The top 12 contestants on "The Voice" performed live Monday night. Each contestant will rely on America's votes to put them through to the top 10, and will be revealed tomorrow night.
Holly Tucker, a member of Team Blake, sang "With A Broken Wing" by Martina McBride. The performance was filled with emotion passion and Blake Shelton revealed that Tucker did McBride proud as well as the city of Nashville. Tucker has changed throughout the competition from a shy girl to a confident young woman.
The Swon Brother's, who are the competition's first duo to make it this far, performed an acoustic version of "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?" by the late country music singer George Jones. This song showed another side of the duo who had sung more upbeat songs like "Fishing In The Dark" last week.
Danielle Bradbery, the youngest contestant on the reality television show, took on "Wasted" by Carrie Underwood. Shelton wanted to see how far her range could go. The judges praised her, and her coach, Shelton, said it was her best performance to date. Just a normal teenager before she auditioned for "The Voice", she impressed three of the judges with her version of Taylor Swift's hit "Mean", and Bradbery has become more comfortable on the stage throughout the competition. Due to the fact that she had never performed in front of a large audience before, Bradbery has come a long way.
Other memorable performances included Judith Hill from Team Adam who sang "You've Got A Friend" by Carole King. Hill showed a softer side of herself and gave the coaches what they expected. Sasha Allen from Team Shakira, took on Heart's "Alone" and showed why she is a powerhouse singer. The night ended with Team Adam's Amber Carrington who sang Martina McBride's hit "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" as a tribute to her mother who she lost to cancer. Shelton also said she probably made McBride proud with the performance as well as Nashville.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Top 3 "American Idol" Contestants Greeted at Emotional Hometown Visits
Candice Glover, Kree Harrison, and Angie Miller traveled to their respective hometowns this past weekend and were greeted with open arms by their families.
Candice Glover visited her hometown of St. Helena Island, South Carolina and was reunited with her parents and six siblings. She took part in a parade and concert. Glover sang three songs Wednesday, but her final song impressed the judges the most. The 'Idol' producers chose "Somewhere" from the musical "West Side Story" and Glover showed off her vocal range as she always does. The performance received a standing ovation from the judges.
Kree Harrison landed in her hometown of Woodville, Texas and was greeted by her sister. In her hometown package, it was mentioned that her father was killed in a plane crash and her mother was killed in a car crash. Harrison and her sister visited their childhood home. Harrison channeled her emotion when she performed the Rascal Flatts song "Here Comes Goodbye", a song chosen by the judges. Harrison told the story well and it was dubbed her best performance so far in the competition. Harrison also had a parade in honor of her and performed at a concert.
Angie Miller was greeted by her parents and brother in Beverly, Massachusetts. She visited the elementary school where she attended kindergarten and was greeted by a large crowd of people. She also participated in a parade and performed a concert. Miller also did an interview with the local television news station. The governor of Massachusetts declared May 4 as Angie Miller day. Nicki Minaj told Miller that she finally came "full circle" tonight, especially after her last performance of Emeli Sandé's song "Maybe". Miller was back on the piano, where she seems to be the most comfortable.
The top 2 will be revealed tomorrow on the results show which airs at 8 p.m. on FOX.
Hunter Hayes To Play Day One of B-93 Birthday Bash
B-93 (93.7 FM), the country music radio station in Grand Rapids, celebrates their birthday each year with a free concert for their listeners. The station will celebrate their 21st birthday this summer on June 8 and 9. The artists on day one of the two-day party include well-known artists like Uncle Kracker, Randy Houser, Hunter Hayes, and headliner Gary Allan. The first day will also include upcoming artists Tyler Farr and Rachel Farley. The Sunday line-up features familiar artists Lee Brice, Florida Georgia Line, and newcomers Kacey Musgraves, The Henningsens, and Charlie Worsham.
Hunter Hayes, who will play day one, is a 21-year old from Louisiana. According to hunterhayes.com, Hayes has always had his mind set on music. He recorded his first album at the age of 9, and another at 10. He did not go to prom or parties in high school because of musical commitments. In his spare time, he wrote songs.
He charted his first number one song with 'Wanted', and that was followed up by 'Somebody's Heartbreak', which also hit number one recently. Hayes debuted his new single 'I Want Crazy' at the Academy Of Country Music Awards in April.
Also, according to hunterhayes.com, on his debut album Hayes wrote or co-wrote each song, co-produced the album, and played all of the instruments. Hayes and his parents moved to Nashville in 2008 so he could work on this debut album. He has been the special guest on Carrie Underwood's Blown Away Tour, which kicked off in September of last year, and is currently on its second leg.
Recently, Hayes performed with Stevie Wonder on an episode of "Dancing With the Stars" and appeared on an episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice" last Sunday. He is also scheduled to perform as part of the "Today" show Toyota Concert Series on June 21.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The Voice Playoffs: Night Two
Team Blake and Team Shakira performed on night two of the The Voice playoffs. Each team member performed individually, together, and Shakira and Shelton performed Lady Antebellum's smash hit 'Need You Now'.
While Shelton has a team of four country artists, it was not a surprise that each one sang a country song. Holly Tucker, a Baylor University student and marching band member, opened the individual performances with the Leann Rimes song 'How Do I Live'. Tucker showed the range of her voice and proved why she got a four chair turn during the blind auditions. For the Swon Brothers, Shelton picked 'Fishing In The Dark' by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The duo had the audience clapping along and received praise from the coaches. Justin Rivers sang 'Meet In The Middle' by Diamond Rio. He also had the audience clapping along and received positive critiques from the coaches. Up last was Danielle Bradbery, the youngest contestant in the singing competition. Bradbery sang 'Maybe It Was Memphis' by Pam Tillis and coach Adam Levine said she is "one of the one's to beat". While she sang the Taylor Swift hit 'Mean' during the blind auditions, Bradbery was able to show off the range of her voice during her performance Tuesday.
Team Blake performed the Little Big Town hit 'Boondocks' for the group performance. Bradbery and Tucker blended their voices together as well as Tucker and The Swon Brothers. The number was filled with high energy.
Team Shakira's team performances began with Garrett Gardner who performed 'Imagine' by John Lennon and showed the coaches why he came back to audition this year. R&B singer Kris Thomas performed 'When I Was Your Man' by Bruno Mars and received praise from the coaches for his unique voice. Latin rocker Karina Iglesias sang 'Let's Stay Together' by Al Green and showed a different side of herself. Even though Levine let her go, he knew another coach would steal her because of her strong vocals. Sasha Allen ended the evening with 'Oh! Darling" by The Beatles. Allen's vocal proved to be powerful.
Team Shakira performed the Queen hit 'We Are The Champions' and had the audience involved in the performance.
The top 16 will be revealed Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.
While Shelton has a team of four country artists, it was not a surprise that each one sang a country song. Holly Tucker, a Baylor University student and marching band member, opened the individual performances with the Leann Rimes song 'How Do I Live'. Tucker showed the range of her voice and proved why she got a four chair turn during the blind auditions. For the Swon Brothers, Shelton picked 'Fishing In The Dark' by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The duo had the audience clapping along and received praise from the coaches. Justin Rivers sang 'Meet In The Middle' by Diamond Rio. He also had the audience clapping along and received positive critiques from the coaches. Up last was Danielle Bradbery, the youngest contestant in the singing competition. Bradbery sang 'Maybe It Was Memphis' by Pam Tillis and coach Adam Levine said she is "one of the one's to beat". While she sang the Taylor Swift hit 'Mean' during the blind auditions, Bradbery was able to show off the range of her voice during her performance Tuesday.
Team Blake performed the Little Big Town hit 'Boondocks' for the group performance. Bradbery and Tucker blended their voices together as well as Tucker and The Swon Brothers. The number was filled with high energy.
Team Shakira's team performances began with Garrett Gardner who performed 'Imagine' by John Lennon and showed the coaches why he came back to audition this year. R&B singer Kris Thomas performed 'When I Was Your Man' by Bruno Mars and received praise from the coaches for his unique voice. Latin rocker Karina Iglesias sang 'Let's Stay Together' by Al Green and showed a different side of herself. Even though Levine let her go, he knew another coach would steal her because of her strong vocals. Sasha Allen ended the evening with 'Oh! Darling" by The Beatles. Allen's vocal proved to be powerful.
Team Shakira performed the Queen hit 'We Are The Champions' and had the audience involved in the performance.
The top 16 will be revealed Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.
Monday, May 6, 2013
The Voice Goes Live Monday Night
The Voice saw its first night of live performances Monday with Team Adam and Team Usher. Each team member had an individual performance as well as two group performances. The audience was also treated to a performance by coaches Usher and Adam who sang Stevie Wonder's hit 'Superstition'.
During the package for Usher's team, he was seen coaching his members in a boxing studio. The key to performing their group number was breathing and they were able to practice their number while boxing. In a previous episode, Usher was seen with team member Michelle Shamuel doing push-ups to help her prepare for her performance. These unique coaching styles have helped move the contestants forward in the competition where only the voice matters, not what the contestants look like. Usher's team members are Michelle Shamuel, Vedo, Cathia, and Josiah Hawley.
Before Levine's team performed their group number, the package showed them receiving style advice from Levine's stylist. She helped them pick their wardrobe for Monday's performance and the contestants mentioned that their style has evolved since they first auditioned for the show. Levine's team members are Amber Carrington, Judith Hill, Sarah Simmons, and Caroline Glaser.
Team Blake and Team Shakira perform Tuesday, which begins at 8 p.m. on NBC and the top 12 contestants are revealed Wednesday.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Country Music Invades Reality TV
If you are a fan of reality television, you have probably noticed one of your favorite country music artists on these shows in the past few months.
Keith Urban sits on the judging panel on "American Idol" along with Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson, and Mariah Carey. With experience from the judging panel on the Australian version of The Voice, Urban gives contestants advice that will help them improve each week and for their future careers. During one of his critiques, Urban told blues/country contestant Kree Harrison that she will probably become a member of the Grand Ole Opry someday. He will hit the road this summer for his Light The Fuse Tour.
While Urban can be seen Wednesday's and Thursday's in primetime on FOX, Blake Shelton can be seen as a coach on NBC's singing competition "The Voice", which airs Monday's and Tuesday's on NBC. He sits along returning coach Adam Levine of the pop group Marroon Five, as well as new coaches Shakira and Usher. Shelton's team member won the show the last two seasons and he is vying for another win this year. While his team features a mixture of genres, Shelton, a country artist in his own right, has chosen several country artists this season to complete his team for the knock-out rounds, which begin tonight at 8 p.m. Shelton kicks off his Ten Times Crazier Tour this Summer.
The third reality competitor was actually on a reality competition herself. Kellie Pickler, who is now a top competitor on "Dancing With the Stars", began as a contestant on American Idol on the fifth season in 2006. Pickler placed sixth that season. Now she can be seen Monday and Tuesday evenings dancing alongside professional dancer Derek Hough. While fellow country artist Wynonna Judd was eliminated, Pickler is still in the running for the mirror ball trophy.
"American Idol" airs Wednesday's and Thursday's at 8 p.m. on Fox, while "The Voice" airs Monday's and Tuesday's at 8 p.m. "Dancing With the Stars" airs Monday's at 8 p.m. and Tuesday's at 9 p.m.
Keith Urban sits on the judging panel on "American Idol" along with Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson, and Mariah Carey. With experience from the judging panel on the Australian version of The Voice, Urban gives contestants advice that will help them improve each week and for their future careers. During one of his critiques, Urban told blues/country contestant Kree Harrison that she will probably become a member of the Grand Ole Opry someday. He will hit the road this summer for his Light The Fuse Tour.
While Urban can be seen Wednesday's and Thursday's in primetime on FOX, Blake Shelton can be seen as a coach on NBC's singing competition "The Voice", which airs Monday's and Tuesday's on NBC. He sits along returning coach Adam Levine of the pop group Marroon Five, as well as new coaches Shakira and Usher. Shelton's team member won the show the last two seasons and he is vying for another win this year. While his team features a mixture of genres, Shelton, a country artist in his own right, has chosen several country artists this season to complete his team for the knock-out rounds, which begin tonight at 8 p.m. Shelton kicks off his Ten Times Crazier Tour this Summer.
The third reality competitor was actually on a reality competition herself. Kellie Pickler, who is now a top competitor on "Dancing With the Stars", began as a contestant on American Idol on the fifth season in 2006. Pickler placed sixth that season. Now she can be seen Monday and Tuesday evenings dancing alongside professional dancer Derek Hough. While fellow country artist Wynonna Judd was eliminated, Pickler is still in the running for the mirror ball trophy.
"American Idol" airs Wednesday's and Thursday's at 8 p.m. on Fox, while "The Voice" airs Monday's and Tuesday's at 8 p.m. "Dancing With the Stars" airs Monday's at 8 p.m. and Tuesday's at 9 p.m.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood was virtually an unknown singer until she decided to try out for a little show called American Idol. When I first saw her audition in 2004, I knew that she would go far in the music competition, maybe winning the whole thing. I was right, and she is one of the most successful contestants in the history of the show. One thing to note is that she had never been on an airplane before. Her first ride up in the air would take place when she would perform during Hollywood Week, the next audition round after the intitial one.
She walked into her audition as a shy country girl from the small one stop-light town of Checotah, Oklahoma. She sang 'I Can't Make You Love Me', which was originally sung by Bonnie Rait. After she got done singing, the judges asked her who some of her influences were musically, and she said Martina McBride. Over the course of the show, she had to sing tunes from several genres of music. Some of the songs she sang included Martina McBride's 'Independence Day' as well as 'When God Fearin' Women Get The Blues', from the Heart hit 'Alone' to Pat Benatar's 'Love Is A Battlefield'. Each week she received praise from the judges. During the finale, she got the opportunity to sing 'Bless The Broken Road' with country music superstars Rascal Flatts! This was her first brush with country music royalty, with a lot more to come in the future! The finale featured Carrie against rocker Bo Bice. They became good friends during the course of the show. Carrie could not believe it when her name was announced, and that she was the next American Idol. It was a tight race, and in the end she took the coveted title. Her coronation song was entitled 'Inside Your Heaven', and would be her first single. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 14, 2005, and could be found on her debut album Some Hearts, which was released on November 14, 2005.
Carrie would go on to make four successful country music albums, which all debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. Eleven of her singles released to the radio, plus her duet 'Remind Me' with Brad Paisley, all made it to number one on the country music charts. 'Mama's Song', 'I Told You So' (a song that was originally recorded by Randy Travis), and 'Don't Forget To Remember Me' all hit number two on the country music charts. Most artists hope to have that many number one songs at the end of their career. I believe that Carrie has achieved this because of her loyal fan base from American Idol, as well as the new fans she has gained over the past seven years. All of her songs have touched me in one way or another, and I will profile the story of each one, and will aslo tell the reason why I love them so much.
The second single released from the Some Hearts album, 'Jesus Take The Wheel', tells the story of a young mother who is on her way to Cincinnatti, Ohio on Christmas Eve with her baby girl. The woman has a lot of things on her mind while she is making her journey. The car that she is driving slides on a sheet of black ice, spins, but then stops. The mother and her baby girl are okay. For the rest of the ride, the baby is asleep in the backseat of the car, and asks Jesus to help her raise her baby girl. The beginning of the chorus says "Jesus take the wheel, take it from my hands 'cuz I can't do this on my own." She sang this song for the first time at the 2005 Country Music Association Awards, just months after she won American Idol. This is one of the songs that makes her very emotional while singing it live. It is also one of the songs that the fans will sing every word of at her concerts. This is a performance of the song at a concert in Chicago in 2009. You can hear the audience singing the words in the background. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Wrw0aOxpQ
The third single, 'Don't Forget To Remember Me', is about a mother who is experiencing her daughter leaving home for the first time. She reminds her daughter to fill her car up with gas, make sure that she keeps in contact with her family while she is away. My favorite lyric is "Make sure you tell daddy that I'm still his little girl." Carrie always cites that her family will always be very important to her.
Coming up: In the next two blog posts, I will be profiling the rest of Carrie's hits as well as other topics of interest, including her fashion over the years as well as my first time seeing her in concert! I will be attending her Blown Away concert this November, and I am beyond excited for the show!
She walked into her audition as a shy country girl from the small one stop-light town of Checotah, Oklahoma. She sang 'I Can't Make You Love Me', which was originally sung by Bonnie Rait. After she got done singing, the judges asked her who some of her influences were musically, and she said Martina McBride. Over the course of the show, she had to sing tunes from several genres of music. Some of the songs she sang included Martina McBride's 'Independence Day' as well as 'When God Fearin' Women Get The Blues', from the Heart hit 'Alone' to Pat Benatar's 'Love Is A Battlefield'. Each week she received praise from the judges. During the finale, she got the opportunity to sing 'Bless The Broken Road' with country music superstars Rascal Flatts! This was her first brush with country music royalty, with a lot more to come in the future! The finale featured Carrie against rocker Bo Bice. They became good friends during the course of the show. Carrie could not believe it when her name was announced, and that she was the next American Idol. It was a tight race, and in the end she took the coveted title. Her coronation song was entitled 'Inside Your Heaven', and would be her first single. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 14, 2005, and could be found on her debut album Some Hearts, which was released on November 14, 2005.
Carrie would go on to make four successful country music albums, which all debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. Eleven of her singles released to the radio, plus her duet 'Remind Me' with Brad Paisley, all made it to number one on the country music charts. 'Mama's Song', 'I Told You So' (a song that was originally recorded by Randy Travis), and 'Don't Forget To Remember Me' all hit number two on the country music charts. Most artists hope to have that many number one songs at the end of their career. I believe that Carrie has achieved this because of her loyal fan base from American Idol, as well as the new fans she has gained over the past seven years. All of her songs have touched me in one way or another, and I will profile the story of each one, and will aslo tell the reason why I love them so much.
The second single released from the Some Hearts album, 'Jesus Take The Wheel', tells the story of a young mother who is on her way to Cincinnatti, Ohio on Christmas Eve with her baby girl. The woman has a lot of things on her mind while she is making her journey. The car that she is driving slides on a sheet of black ice, spins, but then stops. The mother and her baby girl are okay. For the rest of the ride, the baby is asleep in the backseat of the car, and asks Jesus to help her raise her baby girl. The beginning of the chorus says "Jesus take the wheel, take it from my hands 'cuz I can't do this on my own." She sang this song for the first time at the 2005 Country Music Association Awards, just months after she won American Idol. This is one of the songs that makes her very emotional while singing it live. It is also one of the songs that the fans will sing every word of at her concerts. This is a performance of the song at a concert in Chicago in 2009. You can hear the audience singing the words in the background. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3Wrw0aOxpQ
The third single, 'Don't Forget To Remember Me', is about a mother who is experiencing her daughter leaving home for the first time. She reminds her daughter to fill her car up with gas, make sure that she keeps in contact with her family while she is away. My favorite lyric is "Make sure you tell daddy that I'm still his little girl." Carrie always cites that her family will always be very important to her.
Coming up: In the next two blog posts, I will be profiling the rest of Carrie's hits as well as other topics of interest, including her fashion over the years as well as my first time seeing her in concert! I will be attending her Blown Away concert this November, and I am beyond excited for the show!
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