Country as Cornbread?
So there I am, sitting backstage sucking down all the free drinks they supply, which is a cool way of saying I watched the show on my couch with a 12 pack like you, 
when I hear the theme of the show is Pop Goes Country. It's a cool idea, except it seems a little premature. Shouldn't this be farther down the line as a more challenging obstacle for the blessed few to show their versatility at the end?
And what exactly are the rules, because I'm getting 
. Take a pop song and make it country. Then what's with the dancers? Aren't we trying to find a country artist? Country is "3 chords and the truth". I understand needing bells 'n whistles to sell the show, but the dancers were too distracting to me. It would be like saying this picture is country because she's wearing a cowboy hat......"ok, but what about the clothes and swords?!"
But enough of me editorializing the direction of the show. Besides, all of this is great news for Gabe. Being the only hardcore country guy on there he should be able to run away with it.
Now let's get to the performances! Gabe continues to build momentum with a killer version of "Livin' La Vida Loca" which I thought was a fantastic song choice for him. I remember being a country record promoter in Chicago when my pop counterpart came into my office and said, "Do you wanna hear a smash?" He played me the Ricky Martin tune. It was one of those undeniable songs. This fit perfect for Gabe. My question is who picked it? Are they allowed to pick any song they want or do they pick from a list? Well I'll find that out today because I'm headed down to check out the rehearsals in a couple of hours where I get to talk to the contestants for the first time. Again, the judges told him to "loosen up". How could he? Those dancers couldn't have pinned him to the microphone any more than they did. I thought he was going to get a kick to the head at one point.
Next we had Pearl Heart doing the B52's. The B52's are one of the greatest country bands ever! You don't believe me? Lookey here
See that cowboy hat. Toldja. Anyway you don't have to say which song they did of the B52's, because it's the only song they've ever had. "Love Shack" is one of those songs that I honestly truIy think I could throw up when I hear it.
Nonetheless I thought these gals showed some growth from last week, but they still battle with the positioning of the lead singer. Which I think is funny because they tell her to stand out and separate, and then make her use a 3 headed microphone stand that essentially pushed the lead singer to the back!
Following them we had Alyson doing the Tiffany hit "I Think We're Alone Now" which didn't fare well with the judges. I don't think the song was necessarily a bad choice, but it definitely wasn't country enough. I liked the slowed down version she was practicing, over the up-tempo one she performed.
Ashley Hewitt ensued with a fantastic rendition of Brittany's "You Drive Me Crazy" which I don't think I've ever heard before, but I didn't need to, to buy what she was selling. John Rich made a comment about everyone in the crowd giving her a standing ovation. Was the standing genuine? I believe so, but after that it seemed like someone
was telling the crowd to stand up. I grew up Catholic, so I recognized people tired of having to stand and sit. That's also a pet peeve of mine with Nashville award shows, because all those industry lemmings will give a standing ovation to every yahoo that comes along, and then when Kristofferson walks out to receive a lifetime achievement award then where do you go? There's a reason standing ovations are reserved for special occasions. They shouldn't be handed out like wet naps.
This isn't that funny, but I needed a picture.
Next we had Coffey, and I can't figure this guy out. One week I dig it, the next week I don't. He would have been better off doing the John Mayer song from last week, as opposed to the umbrella song this week. There was so much going on during his performance that if every distraction was a different color, I would have had a seizure.
After that we had my favorites of the show, the cupcakes Laurie and Sophie. In fact, I would change their name to Cupcakes.
How befitting is that? "Ladies and Gentleman up next we have Cupcakes!" Who doesn't want to hear that? This performance was one of the highlights of the show. The good thing about there being a dearth of country artists on the show is that when you do see one, you know it! These girls are awesome. A great performance. Great song choice- Pretty Young Thing by Michael Jackson. You can insert your own joke here, 
but I think this completely fits their image much like Gabe's song choice did. And I can't remember which is which, but did you see non-braces working the camera? She looked right into it and it was like she knew I wasn't wearing pants.....whoa what? Hang on, did John Rich type that? Is he creeping everyone out or just me with his "turning me on" comments? And what's with the slumber party critiques? They're kids, let 'em be kids! I keep waiting for him to say, "Let's get rid
of those braces and getcha a couple boob jobs and then you'll look old enough to sing." Speaking of doing incredible versions of Michael Jackson songs in another genre, have you heard Chris Cornell's version of Billie Jean? It's INCREDIBLE.
Alright I can feel the NBC folks getting uneasy so let's move on. Next we had a train wreck guest pop performance. I think they were called Hannity and Kolmes or something. Some contrived wanna be Spice Girls band who were put together by P. Diddlydoo for another reality show called Making of the Band. Seriously can you tell which is which?
What were they? Did someone let the dancers sing? And sing to tracks no less. Again, I'd like the judges to critique the "professional" performers. I'd like one of them to say, "Ummm, you dropped your earring," Did you see that?! The asian demographic of that band lost a lobe-ring. Hilarious! Gotta love live TV.
Shawn Mayer sang an NSYNC song, and did it well. Again though, lose the dancers, and thanks for not crying again!
Next we had Melissa Lawson, and I'll be honest, I'm starting to get it. I don't believe she'll win, but again, when you juxtapose her with every thing else on the show, she at least sounds country. Great song, great delivery and no distractions. Thank you.
And I'm sorry I'm rushing, but I have to be down at rehearsals in 30 mins!
I keep pulling for Sailor Tommy, but he keeps walking a thin line. A terrible performance. His performance embodied everything wrong with the show. And I agree with Jeffrey Steele. Where's the guitar? Where's the piano? The guy is a musician and we haven't seen it. There was nothing country about this performance.
Sorry Justin. Justin Gaston had a marked improvement, but I was glad to see him go just because I'm tired of seeing him "modeling" all the time. If you're modeling, model. If your singing, sing. I don't need to see you play guitar without a shirt. That's Billy Currington's job.
As usual, leave a message at the beep (BEEP)
I have to agree with you...Justin had to go. He was starting to get annoying with the "come hither" looks he gave the camera all the time. And showing off his sculpted man-cleavage all the time in those low cut v-neck t-shirts was awful. No guy needs to wear something that low cut. Eesh.
Laura and Sophie's outfits made them look like they were about to go off square dancin' and I don't mean that in a good way. They are too damn cutie-pie for me. They need to look more thier age and not like little 5 year olds. Come on! It's okay if you both aren't wearing the same thing in different colors. One wear jeans, the other wear a skirt, different tops that still coordinate but aren't the same. Like Destiny's Child. Only not so hoochie. Pearl Heart has it right. You don't have to look like you are twins and your mom dressed you for your first day of school. I wasn't really all that happy about the song choice, but it did sound great.
My big winners of the night: Gabe, Ashley, Shawn, and Melissa. They all did incredibly well with this "pop goes country" idea. Let's see what's in store for us next week.
Oh, and I think the sound was much better than last week.
Very funny stuff. Miss the backstage Videos you did in the past. Its time for NBC to pony up a little $ for the fans.
Very funny stuff. Miss the backstage Videos you did in the past. Its time for NBC to pony up a little $ for the fans.
Very funny stuff. Miss the backstage Videos you did in the past. Its time for NBC to pony up a little $ for the fans.
Very funny stuff. Miss the backstage Videos you did in the past. Its time for NBC to pony up a little $ for the fans.
Very funny stuff. Miss the backstage Videos you did in the past. Its time for NBC to pony up a little $ for the fans.
I have to say I am very disappointed with the overall talent this year. There are a COUPLE of good talents but that's it. I have seen better singing at karaoke. I just expected that out of the thousands of people who auditioned there would be better talent than this. I hope it improves!
This blog is the greatest!! You have a great way of putting a hilarious spin on your interpretation of the show. I want to see YOU interview the contestants as they come off the stage after each performance. Wait.......didn't you kind of do something like that on the web last year? Bummer NBC didn't throw a little more humor into the actual show. Let's face it- Billy Ray aint no comedian! Can't wait to read the next one. Big Fan!
Thank the Lord for Katie Cook, I think she is really helping bring some energy back to the program. Billy Ray is the most uncomfortable part of the show. I'm sure he's talented in a lot of ways, but TV show host needs to leave the resume. Right now Gabe is the man for me. He looks comfortable and has an easy voice. You don't need to bounce around that stage to be in country music. He's slow and steady and I like that. I'm REALLY surprised to hear so little about Pearl Heart. In my opinion, they are the only other real talent on the show. The lead singer needs to ignore Jewel and watch Gabe. She has an incredible voice and the other two are just good to look at. I think we have a group of girls that can fill the big void that all us country fans have in our hearts since The Chicks went nutso.
I have to agree with this as well. I am so tired of all the pop songs. I also am tired of the unequal comments across the judges board when it comes to one contestent singing a pop song and then another one singing it but not getting bashed liked the last one before him did. That is just uncool. Get it right. If you do it to one , then you do it to all. I am starting to see the so called artist as being unprofessional themselves. I think they forgot what made them "superstars".
Gabe reminds me of a young George Strait - PURE COUNTRY!!!
