Vote on Who Sang it Best? and New Releases for Today and Michael Jackson's Doctor Sentenced

  

New releases for today include the latest EP from R&B up-and-comer Trey Songz entitled Inevitable.  Rumor has it that the party songs are a bit weak, but the more sophisticated efforts are Trey's strongest yet.  Other new releases include:

Smoov-E Addicted

The Cure Bestival Live 2011
Kylie Minogue Aphrodite Les Folies
Soundtrack In Time
Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (Deluxe Re-release)

Also in music news, Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray, who was found guilty last month of involuntary manslaughter, was sentenced today to four years in prison.  Because of prison overcrowding, it is unlikely he will serve more than two of those four years.

Now it's your turn to vote on Who Sang It Best with covers of Chris Brown's "With You".  You'll find the voting box to the far upper right of today's post.

First up is 14 year old Austin Mahone.

And the challenger, Hafiz Zainal (keep in mind, English is his second language).

X Factor Elimination and Justin Bieber Accuser Wants Another DNA Test

I don't think anyone was seriously shocked Wednesday night when Lakoda Rayne received the lowest number of votes in the competition, meaning on the double elimination night they would automatically be sent home.  While they performed better than usual the night before, they have struggled since the competition began.  They were Paula's last act for the season.  Groups are tough sells these days.  Surprisingly, Marcus Canty was up against Leroy Bell for elimination in the the second half of the show.   After singing for their lives, the judges deadlocked on who to send home, so the home audience vote dictated Leroy Bell would be eliminated.  The 60 year old had a hard time connecting with the audience at times and lacked the dynamic personality of Marcus Canty.  Competition continues next week with 7 singers left.

After Justin Bieber stood up and attempted to do the right thing last Friday by taking a DNA test voluntarily to prove he's not the father of accuser Mariah Yeater's four month old baby (even though she dropped the case days before) the accuser is now demanding he take ANOTHER test because she wasn't present during the last test.  Is this a sick attempt to get the young superstar's attention or is Yeater seriously considering reopening her case?  At this point, it's unknown whether or not Bieber will retake the test.  Since the case has not been reopened, he's certainly under no obligation to take one.  The drama continues. 

X Factor "Thanksgiving" Night and Justin Bieber Sings With Usher, Mary J. Blige on Daytime TV

Last night on X Factor it was Thanksgiving night and the final nine sang about gratitude before facing tonight's double elimination.  Melanie Amaro was the gave one of the most inspired and memorable performances of the evening singing R. Kelly's "World's Greatest" and Josh Krajcik was also a showstopper singing the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses".   Astro was apologetic (reluctantly) for his attitude breakdown on last week's elimination show before and after a somewhat forgettable performance of his original lyrics to a Jay Z. track.  I give him props for his original lyrics, but the song was forgettable.  Leroy Bell was strong singing Sarah McLachlin's "Angel" and Marcus Canty gave a decent performance doing Boys II Men's "For Mama".  Drew sang Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper" and did an adequate job, but she's yet to give a truly memorable performance.  Lakoda Rayne sang Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" and did a nice job.  Rachel Crow was lovely as usually singing Yolanda Adam's "I Believe" and Chris Rene did a mash up version of the Beatle's "Let It Be" and his own "Young Homie".  He may struggle this week.  We'll see on tonight's elimination show.

Justin Bieber appeared on The View shortly after his appearance on The Today Show and surprised the audience by doing a duet with Mary J. Blige on "Mistletoe".  He also spoke about taking a DNA test to prove he's not the father of Mariah Yeater's baby, as she has claimed up until dropping her case suddenly about a week ago.  He says he wants to set the record straight.  It's currently unknown if the accuser will have her 4 month old son take a DNA test.  Justin will appear on Late Night With David Letterman tonight.

Here's a nice cover of "Mistletoe" by Adam Stanton.  Happy Thanksgiving!

New Releases For Today-Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert and Justin Bieber TV Appearances

  Today's new releases include the much-anticipated new one from Rihanna Talk That Talk as well as Adam Lambert's newest Beg For Mercy and Lady Gaga's Born This Way The Remix.  Rihanna appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show yesterday talking about the album and her busy life and denying rumors regarding her friendship (romance?) with "We Found Love" video costar and boxer-turned-model Dudley O'Shaugnessey.  Rihanna maintains she's still single.

Other new releases for today are as follows:

Charlene Soraia – 'Moonchild'
Chris Cornell – 'Songbook'
Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler – 'This Is Christmas'
Erasure – 'Be With You'
James Durbin – 'Memories Of A Beautiful Disaster'
Kate Bush – '50 Words For Snow'
Mary J.Blige – 'My Life II…The Journey Continues (Act 1)'
Mortal Sin – 'Psychology Of Death'
Nemesea – 'The Quiet Resistance'
Nickelback – 'Here And Now'
Oh Land – 'Oh Land'
One Direction – 'Up All Night'
The Saturdays – 'On Your Radar'
Seal – 'Soul 2'
The Swellers – 'Good For Me'
Westlife – 'Greatest Hits'
Yelawolf – 'Radioactive'

  Justin Bieber will appear on Late Night With David Letterman tonight, and in the early morning tomorrow will be doing a concert on the plaza on the Today show.  He'll then dash over to ABC to appear on The View, all in support of his Christmas album, Under the Mistletoe.  Wow.  Hopefully, his management will insist on some downtime for the holidays before the 17-year-old suffers exhaustion.

Here's a look at simpler times for Kidrauhl.  Love this.

                                                                               

 

                                                                               



Taylor Swift Sweeps AMA's and LMFAO Steal the Show

Taylor Swift took home three awards last night at the American Music Awards, one for Artist of the Year, one for Country Female, and one for Country Album for her latest, Speak Now.  It's amazing  she can still feign surprise when they call her name.  Adele was a big winner also, taking home awards for Pop/Rock Female, Pop/Rock Album and Adult Contemporary.  Rihanna won for Soul/R&B Album for Loud and Nicki Minaj won for Rap/Hip Hop Album for Pink Friday and Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Artist.  Bruno Mars beat out Justin Bieber and Pit Bull for Best Male Performer and Maroon 5 took home an award for Favorite Band.  The Foo Fighters received the award for Favorite Alternative Rock Band.  Hot Chelle Rae won for the Sprint Best New Artist.

     The show was performance-heavy with Nicki Minaj opening the show dressed as a boom box.  Kelly Clarkson sang beautifully and Chris Brown gave an awesome dance performance of "Say It With Me".  Justin Bieber performed "Mistletoe" from his new Christmas album Under the Mistletoe.  Mary J. Blige was great as usual and ended her performance by paying tribute to old friend Heavy D.  But the best performance of the night was the finale with LMFAO singing "Party Rock Anthem" and being joined on stage by Justin Bieber in tiger-sriped tights, and finishing up with "I'm Sexy and I Know It"  complete with breakaway pants and David Hasselhof.  It was epic.

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Heavy D Funeral and American Music Awards 2011

Hip Hop artist Heavy D was laid to rest in Mount Vernon, New York yesterday following a star studded funeral.  President Obama sent a letter of condolence to the family.  The event highlighted the scope of the artist's influence on American pop culture and the hip hop world.  Toxicology reports are pending.

The 2011 American Music Awards will be tomorrow on ABC Network and will air at 8:00 pm EST.  Set to perform will be Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, and Chris Brown.  Adele is the most nominated artist of the evening.  The winners have been decided by the fans and voting is now closed.  There will be a red carpet preshow at 7:00 pm EST hosted by Lance Bass.  It should be a great show.

I'm loving this remake of Frank Ocean's "Thinking About You" by Jaden Smith and Justin Bieber.  Hope you do, too.

  





X Factor Shocker and a Nice Rihanna Cover

   I'm about to tell you what happened on X Factor's elimination show last night so you may not want to read this if you recorded it.  I think it was a surprise to most people when the two performers with the lowest scores were announced and Lakoda Raynne was not one of them.  It came down to Stacy Francis and (shock) Astro.  While Stacy did not give her best performance on rock night, she was certainly more exciting that Lakoda Raynne (although I admit, they're almost harmonizing now).  Also, crowd and L.A. Reid favorite Astro was in the bottom two.  I thought his performance was weak, especially compared to his awesome rendition of "Lose Yourself" the last week.  He was admonished by L. A. Reid for reluctantly singing for survival and Simon told him he needed to be an adult.  Maybe not so easy-considering he's 14.  This is why we don't have 14 year old superstars.  However, a little grace and humility would serve him well, especially considering he's losing favor with the voters.  In the end, it was Stacy Francis who went home with all judges but Nicole voting against her.  Sad to see her go...she's a great singer.  Hopefully, Astro can get his swag back and conquer again next week. 


     On a happier note, Rihanna performed her hit song "We Found Love" last night on the show.  Here's a great cover of that song by Robbie Jay.

   

X Factor: Josh Krajcik Proves He Can Rock and a Great AC/DC Cover!

     After a decidedly NOT rock and roll evening on X Factor, I can truly say the bright spot was Josh Krajcik doing his version of the Foo Fighters' "The Pretender"  (which, in actuality, was pretty much the same as the Foo Fighters' version).  He proved himself to be a true rock performer, engaging and loud, two places where most of the other artists failed to deliver.  LA Reid and Simon Cowell argued over the rock and roll cred of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" (sung forgetably by Chris Rene, whom I orginally really liked).  Leroy Bell did a very adequate rendition of Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight" which didn't exactly bring everyone to their feet, but sounded good.  Rachel Crow did a predictable cover of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" with strong vocals.  Astro did his rap thing, but the song choice (P Diddy's "I'll Be Missing You") was ehh.  The other acts were equally forgetable and equally un-rock and roll. Stacy Francis was a bright spot, doing an emotional  Meat Loaf tune, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" but it still wasn't rock and roll.  Thank God for Josh.  He saved Rock and Roll Night on X Factor.

    Now here's a real rock and roll performance.  It's AC/DC's "Back In Black" by OpenHouse.  Enjoy!



Justin Bieber's Paternity Accuser Drops Case Against Star

20 year old Mariah Yeater's attorneys have quietly dropped their paternity case against Justin Bieber.  After Star Magazine paid the accuser for her story and The Insider more likely than not paid her for her interview, Bieber and his legal team agreed to have the star take a paternity test to prove he's not the father of Yeater's 4 month old son.  They also threatened to sue the woman for defamation and slander.  Apparently, the woman's attorneys have lost faith in their ability to prove paternity and have quit the case.  I guess her 15 minutes of fame are over.

New Releases Today and Heavy D Autopsy Inconclusive

The Glee Christmas Album Volume 2 releases today and features some holiday favorites like All I Want For Christmas Is You and The Little Drummer Boy (both sung by Amber Riley who plays Mercedes and Santa Baby (sung by Naya Rivera who plays Santana).

Also in the news, the autopsy performed last week on Hip Hop star Heavy D has proven inconclusive by the L.A. county coroner.  Toxicology results are not in yet.  No illegal or suspicious drugs were found in the artist's home, other than a prescription for the treatment of pneumonia.  The star had just returned home from shopping when he became ill.  No foul play is suspected.

Rachel Crow and Astro Steal Show at X Factor

Last night on X Factor it was movie night.  With the wealth of songs from movies, it's a mystery to me while the judges made some of the choices they made.  Most notably, Stacy Francis was forced to sing the only-marginally likable "Queen of the Night" from The Bodyguard and the strain could be heard in her voice.  It didn't showcase the richness of her voice at all.  Surprises abounded, however with Astro giving a spellbinding performance of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile complete with original rhymes.  Also, Marcus Carey surprised me, giving a soulful and rich performance of "I'm Goin' Down" from Car Wash.  It's an awesome song and I gained a new appreciation for his vocal skills.  Josh Krajcik was predictably given a Joe Cocker-style Beatle cover "With A Little Help From My Friends" from Across the Universe.  He nailed it, channeling Joe Cocker to perfection.  Reports have indicated he was told by X Factor doctors to lay off the cigarettes.  We'll see if his vocals hold.
The showstopper of the evening for me, however was Rachel Crow singing "I'd Rather Go Blind" from Cadillac Records.  It's awe-inspiring that such mature vocals come from such a young girl.  The other performances did not stand up as well, with Drew doing an adequate, but ultimately dull rendition of "Fix You" and Lakoda Rayne sounding over-polished on "Wanna Love Somebody Like You" from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.  Stereohogzz did a nice job vocally, but the song choice was strange:  they sang Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" from Me, You and Dupree.  Leroy Bell was strong but forgettable on "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" from The Runaway Bride.  And last but not least is Chris Rene.  Chris, whom I admire and WANT to like, did an inexplicable cover of" Pastime Paradise"--that is to say "Gangsta's Paradise" from Dangerous Minds renamed.  It was a so-so cover and very predictable.


Here's an awesome cover of Adele's "Someone Like You" by independent artist Travis Ratledge....love it love it love it.

Hip Hop Artist Heavy D Dies

Hip Hop icon Heavy D died in Los Angeles yesterday after being found unconcious in his Beverly Hills home. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death is unknown. The star was born in Jamaica and raised in the United States and was an icon to the hip hop community. He worked with artists like Janet Jackson and had his own success with Heavy D and the Boyz. He also had an acting career, appearing on many television shows such as Living Single, Roc and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.  Please enjoy this classic "Now That We Found Love". 

 

New Album Releases for Today, Bieber Santa Claus Video

A few new releases today, much of them are older stuff.  Rascal Flatts releasesThe Best of Rascal Flatts Live and Pink Floyd releases A Foot in the Door Best of which features 16 of the more well-known songs.  I don't know how one could ever pick the best of Pink Floyd.  Also, Kaskade releases Fire & Ice and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 Soundtrack which features tracks by Bruno Mars and The Belle Brigade is out.  Oldie but, well, goody Keith Sweat releases 'Til the Morning.

Also in the news, Justin Bieber says he will take a paternity test upon arriving back in the U.S. after his mini tour of Northern Ireland, England and France.  He also tweeted about the new video for Santa Claus is Coming to Town, which features him on the drums as well as some groovy claymation-type animation (think:  the old holiday classic Santa Claus is Coming to Town we watch every year). Here's a sneak peek.

Jury Finds Dr. Conrad Murray Guilty of Involuntary Manslaugher

The jury has returned a guilty verdict in the involuntary manslaughter case of Dr. Conrad Murray at 1:16PM in Los Angeles.  The reaction in the courtroom could be heard and the crowd outside the courthouse cheered and smiled, for the most part.  Sentencing will be announced. 

The MTV European Video Awards were held last night in Belfast, Northern Ireland, hosted by teen star and Justin Bieber main squeeze Selena Gomez.  Lady Gaga was the awards sweeper of the night, taking home awards for Best Song ("Born This Way"), Best Female Artist, and Biggest Fans.  She accepted her award for Best Female Artist from David Hasselhof and worn a brilliantly-weird dress and face-hiding hat with peep holes for vision.  Little Monsters rejoice! 

Justin Bieber won awards for Best Male Artist and Best Pop. Katy Perry won for Best Live Act, Linkin Park won for Best Rock, Eminem for Best Hip Hop.  Selena Gomez did a nice job hosting and admitted being nervous to perform when she was walking the red carpet before the show. 

The show also featured a nice tribute to Amy Winehouse.

Lady Gaga

Katy Perry

Florence and the Machine Release "Ceremonials"

British soul group Florence and the Machine released their second album, "Ceremonials" on Tuesday to rave reviews.  According to her Tweet, Katy Perry is loving it.  Can't wait to hear it.  If you like it, let me know in the comments.

On Friday, jurors in the Michael Jackson murder trial of Dr. Conrad Murray began deliberations.  So far, no verdict has been returned.  According to a Dateline report that aired last night, the main points of deliberations are going to revolve around whether or not Dr. Murray acted with medical integrity and if he tried to hide drugs at the scene of Michael's death.  Also, there seems to be a lot of conflicting testimony over Dr. Murray's timeline testimony.  Seems Dr. Murray was quite the ladies' man and was chatting on his cellphone with a cocktail waitress he'd recently met while Michael went into cardiac arrest.  I love this picture because it's from one of my favorite Michael Jackson videos, "Scream".  

New reports on the Justin Bieber paternity claims are that claimant Mariah Yeater is facing charges in Las Vegas for assaulting her boyfriend. Also, LA police are not currently investigating statutory rape. If paternity is proven, that could change.

Justin Bieber Denies Paternity and Gwar Guitarist Dies on Tour Bus

Justin Bieber appeared on the Today show this morning to promote his new album Under the Mistletoe (part of the proceeds are going to children-based charities) and he also answered Matt Lauer's question about the paternity allegations which have come to light since Star magazine published a story alleging Bieber fathered a child last year.  He claims he doesn't even know the woman and is not the father of her child.  Meanwhile, it's been reported that Los Angeles police will pursue statutory rape charges against the woman (who is now 20) should paternity be proven.

Also on X Factor, one of the groups were eliminated in a three to one decision (Simon being the odd man out).  Intensity has gone home. 

Longtime shock rock band Gwar reports their guitarist, Cory Smoot was found dead on the tour bus yesterday.  No cause of death was given.


And now for Who Sang It Better where you'll have a chance to vote on who did the best cover Rhianna's "We Found Love"


                                                         Maria Zouroudis

Alyssa Bernal

X Factor and Justin Bieber Today Show Appearances

I've got a couple things today...first, Justin Bieber will be appearing on the Today show tomorrow morning.  Matt Lauer gave the impression he will be discussing the story which broke a couple of days ago regarding the birth of a child a California woman is claiming he fathered.  See the post from yesterday.  Also, Matt announces Justin will be doing a concert on the plaza on the Today show on November 23.  Got to keep it about the music, Justin.


Also, let's talk X Factor.  The standouts for me are in the women's category.  I loved hearing Stacy Francis sing "Up to the Mountain" by Patty Griffin.  I did not care much for the arrangement on "Desperado" but I adore Melanie Amaro and if she doesn't win, she should.  The low-lights of the evening for me were the groups.  I wasn't impressed with any of them. 

Here's a really nice cover of "Desperado" by Jasmine Chadwick.

Halloween Hangover

Well, the candy's all gone, the masks have come off and Halloween is over.  While Justin Bieber fans enjoy the Christmas album that dropped Tuesday, his team is dealing with allegations he fathered a child at the age of 16 with a 19 year old handpicked from his audience, backstage after a concert.  Seems like most people aren't buying the claim, and we'll see if a paternity test will be required to clear Justin Bieber's name or confirm the claim.  The claimant is 20-year-old Mariah Yeater, a California resident.

Yuk. The price of fame.

Anyhow, let's enjoy something a bit more pleasant, like this nice accoustic cover of Maroon 5's Moves Like Jagger by Chris O'Neill and Andy Morris