Category: News

American Idol’s Pia Toscano Signs With Interscope Records

It was announced this week that American Idol season 10 contestant Pia Toscano has been signed to Interscope Records. This is great news for Idol fans that were absolutely enraged about Toscano’s early elimination during this past season’s competition. Pia Toscano

“I am thrilled to be joining the Interscope and 19 Recordings family,” Toscano said in a press release. “Jimmy Iovine was an amazing mentor during my time on Idol and I’m looking forward to working with him and everyone at Interscope Records and 19 Recordings. This is a dream come true.”

Toscano’s debut single, “This Time” is set to be released digitally next Tuesday, July 12. The song was written by Esther Dean, who has written tracks for such artists as Mary J. Blige, Christina Aguilera, and Katy Perry. The “acoustic guitar and beat-driven” track is said to be only a taste of what fans can expect off of Toscano’s debut album, which is slated to be released later this year.

Fans will be able to hear the singer perform “This Time” during the American Idols Live! Tour, which kicks off tonight at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. 

For more information on Pia Toscano, check out her official website. To find out when the American Idols Live! Tour is coming to your town this summer, check out American Idol’s official website. 

Originally posted on Blogcritics.

Javier Colon is ‘The Voice’

After two months filled with blind auditions, battles, and surprising eliminations, Javier Colon from Team Adam became the first ever winner of The Voice. Take a look at his winning moment below!

I am truly happy for Javier. Here’s a dude that is all about being there and supporting his family, taking one last shot at making his dream come true and succeeding. That’s pretty awesome.

Last night’s finale was a little underwhelming. I missed the first 10 minutes or so, and the first performance I saw was Vicci Martinez’s duet with Train’s lead singer, Pat Monahan on “Drops of Jupiter.” I didn’t think the duet was half bad. I really like Train’s pre-“Hey, Soul Sister” music, so I enjoyed watching them perform the song.

During Javier’s duet of “Landslide” with Stevie Nicks, you could definitely tell that he was nervous/excited to be singing with her. And Stevie seemed to guide him through their entire performance, which was probably a good thing, because at times Javier looks a bit overwhelmed at the situation, which was extremely endearing. I loved Adam Levine’s response afterwards. He seemed a bit overcome by emotion, which is something we fans don’t see everyday. It was a great moment. 

I was a little bit disappointed that Beverly McClellan was singing with Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic, because she is a legitimate rocker, and I thought they could have hooked her up with an artist that is more her style. Plus, they weren’t even singing like a big OneRepublic song that should could belt out, they were singing their current single, “Good Life,” which is very much a pop song. To go from her damn near perfect duet with Christina Aguilera the night before to this was just lame.

Dia Frampton and Miranda Lambert, wife of coach Blake Shelton, sang “The House That Built Me.” The way Dia chose to utilize her voice was strange for me in the beginning. But I thought the performance overall was pretty good. Blake was nearly speechless at the end of it. Very nice moment.

It came down to less than a two percent difference in voting between Dia Frampton and Javier Colon. In the end, Javier brought the win home for Team Adam.

As someone that has been supporting Team Adam since the start of the season, this was a pretty big deal. I wish Javier nothing, but amazing, amazing success. I cannot wait to buy his post-show album.

In the meantime, we can all buy his music from the show on iTunes!

What did y’all think about The Voice results? Are you excited to hear that all four judges are returning next season, and are you attending the tour?

Kris Allen Promises Fans They’ll Be The First To Know About New Music

Earlier today Tampa, FL based radio station 93.3 FLZ tweeted, “In NYC for music mtngs. With Jive now listening to @KrisAllen’s next single ‘Vision of Love,'” which left us fans wanting to know more information about this new song.

Toby Knapp of Hot 99.5 supplied Kris fans with a little more info on “Vision of Love” tweeting, “its poprock upbeat and fun…. sounds like a Kris Allen hit!”

So, is “Vision of Love” the first single of Kris’s highly anticipated sophomore album? For the time being, probably not. At least that’s what I’m thinking based off the couple tweets Kris just sent out.

“I know some of you have heard grumblings of a new single today. Well…I can honestly tell you that I haven’t picked a 1st single.”

He followed up with, “When the 1st single is chosen I will be the first to tell you. You will not hear it first from anyone else. I promise.”

Sounds good to me! It was fun to get excited over new music, and it can only mean good things if Jive is highlighting Kris to radio stations, right? I think so, plus it’s awesome that the DJs are liking the snippet that they played him!

For more Kris Allen news, check out his official website. Also, do yourself a favor and follow this dude on Twitter.

Mercury News Reveals “Durbin Day” Plans

Tonight on American Idol, we’ll find out which three contestants will advance to the Top 3, and get to return to their hometowns.  If you are not aware of how big a deal an Idol hometown visit is, check out this video of Lee DeWyze’s homecoming from last year below.

If contestant James Durbin makes it through, he’ll be returning to Santa Cruz, CA  for “Durbin Day” on May 14.

Here is what “Durbin Day” will entail!

– 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM – AT& T Store at Capitola Mall

James will be there meeting fans and possibly will find out what song the judges have chosen for him to sing the following week.

– 2:00 PM — Downtown Santa Cruz Motorcade

According to the press release the Mercury News cited, “The motorcade will start at Cathcart and Pacific and travel north on Pacific to Water Street at the Clock Tower. The motorcade will continue down Center Street to the Louden Nelson Community Center at 301 Center Street.”

– 2:30 PM Louden Nelson Visit – Blast from James’ Past

James will be visiting with media and local community programs that “developed his legendary vocal and performance skills.” The Santa Cruz Teen Center, Kids on Broadway and All About Theatre will be hosting James to visit the kids in their current programs.

– 4:30 PM — Travel to Beach

“Led by the Santa Cruz High School Marching Band and a police escort, James will travel down Center Street to Santa Cruz’ Main Beach. James will be followed by participants from the Teen Center, All About Broadway and the Kids on Broadway. ”

– 5:00 PM – James on the Beach Bandstand

James will “give a short performance of 2-3 songs” while be backed by The White Album Ensemble. He will also be honored by Santa Cruz City Mayor Ryan Coonerty.

These are the basic details, check out the Mercury News article for more information.

EDIT: James Durbin did not advance to the Top 3 on American Idol this week.

Jonathan Groff to Return to ‘Glee’!

Earlier this week, TV|Line’s Michael Ausiello divulged the news that I have been waiting months to hear; Jonathan Groff will be reprising his role of Jesse St. James before the end of season two of Glee!

Oh, heck yes!

According to Ausiello’s source, “He’s back to apologize to Rachel, and perhaps get her back.”

Interesting!

I am so excited for Groff’s return to the show! His storyline with Lea Michele’s character Rachel Berry came to an unexpected halt last season, without a real sense of closure between the two as a couple. It will be a treat to see what shenanigans Ryan Murphy has in store for the couple affectionately known as, “St. Berry”!

Are you excited for Jonathan Groff’s return to Glee?

‘Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers’ Out April 19

Glee: The Music presents The Warblers is due out April 19, and will highlight Glee’s Dalton Academy Warblers, the all-male a capella singing group featuring Darren Criss, Chris Colfer, the Tufts University Beezlebubs.

The album will include “Teenage Dream,” which still holds the record of having the best first-week sales of any Glee track, along with “Bills, Bills, Bills,” and “When I Get You Alone.” The album will additionally feature two exclusive songs, one of which being Barbra Streisand’s “What Kind of Fool,” which Darren Criss and the Warblers performed as the opening number at the 2011 MusiCares Person of the Year gala.

Songs from Glee’s Dalton Academy Warblers have sold 1.3 million tracks to date. In the last week, Glee had it’s highest first-week sales from a single episode with 722,998 downloads of tracks from “Original Song.” Combined with their other music, Glee sold 964,000 downloads in the last seven days, which breaks their own record that they set this past February with 880,000 tracks sold in one week.

Glee: The Music presents The Warblers is set to be released April 19. For more information on music from Glee, check out their official music website.

Glee: The Music presents The Warblers track listing:

1. “Teenage Dream” (Katy Perry)
2. “Hey Soul Sister” (Train)
3. “Bills, Bills, Bills” (Destiny’s Child)
4. “Silly Love Songs” (Wings)
5. “When I Get You Alone” (Robin Thicke)
6. “Animal” (Neon Trees)
7. “Misery” (Maroon 5)
8. “Blackbird” (The Beatles)
9. “Candles” (Hey Monday)
10. “Raise Your Glass” (P!nk)
11. “Somewhere Only We Know” (Keane)
12. “What Kind Of Fool” (Barbra Steisand)
13. “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” (Rod Stewart)

Originally posted on BlogCritics.

‘Glee’ to Debut Original Songs On Latest Compilation Album

Glee: The Music Volume 5 is due out March 8 and will include fan favorite tracks like “Don’t You Want Me,” “Need You Now,” and “Take Me or Leave Me.” The compilation album will also feature Gwyneth Paltrow on three tracks.

In a Glee first, there are two original songs to be found on this latest volume of music. The song “Loser Like Me” was co-written by the one and only Max Martin. The song is described as “an energetic ensemble track.” The song “Get It Right” is a ballad sung by Lea Michele. These two tracks will be featured during the March 15 episode of Glee.

This past week was the show’s biggest sales week since it began, with 880,000 songs downloaded. As a result, seven Glee songs found their way to the iTunes Top Songs chart.

Over 24 million Glee songs have been downloaded to date, and Glee has sold over 9 million albums worldwide. Glee: The Music Volume 1 has been certified Platinum, recognizing sales of over 1 million copies sold.

Glee: The Music Volume 5 will be available a couple of Tuesdays from now (March 8). For more information on music from Glee, check out the official music website.

Glee: The Music Volume 5 Track listing:

1. “Thriller”/”Heads Will Roll”
2. “Need You Now”
3. “She’s Not There”
4. “Fat Bottomed Girls”
5. “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”
6. “Firework”
7. “Baby”
8. “Somebody To Love”
9. “Take Me or Leave Me”
10. “Sing”
11. “Don’t You Want Me”
12. “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”
13. “Kiss”
14. “Landslide”
15. “Get It Right”
16. “Loser Like Me”

Originally posted on BlogCritics.

Funeral Party to Release Their U.S. Debut on March 29

Named one of the “50 Best New Bands of 2010” according to NME, Funeral Party is set to take 2011 by storm with the U.S. release of their debut album, The Golden Age of Knowhere, due out March 29.

Produced by Lars Stalfors (The Mars Volta) and mixed by Dave Sardy (Oasis), the energentic 11-song album will release it’s first single, “Finale” to radio in March. The song serves as a great introduction for those who are first time listeners.
.

While fans await the release of The Golden Age of Knowhere, the band is set to release an EP, Live At The BBC on January 25. Included on the live EP are three exclusive remixes by Dave Sitek, Mike Relm, and Kids of 88. Additionally, a limited edition vinyl version of their upcoming U.S. debut will be released February 15.

After touring with 30 Seconds To Mars overseas last year, Funeral Party is heading out on the road again this spring. The Los Angeles Times referred to the band as a, “ravenously physical, technically precise and impossibly fun live act.”

For more information on Funeral Party, check out the band’s official website.

Originally posted at BlogCritics