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Another New Twist for American Idol
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,
This year’s American Idol has offered new twists, a few surprises and a change of pace from previous seasons. But if you thought all this newness would stop at Hollywood Week, you’re in for some shock during Tuesday night’s first actual performance round.
For the first time, contestants (the men perform Tuesday, women Wednesday) will sing themed songs, choosing from a list given to them beforehand. Wait…that sounds exactly like previous setups. But here’s how it’s been done in the past: contestants are given a CD chock-full of hundreds of songs which fit the night’s theme. If a song the contestant digs fits the theme but isn’t on the CD, that’s okay too.
Not this week. Twenty-four contestants will be given fifty songs. And they’ve got to pick one of them. For the first week, its 1960’s. Producers of the show say this is to avoid bad song selections (you wish) and to speed up the song selection process.
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MSNBC
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American Idol 7: Twenty Four Will Sing, One Will Win
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,
Like many American Idol fans, I’ve unblinkingly watched every single second of Season Seven’s broadcast. I’ve coached, I’ve judged, I’ve criticized, and now I’ve been completely blindsided by the show. Anyone else feel that way?
Why bother watching hours and hours - and hours - of audition footage if only a handful of the top 24 are featured? What’s with the confusion of Hollywood Week, as I scramble to remember faces and names and scream “What ! How did he make it to the top 24? Why haven’t I ever seen him before at all?”
It’s no secret the judges and producers of Idol have their special favorites. On the flip side, they have contestants they can’t stand (remember Simon Cowell’s unabashed loathing of Sanjaya Malakar last year?). The massive amounts of air time devoted to some and the quick two-second glimpses of others aren’t an accident: it’s a not-so-subtle plot to influence votes, to get rid of the “extras” and keep only the ones producers want.
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MSNBC
Crank Up the Eco Media Player
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Movies, Music, Portable Audio / Video, USB,
Trevor Baylis has long been into environmental products having created the first wind-up radio. He is now featuring the Eco Media Player for music, movies, and FM Radio. With a 1.8-inch display, it also stores data, allows you to view images, and charges your cell phone. Wind it up for 40 minutes of play or recording or use it for reading e-books. The Player comes with a USB cable for attaching to your PC for download (or recharging if your arm gets tired) and carries an online MSRP of £149.95 (~$290.00.)
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| Trevor Baylis
Sony Gets Back to Musical Basics
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Music, Portable Audio / Video,
While we know that most people are into the MP3 experience, many of the older
“earlier” generation still use cassettes for recording and duplication. Besides, if you head into any bargain aisle, you can get some decent prices on tapes. Sony has issued the CDF-W77, a dual dubbing tape recorder with AM/FM tuner. In case you have some of both or want to take the plunge in digital music, there is a CD player included. The CDF is available for €100 (~$146.00,) at this point only in Japan.
Read More | Akihabara News
American Idol 7: A Bittersweet Beginning
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,
Way before American Idol’s seventh season started, fans were treated to a PR blitz that capitalized on how different the show would be this time around. They believed; they watched; they weren’t disappointed. Season Seven certainly does have a different feeling and tone at times than previous episodes, and Wednesday’s final decision night struck a few sad notes.
One by one the fifty contestants were carried toward the judges who so menacingly waited. One by one they were told to take that long, disappointing ride back down without happy news to report. Enter Carly Smithson, devastating diva from Ireland who missed her Idol chance in season 5. She was the first female to win a Final 12 slot, and I breathed a sigh of relief. This talented lady has definitely earned her place. I was also pleased to see husky-voiced Amanda Overmyer and 16-year-old sensation David Archuleta join the final group. Poor blonde Brook White cried her whole way up in the elevator and grinned with relief the entire way down.
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Associated Press
American Idol 7: Changing Up Hollywood Week
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Gossip,
As of Tuesday night, the broadcast of American Idol’s Hollywood Week began. After weeks and weeks of watching auditions, fans finally got the chance to catch up with some of their early favorites during this intense round of multiple eliminations.
One hundred and sixty-four singers piled into the theater FOX rents out for the show, with a relative few of them impressing the judges in their very first round. Taking the stage one by one, each contestant sang for the judges’ general pleasure (or displeasure, as the case may be). Those who won approval from all three got to sail through the first elimination round, earning a respite before facing the judges again on the third day. It was during this first round the much-touted musical instruments appeared, though precious few seemed to find success with these devices.
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MTV
iGTR Means Mini-Music
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
Now you can be an iPod guitar hero(ine.) Feed the iGTR 4 AAA batteries (included,) then plug in your guitar and earbuds. Tweak it with reverb, add some ambiance, and dial up your amp and speed. Attach it to your pocket it or belt and let the tunes flow. With its aux input, you can also plug in your iPod and become a pseudo-solo rocker or hook up with someone else who has one and form your own duo. The iGTR comes with a belt clip for a MSRP of $100.00.
Read More | iGTR
Dolly Parton’s Large Front Causes Problems with Her Back
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Music,
Add large breasts to a tiny frame and what do you get? A postponed concert tour.
Although she was weeks away from promoting her latest album, Dolly Parton has been asked to give herself - and her gals - a rest.
It seems the country singer, who is probably best known for being full of life as well as her full bra, needs to take care of some ongoing physical issues. As Parton put it, “Hey, you try wagging these puppies around a while and see if you don’t have back problems.”
Unfortunately a prescribed break will mean a delay of her upcoming shows. The tour - originally scheduled to begin at the end of this month - will now be pushed back until at least April.
Until then, Dolly’s next album, Backwoods Barbie, will be available in stores Feb. 26th.
Reuters
Listen to New Michael Jackson Track
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Music, Videos,
For years now, I’ve made the habit of adding asterisks to my age. (I’ll just say that I’m somewhere around 30****.) Now the release of a special album has forced me to address my declining youth once again.
Tomorrow, Thriller 25 will be the latest Michael Jackson CD to hit the stores. This means we’ve now hit the classic album’s silver anniversary. (Technically, it was released in December 1982.) I swear I can see his protruding wrist bones splashed inside the cover like it was yesterday…
Tuesday’s deluxe edition will not only include remixes of the classic tracks (contributing artists include Akon, will.i.am and Kanye West) but several bonus songs as well. One of those new additions, “For All Time”, is a record that never made the original cut. It has since been tweaked for the 2008 update. (You can listen to it here.) While I would not consider the song memorable, it does bring back fond memories of a less freakish era.)
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Us Magazine
Speak in Snoop
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories:
If Snoop Dogg language is not one you can speak, we found a translator that can be very addictive. Although dog, blog, and Andru could not be interpreted, we were successful with these:
- Sparky =Spizzle
- Lolita = Lolizzle
- Edwards = Edwizzle
- Franklin = Frizzle
While we know Snoop himself says it’s time to retire the language, the site is certainly worth playing with for a while. Written Humor features other amusing pastimes, such as an ebonics translator and a lexical translator that changed the sentence “I do not like green eggs and ham” into “I do not same naive eggs and ham.”
Read More | Snoop Translator
