Category: Music

The Voice: One Big Lovefest

I finally got caught up on The Voice from last night, and I am truly going to miss this show! I can’t believe we find out the winner tonight! Not to get completely cheesy, but truly all four of these singers, Javier Colon, Dia Frampton, Beverly McClellan, and Vicci Martinez, are winners already. They have worked with some of the biggest and most relevant names in the business and on national TV, no less!

I really thought that the coaches, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Cee-Lo worked it out on “Under Pressure.” I think it’s such a treat to see them all come together and perform. I’m thankful they weren’t handed some original song to try and pull off. Haha. And we’ll get to those lovely originals in just a bit.

I loved getting to see the contestants perform duets with their coaches. Dia and Blake’s cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” was pretty cute. Singing side-by-side in matching sunglasses, the duo basically sang a song that could be Dia’s theme song to her time on The Voice. With her, we’ve truly gotten to see a confident artist blossom.

Continue reading The Voice: One Big Lovefest

Video: Linkin Park Covers Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”

If you were to ask me which artist or band would be least likely to cover Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” I’m pretty sure Linkin Park would have been included on the list. Nevertheless, check out the band’s cover of “Rolling in the Deep” they recorded in Hamburg, Germany.

This is the power of a great and somewhat magical song. Everyone covers it. And hats off to Linkin Park, I think they did a pretty solid job with the song.

David Cook Appreciation Post

Happy New Music Tuesday, everybody! For those of us that are David Cook fans, it’s a big day, because his sophomore record, This Loud Morning is finally out!

As to not clutter up the blog with separate video posts, I decided to round up what I can find from the David Cook media blitz, and it will be posted here.

Kicking off the post with DCook’s Today Show performance of “The Last Goodbye”!

Vodpod videos no longer available. Continue reading David Cook Appreciation Post

Concert Review >> Funeral Party Kick off Panic! At the Warfield in S.F.

Last week, Funeral Party played the Warfield in San Francisco as a part of Panic! at the Disco’s ongoing tour. The LA-based band played six songs off their debut album, The Golden Age of Knowhere, which was released earlier this year.

Funeral Party kicked off their set in front of a sea of people with the title track from their album. The audience seemed to respond excitedly to the energetic band, led by lead vocalist, Chad Elliott.

Elliott comes off as a passionate, yet seemingly full of angst type front man. He did a great job pumping up the restless (and for those in the pit, swaying) San Francisco audience by telling them that they “looked more badass” than their hometown crowd from the previous night’s show in L.A., which provoked a loud round of cheering from the room.

The band performed a nice cross section of songs from their album, including “Car Wars” and “New York Moves to the Sound of L.A.,” but it was their lead single, “Finale” that got the collective audience moving and clapping along the moment the song started.

Looking back on the night of music as a whole, I found that this tour seemed to be a really good fit and great exposure for a band that’s just released their first album, such as Funeral Party. This was my first experience at a Panic! At the Disco show, but from what I could tell, they seem to appeal to a wide range of music listeners. There were guys and girls from high school ages on up through college, including a handful of adults that could be seen rocking out on the floor the whole night.

Also, performing alongside a band like Panic! At the Disco allows Funeral Party to take cues on what works when performing for a large audience. For instance, I think engaging with the crowd is really important and has a hand in holding their attention for the remainder of a band’s set. I think if the band figures out what songs they can get the audience more involved in that they’ll be a pretty unstoppable live act.

Overall, the whole night was filled with great music courtesy of Funeral Party, fun., and Panic! At the Disco, and is hands down the best tour I’ve attended so far this year.

Funeral Party is on tour with Panic! At the Disco through Wednesday, June 29. For more information on the band, check out their official website.

Originally posted on Blogcritics.

Recap: Alice 97.3’s Summerthing 2011 at Golden Gate Park

Summer officially kicked off in San Francisco yesterday out at Golden Gate Park ith Alice 97.3’s biggest music party, Summerthing 2011. It was my third time attending, and my third time enjoying some fun in the sun and great music.

Once again, the line-up for Summerthing was insanely awesome. It included newcomer, Andrew Allen, Parachute, Michelle Branch, Matt Nathanson, and OneRepublic. By the way, did I mention that this was a free show?

 The very personable Andrew Allen kicked off the afternoon with a short set that included his single, “Loving You Tonight” and a cover of Sumblime’s “What I Got.”

This dude has a bit of swagger to his stage presence. His overall vibe kind of reminds me of fresher Jason Mraz. I would love to hear how he sounds with a full band backing him. I am definitely planning on checking out his album.

Check out his performance of “Loving You Tonight” below!

More Summerthing 2011 goodness after the cut! Continue reading Recap: Alice 97.3’s Summerthing 2011 at Golden Gate Park

Video: Adam Levine on ‘Conan’

Maroon 5 frontman, Adam Levine appeared on Conan last night to talk about The Voice and in the process made a voice baby with Conan O’Brien.  Check out his interview below!

“She’s a pain in the ass, but she’s my pain in the ass!” LOL, love it!

Video: Lee DeWyze Performs New Song, “Hummingbird”

Lee DeWyze performed in Madison, Wisconsin last night and debuted a new song called, “Hummingbird.” Watch Lee’s performance below!

“Hummingbird” reminds me of the vibe on Slumberland, which is my favorite Lee album. Soft and sincere. I like it.

What do y’all think of Lee’s new song?

Video source

The Voice: Can’t We Keep Them All?

Last night on The Voice, Javier Colon (Team Adam) and Vicci Martinez (Team Cee-Lo) were saved by America’s votes and moved on to the next round. Casey Weston (Team Adam) and Nakia (Team Cee-Lo) were saved by their respective coaches, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and Cee-Lo.

Totally called Adam saving Casey. To each their own. I liked Casey’s performance last week, but Jeff Jenkins was pretty good, too. Actually all of Team Adam was fantastic last week. Moving on…

Frenchie Davis (Team Christina) kicked off the performances with Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” I have to say that I’ve been unfortunately very underwhelmed by her performances on The Voice. I was hoping to get to see her really bust out some crazy notes on this show, but she seems to be holding back, which is probably why America didn’t vote her through to the semi-finals.

Nakia (Team Cee-Lo) was up next performing Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me.” I thought this was an interesting song pick for him. He really has to reel his voice in and keep it under control, or else it sounds like he’s shouting. I thought he did a good job at doing that. But, I don’t think he fully connected to the song, like Adam Lambert is when he performs it. That said, Nakia’s take on the song was alright.

I know Adam Levine said in his feedback that he had never heard the song before, which probably made for some fun @replies on Twitter, but cut the man some slack. He wasn’t rude about it, he just said he didn’t know that song existed.

Adam’s been bouncing around different countries since Maroon 5’s Hands All Over album debuted last September. He also revealed last night that he’s never heard of that song by The Script, which is what made me raise an eyebrow. I think someone needs to take Mr. Levine music shopping, and maybe turn on the radio for him in the car.

Continue reading The Voice: Can’t We Keep Them All?

Ear Candy: Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”

Happy New Music Tuesday! There is a bunch of great music coming out today, which includes a new single from Maroon 5 featuring the one and only, Christina Aguilera on “Moves Like Jagger.” Take a listen below!

I am really loving this song! A dance track from Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera is pretty much a dream come true. The beat, the guitar, Adam Levine’s “MoOoOoOoOves” line in the chorus make for a fun track that I will be singing-a-long to all summer!

Don’t forget to tune in tonight to The Voice, to see Maroon 5 and Christina perform “Moves Like Jagger” live!

Buy “Moves Like Jagger” on iTunes!

What do y’all think of the combination of Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera on “Moves Like Jagger”?