Idol Results, With No Result!

Clockwise: Lana Del Rey; Demi Lovato; and Daughtry.

While I am away at a show listening the the music of Tom Goss and Stewart Lewis, many of you will be watching the Results show for American Idol. At this point, we don't really know if someone will be sent home or not, but we have heard they have three guests coming all, to support new releases. In fact, one guest already played a role tonight, when Chris Daughtry had dinner and a TwitPic with Colton, and gave him some advice. Chris will front the Band Daughtry as they come on the show to play their released just earlier this week. Give a listen to Outta My Head.



Many will remember Chris from his time on Idol in 2006, where he was a frontrunner and surprise elimination in fourth place. Outta My Head is off the album Break The Spell, is available on iTunes and Amazon. It might be tough to find someone in the world who hasn't heard of Demi Lovato. It comes as no surprise Demi will be a featured performances on Idol. I am sure the producers are hoping she and the others guests give a boost the the ratings, which have faltered a bit as of late. She will be on to perform Give Your Heart A Break.



I sure this will keep many of the kids happy who are watching the show. Give Your Heart A Break is the followup to her megasuccessful single, Skyscraper. Both can be found on the album Unbroken. You can purchase Unbroken from iTunes and Amazon. And finally, they will also have singer Lana Del Ray on the show. The singer made quite the controversy when she sang Blue Jeans on Saturday Night Live, So again it does not surprise me that she was invited on American Idol, for the sheer suspense of her performing.



Blue Jeans is a single off the Born To Die album. You can purchase it on both iTunes and Amazon. As to who is going home this week on Idol, the only definite is that Jermaine already did. The only other definite I know is that I will be having a wonderful time. Hope you have a great time, too!

American Idol Season 5 Take 1

As we approach the competition starting up on the most recent season of American Idol, it allows me to do something the other similar shows can't do. That is to look back over the last decade of the show, and visit with the performers I really thought were due another look and listen. Hard to believe it has been a decade, but this summer, it will be 10 years since Fox aired the show that caught the imagination of the viewers.

It could easily be argued that Season 5 of American Idol is easily the most successful of all ten completed season, and has numbers that would make it difficult for any other season to match. When you look at the Top 10, there are seven of note, and two of the other three have released music, and the other made an appearance on a hot television show after the show. Heck, even eleventh place finisher Kevin Covais has picked up some acting work. Season 5 has eight Grammy Nominations among them. One of those nominations belongs to seventh-place finisher Ace Young, who helped write the chorus for Daughtry's megahit It's All Over, as well as appearing i Grease and Hair on Broadway. His own music, however, went relatively unnoticed, even when he was co-hosting the Labor Day MDA Telethon. Sixteen-year-old Lisa Taylor finished in tenth, but also appeared on The O.C. after her time on Idol. Paris Bennett, who finished in fifth place, released Princess P in 2007, although few noticed.



However, it must be said that many have noticed the music made by the woman who finished in ninth place, Mandisa. While some thought her performance of Mary Mary's Shackles (Praise You) that shortened her stay on the show, it is Christian Music that has allowed Mandisa's voice to be heard. Since her run on the show, Mandisa has released three albums, all of which have garnered her a Grammy nomination for best Christian/Gospel album. That includes her latest album, What If We Were Real, had the hit song Stronger, which made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, as well as the Christian Adult Contemporary chart. Yes, I hadn't realized there was that specialized niche either.



I also read that while Mandisa was interested in maintaining a healthy spiritual life, she also opted to live a healthy total life, and has lost 100 lbs. since her time on Idol. To catch up with what Mandisa is up to, check out her official website here. You can find What If We Were Real on iTunes and Amazon.



I really enjoyed Bucky Covington while he was on the show, apparently much more than the judges did. Once the show was completed, Bucky almost seemed forgotten, until he was signed by Lyric Street Records. Soon Covington was being featured on the GAC Country Christmas Music Tour, and working on an album. When his eponymous debut was released in 2007, it made it to the top of the Billboard Country album chart, and to #4 on the Pop album chart. He had the best debut week by a man since Billy Ray Cyrus made his debut fifteen years earlier. On the strength of the singles A Different World, It's Good To Be Us, and I'll Walk, all making it in the top 11 of the Country chart, Bucky seemed to be on a strong career track. In 2009, he released an EP, Live From Rockingham, which was quite good. It is a great part of my collection. Here is the video for the song It's Good To Be Us, from the debut album. I think it a great song.



However, while working on his sophomore effort, Lyric Street closed it's doors, leaving Bucky without a label. That was only a temporary setback, for he was soon signed by a label owned by the Disney Music Group. To catch up with what Bucky is up to, check out his official website here. You can find Live From Rockingham on iTunes and Amazon.



Ah, that Kellie Pickler, another Country success story for the Idol franchise, although one that took a slightly different road to success. On the show, Kellie was the girl with the hard-luck story. Her daddy was in prison, and her mother she hardly remembered, so she was living with her grandfather with dreams of being the next Carrie Underwood. Kellie made it to sixth place, and once off the show, she truly seemed to bloom. She was soon guest host on The View, and popping up everywhere. When she returned to the Idol stage the next season to promote her country album, even Ryan couldn't help but noticing the bloom included a visit to the doctor for a breast enhancement. That first album, Small Town Girl, was a certified hit, making it to the top of the Billboard Country album chart, as well as #9 on the Pop album chart. The album was certified gold and went on to over 877,000 in sales in the US alone. Her eponymous second album was released in 2008, and sold well on the strength of great singles like Best Days Of Your Life, her first Top Ten Country single, which was certified Platinum. A few weeks ago, Kellie released her third album, 100 Proof, and the first single, Tough.



Kellie's life has been changed since the days of the back story on Idol. Just over a year ago, she married songwriter Kyle Jacobs and continues to have a successful career. To catch up with what Kellie is up to, check out her official website here. You can find W100 Proof on iTunes and Amazon.

Tomorrow, look for my thoughts on the Top Four from Season 5, Chris Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, Katharine McPhee, and winner Taylor Hicks.

Westlife Duets

Westlife Got Milk - Kian, Mark, Nicky and Shane.

Yes, I am a fan of the Irish boys of Westlife. Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne have made some great pop music in the last decade, and have done some interesting duets. The first I am going to feature was not an actual duet, but was made in an edit room working with released singles. From their latest album Where We Are, Westlife sang a song first released by the American group Daughtry, What About Now. When the songs are put together with a creative editor, this is what you get.



The next song was sung live on a television program in the UK, An Audience With Lionel Ritchie. While doing a retrospective of his career, Ritchie bring out the boys to sing the Commodores hit Easy.



The boys have never shied away from being a bit adventurous, even if it is on British television. I am crazy about the beginning with Mark singing with Donna. You know he is excited, cause what gay man hasn't wanted to sing with Summer? Here is No More Tears (Enough Is Enough), and Donna looks great!



They joined Boyzone for a poignant No Matter What on a British program that honored the life of Stephen Gately earlier this year.

Saturday Rocks - Daughtry

As promised, I was planning to do a Saturday Rocks post on Daughtry , and was toying with giving it the title '4th Place My A$$' but decided to go with the traditional title instead. Back in May 2006, Chris Daughtry was the presumed front-runner to win the fifth season of the show. That left eventual winner Taylor Hicks, runner-up Katharine McPhee, and third-place singer Elliott Yamin in the competition. While many thought this was bad news for the rocker, history proves that to be far from the truth.



In November, the self-titled album was released by the band Daughtry, with front-man Chris Daughtry having been instrumental in picking the members. He chose Jeremy Brady,guitarist; Josh Steely, lead guitarist; Josh Paul, bassist who also played for Suicidal Tendencies; and Joey Barnes, drummer, who was the lead singer of Suicide Darlings. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 100 chart, finishing behind Jay-Z's Kingdom Come, also released that week. The album hung in the Top 10 for the first 8 weeks, and then secured the top spot in the 9th. It would return to the top spot in the 15th week, and stayed in the top 100 for an amazing 116 weeks, over 2 years. Sales in the US alone were quadruple Platinum, with more than 4.5 million sold.



The first single was released ahead of the album, and did extremely well. It's Not Over was written by Gregg Wattenberg and Mark Wilkerson, with some reworking done by Chris and his buddy from Idol, Ace Young, a favorite on this blog. The debut stormed up the charts, claiming the #4 spot on the Hot 100 chart, #3 on the Pop chart, and #1 on the Adult Pop chart. With the ridiculously catchy hook and harder-edged sound, the song clearly established Daughtry as an act to keep an eye on. The song went on to sell over 2 million copies.



The second single, Home, was a sweet ballad, written by Chris Daughtry. As the story was told, he wrote it as he sat on the sofa at home in North Carolina the day before he left to compete on Idol. It helped him express his love of his family, and the desire to not let music take that away from him. It was released in April of 2007, proving such a long life for the first single. It reached #5 on the Pop Chart, making Daughtry the first former Idol to score two top 5 songs off their debut album. The song also made it to #1 on the Adult Pop chart, lasting for ten weeks. It eventually sold just shy of 2 million copies.



The fourth main single, there were two 'rock' singles in addition (What I Want & Crashed), was a song that was tougher to categorize. Feels Like Tonight was thought of by many as ballad, but the uptempo rhythms made others think of it as anthemic pop. It was written by a team of American writers and a Swede, Dr. Luke, Martin Sandberg (aka Max Martin) and Sheppard Solomon, who had already had hits like Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone. My theory, of course, is that much of popular music in the last 15 years has been done by the Swedes, and they practically own the music industry. Hell, Max Martin alone, really. But the song made it to #24 on the Top 100, #17 on the Pop Chart, and once again #1 on the Adult Pop chart, keeping a successful run for the band.



The 5/7th and final single from the album was written by Ben Moody, David Hodges and Josh Hartzler, two members of the band Evanescence, as well as the man married to lead singer Amy Lee. This song, along with the previous single, were the only two songs on the album not either written or co-written by Chris Daughtry. What About Now is one of those big, anthemic stadium ballads, and Daughtry certainly knew how to play them. The song went to #18 on the Top 100, #21 on the Pop chart, and #3 on the Adult Pop chart. It was release in July of 2008, almost 17 months after the release of the album. This album had such great legs, aided by a strong line of singles that kept Daughtry on the radio and being heard by the world.



Shortly after the release of the album, Jeremy Brady left the band. He was replaced by Brian Craddock. This past April, it was announced Joey Barnes was no longer a part of the band, replaced by Robin Diaz. For more about Daughtry, check out the official website here.

Daughtry - September

Chris Daughtry made quite an impact during his run on the fifth season of American Idol. Hot on the heels of Bo Bice's successful run, Chris made a strong statement that rock singers had a place on the show, until he was shockingly eliminated in fourth place. After the show, he was snapped up, and went on to form the band Daughtry, and release a debut album that sailed up the charts, selling just shy of 5 million copies in the US. The second release, Leave This Town, has cleared the million mark, and continues to make an impact, with the latest single, September, being released with a spanking new video.



This weekend I was already planning to feature the band for a Saturday Rocks post, so you can look forward to more Daughtry over the weekend! For more about Daughtry in the meantime, check out the bands official website here.

Weekend Twits

So, I just thought I would share a couple of Tweets that were placed over the weekend. All these are crossed my screen, most with links associated with them. So, this is a bit random, but enjoyable, I think.

Ricky Martin will often tweet a link to a video, and he offered the following on Sunday night.





Chris Daughtry took a moment to record his version of O Holy Night to fans Sunday night. Just a boy and his guitar, and the rocker sounds pretty darned good.





Daniel Cartier, whose music I love, tweeted a link to a new video for a song from his seasonal CD, This Christmas. The song is Carol of the Bells, and stylistically, it is very Daniel. I love it.





Josh Groban often just makes me laugh. He'll just toss out a little tweet hither and yon, and just make me laugh.



Apparently, Shayne Ward was asked to confirm it really was him on the Twitter account. Shayne, who won the second season of X-Factor in the UK in 2005, is in the studio working on a new release. And he looks damn good for a str8 boy. And reminds me I should post about him sometime.





MJ's Big Blog focuses on all things American Idol, and ran a link to one of my favorite AI contestants, Ace Young. The singer and his fiancee have joined Taylor Hicks on the Grease National Tour, but before that, he took part in the Hollywood Christmas Parade and sang Silent Night.