It's Not Gossip, It's Commentary
Please don’t be fooled by the title of Miley Cyrus’ ‘Adore You’ video, because 3.4 seconds in, you’ll realize it’s a ruse. She really adores herself. And 57 million hits later, you’ll reach an unfortunate revelation that the public adores her too. The creativity of such scintillating self-love is beyond my grasp, but her clever ploy to win attention has helped the former Disney zygote become a massive success, so I suppose my distaste is irrelevant. Watch below — or don’t — it’s your call.
It’s interesting that Katy Perry is singing about a “Dark Horse,” after being vomited on by high-voltage hues, but who cares, right? In fact, as long as she’s not rolling around the stage performing gross-out gestures (see Miley Cyrus), I’d say her less than desirable aesthetic choices get a pass. Watch below.
Sometimes the best performances are understated. As the first musical act to perform on ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,’ U2 sang, ‘Ordinary Love,’ a beautiful song from the biography film, ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,’ which is up for Best Original Song at the 2014 Oscars. Watch the awe-inducing acoustic performance below.
Since American Idol has picked the same type person nearly every year (see Chris Daughty, Lee DeWyze, Kris Allen, and Philip Phillips), it would be wonderful to see M.K. Nobilette win it all. She’s understated, elegant, emotional, and authentic. Watch her sing John Legend’s ‘All of Me’ below.
In case you doubted Harry Connick Jr.’s well-deserved position on the American Idol panel, take a look at the video below, where Connick criticizes Emily Piriz’s performance of Grace Potter’s ‘Paris (Ooh La La).’ Connick felt the lyrics were a little too racy for an 18 year old and asked that she recite the original two lines which insinuated oral sex. Though Seacrest dubbed his dig “daddy-mode,” it’s a valid critique. We don’t need another Miley Cyrus on our hands.
Emily Piriz – Paris Oh La La – American Idol 13… by IdolxMuzic
Lena Dunham is taunting me. When asked about her excessive on-air nudity by a journalist at the Television Critics Association , Dunham’s defense was, “It’s a realistic expression of what it’s like to be alive, I think, and I totally get it. If you’re not into me, that’s your problem, and you’re going to have to kind of work that out with whatever professionals you’ve hired.”
In episode seven of season three, Dunham spent most of time in a far-too-small tiny bikini, which was worn while strutting around on open streets, at house parties, and during fights with her friends (none of which involved a throw). In fact, there are moments where the camera seems to be deliberately placed in the most unflattering angles possible.
As for Dunham’s insistence that this is a “realistic expression,” I must strongly object. Based on personal beach experience, nearly every girl I know has a throw, and those girls often ask the chicks beside them if their cellulite seems noticeable under the sun. To take it a step further, many of my friends and fellow beach goers wait until they are completely flat on the sand in the most flattering position possible before disrobing. This behavior has empirically applied to about 75% of all women I’ve come in contact with throughout my life, no matter what their shape or size. While that might be a sad and pathetic revelation, it’s a REALISTIC revelation. Lena Dunham’s fierce self-confidence is extremely admirable, trail-blazing, trend-setting, and praiseworthy. But it’s NOT realistic.
For the purpose of full disclosure, I must admit I haven’t thought much about Ellen Page since her breakout role in Juno, but her speech at the Time to THRIVE conference reinvigorated my interest. In fact, it’s clear she missed her calling in politics. Page publicly announced her homosexual status to a standing ovation and she buried her lead among a much more important conversation about love and acceptance. Watch her very moving moment below.
PHOTO CREDIT: KEVIN MAZUR – WIRE IMAGECombined concerts always confuse me, especially when the two leads expose each other’s limitations rather than add to their strengths. Though Sting and Paul Simon are formidable titans in their own right, their attempt to align had some small issues. Simon’s sweet tone gets swallowed by Sting’s powerhouse voice, and Sting’s inability to achieve Simon’s vulnerable, quiet conviction leaves him exposed.
The duo began the show with a brief introduction into their attempt, with Simon telling the audience that by the end of the tour, he hoped to “have the body of an Adonis,” and to have sex for “hours on end.” Sting’s audience interaction was less jovial, with the mysterious music man confessing his humble respect for Simon shortly after Simon exited the stage, along with his rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘America.’ Unfortunately, that was extent of their audience engagement.
While I might have picked someone like James Taylor to be Simon’s touring partner, there’s a few easy fixes that might make this a more cohesive collaboration, rather than what felt like a competitive showdown of living legends. First, because Paul Simon and Sting are simply unable to effectively harmonize together, they should exchange verses in each other’s songs and severely limit the harmonies. This tactic was more widely used in the second half of the show, which made it exponentially better than the first. Second, if each artist is going to sing each other’s song, then the arrangement should be changed to accommodate their individual vocal style. Sure the audience expects the original, but there’s plenty of picks in their solo set to fulfill that expectation. It was; however, extremely interesting to see Sting sing, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ given its intense vulnerability and the simple fact that it’s an Art Garfunkel vocal staple. I desperately want to ask Sting if he felt tremendously challenged by the idea of taking a different approach to his larger-than-life style. It was certainly an exercise in restraint. Lastly, the live mix had problems. While Sting’s voice can be easily heard among his band, Simon’s cannot. This can be easily rectified, but it’s something that should be taken into consideration with two vastly different voices.
Despite these aforementioned issues, this show is certainly worth seeing. Absent some collaborative conundrums, the thirty plus song set gives you two for the price of one, with Simon singing his legendary staples, including, ‘Graceland,’ ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,’ ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,’ and many more. As for Sting, he tore the house down with ‘Message in a Bottle,’ ‘Roxanne,’ and ‘Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.’ It’s not often that two of the world’s most iconic artists share a stage, so take advantage of the momentous milestone in history and purchase your ticket. For more information visit, Sting’s website, Paul Simon’s website, or their tour website.
North American Tour Itinerary 2014
Feb. 16 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
Feb. 17 San Jose, CA SAP Center at San Jose
Feb. 19 Seattle, WA KeyArena
Feb. 20 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Feb. 23 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Feb. 25 Chicago, IL United Center
Feb. 26 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
Feb. 28 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Mar. 01 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Mar. 03 Boston, MA TD Garden
Mar. 04 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden
Mar. 06 New York, City, NY Madison Square Garden
Mar. 07 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Mar. 09 Hershey, PA Giant Center
Mar. 13 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Mar. 15 Ft. Lauderdale, FL BB&T Center
Mar. 16 Orlando, FL Amway Center
Somewhere behind Mariah Carey’s strange online antics is a down-to-earth girl from New York who knows how to have an articulate conversation without using words like “darling.” But if Carey had her way, I’d be the only person who knew that. Despite her talent, she’s still determined to prove herself, and that endless desire for accolades has damaged her brand. Her latest antic involves multiple twitter pictures sans clothes while in a candy bra waiting for her husband to arrive at home. While I realize twitter is a forum for a peak into your private life, there are lines, and this crosses it. To be harsh, it reeks of desperation, which isn’t necessary for someone of her vocal prowess. Plus, the pictures aren’t pretty, which is an entirely different issue. Watch her new video below. One can’t be sure, but she may or may not be a mermaid in it.