Shameless Plug: I Heart Taylor Swift
January 31st, 2010
Brianne and I have launched a new fansite for country and pop superstar Taylor Swift! I Heart Taylor Swift hopes to be the best source for her! We have lots of goodies including a large gallery with over 20,000 photos! So if you are a fan of Taylor please stop by and let us know what you think! Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
David Cook outshines Idol peers
August 11th, 2008
Ten Idols performed at the DCU Center last night, but in the end it was really a one-man show.
David Cook, who took the top spot in the seventh and most recent season of American Idol, the Fox TV music-and-money-making juggernaut, left no doubt that voters got it right when they made the Missouri-born rocker their number one choice. His five-song set likely would have been deemed brilliant event by acerbic Idol judge Simon Cowell.
Now, hold off on the testy e-mails all you diehard fans of other idols.
There were many other bright spots as well, notably David Archuleta, Cook’s 17-year-old runner up, who came in a solid second on the DCU’s audience shriek-o-meter. Archuleta’s four-song set, including “Angels” and “Stand By Me,” was delivered with the panache of a performer twice his age. His voice was incandescent, soulful and strong. Though it’s still a new thing, singing on a big stage in front of thousands of people seems so natural to him. He is obviously born to it.
Six place finisher Carly Smithson, our newly slimmed down Irish rocker chick, proved to be a local favorite as did dreadlocked heartthrob Jason Castro whose soft, melodic acoustical interlude was a welcome break from the sometimes strained attempts at big-voiced virtuosity by other contestants.
Cook still managed to be a total standout, however, even among this year’s field of ultra talented teens and twentysomethings, generally regarded as the strongest block of contestants ever assembled for the show.
To thunderous applause and the ear-blasting screams of a sold-out audience of, mostly, women, Cook began his set with his moving, rock-infused version of Lionel Richie’s “Hello,” the breakthrough song that established him as a contender on the TV show. “The Time of My Life,” the winning waltz in a national Idol songwriting contest, followed.
Cook’s vocal strength made his cover of Aerosmith’s expansive “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” an easy undertaking. (So why did he bother? we were left wondering).
Just after that there was a pause because Cook really doesn’t want to miss a thing at this – most excellent – time of his life. “I don’t want to do this next song because then the show moves on and I just want to let all this sink in,” he said of the wailing, waving sea of adulation all around him. It was refreshing to see a talented, young, over-doted on rock star who seems genuinely gracious and not full of himself, at least not yet.
But the show must go on, and after a fabulous “My Hero,” Cook walked off the stage only to be called back for an encore. His fans made it resoundingly clear they were not letting him go so out he came with his signature take on Chris Cornell’s version of “Billie Jean,” the song he sang the week contestants were asked to pick a song from the year they were born (1982, in Cook’s case).
It was amazing. Some people wow you with their sheer vocal power. Others with their quiet expressiveness. Cook manages to combine both aspects into an edgy, arena-rattling sound. Then, he adds an undertone of plaintive tenderness that just grabs you and pulls you through a song right along with him, like being caught in an irresistible emotional undertow.
Except for Cook’s five tunes and Archuleta’s four-song set, each finalist was given three songs to sing, making the show a series of mini concerts.
Group numbers were kept to two, one just before intermission and one after Cook’s last song. The singers appeared in reverse order, with Chikezie Eze, who placed 10th, doing his thing first. Then there was Ramiele Malubay, Michael Johns, Kristy Lee Cook, Smithson, Brooke White, Castro and Syesha Mercado, with the two Davids rounding out the bill.
It’s interesting to see on the annual Idols live tour who has what it takes to stand out like a real star and who will be relegated to “reality show fleeting phenom” status. Eze and Maluaby seem most at risk for the latter designation. Eze’s set was pleasant but forgettable. Poor adorable little Ramiele seems to be actually losing steam compared with her TV competition days, whereas most of the other singers have gotten better with the tour experience.
With Johns, it’s kind of hard to tell how he’ll end up. The handsome Australian-born singer did manage to channel Freddie Mercury for “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions,” which is quite a feat. As any singer knows, Queen songs are almost impossible to cover without resorting to desperate shrieking in an effort to approximate Mercury’s vastly charismatic interpretations. It was the same powerful presentation with “Dream On,” (Yes, anthemic Aerosmith songs are very big with the Idols crowd). The problem is you never quite get a feeling for who Johns really is as a singer with these almost note-for-note renditions.
Kristy Lee Cook seems to have what it takes to be a country star, her stated aim. The statuesque blond strutted out confidently in skin-tight white jeans, hips swinging and tail wagging. That’s right, at one point she stood there with her back to the audience shaking her butt back and forth for rather a long while. If her lovely voice doesn’t wow them in Nashville, maybe her wagging will.
By comparison, Brooke White was engagingly elegant, apparently feeling no need to flaunt her beauty so aggressively. Our first glimpse of her came as she emerged through the stage floor on a slowly rising baby grand piano amid a cloud of smoke. Evoking a young Carole King, singer/songwriter White took command of the stage effortlessly. She definitely has star potential. The question is, does she want it?
“There are elements of it that I’m not sure I’m comfortable with,” White said, in an interview just before the concert. “I adore people. I love people. But the idea of fame and people knowing you at every turn everywhere you go, I’m not sure how I feel about that. It’s just a strange new element of life that’s surreal and difficult to adjust to.”
She would like to continue with her music after the tour, if only she didn’t have to deal with that fame thing. But fame and a successful recording career go hand-in-hand and, in the end, White will likely choose music and put up with celebrity’s inconveniences.
“The last couple weeks I’ve realized that it’s the art of it that I love the most,” she said. “I really just love the music. It wasn’t about being on TV or having mass popularity, although that helps your career bigtime. But it’s not my driving motivation.”
At tour’s end she will focus on writing songs for the studio and bringing forth a record that faithfully reflects her talents and her art. “Hopefully people will hear it and see it and know right away ‘Oh, yeah. That’s Brooke.’” she said.
- SOURCE
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)RCA confirms David Cook working with Grammy-winning Rob Cavallo
August 9th, 2008RCA Records has confirmed David Cook is teaming with a producer that will help showcase his rocker persona.
The American Idol seventh-season champ has been working with Grammy-winning producer Rob Cavallo on his debut 19 Recordings/RCA Records album, which is currently slated to drop this fall.
Cavallo’s previous rock credentials includes producing albums for Green Day, Kid Rock, My Chemical Romance, Eric Clapton and the Goo Goo Dolls. In addition, Cavallo is also currently working with Dave Matthews Band on an upcoming release.
Cook signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings/RCA Records a week after he won Idol’s seventh-season crown, defeating David Archuleta by roughly 12 million home viewer votes.
In addition to participating in the American Idol Live summer tour, Cook has been in the studio co-writing songs for his new album.
Cook’s first single — “The Time of My Life” — made its debut at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and at No. 1 on the Hot Digital Songs single sales charts after moving 236,000 downloads in its first week of release in May.
It currently sits at No. 39 on the Hot 100 after 11 weeks on the chart.
- SOURCE
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)New Photos Update!
August 9th, 2008
Hey guys. Im so sorry I have been slacking. Ive been so busy lately and havent had time to update. But I am back with some new photos for you. Im trying to catch up as fast as I can so bare with me. I have added a new scan of David from Entertainment Weekly, a new photoshoot, candids of him leaving LAX airport and attending the Mets/Padres game. I will have more updates soon…enjoy! Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
David Apart of Upcoming TV Special
July 30th, 2008Jennifer Aniston, America Ferrara, David Cook, Casey Affleck, Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson and Forest Whitaker are among the celebrities who have signed on to participate in a one-hour TV special on ABC to help raise money for cancer research. Stand Up to Cancer will air Sept. 5.
- SOURCE
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)new photos
July 28th, 2008
Hey guys. Sorry Im slacking on the photos. But here are some new ones. I have added some new candids of David going through LAX airport on July 16, a new misc photo from Oh No They Didnt & some new HQ tour photos from July 9th in Los Angeles. Enjoy.. Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
