for Tears right along with her.

Little Miss Obsessive- I can see why they chose this as her second single off this record. The album version is so much better than the live cuts I've heard. It is so much more rock than the way she performs it. It's not her strongest vocal track, but lyrically it's one of her best. This is definitely one of my fav. tracks from the album.

Ragdoll- The angry girl in me loves this track, I swear this is going to be my soundtrack every time my husband pisses me off.

What I've Become- Autobiography of Ashlee today. She recognizes where she is in her life now, and it looking forward to what she will become. She's "Finding her way".

Never Dream Alone- Wow. This was unexpected on this record. It almost seems out of place with it's beautiful simplicity. It's simply a lovely piano melody that you would never expect Ashlee Simpson to be able to pull off a vocal to suit. She did, and she did so beautifully...sure it was a little brassy, but that gives way to the raw emotion that is behind the song. It is Ashlee as I've never heard her before or expected. A beautiful ending to a wonderful album.

Divine Miss C Rating:

Madonna: Hard Candy [Album Review]

I have been anxiously waiting for the release of Madonna's new album Hard Candy for months now. Finally, today I got to quench my thirst for new Madonna...and happily I was not disappointed. I'm not going to lie, I was very nervous when I found out that Madonna was working on a R&B influenced album. Okay, I was petrified when I found out she was working with Timbaland. Not that he is not an AMAZING producer, because he is...he's just a far cry from Madonna's William Orbit days.

We all know that the line between pop and R&B is a line that pop princesses don't typically cross successfully...and with good reason. R&B is not an easy genre of music to do and do well. There just isn't a very high success rate for that cross over, and even with all her gloriousness, this was a BOLD move for Madonna. Thankfully, Madonna crossed the line in all the right ways and blurred the line between R&B and pop beautifully.

Some the highlights of Hard Candy were:

4 Minutes -Obviously this is a highlight. Even if you hated the song the first time you heard it, the infectious horn driven groove grows on you and you find yourself singing along involuntarily. Face it, you  love the song. We all do.

Heartbeat - 80's Synth mixed with a hot hip-hop beat=perfection. The synthesized vocal had me feeling it in my heartbeat.

Miles Away - Haven't we all been there? An unrequited love song, about how distance sometimes makes the heart grow fonder. Absolutely beautifully done.

Incredible - THIS SONG IS INCREDIBLE. There are so many elements layered on top of one another, none of which over powering the other. The vocal is perfect, the beat is thumping, the synthesized backdrop against piano is mixed to perfection. It's a little long...and starts to get a little annoying by the end of the song (all the "Boom!"s in there are really annoying), but it's worth the full listen.

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You - Reminiscent of her Ray of Light days with it's orbital sound effects layered over a R&B groove. The piano melody in the background of the song is beautiful, and this was Madge's strongest song on the album vocally.

Voices-As the song started, I was reminded of Erotica and Justify My Love, then was pleasantly surprised with it's airy melody against a really great beat. Then she mixes it up again in the chorus and adds a little Middle Eastern flavor to the melody. A definite favorite for me.

Buy this record. It's going to be out on tasty Tuesday 4/29...and it's definitely been worth the wait. Madonna is still the queen on pop now and forever.

 

Justin Timberlake plays with his Meat

Came across this video of Justin Timberlake today playing a board game watch till the end to see Justin play with a big ole' piece of meat! 

Listen to this

Yelle. She is awesome. She is fabulous. She is French, and you are gonna love her like the fries. Give her a whirl. Je Veux Te Voir

Ashlee Simpson on Ellen

Ashlee Simpson went on Ellen in support of her new record "Bittersweet World", which needs some press because it is only projected to sell 55,000 copies this week...eek! Ashlee needs all the press she can get for real! Of course there was little talk about the record though because Ellen was all about asking what we all want to know: Is Ashlee Simpson pregnant or not? You know miss thing danced all around that question too. We're all left wondering just like we were before she went on Ellen. Answer the question already, geeze!

Carly Smithson - Unexpected Elimination from American Idol

Well we had another small shocker last night on American Idol when Irish-Diva Carly Smithson didn't make the cut and got booted off American Idol, on what was one of her best performances of the show.  Carly showed her vocal strength on "Jesus Christ, Superstar" and got great praise from all 3 judges but apparently America didn't like it so much.  Rounding out the now bottom 2 was Syesha Mercado who also had a great performance from the previous night.  Both Jason Castro and Brooke White who had horrible performances where sent to safety and the judges all seemed a bit shocked!  Well Carly at least you went out on a GREAT performance!   

Also if you haven't - try this:  Google - Carly Smithson and you will notice a YouTube Video as the 3rd result - Carly's previous career has been quite a subject of conversation.  Don't know if it had anything to do with her early dismissal but it's something to think about!

Brooke Says: Can I have a do-over?

Brooke White messed up on American Idol last night...and instead of just pushing on through it (like most performers would) she just STOPPED. You don't just stop honey...this is show biz. Lucky her, the music started over and she got her little do-over. Too bad though, we love some Evita, and Brooke White sure under performed "You Must Love Me". What good is a do-over if you're still gonna suck? I've got a feeling that "somebody's" going home tonight...what do you think?

Jordin Sparks silenced...

Jordin Sparks is left unable to sing due to an acute acute vocal cord hemorrhage. She's had to drop out of the just launched Alicia Keys tour until she recovers. Now before you freak out folks, these things do happen, and singers recover from them just fine...it just takes a little time. That's why it's so very important to warm up those vocals chords before you perform, and use proper breathing and vocal techniques while performing.

The 2007 "American Idol" winner was forced to cancel three shows over the weekend, including the opening night of Keys' tour Saturday in Hampton, Va., and an Earth Day gig at Washington, D.C.'s National Mall.

"Jordin is on a vocal rest, but she's expected to make a full recovery and join Alicia on tour in May," said a spokesperson for Sparks' Jive label.

Get well soon hon!

A word from Kylie Minogue...Divaliciousness

This is a word from Kylie Minogue about her upcoming tour, taken from Mizz Minogue's official blog:

"Hi everyone,

The countdown has begun!! Not long now before opening night for KylieX2008!!!!

My cast, crew and I have been working hard to really make this show a 'Spectacular' for you. Full production rehearsals are coming up and we are very excited to merge all the various elements of the show. If you have seen some of the behind the scene footage you will have noticed both new and familiar faces. I will update you with one more peek behind the scenes before we open in Paris, so keep a look out!

I hope you liked the little All I See video we did especially for you! I managed to squeeze in three hours filming at the end of a long day's shooting for the show. Very low-fi, just Willie and Marco (one of my dancers) and a white backdrop. And, as I always say…'When in doubt, apply more glitter!'. Girl can't get enough of a glitter drop!

As all my time seems to be taken up with elaborate and difficult rehearsals
it was fun to do something simple and spontaneous. Back to the studio now and I will check in with you again before May 6th!

Love Kylie x"

Divalicious!!