post content
04/18/2012
01/10/2012
05/05/2011
James Durbin Weeps, Scotty McCreery Wows On 'American Idol'
Plus, Haley Reinhart redeems herself with bluesy 'House of the Rising Sun' on Then and Now-themed night.
By Gil Kaufman
James Durbin performs on "American Idol" Wednesday
Photo: FOX
The theme for Wednesday night's (May 4) top-five "American Idol" performance show was Then and Now, and the remaining contestants went out of their way to let viewers know exactly what musical pocket they've settled into with their song choices.
Helping to guide them along was Grammy-winning superstar Sheryl Crow. And while some, like front-runners Scotty McCreery and James Durbin, hit a pair of home runs — including a Durbin performance that was one of the most emotional in "Idol" history — frequent bottom-three dweller Haley Reinhart stumbled in the judges' eyes with an unreleased Lady Gaga song, only to storm back into their hearts with a show-closing, vocal-fireworks display.
After a detour into sensitive singer/songwriter land last week, rocker Durbin was back in his bombastic lane with 30 Second to Mars' "Closer to the Edge." Crow did a duet with Durbin to get him in the groove and lead mentor Jimmy Iovine dubbed it the perfect song choice.
James started out a bit shaky, his vocals flat and a tad tinny, but after pumping up the room and rising up into his head voice, he walked out into the crowd and doled out the high-fives, working the stage like an arena-rock veteran. With pyro shooting off behind him, he made a clear attempt to reach the folks all the way in the back of the room.
"I think you kicked that song's ass," said Steven Tyler, deeming JD ready to rock stadiums. Jennifer Lopez agreed, saying "it's yours to take," and Randy Jackson liked how it made Durbin feel contemporary and took him out of his 1980s hard rock zone.
Jacob Lusk was feeling confident about his chances of winning and proved it by taking on Jordin Sparks' "No Air." Crow deemed the tune difficult, but felt good about Lusk's chances of nailing it, even though he was attempting to sing both the Sparks and Chris Brown parts. Lusk was in fine voice, using his breathy falsetto to its full power and adding a funky body wave to his repertoire, but the solo duet was a bit awkward.
J.Lo's always liked his showmanship and called his voice one of the best ever on the show, but said she wondered what his career might look like. If the Sparks song was it, she counseled him to stick with that sound. "I don't think that's the direction for you," countered Randy, saying it was mostly sharp and was a mistake to sing both parts. "I don't see you as Chris Brown or Jordin Sparks," he added, saying Lusk should focus on being a more Luther Vandross-style crooner.
Teen Lauren Alaina chose Carrie Underwood's "Flat on the Floor," and Crow suggested she stand still and just belt it! Wearing a sassy outfit with silver tassels hanging around her waist, Alaina took their advice and shimmied in place while putting all her sass and country swagger into the fiddle-rocking tune for one of her strongest performances to date.
"That is the direction for you!" Jackson said, psyched about the fun, energetic side Lauren showed. Tyler agreed and Lopez said, simply, "You ate that up!"
It was back in the down-home groove for McCreery with Montgomery-Gentry's gritty rocker "Gone." The first few lines were delivered in his signature baritone — with a bit of stilted over-enunciation — but once he broke into the chorus, Scotty looked and sounded like a future Grand Ole Opry veteran as he owned the song and put some kicky emotion into it.
"Up to now you've been like a puritan, but I swear to God I saw you dance with the devil tonight, and that's a good thing ... that showed a whole other side of you," offered Tyler to Jackson's utter confusion. Lopez said Scotty just owned the stage and whooped about his growling, by which she meant the good kind, not the Casey Abrams kind.
Talk about a coup. Iovine gave Haley Reinhart the as-yet-unreleased Born This Way Lady Gaga tune "You & I," and with Gaga's blessing, she played it as a jazzy torch song. With a seductive purr and her trademark guttural growl, Reinhart bumped and grinded her way across the stage and sang the tune like a show-stopping, hands-in-the-air bluesy encore at a 5,000-seat theater.
Though she loved some moments in the song, Lopez wasn't sure about the choice of the unreleased tune and felt it didn't showcase Reinhart's gifts. Jackson agreed that picking a song no one knows was risky, but Tyler said it did spotlight her strengths. "I think you're just one perfect song away from being an 'American Idol,' " the Aerosmith singer offered.
Durbin couldn't stop crying listening to the sensitive piano ballad "Without You" by late Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson. Choked up thinking about his son and fiancée, Durbin was clearly emotionally invested in the tune, belting out the line "I can't live if living is without you," putting on a heart-stopping performance that ended with a beautiful note and a trickle of tears.
Maybe all the notes were not spot-on, but Randy said it was "emotionally perfect" and said after that bravura performance, it is James' contest to lose. "That was just as beautiful as it gets," Tyler agreed.
With that hard act to follow, Lusk went with Iovine's suggestion of "Love Hurts," a hit for rockers Nazareth in 1976. Playing the tune as a swelling, soulful diva ballad, J.Lusk poured his heart and gospel stomping power into a lush arrangement accented by a harp and sharp brass accents.
"Everybody got lost in you because you got lost in the song," said Tyler, who thought it had the usual Jacob overkill, but still came off well. After a shaky first song, Randy felt Lusk redeemed himself and speculated that final towering note was the highest ever on "Idol."
Alaina's second song was an "AI" classic, the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody." Looking like a 1950s girl singer in a flowing, white-and-blue gown, Alaina did her best to make the oldie feel contemporary amid a tepid, doo-wop arrangement, sometimes struggling to find the melody but ending strong with some forceful vocals.
Lopez couldn't even judge, calling it just a beautiful song sung beautifully and Randy said it was a nice, tender moment for the teen singer.
Elvis fanatic McCreery stayed true to himself and chose Presley's "Always on My Mind." Slowing the song wayyyy down, McCreery likely melted hearts coast to coast with his sincere, seductive country crooner take on the tune.
Lopez thought Scotty's two performances of the night perfectly showed off his rock-to-a-soft-place range. "This is what you do, what you love ... and you do it so well," Randy said, encouraging the 17-year-old to stick with the horse that got him there.
Needing a home run, Reinhart went with another "Idol" staple, the Animals' "House of the Rising Sun." Crow suggested Haley come out and perform a cappella at first. Sitting on a stool in dramatic spotlight and singing the song in a smoldering, echo-laden voice, Haley testified her way through the lyrics as if playing a midnight set at a Southside Chicago blues club, seemingly redeeming herself.
Randy said she came all the way back and then some, putting on the best performance of the night. "Sweet and sour, raspy, I can really relate to that. That really sells a song and I think you sold everybody tonight," Tyler said.
Don't miss "Idol Party Live" every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.
Related PhotosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1663303/american-idol-recap-james-durbin.jhtml
Jay-Z Investigated By NBA For Wildcats Postgame Visit
Minority owner of the New Jersey Nets met winning Kentucky players.
By Alvin Blanco
Jay-Z
Photo: Rob Loud/ Getty Images
Photos of Jay-Z taken with the University of Kentucky men's basketball team after their win over North Carolina in the Regional Finals of the NCAA tournament on Sunday have drawn the wary eyes of the NBA.
CBSSports.com reports that the NBA will be investigating Jay-Z's postgame congratulatory visit to the Kentucky Wildcats locker room at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Such visits normally would be considered harmless, but Jay-Z is a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets, and contact between NBA personnel and potential NBA prospects is prohibited. Kentucky has at least two possible lottery picks in Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones, should they declare for the NBA draft.
The photos and video began making the Internet rounds the day after the win, showing Jay-Z posing with players in the locker room.
During a postgame interview, Kentucky player Darius Miller, who one of the photos is credited to, was asked about his reaction to seeing Jay-Z after the game. "It was crazy. I kind of had to do a double take," Miller told Louisville's Courier-Journal. "I didn't expect that at all. I just had to get a picture with him."
Hova congratulating the Wildcats didn't break any NCAA rules, however the hip-hop mogul might face a fine from the NBA, considering that Boston Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge was fined $30,000 for sitting next to Kevin Durant's mother while he was still playing for the University of Texas in 2007.
While the New Jersey Nets declined to comment, a spokesperson for the NBA confirmed to MTV News that the league is indeed investigating the matter. A message to Jay-Z's representatives was not returned by press time.
Sound off on this story in the comments below!
Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660963/jay-z-nba-wildcats.jhtml
05/04/2011
Beyonce's New Single, 'Girls (Who Run The World),' Leaks Online
A demo version of the girl-power track hit the Net late Monday.
By Jocelyn Vena
Beyoncé
Photo: Al Pereira/ WireImage
A version of Beyoncé's forthcoming single "Girls (Who Run the World)" has hit the Internet, and as you might guess from the title, it's a thumping girl-power anthem. It samples Major Lazer's "Pon de Floor" and serves as B's lead single off her forthcoming new album, set for release later this year.
A rep for the singer had not returned MTV News' request for comment regarding the leaked track or the final version's release date as of press time.
The song opens with a keyboard and a heavy club beat as Beyoncé chants, "Girls!/ We run this mutha/ Girls!/ Who run the world." The club banger delivers on what Beyoncé has teased about the album: "I'm mixing every type of genre that I love and I'm inspired by every type of genre. ... I'm not in a box. It's not R&B. It's not typically pop. It's not rock. It's just everything I love all mixed together in my own little gumbo of music."
Beyoncé sings in her signature staccato style on the track. "It's hot up in here/ DJ don't be scared to run this, run this back/ I'm repping for the girls who taking over the world/ Have me raise a glass for the college grads," she sings.
"Boy you know you love it/ How we're smart enough to make these millions/ Strong enough to bear the children/ Then get back to business/ See, you better not play me/ Don't come here, baby/ Hope you still like me/ If you hate me," she goes on to declare. "My persuasion can build a nation/ In this hour/ Our love we can devour/ You'll do anything for me." Her vocals fade out as the song closes. But the song's message is clear.
"It'll be big. It'll probably be one of the bigger Beyoncé music videos ever done," director Francis Lawrence said of the video for the song. "And I can say that I think the song is unbelievable." He added, "It is a fantastic song, so I really hope that song catches for her, and I think the video's gonna be really fun and cool and different for her."
Related ArtistsSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662236/beyonce-single-leak-girls-who-run-the-world.jhtml
Ali Epsley Sasha Mitchell Jeanette Denise Elizabeth Montgomery
