Guy Sebastian seems to be making a dent in the US market lately. His latest single, Who's That Girl, is now available on iTunes in the US. You can find it here. It is a great song, and he is joined on the effort by Eve, who is quite good in the song and the video. The two also co-wrote the song for the singers Twenty-Ten album. It has been catching on with some of the radio stations here, so if you have a favorite station in your area, you might want to request it!
While there, I see you can also purchase the video and single for Never Hold You Down on iTunes as well. The song is off the Like It Like That album. It was written by Sebastian and David Ryan Harris.
For more about Guy Sebastian, you can check out his official website here. And if you like Who's That Girl, you can find it on iTunes here. For Never Hold You Down, you can get the single here, and the video here.
Leona Lewis, Will Young, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken and Anthony Callea.
On this fine Sunday morning, I thought I would pull some great swing music from unexpected sources. Namely, the Idol programs from around the world. Well, there are representatives from American Idol, the UK's Pop Idol, Australian Idol, and the UK's X Factor. I picked some of my favorites from these series, at least the ones I could find clips on YouTube that might apply. And I could not think of a better way to start this post than with Anthony Callea swinging on Route 66. The song was written by Bobby Troupe, husband of torch singer Julie London. It was first made popular by the great Nat King Cole, but Anthony does an amazing job with it.
In the third season of the UK hit show X Factor, Simon Cowell and company introduced us to a beautiful young lady whose talent was soon heard 'round the world. After winning the season, Leona Lewis was soon releasing Bleeding Love, which topped the charts and earned Lewis fans world-wide. While on the show, she made it through Big Band week singing Summertime, the classic song by George Gershwin.
In late 2001, we were introduced to the series that started it all. Pop Idol crowned the first winner in February 2002. Will Young crooned his way into the hearts of the British public. And, I might add, they had good taste, for Will is so very talented. And he did a lovely version of We Are In Love, a song written and performed by Harry Connick, Jr, for his 1990 album of the same name.
In the second season of American Idol, we were introduced to North Carolina native Clay Aiken. He charmed the fans enough to stay out of the bottom three for the entire season, and finished in second behind winner and good friend Ruben Studdard. When it came time to perform as part of the Final Three, he did an incredible version of Mack The Knife, the famous song by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht from their masterpiece, The Threepenny Opera.
The first season of American Idol ran during the summer of 2002, and in September, winner Kelly Clarkson was crowned. Kelly waded through the musical waters with poise and panache, like when she blew everyone away with Stuff Like That There, the song by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, originally sung by Betty Hutton in the 40s. Kelly took the song and made it her own.
Hope the music got you into the 'swing' of this fine Sunday!
Wes Carr is another of those tricky Australian acts I stumbled over while trolling the internet, and have been following since. There is a certain quality in his voice, a heaping teaspoon of rock with a twist of the blues, and a pinch of soul, that just intrigues me still. And in the following clip, he just seemed to be dripping with charisma, and I was unable to take my eyes off him. This is You, which I think was his first single.
I have also kinda come to grips with the fact I won't be seeing this Aussie performing all too often, if ever. And while I would like to think I will, I appease myself with good videos from other people who love the music, like they did with the following clip. Wes can pare it back and still deliver the goods. Take this acoustic version of the song he had written, Love Is An Animal.
I first got to hear Anthony Callea when the video of him singing The Prayer on Australian Idol, and his voice blew me away. In fact, the entire performance just took my breath away. I mean, he was singing live!
After checking out some of his other performances on the show, I was hooked. I ordered his first album, as well as the second - packages from Australia can take forever! I also purchased his Live Concert DVD, and eagerly await new music! What amazes me is that the boy can sound like a chorus of angels in The Prayer, but can also sound like this when he sings Addicted To You, from the sophomore effort.
It was an added bonus when I discovered Anthony was gay, and in a relationship with actor/singer Tim Campbell. I follow Tim on Twitter, and he is not only unbelievably handsome, but he is funny! For more information about Anthony, check out his official website here. You can purchase the first album on US iTunes here, and if you like music, you should have Anthony's music in your collection.
I am crazy for Anthony Callea's voice, it is just gorgeous. I learned about the Australian when he was competing on Australian Idol in 2004, and he performed the song The Prayer. The video went on YouTube and it mesmerized me, and I have followed him since, including buying both his CDs. The fact the young man walked on stage and performed this well live just makes me stand in awe of his talent.
For the life of me, I still have not figured out how he did not win the competition. He has, however, sustained a career and has another album coming out soon. Damn, there is another one I will have to import.
Wes Carr won Australian Idol last fall, and I didn't hear one thing about him until this past spring, when I ran across the video for one of his songs. And unlike the 2008 winner of American Idol, I really like Wes' style. His music was fun and sexy, and seemed like it was more about enjoyment than showing the world how damn clever he was [that is addressed to far too many rock musicians these days].
He was 26 when he won Idol, and seemed to have a clue about what he wanted because the CD is rather good. The Way The World Looks is a strong pop/rock effort, with Carr's strong bluesy vocals pulling most of the weight. The lead single was You, the winner's single from Idol. It charted very well, hitting number 1 in Australia. It was released on November 23, 2008. It is kinda sassy and sexy. That is the first one I saw. Click here to see it. That was followed by It Feels Like Woah [above] and Fearless, below. Of course, there is a bit of nonsense with the CD, including some covers of U2's Desire, the Beatle's Get Back, and a truly misplaced If I Were A Carpenter, all of which he apparently performed on the show.
Now, what is surprising is without ever seeing a single episode of Australian Idol, I now have 2 of those contestants I really enjoy - Wes Carr and the golden-voiced Anthony Callea. Now, they couldn't be more different, with rocker Wes and his throaty blues and Anthony, a young man with a gorgeous voice who could make me enjoy a recorded version of an Ikea manual. No matter, I like 'em, and hope there is more to come from both!
You can find out more about Wes Carr on his MySpace page. To give Anthony Callea another listen, see my post here.
I have been a massive Anthony Callea fan since his 2004 appearance on Australian Idol. My friend Rickey, who runs the American Idol megasite Rickey.Org, pointed me to a YouTube video of a young man singing the classical/pop song, The Prayer, and have been hooked since. For reasons that will always escape my itty, bitty mind, Anthony finished second, despite having the voice of an angel. To this day, listening to Anthony sing that song as well as a few others can still give me goosebumps.
The eponymous first CD was released in the spring of 2004, and it took me a while to get it, finding the import from Australia can be interesting here in Delaware. But I got it, and loved it. The first single, The Prayer, became the highest selling single in Australian musical history. But before they could pigeonhole Anthony into the Andreas Bocelli, he also had some great pop tunes, like Hurt So Bad, with a sweet Spanish sound, and Rain, a beautiful mid-tempo number.
In 2006, Anthony released A New Chapter, which went more in the pop vein than before. The single Addicted To You is a rocking pop tune, and Live For Love a great power ballad. I loved this CD even more, and was shocked it sold less than the first.
Anthony is currently working on a new CD, but has been keeping busy working as well. He worked in the Australian production of Wicked: The Broadway Musical, and following his starring role of Mark in Rent: The Musical. He has also had countless concerts, including opening for Celine Dion [I will forgive him for this] when she was in Australia.
In his personal life, he came out as rumors of his sexuality spread in the Australian press, but maintained a dignity all along. For the past year and a half, he has been seeing Tim Campbell, an Australian actor/singer, who had starred in a leading primetime soap and had costarred with Anthony in Rent. They have performed together and separately, both remaining gainfully employed while also having a fairly public relationship.
The first CD is available on iTunes, although the second is not but can be purchased on Amazon. I have been tempted to buy the live DVD, but have not been able to find a NTSC copy. I don't know if I will ever get the chance to see him perform live, but would love to [please, Anthony, if you are listening, make it to the states sometime]. That aside, if you like what you hear, buy it and you won't regret it for a moment. For more information about Anthony, you can check his website, or him on Twitter, where he can be most amusing.
