“American Idol”: Boy Crazy

Last night was 80s night on American Idol!  My two favorite Idol contestants, Phillip Phillips and Colton Dixon, did not disappoint.  The boys are on fire this season!

Here’s Colton’s version of Cindy Lauper’s “Time After Time,” one of my favorite 80s songs. He made it so current and cool.

Phillip sang “That’s All” by Genesis and he did a great job.  But I really loved his duet with Elise Testone on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty.  I felt like I was watching a concert.  Check it out below.

“Mad Men”: Zou Bisou Bisou

The two-hour season premiere of Mad Men ROCKED.  I loved it.  One of the highlights was Megan Draper (Jessica Pare) singing this song at Don’s 40th birthday surprise party.  I’ve been singing it all week. Caution: It will get stuck in your head too.

Let The Music Play

Whitney Houston passed away the day before the Grammy Awards at the age of 48. It’s so tragic when an unbelievably talented artist dies. It forces me to reexamine everything I loved about their music.  As soon as the news about Whitney’s death broke on TMZ and Twitter, my immediate thoughts went to her music.  And to all the memories. I remember watching the “How Will I Know” video on MTV and wishing I had that awesome hair bow.  ”Greatest Love of All” became my little “lift me up” anthem.  I first heard “I Will Always Love You” on the radio while I was studying in my college apartment.  I was stunned silent.  The song was so beautiful.  I haven’t really thought about Whitney much lately, but just like when Michael passed, she’s been front and center in my mind. She was a true talent with the most amazing voice.  It was all about the music.

It was fitting that Jennifer Hudson sang “I Will Always Love You” in Whitney’s honor last night at the Grammys in Los Angeles.  Jennifer has the voice that will do that song justice and she did not disappoint. It was all about the music.

The big winner of the night was the lovely Adele who is back from throat surgery and sounding better than ever.  She went six for six (!) which included Album, Song, and Record of the Year.   She won because she can sing.  She can sing alone in front of a microphone with no fireworks or set changes or fancy costumes.  It’s all about the music.

I also got a kick out of Bruno Mars and his fun set.  And, of course, I loved my girl, Taylor Swift.  She sang “Mean” and won a couple of awards too.  Katy Perry came out to kick some butt, and give some digs to her ex-husband Russell Brand, with her new song, “Part Of Me.”  Nicki Minaj gave me nightmares with her freaky deaky exorcism mini-operetta.  (I thought I was just getting old, but lots of Twitter folks didn’t get it either. )  Chris Brown was there and I just don’t understand the support he gets. (You should read this post by my fellow mom blogger, Mom-101.  You will be SHOCKED – or maybe you won’t be – by some of the Twitter comments she references from women defending Brown.)

I thought Rihanna did a great job lighting up the stage with her voice AND her dance moves and I even enjoyed the old school folks: The Beach Boys, Glen Campbell, Tony Bennett and Paul McCartney.  The Beach Boys, and especially the tributes from Maroon 5 and Foster the People, were a blast.  It’s amazing how Glen Campbell’s music has stayed with me all these years.  I remember being a little kid and my parents would play his records.  McCartney’s jam session at the end with Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters totally rocked.  I was surprised how much I enjoyed all the classic stuff.

But then I remembered.  It’s all about the music.

 

Ricky Martin: Super Sexy on “Glee” (And In Real Life)

LMFAO is everywhere!  First, they made an appearance with Madonna during Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show.  And last night their popular song “Sexy And I Know It” was performed on Fox’s Glee by the muy caliente, Ricky Martin. Ricky was making a special guest appearance as a community Spanish teacher.  He did an awesome job!  (Hopefully that means ANOTHER appearance??)

I had the pleasure of meeting Ricky many years ago and he was such a gentleman.  And EXTREMELY sexy.

Super Bowl ’12

I was so happy when Kelly Clarkson rocked the National Anthem at yesterday’s Super Bowl XLII extravaganza.  I had just met her Thursday night when she played a concert here in downtown Jacksonville.  It was my birthday present from my hubbie and Kelly was the cutest thing ever.  She was sporting her new bangs and I asked her about the Super Bowl. She said she was nervous and that she had been practicing A LOT.  Well, it paid off because she was flawless and did America proud.

What else happened at the Super Bowl?  Oh, yes.  The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 21 – 17.  It was a close game.  It was a good game.  My husband wanted the Giants to win, but the Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is just too cute not to root for.  And just look at this photo of heartbroken Brady being consoled by his supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen.  It was snapped right after he left the locker room.  I just think it’s a sweet moment.  (Next year, Tom!)

UPDATE:  Literally five minutes after I posted this “cute” photo, the video breaks showing Giselle saying some not-so-nice things about her husband’s teammates.  Oy.  Oh, and the PATRIOTS were favored to win, not the Giants.  I need to stop writing about sports, no?

And then there was Madonna.  (Madonna.  Madonna. Madonna.  I just can’t stop.)  She put on an amazing halftime show which included her hits “Vogue,” “Music,” “Express Yourself,” and “Like A Prayer.”  She also performed her new song, “Give Me All Your Luvin” and I think I’m the only one in the universe who actually likes the song. Cee Lo Green came out and LMFAO performed  their enormously popular “Party Rock Anthem” with Madonna.  The whole thing was a lot of fun.

The commercials were just so-so this year.  The one that stands out is the only one I actually didn’t see.  (I was giving the kiddies a bath and I totally missed it.  And I could not convince Hubbie to hit the rewind button.)  Well, now I’ve seen it twenty times on YouTube.  It’s David Beckham for H&M.  They were introducing his new clothing/underwear/abs line?  I think I’ll end on this little advertisement.  You’re welcome.

“Glee”: Michael Jackson Episode

I grew up listening to Michael Jackson.  My first album was Thriller. (I still have it.) He left us way too soon, but his music lives on. And now I’m super excited for next week’s Glee!

It’s the much anticipated “Michael” tribute episode and it airs next Tuesday, January 31st at 8/7 c.  Here’s a special sneak peek – straight from the cast!

Phillip Phillips on “American Idol”

American Idol is back in action and my first favorite of the season is Phillip Phillips.

You can’t forget the name, right?  Well, take a listen to his audition below.  I love his voice and I love that he rocks out to a little MJ too.

RIP Heavy D

Heavy D’s music takes me right back to my college dancing days at the Cellar at the University of Maryland in College Park.  It also reminds me of my first years working at urban radio stations WPGC in Washington, DC and WBLS in New York City.

I hate that it takes Heavy D’s early passing for me to listen to his songs again.  Heavy D was a rap legend and leader of the popular group, Heavy D & the Boyz.  He was an innovator of music because he clearly knew that the combination of R&B and rap would be successful.  Heavy D has left us way too soon at the age of 44. We wish you a peaceful journey. Here’s my favorite song by Heavy D and the Boyz.

Darren Criss and “Glee” Cast: “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”

Glee was back last night!  And my favorite cast member, Darren Criss, aka Blaine, sang Katy Perry’s hit song, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)”

Darren makes a cameo in Katy’s music video for this song, but here he is singing lead on the Glee version. Loves!

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) – Glee Cast (Darren Criss) from alittlepanda on Vimeo.

Usher’s Back!

Not that he really ever left, but after a string of number one hits, Usher has been taking a break. Then he popped up at Taylor Swift’s Atlanta concert over the weekend to sing “Yeah” with the country princess.  The crowd went bonkers.  And Taylor was too cute dancing around to the hip hop beat in her purple sundress.

Usher also has a new song out called “Without You.” It’s actually super DJ David Guetta’s song which features Usher on vocals. And what amazing vocals they are.  Turn it up!  Happy Friday.

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