Angie Miller and Kree Harrison were Top 2 in American Idol results show in which nobody went home to get the show on schedule after judges didn’t use their save.
Kree Harrison had to be shocked to be in the Top 2 with Angie Miller, on the Thursday night results show on American Idol. The judges had roundly criticized her performances on Wednesday night, but evidently the judges couldn’t sway the voters into not voting for her.
It was a shock to see Candace Glover in the Bottom 2, since she had some of the best feedback from the judges on Wednesday night. Amber Holcomb also was in the Bottom 2, but that wasn’t too surprising since there was some criticism of her decision to sing MacArthur Park on Wednesday’s show.
Ryan Seacrest teased the audience by saying “And going home is no one” and then explaining the show was expecting the judges to use their save, but when they didn’t the show needed an extra week to finish on the original schedule.
According to my calculations there should be three more weeks, with the final three revealed next week, then the final two the following week and finale the third week. None of this is official so is only conjecture at this point.
Lee DeWyze, the Season 10 winner, who is probably the least recognizable winner among the 11 winners so far sang a song from his new album.
Angie Miller seems to be favorite to win American Idol.
The favorite to win Season 12 of American Idol seems to be Angie Miller, unless she falters in the remaining shows. She needs to follow the advice of the judges and Jimmy Iovine and sing while playing the piano, which seems to be the niche she needs to be in to become the next American Idol.
However, with the votes from yesterday and those cast next week anything can happen, so it is crucial for each of the remaining four contestants, to make good song choices and to perform them as flawlessly as possible.
American Idol has lost almost 5.5 million viewers since the premiere show in January. I think many fans have gone over to The Voice and don’t care to watch American Idol the next two nights. A Big Bang Theory rerun topped American Idol last week, which shows how far the ratings have tumbled this season.
Only 12.46 million viewers tuned in to the Wednesday performance show, but no results are available yet for last night’s show.
George Jones has died in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 81. He had been admitted into the hospital, with fever and irregular blood pressure.
Jones was a traditional country singer in the purest sense. He was far removed from the uptown country sound heard so much today. When a country music fan thought of the greats of the past Jones was one of the first to come to mind.
George Jones shown early in his career.
The first George Jones song to make the Billboard charts was Why Baby Why which went to No.4 in 1955. Three years later White Lightning would be the first No.1 hit for Jones.
Tender Years would reach No.1 in 1961, then She Thinks I Still Care was No.1 in 1962. Five years later Walk Through This World With Me became his last No.1 hit in the 60′s.
The Grand Tour and The Door were his only No.1 hits in the 1970′s and both were released in 1974.
The 1980′s would see him release his signature song He Stopped Loving Her Today in 1980 and followed by another No.1 song Still Doin’ Time in 1981. 1983′s I Always Get Lucky With You was his last No.1 hit in the 80′s.
It has been 30 years since Jones recorded a No.1 song, but he did release three No.1 singles with Tammy Wynette, which included We’re Going to Hold On in 1973, Golden Ring and Near You in 1976.
He recorded Yesterday’s Wine another No.1 song with Merle Haggard in 1982.
It is hard to believe that Jones only had nine solo No.1 hits, but this is all that showed up on Wikipedia as being No.1 songs.
George Jones had a tumultuous life, but this is no day to go over his past. This is a day to remember one of the best pure country singers during our lifetime.
Candace Glover, Angie Miller, Kree Harrison and Amber Holcomb will find out who is going home next on American Idol on the results show tonight.
The judges may not have that much influence on American Idol voters, but if they do make a difference in the voting, then Angie Miller and Candace Glover should be in Top 2 and Kree Harrison and Amber Holcomb should be in the Bottom 2. However, we can only guess what the actual results will show, when Ryan Seacrest reveals the results tonight.
Kree Harrison got trashed, hammered and battered by the judges after she sang the Susan Tedeschi song Hurt So Bad. I was thinking how good of a job, that she had done with the song, but the judges hated her rendition of the song. It was plain to see that Kree was shocked at being attacked so mercilessly by the judges. I thought she did a creditable job on A Whiter Shade of Pale, but the judges were not impressed by that either.
Keith Urban seemed to think the one hit wonder songs should have been recorded in the last 10 years. The contestants are not mind readers and shouldn’t be expected to know what timeline the judges were wanting the songs from.
I can understand A Whiter Shade of Pale being a one hit wonder, since it was the only hit of Procol Harum, but Cry Me A River recorded by Julie London 58 years ago in 1955 would not be considered a one hit wonder, since London recorded many more albums after its release. It has been covered many times over the years, including my favorite version by Diana Krall in her Look of Love album released in 2001.
Candace received mixed reviews from the judges, while Angie received more praise, than any of the other three contestants. It would be a tremendous shock if Angie is in the bottom two and it would show that the opinions of the judges were not affecting the voting results.
Jimmy Iovine did not like Amber singing MacArthur Park, which was written by Jimmy Webb. Iovine called the song corny, probably because of the lyrics saying “Someone left a cake out in the rain and I’ll never find that recipe again” which was corny. Interesting side note about the song: Webb wrote the song after breaking up with Linda Rondstadt, since they had met many times in MacArthur Park.
Kree and Amber clearly got the worst feedback from the judges, so it looks like Angie and Candace should be the top vote-getters.
Vote For the Worst website has Kree as the one to vote for this week, which might help her stay another week. There is speculation that Ryan Seacrest’s surprise tonight may be that nobody goes home, since the judges haven’t used their save.
So the surprise may be either that the judges use their save or that Ryan will announce nobody will go home. The bad thing about that scenario is that fans cast millions of votes for nothing, so it would make sense if the judges are allowed to use the save, rather than just announce nobody will go home.
I don’t think the judges should even have judged the two group songs. The group songs are only filler anyway and it gave the judges a third chance to trash Kree. I don’t know if Kree can recover from hearing how much the judges hated her singing to become the American Idol.
There is no sense in American Idol having a two-hour show for four contestants and next week it will again be two hours for three contestants, unless the judges use their save to keep all four contestants for another week.
Next week’s show could be the next to last show of Season 12, unless everybody stays another week tonight.
Rumors have been flying around the internet that Mariah Carey might be fired, before the completion of Season 12, to boost the ratings, but those rumors seem to have been unfounded.
Janelle Arthur received the fewest number of votes and was sent home on American Idol.
Janelle Arthur who expected to be sent home last night became the first girl to be eliminated on American Idol on Thursday night.
The judges could have saved her, but seem to be saving their save for one of the remaining four contestants. Had heard that they had to use their save by Top 5 week, but apparently they will have it at their disposal for one more week. I will be surprised if these judges will ever save anyone, as they can’t seem to agree on who is worth saving. The following article says the judges will not be allowed to use their save now:
Top 4 week will see Amber Holcomb, Candace Glover, Angie Miller and Kree Harrison try to extend their time on American Idol. It was surprising to see Kree in the Bottom 2, but in another way it was not surprising, since any of the four remaining contestants would make excellent American Idols.
From now on the competition should be even tougher for the contestants, since we are nearing the end of Season 12. If the save is not used Season 12 will end the second week in May. The judges will have their hands full, as they and the voters hold the fate, of the remaining contestants as the season nears its end.
Nicki Minaj and Jimmy Iovine did not see eye to eye on the merits of Amber Holcomb’s singing on Wednesday’s show.
Clay Aiken and Fantasia sang on the show last night and Paula Abdul made a surprise appearance. Paula may have not been the best judge ever, but would be an upgrade over either Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey.
American Idol continues to trail The Voice in the television ratings. The Voice has seen a spike in their ratings during the Battle Rounds. The Voice may be an excellent show, but until one of their winners makes a real mark in the music world I can’t take it too seriously. I lose interest after the blind auditions on The Voice, then watch when they get down to the live shows after the Battle Rounds are over. Worst thing is that there is such a long gap from seeing The Voice contestants in the Battle Rounds, till all the finalists from the Battle Rounds appear individually in the remaining shows.
All four of the remaining contestants on American Idol should have recording careers, plus Janelle Arthur should make it big in the world of country music.
Lazaro Arbos has some less than flattering words about one of the remaining contestants, after he went home from the show:
“I’m not gonna say names and I don’t wanna sound rude,” Lazaro told ABC News Radio backstage at Live with Kelly & Michael earlier in the week. “But I think that one woman in particular is cra-a-a-a-z-y and she wants to win!” Lazaro would not say if the contestant was Kree, Candice, Amber, Angie or Janelle, but he thinks that she — whoever she is — needs to chill out. Big time. “She thinks that we’re in The Hunger Games and she’s fighting for her life,” dished Lazaro about the mystery contestant. “She needs to realize that it’s not about winning: it’s about what you do after the show.” – Vote for the Worst website
Janelle was chosen by Vote For The Worst website as their choice to vote for this week. It will be interesting to see how they choose as the worst remaining contestant, now that Janelle has been eliminated.
Facts on remaining contestants:
Candace Glover – Candace is 24 and from Beaufort, South Carolina. This was her third try at American Idol having competed in Season 9 and Season 11. She made it to Las Vegas week in Season 11 and performed in a group with Season 11 finalists DeAndre Brackensick and Jessica Sanchez.
Angie Miller – Angie is 19 and from Beverly, Massachusetts. She is partially deaf and has a You Tube page with 2.8 million views.
Amber Holcomb – Amber is 19 and from Houston, Texas. She was seen in Season 11 and was in a group with Season 11 finalists Shannon Magrane and Joshua Ledet.
Kree Harrison – Kree is 23 and came from Winfield, Texas, but currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Kree’s father died in an airplane crash when she was 12 and her mother died in a car accident, when Kree was 16.
The following poll asks which of the remaining four contestants will be the Season 12 American Idol:
Angie Miller, Candace Glover, Janelle Arthur, Kree Harrison and Amber Holdomb comprise the Final 5 on American Idol Season 12.
The American Idol judges Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey have their work cut out for them since only the most talented singers are left in the competition.
It is looking like Candace Glover is the current favorite to win the title of the American Idol for Season 12. It will be interesting tonight to see how Candace fares in the voting results, that will be revealed tonight. The best singer on American Idol is not always the winner on the finale in May.
Janelle Arthur on the other hand is almost certain to be in the bottom two tonight, after receiving lukewarm critiques from the judges. I agree with Nicki Minaj that Janelle will make a mark in country music, even if she doesn’t win the competition.
It will be sad to see Janelle go home tonight, if she does receive the fewest votes. She is very likeable and seems to be able to handle any criticism from the judges well.
However, there are no guarantees in American Idol voting, as Pia Toscano can testify to when she was eliminated early in Season 12.
Pia Toscano eliminated early in Season 10 of American Idol.
So Ryan Seacrest might reveal some surprising results tonight, but in all likelihood Janelle will be bidding adieu to her fellow contestants tonight.
Kree Harrison probably will be among the top vote-getters tonight, with Angie Miller or Amber Holcomb joining Janelle in the bottom two.
The shocking event of the night was that Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey actually talked to each other, for the first time that I know of during Season 12 live shows.
Unreality TV delves further into their altercation last night:
Personally, I thought all the contestants performed well, but the judges know music much better than me who missed notes or sang offkey, so my opinion and a dollar will get me on the city bus, but doesn’t really mean that much.
New York Daily News has posted a recap of last night’s show:
Pia Toscano mentioned earlier in this article will be seen in her first movie Grace Unplugged in October and should also release her debut album. New York Daily News has more info on the Season 10 American Idol contestant:
Fantasia will be seen on American Idol tonight singing Lose To Win and Clay Aiken is also slated to appear in the telecast.
Taylor Hicks is still appearing in concerts, but his albums are not selling well. His 2011 album Taylor Hicks has received great reviews with 248 Amazon reviews rating the album 5 stars, while only 5 gave the album 1 star. His problem is that it has not sold well and is currently 87,267th in sales and new and used copies of the album can be bought for one cent.
Shakira, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher, judges and Carson Daly host of Season 4 of The Voice on NBC.
The Voice has done well in the ratings, but still hasn’t come up with a winner that can sell records. Season 1 winner Javier Colon’s album Come Through For You peaked at No.134 on the Billboard 200 chart and has sold only 45,000 copies, as of late last December, more than a year after its initial release.
Season 2 winner Jermaine Paul has an album Finally that has no release date listed at Amazon.com, almost a year after he won The Voice in May of 2012.
Season 3 winner Cassidee Pope has released these singles which have sold a lot of downloads. She covered Cry a song recorded by Faith Hill and sold 81,000 copies in one week last December and debuted at No. 60 in its first week.
.Pope also recorded singles of Over You by Miranda Lambert which rose to No.25 on the Billboard Country chart and also recorded Keith Urban’s Stupid Boy which was at No.40, plus Michelle Branch’s Are You Happy Now, which was No.95. The real test for Pope will be when her first album is released later on down the road.
So the judges this season are intent on finding someone who will become a bona fide star, with name recognition something which has eluded the first three winners of The Voice.
Shakira and Usher the two one name judges seemed to have settled in well, in the first shows of Season 4.
Monday night’s show saw all four judges turn around their chairs for the Morgan Twins who sang Fallin’ and Judith Hill who sang What A Girl Wants.
Midas Whale a duo singing Folsom Prison Blues and Sarah Simmons singing One of Us sang well enough to have all four judges turn around for them on Tuesday night.
Cathia who sang “No Me Doy por Vencido” attracted the attention of Shakira, Usher and Blake Shelton and Cathia naturally chose Shakira as her mentor.
No judges turned around for six contestants on Monday night and for one of the six singers shown last night. It is heartbreaking to see a singer sing their heart out, only not to have one judge turn their chairs around. That is what gives the show credibility though, since everyone knows, that some of the singers are not ready for prime time yet.
I usually watch the Blind Auditions, then skip the Battle Rounds, since it seems to be a contest of who can sing the loudest and hit the highest notes. I then return for the individual competitions in the last weeks of the show.
The Voice may be very popular, but until they have a singer who breaks through and has national name recognition it will be known more as the show that features judges turning around in their chairs.
After all these singers are vying to win The Voice and hope to sell millions of albums, like some past winners of American Idol have done. Selling 45,000 albums in close to a year like Javier Colon is not going to help him or The Voice. That is far from the record sales of Carrie Underwood, who has sold 15 million albums, which included 7 million copies of her Some Hearts album.
For The Voice to be taken seriously as a star maker they have to come up with a star that can sell more than 45,000 albums, while an American Idol winner like Carrie Underwood has sold 15 million albums.
The Celebrity Net Worth website discloses that American Idol Season 4 winner Underwood has a net worth of $45 million, while Season 1 American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson has a net worth of $14 million.
I will start taking The Voice more seriously, when they can produce stars of the magnitude of Underwood and Clarkson.
The Celebrity Net Worth website lists 80 year-old Petula Clark as being worth $10 million. Clark has now been singing for 74 years. When I think of Petula Clark I think of her hit song Downtown.
Fabian – $25 Million
Fabian Forte known only as Fabian by most rock and roll fans was 70 last February and although he may not have a lot of hit songs he made his mark in the movies, appearing in a total of 45 movies and TV shows from 1959-1996. Celebrity Net Worth lists Fabian’s net worth at $25 million.
Prince Michael Joseph Jackson – $100 Million
Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. may be only 16, but he is already worth $100 million.. He may or may not have access to that money now, but his financial security is insured, if he doesn’t go through his money too fast.
Connie Francis – $25 Million
The net worth of Connie Francis is listed at $25 million despite the fact that she only had three No.1 hits in her 70 year career. The 74-year-old Francis had her first No.1 hit in My Heart’s Got A Mind Of Its Own in 1960. Her next No. 1 hit was released in 1961 when Together was No.1 on adult contemporary chart and her last No. 1 hit was Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You which reached No.1 on the Billboard charts in 1962. Francis has not even released an album since 1969. One of her best known songs was Who’s Sorry Now, but it peaked at No.4 for her first Top 10 hit in 1957.
Her biggest regret was not marrying Bobby Darin, after her dad chased Darin out of a building at gunpoint. He then said Darin was out of their lives, when the news of his marriage was broadcast on the radio. Francis said she wished their car had been filled with water, while driving in the Lincoln Tunnel and hoping her father would both be killed.
Gordon Lightfoot in 1967 – $30 Million
The 74 year-old Gordon Lightfoot is listed as being worth $30 million. Lightfoot has been singing since 1956 at the age of 18. Bob Dylan said Lightfoot was one of his favorite songwriters. He wrote Early Morning Rain, which was covered by many well-known singers including Elvis Presley.
His first No.1 song was If You Could Read My Mind, which reached No.1 in Canada in 1970. His other No. 1 hits on Canadian pop charts were Sundown in 1974 and The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald in 1976. Lightfoot had nine songs reach No.1 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. Sundown was the only Lightfoot song to reach No.1 on the U.S. pop charts, but he placed four songs on the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts.
He released his last album All Live on Rhino Records in 2012. It includes most of his most well-known hits in this list from Wikipedia:
American Idol judges Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban are shown with host Ryan Seacrest in the center. The show is staggering into Season 12 as viewers leave the show in droves.
The first American Idol show was telecast on June 11, 2002 with 9.85 viewers watching The 2003 premiere show attracted 26.50 million viewers almost tripling the viewers from 2002. The 2007 premiere show attracted a record 37.44 million viewers, but there has been a steady decline of viewers since then, bottoming out at 17.93 viewers to start Season 12 last January. The show has lost close to 20 million viewers in the last six seasons.
Surprisingly the season finale topped out in Season 2 in 2003 at 38.06 million viewers and last year’s finale only attracted 21.49 million viewers, which is the all-time low for a finale.
With The Voice being telecast twice a year and X-Factor being shown in the fall it appears singing competition shows have reached the saturation point. With American Idol starting about a month after the last X-Factor show has been shown, fans are not getting much of a break.
The Voice and X-Factor winners don’t get near the publicity of the American Idol winners. Quick, name all three winners of The Voice and the two winners of X-Factor. Only the most devout fans of either show could give you those names, without stopping to think it over.
Melanie Amaro who won X-Factor in December of 2011 has yet to release her debut album, which will be released next month. Meanwhile Phil Phillips the Season 11 winner of American Idol has already sold 700,000 copies of his debut album Dark Side of the Moon which has received 361 five-star reviews, while receiving only 5 one star reviews. I have to admit that I didn’t think Phil Phillips would go far as an artist, but he could be on the cusp of a great career.
Phil Phillips has been opening shows for Matchbox 20.
Season 12
American Idol went from a three judge panel of Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson in Season 11 to a four person panel of Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey in Season 12. The show got off on the wrong foot, before the first show aired as Nicki Minaj threatened to knock out Mariah Carey at the Charlotte auditions. They tangled more along the way to the opening show, but in recent weeks they have both calmed down and don’t talk to each other. Minaj is said to have said that if she had a gun she would shoot Carey, but later denied ever saying that.
Placing two divas on the judging panel was a recipe for disaster and that was what it turned out to be. I am sure the producers have told them to cool it, because most viewers like me don’t like a lot of attention being placed on the judges. Nicki Minaj seemed to be harsher with contestants a few weeks ago but seems to have calmed down and show more compassion for the contestants.
Keith Urban has really surprised me with his knowledge of American music and has very well thought out critiques of the singers. Randy Jackson has apparently appointed himself as the villain among the panelists, as he seems to be more critical of the singers, than the other three judges. Mariah Carey is taking over the Paula Abdul role as the judge who seldom says anything critical of most singers.
Ellen DeGeneres was by far the worst judge in the history of American Idol. She seemed to be more intent on cracking jokes, than on making meaningful critiques of the singers. It was no surprise, that she was a one season and out judge. I think even she sensed she didn’t belong on American Idol as a judge. Know that has nothing to do with Season 12, but just felt compelled to mention her judging skills or lack of.
It is too early to have a favorite or even to mention any names of the Season 12 contestants, since there are many eliminations ahead before the Final 10 is announced.
Apparently the tradition of judges going to rooms with contestants and telling which rooms are going home and which ones are advancing has been dropped, but that could change before the Final 10 is chosen. I liked that the Hollywood group week contestants were sorted into groups by American Idol executives. It ridded the show of the drama of singers begging to join a group or being dismissed by a group. I will never forget the season when the young boy from Louisiana was dumped by one group and him having to find a new group.
I don’t know if the tradition of contestants taking the long walk to talk to judges and being told their fate by the judges will be repeated this season. I am hoping by the end of this week, that we will know who the Final 10 singers are. Right now I think that the girl singers are better and should have more singers in the Top 10, but the producers may want an even number of girls and boys in the Top 10.
TV By the Numbers shows that both Big Bang Theory and Person of Interest attracted more viewers than American Idol last Thursday. The show is no longer the juggernaut it used to be, but it still is one of the most-watched shows on television.
It will be interesting to find out who the Final 10 will be composed of and we should know by the end of Thursday night’s show.
Ralph Emery got his start with radio station WTPR in Paris, Tennessee in 1951, while earning a salary of $39.50 a week. By 1953 Emery was working for WSIX with shows on both radio and television in Nashville.
Emery has been in radio for 62 years and in television for 60 years and will be 80 on March 10 of this year.
I bought my first AM-FM radio stereo, which was about five feet wide in 1967 from Tony’s Appliance Center and I remember listening to Ralph Emery on WSM out of Nashville. I enjoyed the way he interviewed the country stars and played the great country songs of that era. It was like being in another world, when listening to the most famous country music disc jockey ever in Emery. He would work briefly in 1956 for WLCS in Shreveport, Louisiana, before returning to Nashville.
Moves to WSM Radio in 1957
When Emery was hired by WSM radio in Nashville it was a huge career advancement. He was now being heard on a 50,000 watt station, that reached many areas of the country. He worked the graveyard shift at WSM from 1957-1972.
Emery was seen on WSM-TV off and on from 1963-1991 on various country shows that he hosted. He also hosted a syndicated show named Pop Goes the Country.
He brought country music to the forefront when he hosted Nashville Now on the The Nashville Network from 1983-1993.
Ralph Emery interviewing Merle Haggard on Nashville Now.
Nashville Now did more for country music, than any other television show before or since. Country music fans could see their favorite singers sing and be interviewed by the best country music host Ralph Emery. He was the glue that held the show together for 10 wonderful years.
One thing I will always remember is Randy Travis singing as Randy Ray on one show, then he appeared as Randy Travis the next time he appeared on Nashville Now. His real name is Randy Trawick, so finally settled on Randy Travis as his name.
Fans loved that the show was on five nights a week and gave them a chance to really know the singers, when they were interviewed by Emery. This show was a first class production with regular backup singers and musicians, which complemented the singing of the stars.
Emery Can Be Seen on RFD-TV
Ralph Emery started a new show Ralph Emery Live which started on the RFD television cable network in 2007.
For example last week T.G. Sheppard was on the show and Emery asked Sheppard about his days with the Memphis Mafia, that stayed at Graceland. Sheppard was then Bill Browder who worked promoting RCA artists. Elvis Presley was surprised to learn that Bill Browder was recording under the name of T.G. Sheppard. Elvis asked why he didn’t tell him and was told that Browder was afraid of being fired by RCA if the secret came out in the open. Elvis then says “I am RCA” inferring that Browder didn’t have a reason to worry about losing his job. Sheppard tells how he heard about the death of Elvis. He said he got a call from J.D. Sumner, which was unusual in itself, but he had an idea that Elvis had died and told Sumner he knew why he was calling.
Sheppard is then asked questions by viewers who call in to the show, which was interesting as they asked him what songs he liked the most, of the songs that he recorded.
You could tell Sheppard was in awe of Emery and knows what he did for the careers of many country music stars. From the graveyard shift on WSM radio to the television show on RFD TV Emery has been an ambassador for country music.
Have recorded the next show when Emery interviews Lorrie Morgan. In fact Lorrie owes a lot of her success to Emery who hosted a morning show in Nashville, in which Lorrie often sang.
Life has not always been a bed of roses for Emery, as he had a very rough childhood and entered the world of country music, to escape an unhappy situation at home. His marriage to Skeeter Davis who recorded The End of the World was a rocky one that ended in divorce. Emery has written his autobiography and other books about country music.
Ralph Emery to me epitomizes country music and what it stands for and he may be the best interviewer ever in any entertainment spectrum.
It would be 56 years after his first radio job, before Emery was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
1961 – Entered the 12th grade, after spending two years in the 10th grade at Pineville High School, due to going to summer school for the third straight year.
John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president on January 20.
Remember listening to Chicago White Sox games on KSYL AM, out of Alexandria, Louisiana, with Bob Elson and Milo Hamilton as the announcers. This was the summer that Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were battling to break Babe Ruth’s season home run record of 60. Bob and Milo would give updates during the White Sox games, about what Roger and Mickey were doing in the home run race. Maris would hit his 61st home run on October 1, which broke the 34-year-old record of Ruth. Surprisingly only 21,000 fans were present to see the achievement of Maris.
The ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion ended two days later. It was a failed attempt to remove Fidel Castro from power. He had taken power in 1959 and is still in power today 54 years later.
1962 – K-Mart would open its first store in Garden City Michigan on March 1 and the company is now 51-years-old. July 2 would see the first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas.
My senior class graduated in May, but it would be September before I received my diploma, because I had failed English IV.
I joined the Army Reserve in Alexandria, Louisiana and was sent to Fort Polk for basic training in October. We were kept so busy at Fort Polk during basic, that we had no clue of the magnitude of the Cuban missile crisis that October. The only clue we had been what we said when we marched:
I don’t know but I believe
I’ll be in Cuba by Christmas Eve
Little did we know we were on the brink of a nuclear disaster and we didn’t know about it till we finished basic training in December.
I won’t mention any names, but a soldier from Wardville thought it would be fun, to yell from the barracks upstairs at a sergeant saying “Hey nutbrain”. That was not a smart thing to do on his part. That sergeant did not waste any time, as he made his way up in the stairs in record time. The soldier was told in no uncertain terms, that calling his sergeant “nutbrain” was not acceptable behavior.
1963 – Was on leave when the year started, but would board a passenger train for Indianapolis, Indiana at the Missouri Pacific depot in January. That depot was later torn down, but assembled in a new location in downtown Alexandria.
I can remember seeing snow falling when we went through St. Louis, then after arriving in Indianapolis saw several inches of snow on the ground. I learned what a Indiana winter was like, while being stationed at the Adjustant General’s School at Fort Benjamin Harrison. Some soldiers called it “Uncle Ben’s Rest Home”. Attended the postal school there from January through April, before returning to Louisiana having finished my six months of active duty.
It took attending a few Army Reserve meetings, before I decided to join the Regular Army and joined in May of 1963. I requested to be sent to Germany or Hawaii and received orders for Hawaii. Was flown to San Francisco and took a helicopter to the Oakland Army Terminal.
Spent eight days at the terminal before boarding flight to Hawaii. We were on a slow MATS transport plane, so the trip took several hours. When I arrived at Schofield Barracks the home of the 25th Infantry Division I heard some of the soldiers talking about having just a few days left before being discharged. I figured out that I had only 1,095 days left and they got a big kick out of that.
Hawaii is a beautiful state and liked being stationed there. The Army Service Club conducted tours of the island of Oahu and would take us on a bus trip around the island. Wish I had taken some color photos of the scenery, but only took black and white photos.
One of my first memories was seeing the Beach Boys at Conroy Bowl, the arena where entertainers appeared. Remember seeing Johnny Cash and June Carter and Sue Thompson there. It was a highlight for me, when Sue Thompson shook hands with me, while singing one of her songs.
I loved going to the beach, since the Service Club took the soldiers on busses to the different beaches each weekend. I would listen to music on my radio, while looking across the ocean toward California. Surf music was at its height in 1963 and even today I Heart radio has a station, with only surf music being featured.
By far the biggest event of 1963 was when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22. The regular company postal clerk was on leave, so I was the temporary clerk while he was gone. I had my radio on in the post office, when I heard the announcement that JFK had been shot. I immediately informed the company commander, who had not heard about it yet.
Meanwhile the postal clerk on leave to New York was flying standby and his flight was rerouted from California to Texas, which landed in Dallas about the same time as the assassination. So he got caught in the middle of all the commotion, even though he wasn’t even thinking of having to go through Dallas.
Just missed by a few minutes of seeing Lee Harvey Oswald gunned down in the Dallas Police station on the TV, in the dayroom but not too disappointed since I didn’t really want to see it anyway.
A few days later we would march in a memorial observance of JFK’s death and it was a surreal experience, knowing that the president of the United States had been assassinated and marching on the parade grounds brought it home.
Went to a Christmas show in December, that really made me homesick, when they sang “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”.
1964 – Went on temporary duty to Molokai, the island on which Father Damien established his leper colony. The ride there on a boat was a rocky one and wound up getting very sick, even if was only a 20 something mile trip from Oahu.
Can remember it pouring down that week a lot and that I heard on the radio, that Lyndon B. Johnson had defeated Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election.
I can remember flying home to Pineville in October of 1964, my first trip home since leaving in May of 1963. I took my leave in October, so I could see the World Series while I was at home. I think it was this trip, that when flying back saw professional wrestler Sputnik Monroe aboard the plane. Coincidentally, he and his wrestling brother Rocket both lived in Alexandria and had performed at Jimmie Thompson’s Arena. That reminds me of the time when my brother, who knows sign language saw a deaf wrestler Silento Rodriguez being knocked from the ring and went over and signed to him, asking if he was OK and the wrestler signed back that he was OK.
1995 – This was the year that I was sent to the Big Island named Hilo, to work at the Camp Pohokoloa (sp) post office. I remember one payday, that we sold $28,000 worth of money orders and that I came up $107 short at the end of the day. The other postal worker working that day later was court-martialed, for stealing money from the post office, so I have always wondered if he didn’t take the missing money. Worst thing is that my wages were garnished till the $107 was paid back to the post office.
The post office was at a high altitude and I could see snow-capped mountains in the distance. It was cold there, even if it was Hawaii. Tsunamis hit Hilo in 1946 and 1960 killing 160 and 61 people respectively.
Saw a missionary from Pineville who was living in Hilo at this time. My mom had told me where to find her and I had a nice visit with her.
George Strait and Alan Jackson singing Murder on Music Row.
The best known version of Murder on Music Row was recorded by George Strait and Alan Jackson, but was originally recorded by Larry McCordle and Lonesome Standard Time.
The following link takes you to a website where the lyrics are shown and you can hear George and Alan singing the words and sing along with them if you want.
I had liked country music over the years, but really got interested after seeing Your Cheatin’ Heart the life story of Hank Williams Sr. The movie told the life story of Hank Williams Sr. in a way that showed his struggles on the way to the top and how his drinking habit caused him to lose jobs and probably caused his early death at the age of 29, in the backseat of a car on the way to a concert. The part I best remember was when the audience found out Hank had died enroute to the concert and started singing ” I Saw The Light . ” which was the most poignant part of the movie.
When I saw the movie in the 60′s when stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii it jump started my collection of country music record albums.
I particularly liked Buck Owens and Buckaroos and at one time owned fifteen of their albums. I became a Ernest Tubb fan and bought his Ernest Tubb Life Story Album, which contained many of his older songs from the World War II era. Songs like Filipino Baby, Driftwood on the River, Rainbow at Midnight and others brought home what it was like for soldiers during World War II.
It was exciting to be able to buy a record album of Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn, when they appeared in concert as a duet in Alexandria, Louisiana and to top it off both of them autographed their albums. I was struck by how beautiful Loretta Lynn was in person.
Country Music Not the Same
Country music isn’t the same today. You might hear a few traditional singers like George Strait, Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Randy Travis, but for the most part traditional country music has died. Like the song says murder was committed on Music Row and is being committed with each release of this non-traditional music.
I couldn’t name one country song from 2012, since I spend my time listening to the old music on my MP3 player of George Strait, Jim Reeves, Ernest Tubb, Porter Wagoner, George Jones and others previously mentioned in this article. There are no songs that stand out like He Stopped Loving Her Today, Take This Job and Shove It, Heartaches by the Number, Hello Darlin’, Together Again, I Can’t Stop Loving You, Welcome To My World, Okie From Muskogee, Big City and the great George Strait songs from the 80′s and 90′s.
So if you want to start a collection of traditional country music at its best, then this is the time to start. I found a 99 song Ernest Tubb collection for only $11.02 used. I bought this collection two or three years ago at a good price from Amazon. I have bought many used CD’s from Amazon dealers and have never had a CD that didn’t work. It might pay to compare prices with eBay dealers.
The Voice not only defeated X-Factor in the ratings, but drew 3.2 million more viewers during the 8 ET – 9PM time slot last night. I seriously thought that Britney Spears making her debut as a judge would attract more viewers to X-Factor.
It was a huge win for The Voice, as it drew 10.7 million viewers, while X-Factor only brought in 7.5 million viewers. The worst thing is that X-Factor had 12 million viewers on their debut show last September.
The 7.5 million viewers is an all-time low for X-Factor, as it was worse, than the 8.51 million viewers who watched the live results show on November 23 of last season.
So the spinning chairs won this battle over Simon Cowell, Britney Spears and the X-Factor singers.
These results don’t bode well for X-Factor, as the other networks will be debuting their fall programs soon. However, with The Voice not in direct competition next week, it will be a true test, to see if X-Factor rebounds from a shocking ratings loss.
The Voice has won one round one, but we may see both shows losing viewers, in the coming weeks.
Simon Cowell is probably in deep depression, since he had criticized The Voice producers, for scheduling their program, against X-Factor. Now the ratings results make it worse for him, since he knows X-Factor is not in the same league as The Voice, when it comes to attracting television viewers. Cowell had predicted X-Factor would draw 20 million fans during the inaugural season, but never drew more than 12.59 million fans, which watched the live results final last December. So dropping to 7.5 million in the first show this season, compared to 12.49 million viewers watching the debut show in 2011 is a serious setback to Cowell.
Producers of both shows will be watching the ratings next week, to see if The Voice can top X-Factor for a second week. X-Factor will be on its own tonight, but with the Packers-Bears game going against it, there could be more disappointing ratings announced tomorrow.
American Idol producers can’t be too happy, after the ratings were released, as the singing competitions bubble may be on the verge of being burst.
Passions of Patchy may be off the beaten path, compared to mega music sites like Pandora and Spotify, but that in no way means the content is not as good. There may not be as much musical content as the afore named sites, but this is not just a musical site.
Before you even scroll down to the music icons, there is a CLICKS icon for links, which take you to some very interesting sites, including a link to make your own license plate, then emailing it to someone, that is just one of many links.
The CHUCKLES icon provides a plethora of jokes like this:
I am not offended by all the blonde jokes, because I am not dumb and I am not blonde – Dolly Parton
You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy. – Erica Jong
Six year old Del says the best way to have someone to fall in love with you is to tell them you own a bunch of candy stores.
The section is broken down to 27 categories. Caution: It is addictive and time-consuming, once you start reading the jokes.
TOUCH SOMEONE -This is the first of the music sections and includes Bette Midler’s Wind Beneath My Wings and the REM classic Everybody Hurts. Rock Around the Clock seems to be out-of-place on this page, but it really doesn’t matter when you can hear Johnny Mathis sing his standard Misty.
The bottom row of icons is where you find most of the music on the page in jukebox format with list of songs to choose from.
BLUES IN MY EYE JUKE JOINT – This page consists of three jukeboxes consisting of songs like I’ve Been Loving You Too Long sung by the late and great Etta James which reminds us again of how great of a singer she was. The jukebox also includes current singers like Susan Tedeschi, singing It Hurt So Bad. Jonny Lang has his clothes in his matchbox and is heard singing Matchbox, a driving blues number that really jumps. There is an option at the bottom of each jukebox to play all the songs in jukebox. A lot of the songs may not be recognizable, due to them being sung and played by some of the blues pioneers of the past.
LOST IN THE 50′S AND DOO-WOP – Having grown up during this era, this is my favorite music on the entire website. The Lost in the 50′s page has six jukeboxes, filled with the songs, that baby boomers like me grew up with.
Some of favorites from the jukeboxes:
I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
Locomotion – Little Eva
Harbor Lights – The Platters
Shotgun – Jr. Walker and the All-Stars
Hurt – Timi Yuro…..one of the most emotion packed songs ever.
Lost in the 50′s…..this song takes me back to the 50′s, like no other song can do.
You next will find the DOO WOP jukebox on the bottom row of the Lost in the 50′s page. When you go to the Doo Wop page, there will be three speakers holding the doo wop music including songs like:
Blue Velvet – Clovers….This is nothing like the Bobby Vinton version as it gets the full doo wop treatment.
A Thousand Miles Away – Heartbeats….Doo wop music at its best.
Earth Angel – Penguins….A classic doo wop song that will live on forever, as long as there is music.
In The Still of the Night – Five Satins….This song was so well-known that it was included, as part of Ronnie Milsap’s song Lost in the 50′s.
SATIN SMOOTHIES - Is next as you return to the home page where you find two jukeboxes, where you can find the songs my parents grew up with, plus some we remember as teenagers. These songs were the chart-toppers, before Bill Haley and the Comets and Elvis Presley changed music forever in the middle 50′s.
These are just a few of those songs:
Old Cape Cod – Patti Page….You will be very fortunate, if you can find a song like this being recorded today.
Unforgettable – Nat King Cole….This has to be the best of Nat King Cole’s hits that has become a standard.
In The Mood – Glenn Miller Orchestra…. When you think of the big band era, this is one of the first songs, that come to mind and it sad we lost Glenn Miller during the war.
Lazy River – Mills Brothers….This was one of the premier groups of this era, who epitomized the music of the era.
SUNRISE GOSPEL – This page has only one jukeboxes but will bring back memories, to those of us who grew up in church in the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s, plus some more recent songs. The artists are not listed, but that sounds a lot like Dolly Parton on Farther Along.
Some of my favorites from this page:
Beyond the Sunset….song written by a blind person after a group of people were viewing a sunset together and thus the title of the song, since the blind writer said they looked beyond the sunset. The reading that goes with this song makes it even more special.
Family Bible….Willie Nelson wrote this song, but sold the rights to it for only $50 to Claude Gray, the country music singer.
Precious Memories….sang this at funeral once for a lady who attended our church. What a great thought to think of the precious memories, even though the loved one is gone.
TWO STEPPIN’ JUKE BOX - Last but not least, Patchy’s Passion includes three jukeboxes for country music fans.
The list includes:
Don’t Rock the Jukebox – Alan Jackson….This song really rocks out and tells the story of a man, who is too sad over his breakup with his girlfriend and doesn’t want to hear the Rolling Stones on the jukebox, but wants to hear George Jones instead.
He Stopped Loving Her Today – George Jones….This song has been chosen as the best country music song ever, on many lists of Top 100 songs.
Sweet Dreams – Patsy Cline…. also recorded by Tommy McLain of Pineville, Louisiana, who attended my high school in the 60′s. His recording of Sweet Dreams outsold Don Gibson, the writer of the song and the immortal Patsy Cline. His version went to No.15 on the Billboard chart.
For the Good Times – Ray Price….Has it really been 42 years since Ray Price recorded this country classic? It is true and also it is true that Ray Price is still actively singing at the age of 86. The 2010′s started his eighth decade of being active in country music.
Passions of Patchy was created on March 17, 2000, which she dedicated to her mom Candy, who was dying of cancer. This page tells about the last months of her mother’s life. If this doesn’t make your eyes tear up, then it may be time to have your pulse checked:
Kenny Rogers as he appeared when singing with First Edition.
Kenny Rogers was born August 21, 1938 in Houston, Texas. Rogers is in his sixth decade of being in the music business, starting the mid 50′s with the The Scholars, which was disbanded and Rogers struck out on his own.
Kenny singing That Crazy Feeling in 1958 on Carlton Records singing in the doo-wop style.
Only 194 people have viewed this video of Kenny Rogers at the House of Blues, which apparently was on the Disney Channel sometime in the past. He is seen early in the video singing Walkin’ My Baby Back Home a 1931 song and nothing like a song, you would expect him to sing. He is shown playing the upright bass in another song at the 14:25 mark in the video.
When he sings When I Fall In Love, one of the girls in the audience rests her head on the shoulder of the man, that she is sitting with, which demonstrates the emotion which Rogers sings with carries over to the listeners. He sings another song from the past, in I Get Along Without You Very Well a 1939 tune, penned by Hoagy Carmichael and demonstrates the gift of Rogers to sing any genre. At 43:53 in the video Rogers sings perhaps the best rendition of I Remember You, that I have ever heard sung.
The video is interspersed with Kenny telling about the highlights of his career. Clips from the past are shown, in addition to him singing at the House of Blues, with the backing of a string orchestra. The video shows Kenny singing Sweet Home Chicago, showing Kenny can sing blues music too. He also sings some of his big hits like Lady and The Gambler. This video is worth watching, because it shows how multi-talented Kenny is and helps bring home the fact, that he may be one of the best singers, to ever walk on a stage.
This is why it is a mystery, why he has never been enshrined in the Country Music or Rock and Roll Hall of Fames. Maybe his crossover hits, prevented him from being defined into either category. One thing for sure is that he is going to sing well, regardless of what genre he is singing at any particular time.
Kenny Rogers seen while part of the Bobby Doyle Trio with Kenny on top, without his beard.
Kenny joined the New Christy Minstrels in 1966, but he left the folk group the next year to form the First Edition. The group’s best known hits were songs like Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town and my personal favorite Reuben James.
Kenny and the First Edition singing Reuben James.
Ten years later in 1976, Kenny would begin his solo career which is still going strong 36 years later.
1977 would produce his first No.1 hit in Lucille, which would be the first of many No.1 hits. He would have seven No.1 hits when the 1980′s started. Then he recorded his first song to be No.1 in U.S. Country, U.S. and Adult Contemporary, which was Lady and maybe his most popular song recorded and was written by Lionel Richie. 1983′s Islands in the Stream recorded as a duet with Dolly Parton placed first in all three of the categories again.
It has been 26 years since Kenny recorded a non-duet No.1 with his recording of Tomb of Unknown Love in 1986.
Kenny recorded many duets and eight of those songs made the Billboard charts.
Kenny singing Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer with Kim Carnes.
Kenny singing Islands In The Stream with Dolly Parton at the 25th anniversary of Dollywood in 2010.
Kenny and Dolly singing the same song a few years earlier.
Kenny and Dottie West singing Everytime Two Fools Collide
Yesterday, I found a Kenny Rogers DVD of his appearance on Live By Request on the CBS television network. I had given it to my wife for her birthday several years, but she had never gotten around to watching it till yesterday and that is why I am writing this article today.
I was surprised to look in my MP3 player and there wasn’t one Kenny Rogers song in the player. I will have to rectify that situation, as soon as possible but I do have a Kenny Rogers LP, which I hope to listen to today.
Any collection of Kenny Rogers hits would need to include Lady and The Gambler.
Kenny singing Lady in the Live By Request program on CBS television. Viewers called in any Kenny Rogers song they wanted to hear and Kenny would sing it.
Kenny singing one of his classics The Gambler.
Kenny singing She Believes In Me.
Kenny singing Through The Years at Giants Stadium 26 years ago.
Kenny Rogers is not only a great singer, but is also a talented photographer. This short article shows some of his photography. Kenny is so well-respected in the photography field, that he has been a judge in a Digitial Camera’s Photographer of the Year competition, which is described in this undated article, but appears to have happened in 2011.
Kenny Rogers decided to have plastic surgery, when he married his wife Wanda Miller, that is 29 years younger than him. They are still married 15 years later. He has been married for 48 years combined, after five marriages. He has twin sons Justin and Jordan who will be 8 on July 6. His wife is a twin and both he and his wife have a history of twins in their families.
Kenny singing Love Or Something Like It at Bonaroo festival three weeks ago. Sorry for the poor sound quality, but thought readers would want to see Kenny is going strong at 73.
Kenny and Lionel Richie singing Lady after Kenny tells about the history of the song. If you only watch one video in this article this is the one to see. To see two professionals like Kenny Rogers and Lionel Richie singing one of the greatest songs ever written, makes taking the time to watch it worth every minute.
No article on Kenny Rogers would be complete without mentioning his movie career. Kenny appeared in the The Gambler TV movies five times from 1980-1994, which again proved how talented Kenny is in any endeavor that he undertakes.
Kenny as he appeared in the series of The Gambler TV movies.
Not everything Kenny touched turned to gold, even though it may have in the early days, when his Kenny Rogers Roasters expanded to 350 restaurants in 1995. Three years later, the company was bankrupt and sold for $1.25 million. Kenny must have taken a financial bath, for the company to be sold for only $1.25 million. No Kenny Rogers Roasters remain open in the United States today.
The following article gives extensive details about the life of Kenny Rogers, but it may take close to an hour to read the entire article:
I knew Kenny Rogers was a successful singer, but only in the last two days have I learned, just how great he was and is still great today. It is safe to say that Kenny Rogers has made a lasting impression on many Americans, through his music and his acting. I have developed a new appreciation for Kenny Rogers and will be looking for his LP as soon as this is posted.
In closing it amazes me that Kenny Rogers is not in the Country Music Hall of Fame, even though he has had 21 country hits. Part of the problem is that maybe the voters who elect singers to the Country Music Hall of Fame don’t consider Rogers a pure country singer, but just sang songs that found their way to the top of the country charts.
In addition, I can’t see why he isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame either, because if any singer belongs, in both Hall of Fames it would be him. Hopefully he will be inducted to one or the other or both, while he is still with us and can enjoy being inducted, like so many others have in past years.
It was just yesterday that I learned Josh Ledet would be appearing, in Heritage Square in Sulphur, Louisiana. We got there early about 1:20 PM, before the 2PM concert. We live only about a mile-and-a-half from Heritage Square, so it took about three minutes to arrive at the venue.
Jason Ledet, the brother of Josh was the host of the show and introduced all the acts and thanked the sponsors and workers, who did an amazing job, considering they only had two days to set up for the concert.
A lady sang Amazing Grace, then a couple of country singers sang a couple of songs each. The lady had a French sounding name so won’t attempt to guess at the spelling. She returned after the country singers sang and sang the Loretta Lynn classic You Ain’t Woman Enough To Take My Man.
Then a fourth singer sang six songs, while playing the acoustic guitar, with none of the songs being recognizable to me and the crowd seemed to be uneasy, since most of the crowd was in the extreme heat and wanted to see Josh. Then a surprise guest Chase Slaughter of X-Factor sang a song acapella.
After all acts left the stage, it was time for Josh to make his entrance and he rewarded his fans, with his stirring rendition, of When A Man Loves A Woman. Almost everyone was on their feet, from the first note of the first song, till he left the stage. Josh called out to some family and friends, that he recognized. He also sang It’s A Man’s World, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg and I Wish a song that really rocked the house and sounded even better than this version on American Idol.
Josh also sang Ready For Love. If you have a chance to hear Josh Ledet take it, because you will never forget the experience. He commands the stage well and has as much stage presence, as anyone since Elvis Presley. You could feel the electricity in the air when the took the stage.
This video shows Josh singing at the concert at Heritage Square in Sulphur, Louisiana. The video starts off with still photos, but it switches to video, when Josh begins to sing. Somehow this writer was captured on this video shot, since if I had known I would have absconded from the scene. I am the prematurely gray man wearing a Calvary Baptist T-shirt, not having a clue I was being filmed. The best part of the video is when Josh sings I Wish, which was a hit for Stevie Wonder. The video doesn’t come close to the sound of actually being there:
He came out early because of the extreme heat. Free bottles of water were being handed out to the fans, to keep them hydrated. My wife drank three or four bottles of water by herself and was feeling sick, when the crowd closed in to see Josh. We were just outside the covered part of the arena, so there was no escaping the heat, unless leaving the seat, to stand under the trees.
We left after Josh finished the first half of the show and went to his motor home behind the stage. I was badly sunburned by then, so we decided to leave before my wife got sicker or I got more sunburned, than I already was.
The main thing is that we got to see and hear Josh Ledet in person. I will be shocked if he is not a bigger star, than the American Idol Phillip Phillips or runner-up Jessica Sanchez.
Best of all, the concert, food and water were free, with McDonalds furnishing free hamburgers.
Josh Ledet will be returning to Louisiana later this summer, when the American Idol tour stops in Lafayette, Louisiana and appears at the Cajundome. The seats won’t be cheap, but if you got the money you will definitely get your money’s worth.
The inaugural season of X-Factor is drawing to a close, with the finale scheduled for December 22. Simon Cowell’s prediction of X-Factor drawing 20 million viewers has never been realized.
Matter of fact only 8.51 million viewers watched the results show last Wednesday night. The CMA awards hammered X-Factor in the ratings with 16 million viewers to 10 million viewers for X-Factor.
American Idol drew at least 20 million viewers to every show in 2011, while X-Factor has topped out around 12 million viewers for the entire season.
It was thought that reuniting Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul as judge-mentors would attract viewers, However, that has not seemed to make much difference in the ratings. It is clear that there is a lot of work that needs to be done, since right now X-Factor is not drawing half the fans of American Idol.
Steve Jones has been a major disappointment as the host of X-Factor, with his tendency to rush the judges, while they are giving their opinions of the singers. He definitely is not attracting viewers to the show, especially with his annoying personality. He is making Ryan Seacrest look much better, in contrast. Seacrest is a much smoother host and seems to really care about the contestants, but we don’t get that impression from Jones.
Jones is by far the most obnoxious host of any television show I have ever watched. Why Simon Cowell would hire this clown is beyond me. The most annoying thing, which may or may not be his fault, is the long pauses between telling which singers are advancing in the competition to the next week. It may be a case of him waiting on the producers to tell him the names of those advancing. Regardless, it looks silly to have so much dead air, while announcing the safe singers, then a few minutes later saying “We have to move on” incessantly as Jones rushes the judges, to make their decisions a few minutes later.
Paula Abdul’s groups have all been sent home and only Josh Krajcik remains of the over 30 singers, which Nicole Scherzinger has been mentoring.
I think the groups category should be eliminated next season, since voters don’t think in terms of groups, as much as solo acts. It was only a matter of time before LeRoy Bell and Stacy Francis were sent home, so that was no surprise.
So that leaves Simon Cowell with all three of his female singers still in the competition:
Rachel Crow has a real chance to win the competition, since she is one of the most likeable contestants on any singing competition show ever. Melanie Amaro to me is a better singer than Drew, but Simon seems to be pushing for Drew to win the competition. Amaro has the most powerful voice remaining in the competition, with maybe the exception of Krajcik, who can belt a song with the best of them.
L.A. Reid also has all three of his remaining singers, in the competition in Marcus Canty, Chris Rene and Astro. I think it is safe to say that Astro removed himself from the competition, with his childish behavior two weeks ago, when finding himself in the bottom two. He said all the right things last week, but the damage has been done. It is not a matter of if he is going home, but when he is going home. I just wonder what Astro will do, if they have a country music theme one week. Chris Rene may have the same problem, since I can’t picture him singing country music, nor can I picture Astro singing I Stopped Loving Her Today.
My personal favorite to win the competition is Chris Rene, but that is mainly because of his back story, not his singing ability. It would be the American dream story if he wins, going from being a garbage collector with a drug habit, to winning a $5 million recording contract, but it is not likely to happen. Marcus Canty found himself in the bottom two last week, so it may mean his time on X-Factor may be drawing to a close.
Josh Krajcik may be the best singer on the show, but I can’t see him having the kind of fan base to actually win the show. Melanie Amaro may have the same problem. My prediction to win the inaugural season of X-Factor is Rachel Crow. It is hers to lose.
Song From Moulin Rouge by Percy Faith Orchestra was the No.1 song in 1953.
It was hard to believe that the first major rock and roll song, Shake, Rattle and Roll by Bill Haley and the Comets, would break into the Top 30 list, the next year 1954 ending in the No.26 spot. Bill Haley would come back in 1955, for his monster hit Rock Around the Clock, which went to No.2 on the chart.
The country had gone from an easy listening orchestra song in 1953, to two of the rocking and rollingest songs ever, in the space of two years.
These are some of the songs that were on the 1953 list, that began the end of the easy listening music era:
No. 2: Vaya Con Dios – Les Paul and Mary Ford
No. 3: How Much Is That Doggie In The Window – Patti Page….It was a novelty song that I can remember from Your Hit Parade Days.
No.8: No Other Love – Perry Como
No.9: Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes – Perry Como….Como had a third song on the list also Say Your Mine at No.21
No.12: Ebb Tide – Frank Chacksfield Orchestra….One of the classic easy listening songs of all time. The orchestra also had the No.27 song Limelight on the 1953 chart.
No.19: Rags To Riches – Tony Bennett….One of the few singers who had a long career despite rock and roll taking over the charts.
No.22: Dragnet – Ray Anthony Orchestra….Theme song from the television show Dragnet.
One of my favorite singers Joni James singing Why Don’t You Believe Me which was No.25 in 1953. She also had No.26 Your Cheating Heart and No.30 Have You Heard.
1953 chart represented a smorgasbord of musical tastes, from orchestra music, to novelty tunes, to the great crooners like Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, groups like Hilltoppers, Ames Brothers and Gaylords, up and coming stars like Joni James, who would miss years of singing, while taking care of her very sick husband.
At the end of 1953, nobody probably even thought, that in 1956 Elvis Presley would have five songs in the Top 30, with Carl Perkins and Gene Vincent, also having rock and roll songs, plus Bill Doggett had his instrumental hit Honky Tonk, which clearly was not an easy listening recording.
1956 emphasized even more that the easy listening era, was coming to an end. There were still some crooners and orchestras on the 1956 list. It is safe to say that 1957 was the year that rock n’ rollers took over the charts, 25 rock and roll songs making the top 30.
The easy listening era was over. We can still listen to old records and cassettes from the past, but it looks like rock n’ roll is here to stay, until the next best thing comes along.
The Bobhorst.com website lists the Top songs of each year from 1946-2010. The list expanded from Top 30 to Top 100. The link will take readers to the 1953 charts, but it can be switched to any year easily.
Hank Williams was born as Hiram King Williams on September 17, 1923 in Mount Olive, Alabama. He changed his name to Hank, since it sounded more like a good name, for a country music singer.
Lillie Williams, his mother would have to raise him, when his father Elonzo was sent to the VA Hospital in Pineville, Louisiana with a brain aneurysm, where he remained for eight years.
Hank would begin playing the guitar at 8, then first appeared on radio at the age of 13. By the time he was 14 he had formed a band called the Drifting Cowboys.
Roy Acuff once told Williams the dangers of using alcohol, saying “You have a million dollar voice, but a 10 cent brain”.
Began Abusing Alcohol During World War II
World War II would find him working in a Mobile, Alabama shipyard and singing in Montgomery, Alabama. He started abusing alcohol, due to having a congenital spinal disorder, which caused extreme back pain. He would never be able to curb his drinking habit.
It was in 1943 when he met his future wife, Audrey Sheppard.
He was only 23 in 1946, when he signed a songwriting contract with the Acuff-Rose songwriting company. He first hit was Move It On Over recorded on the new MGM record label in 1947. The Grand Ole Opry, which had refused to sign him in 1946 would later sign him in 1949 and he would debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage on June 11,1949, with six encores that night.
Lovesick Blues Was Breakthrough Hit
His big break came in 1949 at the age of 26 when he recorded the 27-year-old song Lovesick Blues, after he had joined the Louisiana Hayride and later would join the Grand Ole Opry.
Williams didn’t know how to read or notate music, yet still had eleven No.1 songs, between 1948 and 1953. Tony Bennett would sing one of his songs, Cold, Cold Heart.
He would begin recording religious songs, as Luke the Drifter, in case the songs would not be well received.
Audrey, Jett, Hank Jr., Hank Sr.
Divorces Audrey Williams
The back pain of Williams got worse, after Williams fell in a hunting accident. He was now taking morphine and drinking alcohol, because of the pain. His wife Audrey would divorce him in June of 1952, but he would marry Billie Jean Jones, only four months later in October of 1952.
Billie Jean Jones, daughter of Bossier City Police Chief. She widowed Hank Williams Sr. and Johnny Horton.
Two months earlier in August of 1952, Williams was fired by the Grand Ole Opry for habitual drunkenness. He was now not showing up for performances or not singing well, if he did show up.
Health Worsens
Williams was beginning to have heart problems in late 1952. He may have made a critical mistake by contacting a fake doctor who had no real credentials as a doctor as indicated by this paragraph from his Wikipedia biography:
He met Horace Raphol “Toby” Marshall in Oklahoma City, who claimed to be a doctor. Marshall had been previously convicted for forgery, and had been paroled and released from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in 1951. Among other fake titles he claimed to be a Doctor of Science. He purchased the DSC title for $35 from the Chicago School of Applied Science, in the diploma, he requested that the DSC was spelled out as “Doctor of Science and Psychology”. Under the name of Dr. C. W. Lemon he prescribed Williams with amphetamines, Seconal, chloral hydrate, and morphine.[52]
It would be interesting to know what a real doctor thought, about this cocktail mix of drugs and if these drugs could have sped up the end of his life.
Death Comes In The Morning of January 1, 1953
Hank Williams was supposed to appear in a concert at Charleston, West Virginia on Dec. 31, 1952, but because of an ice storm in Nashville, Tennessee, he was unable to make it there on time. His driver, Charles Carr called ahead to notify management of the auditorium, that they would not be able to make it to Charleston, because of the bad driving conditions.
However, Carr was instructed to drive Williams to Canton, Ohio for a concert on New Year’s Day of 1953. When they arrived in Knoxville, Carr summoned a doctor to the Andrew Johnson Hotel. The doctor injected Williams with two shots of Vitamin B-12, which included some morphine.
Carr proceeded to drive Williams to Bristol, Virginia and asked Williams if wanted something to eat. Williams told him no, which were probably his last words. Carr then drove on to Oak Hill, West Virginia to refuel, when he realized Williams was dead and notified the local police chief.
The following paragraph describes what the doctor found during the autopsy and what occurred at the Canton, Ohio venue,when the audience was informed that Williams had died en route to Canton.
Dr. Ivan Malinin performed the autopsy at the Tyree Funeral House. Malinin found hemorrhages in the heart and neck and pronounced the cause of death as “insufficiency of the right ventricle of the heart.”[59] That evening, when the announcer at Canton announced Williams’s death to the gathered crowd, they started laughing, thinking that it was just another excuse. After Hawkshaw Hawkins and other performers started singing “I Saw the Light” as a tribute to Williams, the crowd, now realizing that he was indeed dead, sang along.[60]
I will never forget the scene in the Your Cheatin’ Heart movie when the audience, was told that Hank had died, then everyone starts singing I Saw The Light. One of the most special moments in any movie ever.
Hank Williams died in the backseat of this 1952 Cadillac.
His funeral on January 4, 1953 attracted more people, than to any other funeral in the history of Alabama, up to that time. Estimates range as low as 15,000 and high as 25,000 that filed by his silver coffin.
This is a small portion of the funeral service for Hank Williams on January 4, 1952.
It was ironic that one of his best-known hits, Your Cheatin’ Heart hadn’t been released prior to his death, but it would remain No.1 on the country charts for six weeks.
This is the announcement made on WCKY radio telling of the death of Hank Williams, followed by Hank singing I Am Bound For The Promised Land.
Left Musical Legacy
Hank Williams may have only recorded music from 1947-1952, but he left a lasting imprint among country music fans and will always be remembered by the fans who enjoyed his music in the past. His music will continue to be passed on to future generations, as even today his music is still being sung.
He recorded a lot of gospel songs, as well as country hits. These are just some of his songs:
If this song I Dreamed About Mama Last Night doesn’t touch the heart of anyone that has lost their mama, something is seriously wrong.
This song Be Careful of Stones That You Throw will make us think twice before we throw stones at others.
Hank Williams may have died 58 years ago at the age of 29. Hank would be 87 if he was still living today. He may not have lived long on this earth, but he brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people through his musical legacy.
He only lived through the terms of four American presidents in his 29 years. We know Hank Williams had his faults, like the rest of us, but as he passed on his music to future generations, we will also pass on his music to those who have never heard his music in the coming years. Thank you Hank for reminding us to see the same light, you saw when you sang I Saw The Light.
Scotty McCreery singing I Love You This Big in his first video that was recently released.
Scotty has been keeping a hectic schedule this summer on the American Idol tour, but found time to release his first video. The tour is a real moneymaker for the American Idol franchise, but it prevents the American Idol winners, from devoting more time to their career.
Lauren Alaina has released her first video Like My Mother Does.
Lauren Alaina may have been second in the American Idol voting, but I can see her becoming a top recording artist in country music. There is no doubt that she was born to sing country music.
She may not sell as many albums as Scotty when releases her debut album later this year, but she will hold her own and should be one of the top country music stars for years to come.
Pia Toscano singing on her debut This Time video.
There is no doubt that Pia Toscano was the best singer on American Idol. She may not have been the most popular though, having been sent home during the fourth week.
For some reason, voters just didn’t connect with Pia and went for the younger Scotty and Lauren Alaina. While the other American Idol singers were still in the competition, Pia was making moves to jump-start her career. She used the time between leaving the show and embarking on the summer tour wisely by singing on television shows, keeping her name out there, even though she had been eliminated from American Idol.
As time goes by we will be able to tell which one of the three singers featured in this article will be the most successful, but for right now I think that Scotty, Lauren Alaina and Pia will all have long careers.
Jordin Sparks has sold four million copies of her "No Air" single collaboration with Chris Brown.
Jordin Sparks, who was the Season 6 American Idol winner has done what no other contestant has ever done. She sold four million digital copies of her “No Air” duet with Chris Brown, the most sold by any American Idol contestant.
Sparks won in 2006 when 36 million fans tuned in to see the finale. In comparison, only 20 million watched the finale this year.
When Sparks won in 2006 she was the youngest at 17, to ever win the coveted title of American Idol.
Forbes Magazine lists Carrie Underwood as the biggest earner among former American Idol contestants as she took in $20 million in 2010, far eclipsing the sales of Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry who earned $6 million.
Fantasia was next earning $4 million and Sparks was right behind her earning $3 million.
Scott McCreery received a check for $250,000 for winning Season 10, but Season 7 winner David Archuleta was given a check for $360,000.
However, Ryan Seacrest earned $61 million last year which is more than the Top 10 earners among American Idol contestants made combined. He earned $15 million as the host but that is only a small part of his earnings, since he is earning money, as a disc jockey, host for the E channel’s Entertainment News and is producing reality television shows.
Something is wrong when Seacrest is paid $15 million for hosting American Idol while Scotty McCreery gets a measly $250,000 check. The fans tune in to see the contestants, not Seacrest so it wouldn’t hurt Seacrest to take a pay cut, so the winner would receive a larger check.
The new X-Factor show debuting this fall on FOX, is paying their winner $5 million which is 20 times more than McCreery earned for winning American Idol. The Voice which recently concluded their first season only paid their winner $100,000, but they have a much shorter season. The X-Factor winner will receive a check 50 times the $100,000 check that The Voice winner receives.
The complete article and list of the leading earners among American Idol contestants in 2010:
George Jones singing The Grand Tour, one of the best country music songs ever written.
Norro Wilson wrote some great songs in Picture Me Without You and Most Beautiful Girl in the World, but to me his best song was The Grand Tour which was recorded by George Jones and Aaron Neville. The song was released two years before the divorce of George Jones and Tammy Wynette. However, the words to the song fit well when they were divorced.
Anyone who has been divorced and had to leave a baby with their spouse, can’t help but be touched by this song. This is country music at its best. Divorced couples can relate to this song, since it tells of the hurt that is felt by the one that has to leave the home, they lived in for so long.
Only George Jones can sing this song the way it was meant to be sung. He sings with such emotion, that you feel like he has lived the words of this song.
George Jones and Tammy Wynette singing Golden Ring two years after their divorce.
George Jones and his daughter Georgette singing Daddy Come Home after he had divorced Tammy Wynette.
It is touching to see George and Georgette Jones singing a duet, after his divorce from Tammy Wynette with Tammy in the audience. It has now been 36 years since the divorce. He is now married to Nancy Sepulvado, whom he married in 1983 and they are still married 28 years later. Coincidentally, 1983 was also the year he released his last No.1 hit in I Always Get Lucky With You.
Jennifer Lopez hasn’t made a decision yet on whether to return for Season 11 of American Idol.
Jennifer Lopez is in negotiation for two film roles. It remains to be seen how she can be an American Idol judge, travel across South America to find talent for the new reality show Q’Viva (The Chosen) and star in films.
American Idol ties her down during the audition process in several major cities, plus once the live shows start next year, she will be keeping an extremely hectic schedule.
$12 Million Salary
It won’t be easy for her to walk away from $12 million salary she earns as an American Idol judge, but she could make even more from the new reality show and her recording and film career.
It is just my opinion but I think she would like to return, but I look for her to decide to leave the show after considering how little time she would have with her family, since making the movies could use up months of her time.
I didn’t always agree with Jennifer’s comments as a judge, but respect her concise remarks, with no stammering around like we had from Ellen DeGeneres in Season 9. I could tell she truly cared about the contestants and how much it hurt her to tell Chris Medina he wouldn’t be one of the final 24.
American Idol Rejuvenated With New Judges
The American Idol franchise was rejuvenated with her and Steven Tyler as new judges. The main thing I liked about all three judges including original judge Randy Jackson was that they never seemed to be at a loss for words. The loss of Simon Cowell turned out to be a non-event. Ellen DeGeneres wasn’t missed but I thought Kara DioGuardi did an excellent job as a judge.
American Idol might have problem keeping judges, that are trying to restart their career like Jennifer Lopez. While she has not made her decision yet on whether to continue as a judge for Season 11, I look for her to leave due to her busy schedule.
American Idol Notebook
Randy Jackson is pitching his own talk show to the networks. So far, there has been no official response. I can’t see a Randy Jackson talk show being successful, but with television you never know….There are rumors that Ryan Seacrest will replace Regis Philbin on Regis and Kelly, which would probably be re-named Ryan and Kelly if that actually happens. Since Seacrest has most of his work based in California, the show may have to move to California for it to work for Seacrest. With his multitude of jobs already it may be too much for him to do Ryan and Kelly, American Idol, his radio show, his E News program, his producing of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and other reality shows he produces. I can see how he could do the Ryan and Kelly show if he drops his radio show, since it would be telecast in the morning, while American Idol would be shown at night.
Pia Toscano has finally signed a record deal with Interscope. There were reports that she had signed a recording contract shortly after leaving American Idol, but those reports proved to be false. Even though she finished ninth in the voting, I look for her to be one of the most successful singers from Season 10….Auditions for Season 11 begin in St. Louis on June 28 about a month after Scotty McCreery became the American Idol for Season 10. It is unknown if the three judges will be there for the auditions but that should be known, once the auditions start.
Barry Manilow said last night on Piers Morgan Tonight that he thinks singers on shows like American Idol are making it too fast, without paying their dues, like most singers have to do….The American Idol summer tour starts in West Valley City, Utah on July 6 and ends on September 10 in Rochester, New York.
Vicci Martinez hopes to advance to semi-finals on The Voice next week for Team Cee Lo.
The Voice telecast their first elimination show last night as Lily Elise, Raquel Castro, Patrick Thomas and Jared Blake went home. It was a total surprise that Beverly McClellan was saved by America. Christina Aguilera chose not to choose a younger singer between Lily Elise and Raquel Castro but instead went for an established Broadway star in Frenchie Davis.
That raises the question of why Frenchie Davis was allowed to be on the show with her having appeared on Broadway for many years. She appeared in the musical Rent on Broadway, which to me should have disqualified her from being on The Voice. How can 16-year-old Raquel Castro have a chance of competing against a singer like Davis who has appeared on Broadway?
Aguilera Chooses More Experienced Singer
When it came right down to making her choice, Christina Aguilera decided on the older, more experienced singer in Davis, eliminating younger singers Castro and Lily Elise. Sure, Castro and Elise got a lot of exposure from being on the show, but they had no chance against the professional singers like Davis and McClellan.
The producers of the show need to consider altering the selection process so that every contestant has an equal chance of being chosen The Voice.
Shelton Makes Surprise Selection
America saved Dia Frampton so Blake Shelton had to choose who to save between Xenia, Jared Blake and Patrick Thomas. I was expecting Shelton to save Patrick Thomas since he was the only country singer left on his team.
However, he chose Xenia to advance to the semi-finals. She joins Frampton which gives Shelton’s team the two youngest singers in the competition.
Team Cee Lo Performances
Nobody will ever sing Jolene as well as Dolly Parton but Vicci Martinez sang it well and is my favorite to advance to the semi-final round for Cee Lo Green’s team. Torri and Taylor Thompson livened up the stage with their rendition of the World War II classic by the Andrew Sisters, Boogie Woogie Boy of Company B.
Nakia sang Sex on Fire a song I had never heard of, but did well enough to have a chance of being saved by America. Curtis Grimes sang Addicted to Love a Robert Palmer song. I don’t think it was a wise song choice for the country singer and it may be that Cee Lo Green choosing that song for him may cause Grimes to be eliminated next week.
Team Adam Performances
Jeff Jenkins did an excellent version of the Carrie Underwood song Jesus Take The Wheel. It was an emotionally charged performance for Jenkins since his biggest supporter, his mom had died from cancer prior to him being on the show. Javier Colon sang Angel and knocked it out of the park. Colon is another singer who has a previous background in music, since he had a recording contract with Capitol records, but it wasn’t renewed.
Devon Barley sang another song I had never heard of in Stop and Stare. He seemed to establish a rapport with the audience and he is singing better each week. Casey Weston sang Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, another song I had never heard of. It is difficult to review a song when you have never heard it before, since there is no way of knowing what it is supposed to sound like.
Who Will Be Saved Next Week?
Team Cee Lo will probably lose Curtis Grimes for sure since he was singing out of his genre. The country music voters may have voted for him if he had sung a country song, but now it is debatable whether they will support him. It is a tossup of who America will save if Grimes isn’t saved with Tori and Taylor, Vicci Martinez and Nakia all showing they are worthy of advancing to the semi-finals. Personally, I think Vicci Martinez and Nakia will be saved by either America or by their coach Cee Lo Green.
Team Adam has two of the strongest singers, who both performed well last night, in Jeff Jenkins and Javier Colon. Casey Weston and Devon Barley both sang well, but they are not in the same league as Jenkins and Colon. My choice to be saved next week by America and Adam Levine is Jeff Jenkins and Javier Colon.
Tanya Tucker was born on October 10, 1958 in Seminole, Texas.
13 years later she would sing DeltaDawn, but she had already been singing in Las Vegas at the age of 11.
She sent a demo tape to Billy Sherrill a producer for CBS Records and he was so impressed he signed her to a recording contract with Columbia Records.
Tucker was offered Happiest Girl in the USA, but turned it down passing it to Donna Fargo which launched Fargo’s career.
Instead she chose Delta Dawn which she had heard Bette Midler sing on the Tonight show.
The song would rise to No.6 on the country music chart, but Helen Reddy recorded it and it went to No. 1 on the pop chart.
By the age of 18 Tucker would have six No.1 hits, but it would be ten years later in 1986 before she had another No.1 hit. She recorded her last No.1 hit Strong Enough to Bend in 1988. She had nine songs which peaked at No.2 including Love Me Like You Used To.
Even though she was on top of the country music world, her personal life became unraveling as a teenager when she would sing in front of thousands, then go back to an empty hotel room as she describes it. Since she was bored and not allowed to drink in bars, she started drinking.
Tanya Tucker singing later in her career.
When she moved to Los Angeles in 1978, her world really began to unravel as she encountered the nightlife and began dating Hollywood celebrities like Don Johnson, singer Andy Gibb and country singers like the much older Merle Haggard. She is most famous for dating Glen Campbell which turned out to be a turbulent relationship, which is well documented in this People magazine article:
She returned to Nashville in 1982, but was till drinking and using cocaine. Her family intervened and helped her get the help she needed.
Tanya Tucker singing Delta Dawn.
An older Tanya Tucker singing Delta Dawn.
Tanya Tucker video of her singing Strong Enough To Bend her last No.1 hit in 1988.
Even though Tanya Tucker has been through a lot of ups and downs since Delta Dawn made her a star, she has been a survivor and still very active in country music.
Tucker has several tour dates coming up with concerts in several U.S. cities and stops in Canada, Norway and France starting June 24 and ending September 23.
October 10 will mark her 53rd birthday which also will be the 40th anniversary of her recording Delta Dawn.
Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina making their Grand Ole Opry debuts on Friday, June 10, 2011 at the age of 17 and 16 in Nashville, Tennessee.
American Idol winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina made their Grand Ole Opry debuts on Friday, June 10.
Both singers seem to be destined to be country music singers.
Not many singers make their Opry debuts at such a young age with Scotty being 17 and Lauren being 16.
Apparently, the show was not filmed or was filmed for later showing so there is no video of the their singing debuts, but there is audio of their songs, which was broadcast over the WSM radio station in Nashville.
Kellie Pickler will sing on the Grand Ole Opry tonight and Crystal Bowersox will be singing on June 17.
Carrie Underwood is the only American Idol winner that has already been named a member of the Grand Ole Opry, but the way Scotty and Lauren Alaina may be members sooner than later. Kellie Pickler and Crystal Bowersox have a chance of being admitted in the future.
The following audio only videos let readers listen to Scotty and Lauren singing last night on the Grand Ole Opry stage:
Scotty McCreery singing in an audio version at the Grand Ole Opry.
American Idol runner-up singing in her Grand Ole Opry debut.
Johnny Lee singing his signature song Looking For Love and talking to Ralph Emery.
It doesn’t seem possible that it has been about 31 years since Johnny Lee recorded Looking For Love. It went to No.8 on the country music charts in the U.S and was also featured in the movie Urban Cowboy.
Lee was about 34 at the time he recorded Looking For Love. Now he is old enough to retire at 65. Lee wasn’t a one hit wonder as he would record 20 albums and five of his songs would reach No.1 on the country music chart.
Johnny Lee’s No. 1 songs
Looking For Love
One In A Million
Bet Your Heart on Me
The Yellow Rose Of Texas (With Lane Brody)
You Could’ve Heard A Heart Break
The Yellow Rose of Texas video with Johnny Lee and Lane Brody.
Johnny Lee and Lane Brody singing Yellow Rose of Texas again over 30 years later at a country music reunion.
An audio only version of Johnny Lee singing You Could’ve Heard A Heart Break
Johnny Lee may not have had a Top 100 hit since 1989 or recorded an album since 2006, but from 1980-1984 he had 12 songs in the Top 10 country music chart.
Since appearing in Urban Cowboy Lee has been seen in many television series and sang Looking For Love in the 2002 movie The New Guy.
Looking For Love had been rejected by 20 artists according to allmusic.com before Lee made it a gigantic hit, mainly because it was sung in Urban Cowboy.
Lee married actress Charlene Hilton from the Dallas television series in 1982 but their marriage had collapsed by 1987.
Like many celebrities he found out his management had been taking much of the money he had earned during the time when he was earning the most money.
He may never be voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, but for five years he was one of the hottest country music stars in the business.
Lauren Alaina runner-up on American Idol Season 10.
Lauren Alaina To Start Work On Album, Appear on Grand Ole Opry
Lauren Alaina the runner-up for Season 10 of American Idol will be in Nashville this week to start work on her debut album for Mercury Nashville/19 Recordings, Interscope.
Friday will be a special day for Lauren Alaina when she will make her debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage.
Lauren Alaina because of her young age of 16 can only work a limited schedule so it may be a long time before the album is actually released.
She may be one of the most successful runner-ups ever on American Idol, but it is way too soon to know for sure since she is just getting started on her post-American Idol.
One thing for sure, Lauren Alaina may be the nicest and most liked contestant to ever appear on American Idol.
Paul McDonald, Nikki Reed Engaged After Two Month Courtship
Paul McDonald of American Idol fame and actress Nikki Reed have announced their engagement.
It is usually not a good thing for an American Idol contestant to finish eighth for the season, but in the case of Paul McDonald it was a blessing in disguise.
It gave him a head start on his romance with “Twilight” actress Nikki Reed and has culminated in them announcing their engagement on the 2011 MTV Movie Awards Show.
He may have entered the American Idol competition to advance his singing career, but more importantly he has met the love of his life. If not for the show Nikki Reed probably never would have met him.
McDonald was eliminated from American Idol the week after the shocking elimination of Pia Toscano.
I am sure when he tried out for American Idol he had no idea he would be engaged to an actress about a week after the show ended.
It was his goal to win American Idol, but doubt if his next goal was to find an actress who liked him enough after a whirlwind courtship to agree to marry him.
We want to wish both of them a long and happy marriage.
The American Idol Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina recently appeared on the Today show on the NBC television network. Scotty was interviewed by Meredith Viera before singing his debut single I Love You This Big.
Scotty McCreery being interviewed and singing his debut single on Today show last week.
Lauren Alaina singing Like My Mother Does on Today show with her mother watching her sing.
Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery singing I Told You So.
Those who were lucky enough to see Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina sing in their mini-concert, outside the NBC studios in New York City not only got to hear some great singing, but also were able to see how humble both of them are.
Both of them should never be affected by their fame, because they are too down to earth to let fame and fortune change them.
They have something some of the recent American Idols don’t have. This is nothing against Lee DeWyze but he has almost been an anonymous American Idol. Few people could even tell you who won Season 9 of American Idol.
I look for Scotty and Lauren to far exceed Lee in record sales and concert receipts. Scotty’s bass voice and Lauren Alaina’s tone should be selling records for years to come. Whether they will ever approach the sales of Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson remains to be seen, but right now it looks like they both have bright futures.
The Voice has been featuring battles between singers the last four weeks, but the “battle” between Emily Valentine and Curtis Grimes ended in a passionate kiss. They were singing Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now and Emily mentioned before they entered the boxing ring that she had a crush on Curtis, so the kiss wasn’t a total surprise.
However, the coaches were caught by surprise, particularly Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green. Green eventually chose Curtis to be his fourth and final singer on his team.
The following article tells more about the show and contains the video of Emily and Curtis singing Need You Now and includes their passionate kiss at the end.
It is now official: Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina have both signed with the Mercury Nashville record label. The recording company’s ad announcing the signings is included in the link at the end of this article.
With the Lauren Alaina signing, it should signal that she will be recording almost exclusively country music. To me, her voice is better suited for country music. However, time will tell if she will crossover into pop music from time to time.
One thing that can be said for American Idol is that it is great training for new artists, since they have to keep an exhausting schedule during the season.
It is a shame that Scotty and Lauren Alaina can’t hit the road now with their own tour, instead of being tied down to the American Idol tour most of the summer. When they do tour, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them both appearing together in concerts as a package deal.
I want to be one of the first to wish them successful recording careers and that they will be singing country music for many years to come.
American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe and Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze continue to conduct their “tweeting” war, over when DeWyze was told he would be presenting the American Idol trophy to the Season 10 winner.
Lythgoe contends it was a week before the finale night, while DeWyze said he wasn’t told till the last few moments of the show. I tend to believe Lythgoe since it is a more believable scenario that DeWyze was told a week before. It is unlike American Idol to have asked DeWyze the last-minute to present the trophy. I am not saying it didn’t happen that way, just not the way the well orchestrated finale would likely to have been handled by the producers. If DeWyze was lying as Lythgoe charged, it will only hurt his career. I realize he was upset at not being asked to sing on the finale, but it still doesn’t excuse his behavior if he had agreed a week before to present the trophy, then back out the last-minute.
James Durbin has tweeted that he is close to signing a record deal….Haley Reinhart has told Digitalspy.com that she was very comfortable singing with Tony Bennett, because of his demeanor and that she felt at home singing with the jazz quartet backing them….Casey James a contestant on Season 9 opened for Sugarland earlier this year and has been signed by Sony Records and is in the process of putting a band together.
Aaron Kelly also from Season 9 is working on an album and will be opening this summer for Rodney Akins and Little Big Town….Another Season 9 contestant Siobhan Magnus will be singing in concerts this summer singing songs from her alternative-grunge debut album.
The following USA Today article gives more updates on all 12 of the Season 9 contestants:
American Idol ended its tenth season three days ago and Scotty McCreery already has a No.1 single. His debut single I Love You This Big is the No.1 downloaded song on iTunes.
He has already recorded two songs on his debut album, but doubt the album will be released before November, when most Idol albums are released by the winner for that season.
His debut album will be crucial to his career, since one bad album could ruin a career, especially a bad debut album. However, I think right now Scotty could release a heavy metal album and it would still fly off the shelves, with his popularity at its peak right now.
Lauren Alaina’s Like My Mother Does single is currently ranked No.3 at iTunes, but I expect it to move up. When she sang to her mother on performance night last Tuesday, that may have been the emotional highlight of Season 10.
Scotty McCreery shown backstage on finale night after being voted the Season 10 American Idol on Wednesday, May 25.
It has been two days since Scotty McCreery was named the American Idol for Season 10. The last confetti has probably been swept up and thrown in the dumpsters by now.
Life will never be the same for Scotty McCreery, as he embarks on a country music recording career. I have already read online that some record executives don’t think he can sustain a long-term career in country music. However, in my opinion it way too early to prognosticate on how long his career will last.
Other singers like Tanya Tucker and LeAnn Rimes started even younger than Scotty and are still performing so I think the record executives need to back off and see what happens.
When I think of Scotty, it brings to mind Jordan Dorsey telling Scotty he didn’t want him in his group during Hollywood week. He may not have been good enough for his little group, but he was good enough for American to vote for him as their American Idol.
Scotty showed his character during the Jacee Badeaux episode, when Jacee was unceremoniously tossed out of the group Scotty was in during Hollywood week with Jun Gamboa being the instigator. Scotty later said they had not done Jacee right and wish he had done more to keep it from happening and broke down talking about it.
BUSY SUMMER WITH TOUR STARTING IN JULY
Scotty and the 10 American Idol contestants who didn’t win probably will be allowed to go home for a while, then they will start rehearsing for the American Idol tour this summer. Latest word is that they will travel across the country appearing in 49 concerts.
Last year the tour was cut short, probably due to the talent not being as good as it will be this year. I can’t see that happening this year with so many talented singers.
It is sad that the high ticket prices will keep a lot of American Idol fans from seeing the show. It will cost a family of four $376 to sit in the $94 nosebleed seats in Reliant Arena in Houston, Texas.
The singers will make $1,000 for each concert during the tour, but that will only be a fraction of the profits being made. They will earn part of the profits from any merchandise sold at the concerts.
AMERICAN IDOL PRODUCER LYTHGOE DISSES DEWYZE
Nigel Lythgoe said in a tweet that Lee DeWyze refused to give Scotty McCreery the American Idol trophy. DeWyze said he did refuse, but was only asked moments before it was time to award the trophy. Someone made an oversight to not have asked DeWyze sooner.
Instead in the midst of the chaos, after Scotty had been revealed to be the next American Idol, Lythgoe asked DeWyze but he refused because he didn’t want to intrude on the special moment for Scotty.
RATINGS JUMP 21 PERCENT OVER LAST YEAR’S FINALE
Like most American Idol fans, I thought the loss of Simon Cowell would cripple the ratings of American Idol. Then I wondered if hiring Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez might be a mistake. I was wrong on both counts since the ratings for the Wednesday night rose by 21 percent over the 2010 finale.
29.3 million viewers watched the show which had some of the biggest stars in the music business. The list of singers appearing on the show would be astounded if shown on a television screen as part of the credits.
American Idol decided to go back to the three judge format, which was a smart move in my opinion. I really didn’t know what to expect with Tyler and Lopez on the judge’s panel with a returning Randy Jackson.
Both of the new judges, when critical of a singer’s performance never were mean to the contestants, but gave more constructive criticism, staying away from the nasty barbs Cowell was famous for. Randy was the closest thing to Simon this season, but then upon reflection, he wasn’t really that close.
LAUREN ALAINA TURNED DOWN BY AMERICA’S GOT TALENT TWICE
Lauren Alaina revealed on the Tonight Show that she had tried to appear on America’s Got Talent, but was turned down.
Piers Morgan, one of the judges said it was a scandal that she didn’t make it and stated that she never had appeared in front of the judges.
The following article tells more about her appearance and includes two videos of her appearance:
Scotty McCreery will be $250,000 richer after winning American Idol, while runner-up Lauren Alaina won $87,500. Lauren’s money would double if she records an album.
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Scotty McCreery will be visiting Disney World in Hollywood on Monday and will participate in a 10:00 AM parade….Limelife has revealed that Carrie Underwood gives her phone number to the final two contestants. Wonder if Lauren will be giving her a call?
Pia Toscano who was voted off the show early in Season 10 has been working on her new album and some songs have already been recorded but no release date has been announced since it is a work in progress….Haley Reinhart is currently negotiating on a record deal, but no details have been announced…Ashton Jones and Naimi Adedapo both have plans of recording albums according to bet.com, signaling a chance of as many as 10 of the Season 10 singers having albums in the stores by this time next year.
I think it is safe to say that Scotty McCreery will sell more albums than Season 8 winner Kris Allen and Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze.
The country music fans will embrace Scotty when he releases his debut album this fall. One of the reasons he will sell more albums than Allen or DeWyze is that he will be recording country music, whose fans will buy his albums in the millions.
Allen and DeWyze just don’t have the fan base that McCreery will have. While Allen and DeWyze are not locked into a certain kind of music, McCreery will be locked into country music only.
Scotty may have to work on not sounding like other singers, before going into the recording studio. It won’t be easy to sell albums if he tries to sound like Josh Turner on every song. I am sure when we hear him on his debut album that he will have a distinct sound of his own.
LAUREN ALAINA WILL HAVE TO FIND NICHE FOR DEBUT ALBUM
Lauren Alaina will have to decide if she wants to record pop or country tunes, so she will have decide after the American Idol tour which direction she will take.
This is just my opinion but I think she will find more success in the country field since she has a voice perfect for country music.
We may never know just how close or how far behind Lauren was in the voting. All we know is that she will have no problem becoming a recording artist with the great tone in her voice.
With the last two Idols not seeing their albums flying off the shelves, the record companies would like to actually make some big money on this year’s Idols.
CONGRATULATIONS TO SCOTTY AND LAUREN ALAINA
We want to congratulate both Scotty and Lauren Alaina for making the final two and to Scotty for becoming the Season 10 American Idol. Not only were they two youngest finalists ever, but also may be two of the most likeable singers to reach the final two.
Italian teenagers Piero Barone, Gianluca Genoble and Ignazio Boschetto of IL VOLO made an impact on American Idol audience last week on results night.
I doubt if anyone attending the American Idol results show last Thursday night expected the three teenagers who comprise the Italian singing group IL VOLO, to have such powerful voices at their age.
You could see that the three contestants Haley Reinhart, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina were thoroughly enjoying IL VOLO singing O Sole Mio.
IL VOLO singing O Sole Mio.
O Sole Mio is probably the oldest song ever sung on the American Idol stage by any guest singer or contestant. The song was written 113 years ago in 1898. If American Idol has a 1890′s theme one week next year, this will be one of the songs sang.
Elvis Presley sings It’s Now or Never to the tune of O Sole Mio after another singer sings part of the Italian version.
The Presley video was filmed in Rapid City, South Dakota less than two months before his death in August of 1977.
Lee DeWyze who was the American Idol for 2010 has not been asked to appear on finale night and won't even be in the audience according to DeWyze.
Update after the finale: It is being reported that Lee DeWyze was in the audience during the finale and that Ryan Seacrest stood where he was blocking DeWyze which may have been intentional since producer Nigel Lythgoe seemed to be angered at DeWyze for not presenting the winner’s trophy to Scotty McCreery. Read this story for more details:
Lee DeWyze the American Idol of last season found out that American Idol producers don’t think much of him to not have asked him to return to perform on finale night on Thursday.
I know he has not done that well in record sales, but he still deserves to be on the show. It is almost like they are ashamed of him.
It is like the producers don’t want to be reminded that the show has failed to produce a big selling record artist in the last two seasons with neither DeWyze or Season 8 winner Kris Allen doing well in sales.
Still it seems like common courtesy to let the previous year’s winner perform on finale night. Shows what I know about the cutthroat world of show business.
I can’t recall if a previous year’s winner has not been asked to return the following year, but have a feeling this is a first for American Idol and one that Ryan Seacrest won’t be mentioning during the finale.
UPDATE AFTER FINALE
It was clear that Crystal Bowersox was the better singer last season, but for some reason she didn’t draw enough votes to be the American Idol for Season 9.
Poll question is should DeWyze been invited to at least appear, even if not perform on finale night.
I don’t want to take anything away from Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina and am very happy for both of them, but am wondering if readers thought they were the most talented of the 13 singers in Season 10.
Personally, I thought Pia Toscano and James Durbin were the most talented singers this season. However, neither one made it to the final three, with Pia leaving many weeks ago.
The American Idol franchise has had a great season ratings wise. The show seamlessly changed from a judging lineup of Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi, Simon Cowell and the worst judge ever in Ellen DeGeneres (who deserves credit for admitting she was out of her element) to a lineup of a returning Randy Jackson and new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler.
I have to admit that I was thinking that with the loss of Simon Cowell, that the show would jump the shark with his departure. Fox proved me wrong by picking judges that brought the strongest lineup of singers in the ten year history of the show.
As much as the show focuses on talent, popularity is a huge part of who wins and loses from week to week. Pia Toscano can attest to that fact. Producer Nigel Lythgoe stated that Pia had not been getting that many votes so it may have been a shock to most of us, but he could see it coming since he knew the exact vote count.
Naturally everyone is going to vote for their favorites, so if their favorite isn’t the most talented but still polls more votes than the other contestants, we will see less talented singers winning the competition.
For example, Haley Reinhart is a much better singer than either Scotty McCreery or Lauren Alaina, but she won’t be competing tonight because she only drew approximately 25 million votes out of 95 million votes cast. She wasn’t even close to being in the final two, but she didn’t have the backing of the voters like Scotty and Lauren Alaina.
Unless voting procedures are changed we will continue to see more talented singers fall by the wayside during the season while the more popular singers, whether as talented or not are the ones still standing for the final competition.
The last thing the American Idol franchise wants is another Kris Allen or Lee DeWyze type winning American Idol. How often have we heard about anything either of them has done since winning the coveted title of the American Idol? Neither is breaking any albums sales records.
Scotty McCreery probably could sell a million records, the first month after releasing an album and Lauren Alaina could probably do as well also.
With all respect to Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood is the best American Idol prior to Season 10. Producer Lythgoe, mentioned earlier in this article, stated that Carrie led the voting all of her season. She not only had the talent, but also had the voters behind her the entire season. Despite all the drama on finale night that year, she probably won by millions and millions of votes over runnerup Bo Bice.
So tonight’s vote will be more of a popularity contest than a talent contest. American Idol is in a risky situation if they tinker with the voting process, since it may alienate their fans if they are only allowed to vote one time, as has been mentioned recently.
It all comes down to what is more important, for a singer to have a huge fan base voting for them in large numbers or for the most talented singer to be sitting in the audience watching a less talented, but more popular singer become the next American Idol.
Today’s poll asks if the two most talented singers of Season 10 are the ones competing tonight to be the next American Idol. This poll question has nothing to do with favorites or popularity, but about if the most talented singers are still standing tonight.
Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina singing Up on the Roof on American Idol.
Scotty McCreery teamed up for some duets during Season 10 of American Idol. It is ironic the two singers find themselves in the final two competition on Tuesday night, May 24.
Lauren and Scotty team up on the 1962 classic Up on the Roof first sung by the Drifters.
Lauren and Scotty singing the Randy Travis song I Told You So.
Scotty and Lauren singing American Honey during Season 10 of American Idol.
It will be interesting to see which of these two, Lauren Alaina or Scotty will be declared the American Idol on Wednesday night.
What happens during the competition show tomorrow night may not even matter, since Scotty and Lauren Alaina probably have been at the top or near the top in voting all season. It may be more of a case of which singer has the better fan support. Still, it would not be good to have any of the judges say disparaging words about their performance.
Earlier in the season I thought that Pia Toscano and James Durbin would be in the final two, but it didn’t work out that way. If the voters are only allowed to vote once next season, which has been mentioned by the producers, we may get a much truer vote.
We could not have two nicer people in the final two than Scotty and Lauren Alaina. It is sad that one of them will lose, but they both have bright futures in the recording industry. There is no doubt that Scotty will sing country music, but Lauren Alaina could sing either pop or country as she embarks on a recording career.
The eleven American Idol finalists will be $49,000 richer at the end of their 49 concert tour this summer, with each singer being paid $1,000 a concert. The singers alone combined will earn a combined $539,000.
The Idols will also receive a cut of the merchandise sales during the tour.
Concertgoers will be able to see Pia Toscano sing with her fellow American Idol singers for the first time since leaving the show early in the season.
The ticket prices will be affordable for only the most affluent American Idol fans or those fans who have saved up for the tour for several months.
For instance the concert at Reliant Arena in Houston, Texas will range from $94 for the cheapest ticket to $631 for the most expensive ticket not counting the meet and greet tickets at $1,649 each.
A family of four buying the cheapest tickets would be setback $376, not including any trips to the concession stands or memorabilia purchases.
Paying the orchestra assuming there will be a traveling orchestra, stagehands, concession workers and roadies to unload and load the trucks and whoever else is needed to stage the shows will amount to a huge amount of money.
It is a shame that so many fans who would want to see the concert tour, simply can’t afford the money it would take to see the shows. American Idol is a huge cash cow, that may make a lot of money for the ownership of the company, but the average fan working for a living will find the tickets are too pricey for them to attend.
The tour was cut short in 2010, but don’t expect that to happen with the wealth of talented singers on the tour this year. Sadly Ashton Jones and Karen Rodriguez who were the first and second singers to be eliminated, thus disqualifying them from the tour will not receive the $49,000 the other 11 will be receiving.
I personally would love to see one of the concerts, but financially the tickets are too expensive for me to see the concerts.
Haley Reinhart polled over 25 million votes Thursday night.
Haley Reinhart apparently didn’t even come close to being one of the two finalists of Season 10 on American Idol.
Producer Nigel Lythgoe tweeted that Reinhart had garnered over 25 million votes, without giving hte exact number.
If she did receive 25 million votes that would leave a total of 70 million votes divided by Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina.
Even if those votes were divided equally that would give McCreery and Alaina 35 million votes each, so Reinhart would be 10 million votes behind the leading vote-getter.
She could be even further behind if the leader picked up a lot more votes than the 35 million votes.
At least Reinhart knows that she is still the third place finisher in Season 10 but in no way was she a threat to win it all.
She was my personal favorite since I like the kind of music she sings except for the more current songs she sang this season. Her music has a bluesy feel that should sell well, but doubt that she will sell in the multi millions like Scotty McCreery might do.
Jimmy Iovine of Interscope-Geffen-A&M played a song for Lythgoe that might be on Reinhart’s debut album.
Something tells me we haven’t heard the last from Haley Reinhart.
Season 10 of American Idol should produce the most albums of any season. Most of us know Pia Toscano, Casey Abrams, Jacob Lusk, Paul McDonald, Haley Reinhart, James Durbin and of course, Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery should have albums by the end of the year.
However on the other hand it is unlikely that Naimi Adedapo, Karen Rodriguez, Ashton Jones, Thia Megia and Stefano Langone will make an album this year. It will be interesting to watch if any of these five singers make an album even in the next two or three years.
Now to the contestants who should have recording contracts in the coming months:
SCOTTY MCCREERY
It is almost scary that Scotty McCreery will release his first album as a teenager, making me wonder if he can sustain his popularity over many years. The record business is an up and down business and a singer is only as good as his last album, so in a way hate to see Scotty start at such an early age. Having said that, he has the talent to succeed and his likability factor is through the roof, so he could very well have a career that lasts for many decades.
LAUREN ALAINA
It is interesting to try to figure out what niche Lauren Alaina will find herself in in when it is time to record an album. She has the ability to sing both country and pop so she and her record company will have to decide which direction to go. She may not have the success of Carrie Underwood but could still be a top seller in whatever genre she lands.
JAMES DURBIN
Even though James Durbin could only make the final four, he could sell albums very well, because of the energy he brings to his music. Scotty McCreery should be a huge seller, when he records his album.
I look for him to be one of the best selling heavy metal artists almost immediately. Knowing his back story, makes me hope he is a huge success in the music industry and that he can show the world that Tourette’s syndrome is not going to keep him from achieving his dreams.
HALEY REINHART
Haley Reinhart probably will record an album that focuses on blues and jazz. She definitely can sing a blues song or a jazz vocal with the best of anyone. She may not be a mainstream artist, but that depends on how her record company wants to sell her music, and what direction they want her to take.
PIA TOSCANO
There is no doubt that Pia Toscano will have the first album among the American Idol contestants, since while they were still engaged in the competition, she was free to start work on her debut album. Being the most technically correct of all the contestants this season, she should easily fall into whatever niche her record company wants her to be locked into.
CASEY ABRAMS
It will be very interesting to see what kind of album Casey Abrams releases later this year. The multi-talented singer/musician is by far the most talented musician ever to appear on American Idol. He is the only singer to sing while playing the upright bass, in my memory. He may have been eliminated early because the voters didn’t realize how talented he is.
JACOB LUSK
Jacob Lusk may have peaked too early during the competition. He seemed to become discombobulated ,by all the advice from mentor Jimmy Iovine and the judges. However, he should be signing a recording contract to sing as a rhythm and blues artist and/or a gospel artist sometime this year. Whether his albums sell well remains to be seen.
PAUL MCDONALD
If ever a singer had a distinct sound, it is Paul McDonald who sounds more like Rod Stewart than Rod Stewart. Whether his unique sounds helps sell albums is a question mark that will be answered when his album is released. McDonald didn’t particularly like singing cover songs like he was required to sing on American Idol, so now he will likely sing a lot of his own songs. The big question for McDonald is whether music fans buy the albums of a singer that sounds like a famous singer, like Rod Stewart.
SUMMARY
This is not the best time to be in the music business since downloading is such a big part of the music business. We could be seeing less and less music issued on CD’s in the coming years.
The American Idol contestants may have struggled for years before getting a chance to record an album, without their exposure on American Idol. There is no way a Scott McCreery or Lauren Alaina would be recording albums as teenagers without being on national television for the last three or four months.
We want to wish the best to all of the American Idol contestants who record albums this year and hope they continue to sell albums for many decades.
However, we have seen many contestants lose recording contracts over the years, so there are no guarantees for any of them. For the most part, only Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry have sold albums by the millions and millions.
So we could see many careers launched this year when they record their albums or it could be the beginning of the end for those that can’t sell their albums.
The poll asks the readers which American Idol contestants will sell the most albums:
It was a sad night for Haley Reinhart as she was voted off of American Idol. She had went home last weekend and now she will be going home again unless she will hang around till the finale next week.
I have to admit Haley was my favorite this season, but I am happy that Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery will be in the finale next week. Unless there is a major mistake by either singer next week, I expect Lauren to be the next American Idol, but would not be surprised at all to see Scotty win.
It is a time a girl won American Idol after the last two males who won, have not exactly set the world on fire, when they released their album. It takes a second to even remember Kris Allen and Lee DeWyze were the last two American Idols.
COULD TELL SCOTTY AND LAUREN ALAINA WOULD BE IN FINALE
There was a general consensus that Lauren Alaina (who has dropped her last name Suddeth for the show) and Scotty McCreery would wind up; in the finale after James Durbin went home.
HALEY SLIGHTLY BETTER SINGER
Haley Reinhart may have been a slightly better singer, but just didn’t have the popularity of Lauren and Scotty. I feel like the judges may have turned the voters against Haley, even though it may not have been intentional. Her fall last night probably did help her in the voting.
SCOTTY VERY EMOTIONAL DURING VISIT TO GARNER, NORTH CAROLINA
Scotty’s return home last weekend showed how emotional he is, which is a good thing in my book, but some may think of it as a weakness. To tell you the truth, it was several weeks into the show before I thought Scotty was a serious contender to be the next American Idol. When he stayed out of the bottom group for most of the season, then I knew he was as Randy Jackson likes to say, in it to win it.
LAUREN MOST LIKABLE OF AMERICAN IDOL CONTESTANTS
Lauren who also stayed out of the bottom group until one of the very last shows, kept getting stronger and stronger. There was no doubt Lauren was the most likable of the 13 American Idol finalists.
When she visited her hometown of Rossville, Georgia and and viewed the devastation of the recent tornadoes that his Rossville, it touched my heart and those of many other American Idol fans. The most touching scene was when she talked to a young boy who had been thrown 200 yards by the tornado, then looked out for the safety of his family members.
EQUALLY HAPPY FOR SCOTTY OR LAUREN TO WIN
In past years, I have rooted for one of the finale singers, but this year, I will be equally happy for either to win since Scotty and Lauren are so likable.
Scotty will probably sell more albums than any of the other singers this year, because of his immense popularity with the country music fans. Lauren is not locked into one genre as she showed when she sang an Aerosmith song with Steven Tyler after being told she was going to Hollywood.
We want to salute Haley Reinhart for her fighting back against all odds, to wind up in the final three. She was in the bottom three week after week, before gaining momentum in the last weeks of the competition.
Haley seemed to be in a state of shock when Ryan Seacrest announced she had been voted off the show. Guess that is normal though, when you want something that bad, only to lose it in the next to last week of the competition. This is not the last we will hear of Haley Reinhart as she is too good of a singer to fade away.
When her album comes out this fall, it should sell well if it features her singing the songs she sings best. If she growls, that is alright because that is how she sings and nobody needs to change it.
The final poll this season is obvious as we ask who will the next American Idol be, Lauren Alaina or Scotty McCreery.
