by wildangels

So, I'm sure we've all heard by now that Amy Winehouse is getting less than great reviews for her latest shows. Well, the news just got much worse. The tour has now been scrapped all together. Read about it here. It's a shame that she seems to be so bent on screwing up everything she can. She's actually making Britney Spears appear stable and grounded.  Hopefully, they both can get it together for their own good.  I can't understand having so many opportunities and being bent on throwing each one away.  In better news for Amy fans, her debut has now been released in the US.

In better music news, Fergie's The Dutchess remains in the top 30, over a year aftre it came out. Not only that, her latest single ("Clumsy") is doing well, too.  If you haven't see the video for it yet, look for it on VH1 in the morning or check out Yahoo! Launch. It's definitely different.

Well, that's about it for now. See you all next time! Til then, "Let the music play!"

by wildangels

Hey, everyone! It's been a crazy few days getting ready for Thanksgiving, but I'm getting back in the groove now. Here's some of the latest music news for ya.

Alicia Keys is the champ!! The RandB singer managed to get the #1 album on Billboard this week. And what a week it was. Keys sold over 700,000 copies of her latest, making it one of the biggest sellers of the year. Who says CD sales are in a slump? Personally, I think it comes down to what is being offered. If you look at what's really selling now, I think a pretty clear pattern emerges. People seem to be looking for more genuine artists now. They don't want to be overwhelmed with cute, politically correct robots who just sing what they're told and otherwise have no other imput into their career. Esepcially when so many do not even sing well and often have to rely on a flashy stage show and huge cast of dancers and singers to keep things interesting. Personally, I hope it continues. This attention to great songs and vocals is what makes me such a big Country fan.

Most of us now by now that the music industry in changing by the day. More and more, artists are relying on new ways to get their music out there. Some, like Taylor Swift and Colbie Caillat got their big break by building a large fanbase on MySpace. Others, like Radiohead and Prince, have sold their new releases online. Now, Kylie Minouge is getting into the act. According to this story, you'll be able to download new music from her before you can even buy it in the stores. I'm not sure how I feel about this. It seems almost inevitable that this will one day replace the physical CD entrely, and I kind of like those. There's just something about going into a music store and buying a copy with the booklet inside and all. Ah well, that's progress for you.

Recently, the Doctor who admitted to performing plastic surgery on Kaye West's late mother walked out of an interview citing his respect for the family and saying they asked him not to, so he will not until they give the ok. Personally, I wonder what the real motivation is here. Seems he violated Ms. West's privacy rights and her family's by telling the press what procedures he performed and what he thinks went wrong. I know nothing about the guy, and who knows? He could be totally innocent in this whole thing. Still, he's not doing himself (or Kanye and his family) any favors right now with this back and forth stuff. Hopefully, he'll stick to his word and lay low. My thoughts are going out to Kanye and family.

by wildangels

So, the American Music Awards were on last night and, for the most part, reminded me why I like the Country Music awards shows better. While I can only think of one bad performance at the recent CMA awards, I can name a few here. The Jonas Brothers would be one of them. Rhianna wasn't a faveorite, either. There were some good parts to it, though.

I mentioned on my Country blog that Sugarland performed with Beyonce. That was sort of interesting. A really great performance, though, was Alicia Keys.  She sounded great and gave a really joyful and enthusiastic perfomance of "No One." You know you're a good performer when you can make a performance of a ballad high energy.

Another performance I was surprised to have liked is Celine Dion's. She put more life into it than some younger performers recently. The song? I'm torn. It's catchy and not totally out there for her, but it's a bit of a shock to see her release a song with a slight rock edge since she's usually known for big ballads. It was nice to hear her do a song that doesn't require her to yell the whole way through, too. Note to Mariah- you *can* do a song where you don't scream and/or whisper through it.

I was a bit disappointed to have missed Fergie's performance, but glad to see her win at the end for Pop/Rock Female. After all the years she's spent plugging away to varying success, it's cool to see her getting some major recognition.

Well, that's about it for now. Please feel free to share your own highlights of the AMA awards here. Til next time, "let the music play!"

This blog was submitted to Blog Catalog.

by wildangels

If you’re a music fan, you probably remember that day you finally bought a recording yourself (and didn’t have cartoon characters on the cover... lol). For me, I was about ten years old. We were shopping at the local K-Mart and I picked up Billy Joel’s An Innocent Man. I still listen to him on occasion. I can’t help it- I’ve got a soft spot for the guy, growing up listening to my uncle’s records. Too bad he’s bad so much crazy stuff going on over the past few years and has shied away from making new recordings.

I showed you mine, now it’s time to show me yours! I’d love to hear what everyone else’s first recordings were.

by wildangels

I have to admit that I was a huge Boyz 2 Men fan back in the day. It was hard not to be, considering I grew up when they were hitting it big. To me, there is nothing quite like the R&B that came out in the late 80s and early 90s. The new acts try, but few of the new offerings compare in my opinion. That is why I was excited to read on Associated Content that Boyz 2 Men are coming out with a new CD. You can read the story here. It’s a review of the CD, which is supposed to be a collection of cover songs. I’m all for it!

So, fess up! Did you like em or hate em? If you liked them, what was your favorite song they did? I’m looking forward to reading the responses.

by wildangels

Are you a fan of Alicia Keys? If so, you are gonna love this news. Her new CD, As I Am, can be previewed before its release on November 13^th. Just check out The Leak on MTV’s site.

Sigh... Amy, what are you doing? The troubled British singer is now involved in yet another controversy. This time, its about her husband possibly having bribed people to help himself out in his assault case. Check out the story here on MTV’s site. She’s already been the subject of overdose stories, drug arrests and other scandals. I’m very disappointed in this, as I think is completely wasting the talent she was given. Hey, Winehouse... maybe its time to say "yes, yes, yes" to rehab.

If you read my other post on this blog about Fergie, you know that she was once a pop star instead of a hip-hop diva. Wild Orchid was a pop trio that seemed to get lost in the shuffle of the pop resurgence in the 90s. If you haven’t heard their music and want to see what Fergie was up to pre-Black Eyed Peas, check out the sound clips for Wild Orchid and Oxygen on Amazon. My personal favorites are "My Tambourine", "At Night I Pray", "In My Room" and "Take You Higher".

That’s about it for now! I’ll check back another time with some more pop music news and reviews. Til then, "let the music play."

by wildangels

Britney may have had the shortest run at #1 I've ever heard of! In a history making move, Billboard decided just yesterday to count sales for the Eagles' Long Road Out Of Eden, despite the fact it was only available through a single retailer.

I know some of her fans are fuming right now, but I think the move was the right decision. If the album sold more, which it did by a landslide, it should count no matter where it was available. Afterall, managing to sell over 700,000 copies on a single CD these days opening week is an incredible feat in and of itself. If you add in the limited availability, it's even more impressive.

Blackout, meanwhile, came in second with around 290,000 copies. So what does everyone out there think? Should the rules have been changed or no? Stop by Billboard.com and take the poll! While you're at it, I'd love for you to sound off here and let me know how you voted and why.

by wildangels

Fergie is one of my favorite artists, so I thought I would share an article I wrote on her. Enjoy!!

In the bridge to her hit Glamorous, Fergie reflects on her journey in the entertainment business and sings, "damn it's been a long road, the industry is cold". It's only been recently that people have learned just how long that road was. Stacey Ferguson began her road to stardom as a child guesting on tv shows like Mr. Belvedere and doing the voice of Sally in some Charlie Brown cartoons. She finally got a starring role in live action tv when she landed a spot on the Disney show Kids, Incorperated. For 6 years, she sang and danced as a "Stacey", a member of a singing group that was made up of local kids. The show followed their daily live and including performance scenes. After she aged out of the series, Ferguson teamed up with former Kids, Inc. co-star Rene Sands and their friend Stephanie Ridel to form the group NRG.

NRG, along with fellow member Micki Duran, began to build a name for themselves, but still had not landed a record deal. Soon, Duran left the group to go to college and they decided to continue as a trio. The new line up continued to work at their music, evnetually landing a publishing deal with one label. A recording followed in the mid-90s when RCA picked them up.

Now called Wild Orchid, the trio released their debut album in 1996 to modest success and plenty of promotion, appearing on E! shows and MTV. Once it was time for the second album, the group got a taste of how cold the industry could be. Their second disc, Oxygen, was released in 1998 and failed to reach the same level of success their debut did. Promotion wasn't really great for Oxygen and the group went back to the drawing board.

In 2000-2001, Wild Orchid looked like they were back with a vengence. Promotion increased, they were getting to work with some of the most successful writers/producers in the business. Even JC Chasez, who was a big name in NSync was working with the group and mentioning them on MTV's TRL. An ABC family concert special and series "Great Pretenders" were also airing at the time. The lead single, "Stuttering," was slowly beginning to climb the charts. Then, suddenly, there was nothing. Promotin ceased and it was announced their new CD, Fire, was not going to be released. The group was then dropped from RCA and Stacey began a well publicized descent into meth addiction, a struggle she chronicles the in the song "VoooDoo Doll."

Stacy was at a crossroads. She had invested over 10 years of her life into the group Wild Orchid and she was frustrated that they did not achieve the level of success some of their peers did. She had also been struggling with increasing frustration with the direction her group had been going in musically. Finally, after a particularly bad meth episode, she realized she needed to kick the habit and refocus.

The turning point came not long after when she met members of the Black Eyed Peas. They had just lost their lead singer and were looking for someone to fill in on some tracks. Stacey was chosen to sing with them and quickly became a full time member of the group. Since her first disc with them, the Peas have managed to reach levels of fame Ferguson had only dreamed of. Thanks to thier new status in the business, member Will.I.Am was able to launch his own label and finally, Ferguson got the chance to be a solo recording artist, something she said she dreamed of doing in the late 80's, during a Kids, Inc. interview.

Stacey Ferguson's story shows just how long it can take to be an "overnight" star and how damaging the industry can be at times. I'm enjoying the fact she has finally acheived major success and hope it continues for years to come. The Dutchess is one of my favorite CDs, even surpassing the recordings she made with Wild Orchid.

Look for my thoughts on Wild Orchid another time. Til next time, "let the music play."

by wildangels

Just a post to introduce another blog I'm doing. If you read my bio on my personal space, you know that I like much more then just Country Music (even if that is my passion and my favorite genre.) I like pop, R&B, Tejano, Oldies, and even some stuff from Musicals. I'll be offering my thoughts on these as well as others. In addition, I'll write Music reviews, post info on new CD Releases, the Billboard Charts and fill you in if I find my favorite artists are going to be performing on TV soon. Who knows? You may even end up learning about some people you have never heard of! Enjoy!!