In the past two weeks, American Idol has eliminated two of its weaker contestants, Shannon Magrane last week and Erika Van Pelt last night. While we’re sad to see them go (kind of), what we’d really like to see eliminated is the strange choice of music themes from week to…
The Ting Tings were one of the first bands to emerge from the Apple iPod commercials in 2008. Thanks to the overnight exposure of “Shut Up and Let Me Go,” the band went from being a blogged-about British import to becoming a major player in American pop music, creating a…
Even before the contestants performed last night, one had been eliminated. Jermaine Jones, the “gentle giant” of this season’s American Idol, was forced to leave the show after Idol staff’s discovery of his criminal activity — oh, and him lying to Idol producers about the whole thing didn’t help the…
Adele finally fell from the top this week, thanks to none other than the Boss. That’s right — Bruce Springsteen’s new release, Wrecking Ball, his seventeenth studio album, managed to end Adele’s reign at the top of the Billboard 200, shifting 224,000 units to Adele’s 195,000. Sales for Adele’s 21…
You don’t want to screw with Taylor Swift. Virtually every confirmed — or rumored — romance she has ends up in lyrics to one of her songs. John Mayer? Check. Joe Jonas? Hell, yeah. Yet as much as it may hurt the doe-eyed Swift and her good intentions, having her…
So there you have it. As of last night’s elimination round, American Idol is now down to the Top 12, and the person sent home quite frankly deserved to go. Good job, America. The top thirteen opened the show with Stevie Wonder’s “As.” For a group number, it was nothing…
Last night’s episode of American Idol wasn’t nearly as awkward as we had anticipated. With the ladies required to perform songs from the late Whitney Houston’s catalog (and the men required to do Stevie Wonder), we expected there to be more sensitivity surrounding the singer and her recent passing. Rather…
Watch out, Prince. Adele is about to set fire to your “Purple Rain.” One more week, and Adele’s 21 will boast the same chart record Purple Rain did in 1984 and 1985: reigning at the top of the Billboard 200 for 24 whole weeks…
Remember last year when the hacker group Lulz Security nabbed credit card data and other personal information from Sony PlayStation Network? Around the same time, two British hackers lifted unreleased songs by Michael Jackson from the Sony Music Entertainment computer system. The two hackers are so far found to be…
Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” and “Stupid Hoe” couldn’t sound more different. We know this. The lyrical themes are light years apart, as is the production. For those like us who were wondering how Minaj could reconcile such a wide sonic divide on her new album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, the answer…
After weeks of anticipation, the top thirteen contestants of American Idol were revealed. Last night’s episode, however seemingly straightforward, wasn’t short of Adele-drenched drama, though. Spoilers: Jen Hirsh, Reed Grimm and Brielle Von Hugel all had to sing for their lives — and all fell flat. Von Hugel even had…
Over two days of competition, three American Idol contestants took on Adele — Eben Franckewitz, Elise Testone and Jen Hirsh. Adele’s not easy to sing, as Franckewitz proved two nights ago, but the ladies brought the vocal power last night to do the British soulstress justice. Testone’s take on “One…
Yet another big week for Adele, who continues to dominate the charts. With a ninth consecutive week at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, the 22nd week overall, Adele’s second album, 21 recently supplanted The Bodyguard soundtrack in the record books and now the album has is closing in…
What do you do if the lead single from your new album campaign drops like dead weight down the charts? If you’re Madonna, you release another single and hope that the club kids don’t notice that you’re treading on old territory. Madge’s lead single from her hotly-anticipated twelfth album, M.D.N.A.,…
The first of the live rounds, last night’s episode of American Idol was a welcomed return to true form. We saw all of the male contestants in the Top 24 perform, including the thirteenth contender who was brought back to compete live, Jermaine Jones, the appropriately dubbed “gentle giant” with…
Update 4/12/12: Hot on the heels of its appearance on Saturday Night Live this past weekend, One Direction has announced a date at the Pepsi on Tuesday, July, 24. Tickets on sale next Saturday. Pop music is cyclical. With the absence of one niche pop artist arises another: Look at…
Of all the American Idol judges in the show’s history to dive off the deep end, we didn’t expect it from Steven Tyler so early in his tenure — and we’re not talking figuratively, either. During last night’s episode, the second in a two-episode reveal of the Top 24 contestants,…
Fourteen of the 24 semifinalists were revealed last night on American Idol. For most of these, it was fairly predictable whom was going to be sent on and whom was going to be cut, but that didn’t stop Randy Jackson from again having his fun with the contestants’ emotions. The…
Let the comparisons to the late Whitney Houston begin. As of yesterday, Adele, the vocal powerhouse and people’s champ of 2011, has broken Houston’s record for number of weeks atop the Billboard 200 albums chart. As 21 logged 21 nonconsecutive weeks at the top yesterday, 365 days after being released,…
Okay, after hearing the full version of Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake (Remix),” featuring Chris Brown, we’re in utter shock. If Tina Turner heard this damning pop, which essentially gives Brown a pass for what he did to Rihanna three years ago, we’re pretty sure she’d be shaking her head like us…
Update: Chris Brown’s “Turn Up the Music” remix featuring Rhianna added below. Happy 24th birthday, Robyn Rihanna Fenty. We remember your first record, “Pon De Replay.” Nice, disposable dancefloor pop. It was urban enough to get people dancing in high school, but not sexy enough to fertilize anything — that…
American Idol hit a high point last night. For the first time in the season, it was about the music (a change in focus that has needed to happen since day one of the preliminary audition rounds). Contestants who deserved to be pushed through to the next round do, while…
