Tonight: 3 contestants from the show are being axed like trees for the thing books used to be made of (Paper...books were once made of paper.)
Let's find out if Shakira and Usher get decimated or if Adam and Blake's team will FINALLY take a hit.
These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery and marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
For whatever reason, Kat Perkins was put in the all-country artist group (Alongside the actual country peoples Jake Worthington, Audra McLaughlin and Kristen Merlin) performing some song by The Band Perry.
First saved by Voice Jesus: Josh Kaufman of Team Usher; also known as this season's iTunes bait. Thanks iTunes consumers...-_-
Then: Kristen Merlin of Team Shakira. YES! Someone I've learned to put up with makes it! \(^_^)/
By now, Team Blake and Team Adam will take a major hit.
Oh great; a Mother's Day Taxicab Confessions. *Moms are important y'all.*
Then: The Grimmie Reaper of Team Adam. This was the other iTunes bait of the season. Go to hell, iTunes. (Turn past the Miley Cyrus concert and where Carson Daly is going for the Starbucks plug via the Mother's Day Taxicab Confessionals for the show.)
Then: Jake Worthington of Team Blake.
The bottom 4: HRFH -3.0, Kat Perkins, Audra McLaughlin and Delvin Choice of Team(s) Adam and Blake.
HRFH -3.0 sings "Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin. All I can say is BACK UP; this is Amanda Brown and Kelly Clarkson's song.
Audra sings "Done" by the Band Perry. How fitting...*shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade*
Kat sings "Barracuda" by Heart. Maybe if she sang this instead of that Bon Jovi bullshit laden version of "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk ft. Pharrell she wouldn't be IN the Bottom 4. DURRR.
Delvin sings a song called "Young Girls".
East Coast Twitter saves: Kat Perkins of Team Adam. Go to hell, Twitter. Wait, you voted off HRFH -3.0 so YAY!
The 3 getting the boot: Delvin Choice, Audra McLaughlin and HRFH -3.0 of Team(s) Adam and Blake. Her "majesty" has been dethroned. YAY!
All in all, the show shouldn't be rushing the Live shows. They simply should not.
Up next for scrutiny, the performances of the Top 5.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Monday, May 5, 2014
The Voice Season 6: Love is BLONDE
[Tonight's recap title is in reference to Adam Levine going blond. Like short of bleach blond...blond. It's also based off of the Eve song "Love is Blind".]
The Top 8 of the NBC show with ratings: a time with the exceptions of S4 and S5 when by now, favorites of mine are completely booted from the competition (So that the precious "Chosen Ones"/Over-pimped contestants get the chance to ruin the end part of an experience.) Adam, Shakira, Usher and Blake attempt to guide the contestants in ways that appeal the voting block and East Coast Twitter the next day. These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery and marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
First in the Court of Public Opinion, HRFH -3.0 of Team Blake singing “River Deep Mountain High” by Tina Turner. Rehearsals [aside from Gwen Sebastian from S2 being there to help advise] indicate that potential nerves could screw with her with her mother being in the audience for the first time. Come showtime, she did nothing special with a Tina Turner song (Which is breaking one of the few commandments a singer is supposed to adhere to.) Also, whoever styled her must be fired. I can't with this knockoff Lupita N'yongo [Oscar winning actress for the film 12 Years a Slave] look. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Second, Josh Kaufman of Team Usher singing “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt. Rehearsals indicate that apparently...-_- all he has to do is make the song more "personable" (Then he essentially tells Josh to "smize" for the cameras. I can't). Come showtime, he tried...he really did. Yet, his performance had really shaky introductory notes. For those wondering why I clock intro notes, I cannot be given any reason to clock someone so early in the performance. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Third, Kat Perkins of Team Adam singing “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk. Ballsy song choice for a "rawker" chick. Rehearsals indicate her biggest task is beating the Insta-Save curse. Then, its revealed she's making it all "rawker" friendly. T_T Come showtime, she did have stage presence kind of working in her favor, but I simply couldn't with the Bon Jovi in the 80s style vocals. It's a personal preference, honestly. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Fourth, Kristen Merlin of Team Shakira singing “I Drive Your Truck” by Lee Brice. Rehearsals indicate her task is to not fuck up a song that means something to her. Not exactly the highest bar to set, but finesse can clock a bitch on OUT of the competition. Come showtime, it dawned on me she is the most emotionally connected artist and that could be her BOOTS or secret weapon (He's the producer of the King Beysus' latest album...who has a mixtape available for streaming on SoundCloud called WinterSpringSummerFall which is out now. Shameless plug). Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
I would've talked about Pharrell's performance but it was a song he did with Miley Cyrus called [no kidding] "Come Get it Bae"...and it sounds like where Gwen Stefani's song "Wind it Up" died. I just can't with this.
Fifth, Delvin Choice of Team Adam singing “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly. Rehearsals indicate that Adam was initially against the song choice; then Delvin's emotional outpouring sold him on the song choice. Come showtime, it was a touch maudlin in staging and initial delivery. However, he did improve by the song's end vocally. Staging wise he was WAY too maudlin and over the top. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Sixth, Audra McLaughlin of Team Blake singing “Forgive” by Rebecca Lynn Howard. Rehearsals indicate that enunciation is her thing to work on with this particular song. Come showtime, her singing is decent but her singing of the "iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" in the word "forgive" sounds really off. It's standard safe singing for her but I don't know if she can make it past this week. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Gwen Stefani then performed "Hollaback Girl"...because apparently that's the only acceptable song to associate her with. -_- [There's "Luxurious", "What You Waiting For?", "The Sweet Escape", "Cool" or even "Rich Girl" ft. Eve]
Seventh, Jake Worthington of Team Blake singing “Hillbilly Deluxe” by Brooks and Dunn. Rehearsals indicate that Jake "needs" to be more badass and less "Southern Fried Quasimodo" and I hate that brief. His endearing side is what's gotten him by in TV presentation terms. Come showtime, I'm sure diehard country people just "lurved" this as much as the coaches do. I can't clock country too much with Blake because I'm not a devotee of country like them. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Finally, The Grimmie Reaper of Team Adam singing “How to Love” by Lil' Wayne. Rehearsals indicate that Grimmie was against this song. She showed a last minute ability to call something oddly similar but also sort of sensible as iTunes...blah blah blah, she hated this song first. Come showtime, the whole thing was flat out wrong and incorrect. The staging was too much "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes and the arrangement was a bit too Jem and the Holograms in ballad form awful. That was all before I remembered that the Napoleon Complex is strong in this one. I simply can't with this. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
All in all, it wouldn't kill the coaches to critique people's performances. That and 3 people are being booted tomorrow. O_O
Up next for scrutiny, the results of the Top 8.
The Top 8 of the NBC show with ratings: a time with the exceptions of S4 and S5 when by now, favorites of mine are completely booted from the competition (So that the precious "Chosen Ones"/Over-pimped contestants get the chance to ruin the end part of an experience.) Adam, Shakira, Usher and Blake attempt to guide the contestants in ways that appeal the voting block and East Coast Twitter the next day. These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery and marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
First in the Court of Public Opinion, HRFH -3.0 of Team Blake singing “River Deep Mountain High” by Tina Turner. Rehearsals [aside from Gwen Sebastian from S2 being there to help advise] indicate that potential nerves could screw with her with her mother being in the audience for the first time. Come showtime, she did nothing special with a Tina Turner song (Which is breaking one of the few commandments a singer is supposed to adhere to.) Also, whoever styled her must be fired. I can't with this knockoff Lupita N'yongo [Oscar winning actress for the film 12 Years a Slave] look. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Second, Josh Kaufman of Team Usher singing “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt. Rehearsals indicate that apparently...-_- all he has to do is make the song more "personable" (Then he essentially tells Josh to "smize" for the cameras. I can't). Come showtime, he tried...he really did. Yet, his performance had really shaky introductory notes. For those wondering why I clock intro notes, I cannot be given any reason to clock someone so early in the performance. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Third, Kat Perkins of Team Adam singing “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk. Ballsy song choice for a "rawker" chick. Rehearsals indicate her biggest task is beating the Insta-Save curse. Then, its revealed she's making it all "rawker" friendly. T_T Come showtime, she did have stage presence kind of working in her favor, but I simply couldn't with the Bon Jovi in the 80s style vocals. It's a personal preference, honestly. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Fourth, Kristen Merlin of Team Shakira singing “I Drive Your Truck” by Lee Brice. Rehearsals indicate her task is to not fuck up a song that means something to her. Not exactly the highest bar to set, but finesse can clock a bitch on OUT of the competition. Come showtime, it dawned on me she is the most emotionally connected artist and that could be her BOOTS or secret weapon (He's the producer of the King Beysus' latest album...who has a mixtape available for streaming on SoundCloud called WinterSpringSummerFall which is out now. Shameless plug). Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
I would've talked about Pharrell's performance but it was a song he did with Miley Cyrus called [no kidding] "Come Get it Bae"...and it sounds like where Gwen Stefani's song "Wind it Up" died. I just can't with this.
Fifth, Delvin Choice of Team Adam singing “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly. Rehearsals indicate that Adam was initially against the song choice; then Delvin's emotional outpouring sold him on the song choice. Come showtime, it was a touch maudlin in staging and initial delivery. However, he did improve by the song's end vocally. Staging wise he was WAY too maudlin and over the top. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Sixth, Audra McLaughlin of Team Blake singing “Forgive” by Rebecca Lynn Howard. Rehearsals indicate that enunciation is her thing to work on with this particular song. Come showtime, her singing is decent but her singing of the "iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" in the word "forgive" sounds really off. It's standard safe singing for her but I don't know if she can make it past this week. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Gwen Stefani then performed "Hollaback Girl"...because apparently that's the only acceptable song to associate her with. -_- [There's "Luxurious", "What You Waiting For?", "The Sweet Escape", "Cool" or even "Rich Girl" ft. Eve]
Seventh, Jake Worthington of Team Blake singing “Hillbilly Deluxe” by Brooks and Dunn. Rehearsals indicate that Jake "needs" to be more badass and less "Southern Fried Quasimodo" and I hate that brief. His endearing side is what's gotten him by in TV presentation terms. Come showtime, I'm sure diehard country people just "lurved" this as much as the coaches do. I can't clock country too much with Blake because I'm not a devotee of country like them. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
Finally, The Grimmie Reaper of Team Adam singing “How to Love” by Lil' Wayne. Rehearsals indicate that Grimmie was against this song. She showed a last minute ability to call something oddly similar but also sort of sensible as iTunes...blah blah blah, she hated this song first. Come showtime, the whole thing was flat out wrong and incorrect. The staging was too much "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes and the arrangement was a bit too Jem and the Holograms in ballad form awful. That was all before I remembered that the Napoleon Complex is strong in this one. I simply can't with this. Coach's Corner was all "That is amazing! You are amazing! We make Paula Abdul look like Michelle Visage by comparison!"
All in all, it wouldn't kill the coaches to critique people's performances. That and 3 people are being booted tomorrow. O_O
Up next for scrutiny, the results of the Top 8.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
The Voice Season 6: Not Everyone is Pitching a 10ent
[The title for this episode is a play on a joke regarding a man's erection. *sproing*]
Tonight is when we find out who Voice Jesus smites (Followed by East Coast Twitter; consider this revenge for all the times you wouldn't shut the fuck up about In-N-Out, West Coast.) iTunes be damned, let's hope Kristen and Delvin stay. And let's hope my boot list from the last results episode can finally be scratched off. These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery & marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
In the montage/recap of last night's show, Bria was shown crying after Adam had critiqued her. Sorry gurl, but someone needed to be critiqued. If you can't handle it, the door is near you.
For those who hadn't been waiting long enough, Carson then confirms that the S7 new coaches are Pharrell and Gwen Stefani of No Doubt and solo act of 2 albums fame. \(^_^)/
Team Usher took the stage to perform "Always on the Run" by Lenny Kravitz. The band made sure to be the highlight.
The first set of artists saved: The Grimmie Reaper & HRFH -3.0 of Team(s) Adam & Blake. I hate the voting public. According to other blogging people, The Grimmie Reaper was #3 on iTunes for doing the Dia Frampton turned Lindsey Pavao thing of making a rap song...not. Whatever. That and HRFH -3.0 is continuing the possibility of me not liking any of the winners.
Coach's Corner had more or less the same damn sentiments of last night and seems to be eating more of the show's time for singing contestants. I hate that.
Then: Kristen Merlin & Josh Kaufman of Team(s) Shakira & Usher. Kristen is becoming popular. Who'd've thunk? Also, BOO on the voting public for saving Josh. BOO.
Team Shakira then takes the stage to perform "The One Thing" by Shaki herself. Anything to pimp that self-titled effort. Hey it helped X-Tina...oh wait. *shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade*
Oh joy; Taxicab Confessionals. -_-
Then: Audra McLaughlin & Delvin Choice of Team(s) Blake & Adam. With Delvin and Kristen being saved, my favorites are staying another week.
The last person saved: Jake Worthington of Team Blake.
The Bottom 3: Tess Boyer, Bria Kelly & Kat Perkins of Team(s) Shakira, Usher and Adam.
Bria performed a song called "Crazy on You".
Tess performed "Who Knew" by P!nk.
Kat performed "Paris (Ooh La La)" by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals.
East Coast Twitter Saves: Kat Perkins of Team Adam
Getting the Boot: Bria Kelly & Tess Boyer of Team(s) Usher and Shakira. Eeek; it's S4 all over again.
All in all, those left in the Top 8 have a lot of work to do in order to impress me.
Up next for scrutiny, the performances of the Top 8.
Tonight is when we find out who Voice Jesus smites (Followed by East Coast Twitter; consider this revenge for all the times you wouldn't shut the fuck up about In-N-Out, West Coast.) iTunes be damned, let's hope Kristen and Delvin stay. And let's hope my boot list from the last results episode can finally be scratched off. These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery & marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
In the montage/recap of last night's show, Bria was shown crying after Adam had critiqued her. Sorry gurl, but someone needed to be critiqued. If you can't handle it, the door is near you.
For those who hadn't been waiting long enough, Carson then confirms that the S7 new coaches are Pharrell and Gwen Stefani of No Doubt and solo act of 2 albums fame. \(^_^)/
Team Usher took the stage to perform "Always on the Run" by Lenny Kravitz. The band made sure to be the highlight.
The first set of artists saved: The Grimmie Reaper & HRFH -3.0 of Team(s) Adam & Blake. I hate the voting public. According to other blogging people, The Grimmie Reaper was #3 on iTunes for doing the Dia Frampton turned Lindsey Pavao thing of making a rap song...not. Whatever. That and HRFH -3.0 is continuing the possibility of me not liking any of the winners.
Coach's Corner had more or less the same damn sentiments of last night and seems to be eating more of the show's time for singing contestants. I hate that.
Then: Kristen Merlin & Josh Kaufman of Team(s) Shakira & Usher. Kristen is becoming popular. Who'd've thunk? Also, BOO on the voting public for saving Josh. BOO.
Team Shakira then takes the stage to perform "The One Thing" by Shaki herself. Anything to pimp that self-titled effort. Hey it helped X-Tina...oh wait. *shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade*
Oh joy; Taxicab Confessionals. -_-
Then: Audra McLaughlin & Delvin Choice of Team(s) Blake & Adam. With Delvin and Kristen being saved, my favorites are staying another week.
The last person saved: Jake Worthington of Team Blake.
The Bottom 3: Tess Boyer, Bria Kelly & Kat Perkins of Team(s) Shakira, Usher and Adam.
Bria performed a song called "Crazy on You".
Tess performed "Who Knew" by P!nk.
Kat performed "Paris (Ooh La La)" by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals.
East Coast Twitter Saves: Kat Perkins of Team Adam
Getting the Boot: Bria Kelly & Tess Boyer of Team(s) Usher and Shakira. Eeek; it's S4 all over again.
All in all, those left in the Top 8 have a lot of work to do in order to impress me.
Up next for scrutiny, the performances of the Top 8.
Monday, April 28, 2014
The Voice Season 6: Someone's Getting it Back 10 Fold
*Editor's Note: I'm experimenting with recap title format changes. Live with it.*
[The recap title for tonight is in part reference to a saying that you get what you give 10 times over/10 fold]
Tonight continues the journey 10 singers are taking on the NBC show with ratings. Along the way, Adam, Usher, Shakira and Blake overpraise their singing abilities (Being nice on this show works. To a fault; like the San Andreas, but hey; get that, make that money.) and compete for a swift chance to gloat between seasons ("Between?" When they're not filming, silly.) These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery, overpraising and marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
First up in the Court of Public Opinion, Kat Perkins of Team Adam singing “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. Rehearsals indicate she needs improvement with lower registers. Come showtime, she manages to improve on her lower registers enough to be improved. The vibrato for anything Stevie Nicks related was certainly present. Not being mean; Stevie Nicks sings with a ton of vibrato. All Kat needed to be was subtle through low notes. She did that aside from vibrato; this is one of her better performances. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS MARVELOUS DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Second, Tess Boyer of Team Shakira singing “Ain’t it Fun” by Paramore. Rehearsals indicate that she'll have to face the "current" dilemma. The "current" dilemma is when a singer/act is faced with the problem of singing songs that are either overdone or "old" or aren't obscure as hell. Come showtime, she has decent singing but doesn't have any of the "hairspray angst" that Paramore songs call for. She did pick a "current" song but fans have to be on her side in voting. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS SUPERB DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Third, Audra McLaughlin of Team Blake singing “You Lie” by Reba McEntire. Rehearsals indicate Audra has to stand out more than she has. Come showtime, Audra may have had a breakout moment...had it not been for Blake being an ass and maybe...just maybe tweeting Adam's number to the public. Her singing has been mediocre at best. Blake's stunt might cost her votes she needs. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS FABULOUS DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Fourth, Josh Kaufman of Team Usher singing “This is It” by Kenny Loggins. Rehearsals indicate that Josh's timing and pacing have to be right on par with the song to be excelsior. Come showtime, he certainly showed his lower registers...until his supposed money notes he sang way too breathy for my liking. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS WONDERFUL DARLING! #SuperStar!" Apparently, a male HRFH has been found. Only (in honor of SurvivorSucks) his stands for His Royal Frodo Highness.
Fifth, The Grimmie Reaper of Team Adam singing “Hold On, We’re Going Home” by Drake. Rehearsals indicate she's got some Lindsey Pavao of S2 sized shoes to fill with making a rap song...not. Come showtime, the performance was all risk and low to moderate reward at best. Adam gets some credit for wanting someone to pull a Lindsey Pavao and make a rap song...not. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS SPLENDID DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Sixth, Jake Worthington of Team Blake singing “Run” by George Strait. Rehearsals indicate that Jake is going to have to not "sing over the note" [whatever the hell that means]. Come showtime, as much as I don't care about country music, something about Jake's singing was subdued. He does have a bigger iTunes pulling than at least HRFH -3.0 so he might not be terribly screwed. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS STUPENDOUS DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Seventh, Bria Kelly of Team Usher singing “I’m With You” by Avril Lavigne. Rehearsals indicate Bria's vulnerability is called into question. Come showtime, Bria was OK until she hit the weirdest bum note I heard in show history. It was something like an "ohwhohwowhwohwohwowowowowowhohhhh" or something just utterly bad. Bria's performance history will have to be scrutinized harder for voting. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS TERRIFIC DARLING! #SuperStar!" except for Adam who actually called out Bria for emotional dissonance. 1000 points to you Adam. Good move.
Eighth, Delvin Choice of Team Adam singing “Bright Lights” by Gary Clark Jr. Rehearsals indicate his delivery and commitment to the song's emotive qualities are the things in question. Come showtime, his performance benefited from a guitarist who must've got paid on time it was fabulous. His singing, while distinctive was slightly subdued. Stage presence wise, he was fucking electric. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS ASTOUNDING DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Ninth, Kristen Merlin of Team Shakira singing “Let Her Go” by Passenger. Rehearsals indicate that her mic seems to be working. *shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade* Come showtime, her introductory notes seemed a bit shaky. She has lung capacity out the wazoo so this is slightly unacceptable. Good news is that her mic was working. She did perform a radio friendly song so she may have a voting boost. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS FLAWLESS DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Finally, HRFH -3.0 of Team Blake singing “Oh Sherrie” by Journey. Rehearsals indicate her vibrato and song selection could screw with her (Let's hope so). Come showtime, she was more over-theatrical than seeing every play on Broadway. Do not pass GO; do NOT collect $200. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS PERFECTION DARLING! #SuperStar!"
All in all, this episode was entertaining but had some things to work on; like certain contestants not being able to sing; coaches being way too forgiving and Carson having to do Christina Milian's old job of Twitter reader. (That's what criticism looks like when it's nice and that's coming from me; The World's Sexiest Cynic.)
Up next for scrutiny, the Results of the Top 10.
[The recap title for tonight is in part reference to a saying that you get what you give 10 times over/10 fold]
Tonight continues the journey 10 singers are taking on the NBC show with ratings. Along the way, Adam, Usher, Shakira and Blake overpraise their singing abilities (Being nice on this show works. To a fault; like the San Andreas, but hey; get that, make that money.) and compete for a swift chance to gloat between seasons ("Between?" When they're not filming, silly.) These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery, overpraising and marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
First up in the Court of Public Opinion, Kat Perkins of Team Adam singing “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. Rehearsals indicate she needs improvement with lower registers. Come showtime, she manages to improve on her lower registers enough to be improved. The vibrato for anything Stevie Nicks related was certainly present. Not being mean; Stevie Nicks sings with a ton of vibrato. All Kat needed to be was subtle through low notes. She did that aside from vibrato; this is one of her better performances. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS MARVELOUS DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Second, Tess Boyer of Team Shakira singing “Ain’t it Fun” by Paramore. Rehearsals indicate that she'll have to face the "current" dilemma. The "current" dilemma is when a singer/act is faced with the problem of singing songs that are either overdone or "old" or aren't obscure as hell. Come showtime, she has decent singing but doesn't have any of the "hairspray angst" that Paramore songs call for. She did pick a "current" song but fans have to be on her side in voting. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS SUPERB DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Third, Audra McLaughlin of Team Blake singing “You Lie” by Reba McEntire. Rehearsals indicate Audra has to stand out more than she has. Come showtime, Audra may have had a breakout moment...had it not been for Blake being an ass and maybe...just maybe tweeting Adam's number to the public. Her singing has been mediocre at best. Blake's stunt might cost her votes she needs. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS FABULOUS DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Fourth, Josh Kaufman of Team Usher singing “This is It” by Kenny Loggins. Rehearsals indicate that Josh's timing and pacing have to be right on par with the song to be excelsior. Come showtime, he certainly showed his lower registers...until his supposed money notes he sang way too breathy for my liking. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS WONDERFUL DARLING! #SuperStar!" Apparently, a male HRFH has been found. Only (in honor of SurvivorSucks) his stands for His Royal Frodo Highness.
Fifth, The Grimmie Reaper of Team Adam singing “Hold On, We’re Going Home” by Drake. Rehearsals indicate she's got some Lindsey Pavao of S2 sized shoes to fill with making a rap song...not. Come showtime, the performance was all risk and low to moderate reward at best. Adam gets some credit for wanting someone to pull a Lindsey Pavao and make a rap song...not. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS SPLENDID DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Sixth, Jake Worthington of Team Blake singing “Run” by George Strait. Rehearsals indicate that Jake is going to have to not "sing over the note" [whatever the hell that means]. Come showtime, as much as I don't care about country music, something about Jake's singing was subdued. He does have a bigger iTunes pulling than at least HRFH -3.0 so he might not be terribly screwed. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS STUPENDOUS DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Seventh, Bria Kelly of Team Usher singing “I’m With You” by Avril Lavigne. Rehearsals indicate Bria's vulnerability is called into question. Come showtime, Bria was OK until she hit the weirdest bum note I heard in show history. It was something like an "ohwhohwowhwohwohwowowowowowhohhhh" or something just utterly bad. Bria's performance history will have to be scrutinized harder for voting. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS TERRIFIC DARLING! #SuperStar!" except for Adam who actually called out Bria for emotional dissonance. 1000 points to you Adam. Good move.
Eighth, Delvin Choice of Team Adam singing “Bright Lights” by Gary Clark Jr. Rehearsals indicate his delivery and commitment to the song's emotive qualities are the things in question. Come showtime, his performance benefited from a guitarist who must've got paid on time it was fabulous. His singing, while distinctive was slightly subdued. Stage presence wise, he was fucking electric. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS ASTOUNDING DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Ninth, Kristen Merlin of Team Shakira singing “Let Her Go” by Passenger. Rehearsals indicate that her mic seems to be working. *shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade* Come showtime, her introductory notes seemed a bit shaky. She has lung capacity out the wazoo so this is slightly unacceptable. Good news is that her mic was working. She did perform a radio friendly song so she may have a voting boost. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS FLAWLESS DARLING! #SuperStar!"
Finally, HRFH -3.0 of Team Blake singing “Oh Sherrie” by Journey. Rehearsals indicate her vibrato and song selection could screw with her (Let's hope so). Come showtime, she was more over-theatrical than seeing every play on Broadway. Do not pass GO; do NOT collect $200. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS PERFECTION DARLING! #SuperStar!"
All in all, this episode was entertaining but had some things to work on; like certain contestants not being able to sing; coaches being way too forgiving and Carson having to do Christina Milian's old job of Twitter reader. (That's what criticism looks like when it's nice and that's coming from me; The World's Sexiest Cynic.)
Up next for scrutiny, the Results of the Top 10.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
The Voice U.S. S6 Recap: Results of the Top 12 Performances
Tonight, we find out the 9 artists saved through voting through NBC.com and Sprint text messaging. Then, East Coast/Central Standard time zone Twitter gets to save one of the bottom 3. According to iTunes sales (Read as "the SurvivorSucks forums for the show"), Dani and Tess of Team Shakira and T.J. of Team Usher look to be screwed. Also, if the sources are correct, a contestant I hate ("Which one you bitter bitch?" Josh Kaufman in this case.) made it to the Top 10 of iTunes and will get his votes multiplied by 5. Thanks, iTunes consumers; I mean it -_-
Now on to find out if the contestants I actually voted for...
- Kristen
- Delvin
and T.J.
have a chance at taking down this season's overrated, must be booted NOW list...
- HRFH -3.0
- The Grimmie Reaper
- Bria
and Josh
[*PLEASE Note: I don't care about Team Blake contestants not on the must be booted now list. As long as a Team Blake contestant does not win, I will be content.]
Team Adam performed with their coach as mainly fodder-tainment. They all sang "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel. Adam's t-shirt looked nice...so let's leave it at that. *shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade*
Let's find out who got saved by Voice Jesus...
The first set of artists saved... Josh Kaufman & Kat Perkins of Team(s) Usher and Adam. Yup; SurvivorSucks got Josh being around right. *retches* Kat being saved of Team Adam first was a touch surprising.
Coach's Corner relayed that shit happens; in that any of the contestants can go home and that Kristen's mic went out at the last minute. Usher took a picture of himself on live TV and Blake had a country accent (SHOCKING; I know).
Then...Kristen Merlin & Audra McLaughlin of Team(s) Shakira and Blake were saved. The sympathy vote was FINALLY used properly and wow; Audra was saved before Jake and the other one. O_O
Shakira then took the stage to pimp her song "Empire" (Whose lyric video is weird and gets outweirded by the music video...) The vibrato is under control in this performance which is quite remarkable.
Then Team Shakira is pimped in a philanthropically calculated move for sympathy votes for future performances. OK it could be sincere.
Then...Delvin Choice & Jake Worthington of Team(s)Adam and Blake were saved. Someone I voted for and someone who isn't HRFH -3.0 saved as of now...this is so far the best results show ever.
Team Blake then performed a song called "Put Some Drive in Your Country" by Travis Tritt. I'm thinking this might have been in a commercial for a Dodge Ram. O_O
Then...Bria Kelly, the Grimmie Reaper & HRFH -3.0 of Team(s) Usher, Adam and Blake were saved. No one from my boot list is getting booted. Dammit.
The bottom 3 were...T.J. Wilkins, Dani Moz and Tess Boyer of Teams Usher and Shakira. iTunes and SurvivorSucks called this.
Then the Bottom 3 performed "Save Me" songs a la S2 of the show...
T.J. performed "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain.
Dani performed a song called "Turning Tables". I have no clue who sang it originally.
Tess performed "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson.
East Coast Twitter saves...Tess Boyer of Team Shakira.
Getting the Boot: T.J. Wilkins & Dani Moz of Teams Usher and Shakira. Yikes, this is S4 all over again.
All in all, more of the same until somebody is named the S6 winner of the NBC Program with Ratings.
Up next for scrutiny, the Performances of the Top 10.
Now on to find out if the contestants I actually voted for...
- Kristen
- Delvin
and T.J.
have a chance at taking down this season's overrated, must be booted NOW list...
- HRFH -3.0
- The Grimmie Reaper
- Bria
and Josh
[*PLEASE Note: I don't care about Team Blake contestants not on the must be booted now list. As long as a Team Blake contestant does not win, I will be content.]
Team Adam performed with their coach as mainly fodder-tainment. They all sang "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel. Adam's t-shirt looked nice...so let's leave it at that. *shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaade*
Let's find out who got saved by Voice Jesus...
The first set of artists saved... Josh Kaufman & Kat Perkins of Team(s) Usher and Adam. Yup; SurvivorSucks got Josh being around right. *retches* Kat being saved of Team Adam first was a touch surprising.
Coach's Corner relayed that shit happens; in that any of the contestants can go home and that Kristen's mic went out at the last minute. Usher took a picture of himself on live TV and Blake had a country accent (SHOCKING; I know).
Then...Kristen Merlin & Audra McLaughlin of Team(s) Shakira and Blake were saved. The sympathy vote was FINALLY used properly and wow; Audra was saved before Jake and the other one. O_O
Shakira then took the stage to pimp her song "Empire" (Whose lyric video is weird and gets outweirded by the music video...) The vibrato is under control in this performance which is quite remarkable.
Then Team Shakira is pimped in a philanthropically calculated move for sympathy votes for future performances. OK it could be sincere.
Then...Delvin Choice & Jake Worthington of Team(s)Adam and Blake were saved. Someone I voted for and someone who isn't HRFH -3.0 saved as of now...this is so far the best results show ever.
Team Blake then performed a song called "Put Some Drive in Your Country" by Travis Tritt. I'm thinking this might have been in a commercial for a Dodge Ram. O_O
Then...Bria Kelly, the Grimmie Reaper & HRFH -3.0 of Team(s) Usher, Adam and Blake were saved. No one from my boot list is getting booted. Dammit.
The bottom 3 were...T.J. Wilkins, Dani Moz and Tess Boyer of Teams Usher and Shakira. iTunes and SurvivorSucks called this.
Then the Bottom 3 performed "Save Me" songs a la S2 of the show...
T.J. performed "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain.
Dani performed a song called "Turning Tables". I have no clue who sang it originally.
Tess performed "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson.
East Coast Twitter saves...Tess Boyer of Team Shakira.
Getting the Boot: T.J. Wilkins & Dani Moz of Teams Usher and Shakira. Yikes, this is S4 all over again.
All in all, more of the same until somebody is named the S6 winner of the NBC Program with Ratings.
Up next for scrutiny, the Performances of the Top 10.
Monday, April 21, 2014
The Voice U.S. S6 Recap: IT'S ALIVE!
[Frankenstein reference...blahda blahda blah blah]
Tonight marks when the NBC show with ratings goes LIVE for all the public who gives subjective criticism of singing show contestants. 'Tis a beauteous thing indeed. Time to find out if this is the start of another Adam victory, God forbid yet another Blake victory or maybe; just maybe...Usher or Shakira will have discovered the winner of this show. These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery and marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
Receiving the Live show baptism of fire, Bria Kelly of Team Usher singing "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. Initial rehearsals indicate her pacing is a bit screwy. Her hangtime with notes [how long she could hold the note was also called into question.] Come showtime, she was distinct but not entirely in a good way. While it was infused with "rawk", her singing was Janis Joplin knockoff trying to sing an Adele song. Coach's Corner was all "Tall order, but ERMAHGERD it was amazing" except for Adam wanting to hear it in a higher key.
Second, Delvin Choice of Team Adam singing “Unchained Melody” by Righteous Brothers. Initial rehearsals indicate Delvin's emotional connection isn't quite there yet with this song. Popularity is also called into question; not current but it's a classic. Come showtime, he does have his distinctive tone but I don't think he pulled the song off in terms of singing. His voice was a bit too low for the song overall in my personal taste. Coach's Corner was all "EMOTIONS! T_T love this sooooooooooooo much".
Third, Dani Moz of Team Shakira singing “Just Give Me A Reason” by P!nk ft. Nate Ruess. Initial rehearsals indicate that Dani's momentum is questionable; also her money note placement was adjusted ever so slightly. Come showtime, she was under par. P!nk songs require a lot of passion and Dani didn't even have a decent hangtime with her money note. Coach's Corner was all Adam V.S. Shaki when Adam was actually trying to critique Dani [and then Blake bitched at him for a touch].
Fourth, Audra McLaughlin of Team Blake singing “Angel of the Morning” by Juice Newton. Initial rehearsals indicate breath is her thing to work on. Staging is called to be stationary to help with breathing. Come showtime, Audra's breath had improved but not by a whole lot. When her lower registers were heard [when they were heard at all] they were shaky. Mid registers emitted were just meh. Coach's Corner was all "It was all yellow." when they wouldn't shut up about pee.
Fifth, T.J. Wilkins of Team Usher singing “Waiting on the World” to Change by John Mayer. Initial rehearsals indicate that his selection is a "tall order". T.J.'s song selection is symbolic in that he didn't end up a gangster or street urchin and is trying to be a good change. Come showtime, he gave his best performance of the season. It had enough signature to make the spin original. His mid-registers were some of the cleanest of the competition. Coach's Corner was all "You were AMAZE-TITS!".
Sixth, The Grimmie Reaper of Team Adam singing “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry. This song is not "Fireworks" so BYE FELICIA! Initial rehearsals indicate hangtime and control are her issues (Among not being able to sing). Come showtime, the instrumentals were serving some Close Encounters of a Third Kind realness...until it went dubstep. Ew. Her singing? Way too shaky. Coach's Corner was all "ERMAHGERD you are such a tiny thing of dynamite!"
Seventh, HRFH -3.0 of Team Blake singing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John. Initial rehearsals indicate restraint is her issue (Along her not being able to sing). Come showtime, her earrings were cute. Her singing was not impressive. Well, I actually don't care about how she did because I just hate her so much. Coach's Corner was all "JESUS HAS RISEN!" -_- Ugh. Done with her. SO done.
Eighth, Kristen Merlin of Team Shakira singing “Stay” by Sugarland. Initial rehearsals indicate that her previous montaged treatments could be her death knell. Come showtime, she's the best female singer left in the competition even though she is a country singer. Then, her mic was cut off. For the rest of her performance and that was a load of horseshit. Coach's Corner was actually sympathetic to her last minute mic issues. As I and Lyndsey Parker of Yahoo! Music thought "there was a CONSPIRACY afoot!" Montaged singer gets her mic cut off in the first Live shows? While 2 inferior but buzzed about competitors before her were all heard? CONSPIRACY!
Ninth, Kat Perkins of Team Adam singing “Magic Man” by Heart. Initial rehearsals indicate that living up to Adam's personalized song choice for her is her thing to work on. Come showtime, she was consistent vocally and that's worth noting. Also, GURL was giving CopyKat realness and that was horrible in terms of image. Coach's Corner was all "HOLY SHIT! You were once a nanny?! GURL, you rock!"
Tenth, Jake Worthington of Team Blake singing “Anymore” by Travis Tritt. Initial rehearsals indicate he was a bit sharp singing it. Identity was something touched in the intro piece. Come showtime, if I cared about hardcore country music I'd clock certain things about his singing. Instead, I'll just comment over his "Southern Fried Quasimodo" being adorable. It's adorable. Coach's Corner was all "AWWWW; you're so sweet" [Shakira called him endearing; is that shade? We don't exactly know but she isn't lying].
Eleventh, Tess Boyer of Team Shakira singing “I’ll Be There for You” by Bon Jovi. Initial rehearsals indicate that modernizing a male vocal song is a bit of a bitch. Then her money notes are thought of as flat at first. Come showtime, her vocals have improved quite a bit. Image wise, someone in wardrobe must be docked pay for the Colonel Sanders ensemble with jacket that made me go "I CAN'T". Coach's Corner was all "GURR, you are amazing! You're the one to beat!"
Closing out the Top 12 performances, Josh Kaufman of Team Usher singing “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith. Initial rehearsals indicate his modernizing skills and nerves could screw with him. Come showtime, all my attention went to the graphics used for his performance. Ripping off a Rihanna video ["Umbrella" to be specific]? GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRL. His singing, per usual did not impress me. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS AMAZING!" because critiquing the contestants is apparently a no-no. -_-
All in all, though most of my favorites went home, I can't wait to either embrace someTCO fucker contestant who would end up winning...or celebrate an 0 for 6 record of Voice winners I voted for.
Up next for scrutiny, the Results of the Top 12.
Tonight marks when the NBC show with ratings goes LIVE for all the public who gives subjective criticism of singing show contestants. 'Tis a beauteous thing indeed. Time to find out if this is the start of another Adam victory, God forbid yet another Blake victory or maybe; just maybe...Usher or Shakira will have discovered the winner of this show. These are the nouns, pronouns, gerunds, banter, fuckery and marklar that transpired...
Let's play rough and get it on!
Receiving the Live show baptism of fire, Bria Kelly of Team Usher singing "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. Initial rehearsals indicate her pacing is a bit screwy. Her hangtime with notes [how long she could hold the note was also called into question.] Come showtime, she was distinct but not entirely in a good way. While it was infused with "rawk", her singing was Janis Joplin knockoff trying to sing an Adele song. Coach's Corner was all "Tall order, but ERMAHGERD it was amazing" except for Adam wanting to hear it in a higher key.
Second, Delvin Choice of Team Adam singing “Unchained Melody” by Righteous Brothers. Initial rehearsals indicate Delvin's emotional connection isn't quite there yet with this song. Popularity is also called into question; not current but it's a classic. Come showtime, he does have his distinctive tone but I don't think he pulled the song off in terms of singing. His voice was a bit too low for the song overall in my personal taste. Coach's Corner was all "EMOTIONS! T_T love this sooooooooooooo much".
Third, Dani Moz of Team Shakira singing “Just Give Me A Reason” by P!nk ft. Nate Ruess. Initial rehearsals indicate that Dani's momentum is questionable; also her money note placement was adjusted ever so slightly. Come showtime, she was under par. P!nk songs require a lot of passion and Dani didn't even have a decent hangtime with her money note. Coach's Corner was all Adam V.S. Shaki when Adam was actually trying to critique Dani [and then Blake bitched at him for a touch].
Fourth, Audra McLaughlin of Team Blake singing “Angel of the Morning” by Juice Newton. Initial rehearsals indicate breath is her thing to work on. Staging is called to be stationary to help with breathing. Come showtime, Audra's breath had improved but not by a whole lot. When her lower registers were heard [when they were heard at all] they were shaky. Mid registers emitted were just meh. Coach's Corner was all "It was all yellow." when they wouldn't shut up about pee.
Fifth, T.J. Wilkins of Team Usher singing “Waiting on the World” to Change by John Mayer. Initial rehearsals indicate that his selection is a "tall order". T.J.'s song selection is symbolic in that he didn't end up a gangster or street urchin and is trying to be a good change. Come showtime, he gave his best performance of the season. It had enough signature to make the spin original. His mid-registers were some of the cleanest of the competition. Coach's Corner was all "You were AMAZE-TITS!".
Sixth, The Grimmie Reaper of Team Adam singing “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry. This song is not "Fireworks" so BYE FELICIA! Initial rehearsals indicate hangtime and control are her issues (Among not being able to sing). Come showtime, the instrumentals were serving some Close Encounters of a Third Kind realness...until it went dubstep. Ew. Her singing? Way too shaky. Coach's Corner was all "ERMAHGERD you are such a tiny thing of dynamite!"
Seventh, HRFH -3.0 of Team Blake singing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John. Initial rehearsals indicate restraint is her issue (Along her not being able to sing). Come showtime, her earrings were cute. Her singing was not impressive. Well, I actually don't care about how she did because I just hate her so much. Coach's Corner was all "JESUS HAS RISEN!" -_- Ugh. Done with her. SO done.
Eighth, Kristen Merlin of Team Shakira singing “Stay” by Sugarland. Initial rehearsals indicate that her previous montaged treatments could be her death knell. Come showtime, she's the best female singer left in the competition even though she is a country singer. Then, her mic was cut off. For the rest of her performance and that was a load of horseshit. Coach's Corner was actually sympathetic to her last minute mic issues. As I and Lyndsey Parker of Yahoo! Music thought "there was a CONSPIRACY afoot!" Montaged singer gets her mic cut off in the first Live shows? While 2 inferior but buzzed about competitors before her were all heard? CONSPIRACY!
Ninth, Kat Perkins of Team Adam singing “Magic Man” by Heart. Initial rehearsals indicate that living up to Adam's personalized song choice for her is her thing to work on. Come showtime, she was consistent vocally and that's worth noting. Also, GURL was giving CopyKat realness and that was horrible in terms of image. Coach's Corner was all "HOLY SHIT! You were once a nanny?! GURL, you rock!"
Tenth, Jake Worthington of Team Blake singing “Anymore” by Travis Tritt. Initial rehearsals indicate he was a bit sharp singing it. Identity was something touched in the intro piece. Come showtime, if I cared about hardcore country music I'd clock certain things about his singing. Instead, I'll just comment over his "Southern Fried Quasimodo" being adorable. It's adorable. Coach's Corner was all "AWWWW; you're so sweet" [Shakira called him endearing; is that shade? We don't exactly know but she isn't lying].
Eleventh, Tess Boyer of Team Shakira singing “I’ll Be There for You” by Bon Jovi. Initial rehearsals indicate that modernizing a male vocal song is a bit of a bitch. Then her money notes are thought of as flat at first. Come showtime, her vocals have improved quite a bit. Image wise, someone in wardrobe must be docked pay for the Colonel Sanders ensemble with jacket that made me go "I CAN'T". Coach's Corner was all "GURR, you are amazing! You're the one to beat!"
Closing out the Top 12 performances, Josh Kaufman of Team Usher singing “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith. Initial rehearsals indicate his modernizing skills and nerves could screw with him. Come showtime, all my attention went to the graphics used for his performance. Ripping off a Rihanna video ["Umbrella" to be specific]? GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRL. His singing, per usual did not impress me. Coach's Corner was all "THAT WAS AMAZING!" because critiquing the contestants is apparently a no-no. -_-
All in all, though most of my favorites went home, I can't wait to either embrace some
Up next for scrutiny, the Results of the Top 12.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I. Post 15: Lana Del Rey
This is a series dedicated to women who despite success in the U.S. Music Industry, have est. a very complicated image for themselves.
First things first, I must clarify; this series was on hiatus. Never was it going defunct. Now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the entry...
Round 15 of this series goes to surprise recording artist success, Lana Del Rey. Releasing her next proper album, Ultraviolence, some time in the summer of this year now is a better time than ever to analyze her short in length but already complicated career.
Before her proper debut effort, Lana tried 2 major hands at an identity in recorded music. First, she attempted a career under the stage name May Jailer with an effort known as Sirens. Then she tried Lana Del Ray and had an EP called Kill Kill and an LP named Lana Del Ray (which had a song called "Yayo" which appears on her proper follow up, Paradise albeit re-recorded.)
Her proper LP, Born to Die, was released in January of 2012. The lead single of the album was "Video Games" released in October of 2011. The single was met with critical acclaim; an abridged version of their take: "Internet people; shut the fuck up. This chick sounds weird and I like it." The music video would become something of a viral sensation. Directed and edited by Lana herself, the video mixed in vintage cartoons, skateboarding footage and webcam footage of herself. Her personal YouTube channel version has racked up 56,822,761 and her VEVO version has racked up 58,775,139 on YouTube. Added together that's 115,597,900 views as of now. Despite the internet praise (and kickass live versions on Later...with Jools Holland, Inas Nacht and a performance at the Premises) the song itself peaked at #91 on the Hot 100.
*DIS...IS A CLAIMER* "Video Games" was the only single of this effort to even touch the Hot 100.There were also a LOT of promotional singles thrown in there as well. I'm looking at the songs that I think had the intent of being released as official singles.*
The second single from the album was the title track, "Born to Die". Released in December of 2011, (and the first song/video of hers I had ever seen) the song would go on to receive just as much critical love as her debut single. The official music video was directed by Yoann Lemoine. The tallies are as follows: One posted on her channel has 25,136,630 views and her VEVO version has 146,650,595 views; added up, that's 171,787,225 views on YouTube as of now. Despite more polarizing to favorable views of the song and video, the U.S. peak for this was #31 on the Rock Digital Singles chart.
Third released was "Blue Jeans". Like her singles and videos before her, "Blue Jeans" built on the buzz surrounding her. There are technically 2 videos for this song. One was made by Del Rey, and had the same vintage cartoon and flair of "Video Games" and as of now has 18,864,871 views on YouTube. Another "proper" video by Yoann Lemoine was made for her VEVO and now has 87,162,638 views on YouTube.
Added together that's 106,027,509 views as of now. Despite that, single wise it peaked in the U.S. at #41 on the Rock Songs chart. [A kickass remix of this song was made by Penguin Prison]
Finally, "Summertime Sadness"; the original version. More about that later. Originally released in June of 2012, the song continued the "love or hate" reputation of Del Rey. On her own YouTube channel, the music video racked up 146,032,518 views. The video had her and Jaime King ("Goldie/Wendy" from "Sin City") act as lovers before Lana jumps from a cliff.*
*Which brings up our reminder of whenever an artist/group does something weird, this mantra must be said...
Born to Die, despite the polarizing reviews ([http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/26-meanest-quotes-from-reviews-of-lana-del-reys-n] and [http://www.buzzfeed.com/lindseyweber/13-nicest-quotes-from-reviews-of-lana-del-reys-ne] for reference though the list of nice reviews has a sarcastic review but more on that later) would peak at #2 on the Billboard 200.
("Wait; didn't 'National Anthem' make some waves with an appearance by A.$.A.P Rocky as her version of JFK while she played Jackie O?" Yes, but "National Anthem" is a terrible song. We do not talk about that song.)
Having est. a good career template, her next proper follow up; the EP Paradise was released in November of 2012. The only real single would be the second collectively to be released from the album.
First, a cover of "Blue Velvet" by The Clovers would be released as a promotional tie-in for her album and clothing retailer H&M. The music video was posted by H&M as an advertisement for their 2012 Fall Collection.
Then came the only single single release, "Ride". Released 5 days after "Blue Velvet", "Ride" was released with just as much critical accolade as her previous singles. The music video, despite being 10 minutes long, garnered 47,703,483 views on YouTube. As with her other singles with exception to "Video Games", "Ride" did not reach the Hot 100, but did peak at #21 on the Rock Singles chart.
Then "Burning Desire", which was an iTunes bonus track, was essentially used to promote the Jaguar F-type in a commercial film called "Desire". -_-
Paradise would peak at #10 on the Billboard 200 despite the single not touching the Hot 100. Even better, this EP garnered a Grammy nomination for Del Rey [nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Grammy Awards]
After a short film called "Tropico" was made and released, obvious success started to manifest through the soundtrack for the hated by high-school student book turned movie The Great Gatsby. The single she made for the movie was "Young and Beautiful". The video garnered 75,127,539 views on YouTube. With commercial success of the movie and the general soundtrack going #2 in the U.S., "Young and Beautiful" was not only picked as that album's lead single but it would peak at #22 on the Hot 100. This is officially her highest charting...non-remix single.
Then "Summertime Sadness" (Cedric Gervais remix) was released in July of 2013. This played to the wave EDM [Electronic Dance Music] that had been in U.S. Mainstram since at least 2010 [when David Guetta became a thing] Peaking at #6 on the Hot 100, this became her highest charting single to date and her first Top 10 U.S. single.
As of now, her work includes a song on the soundtrack for the upcoming Disney movie, Maleficent. [It's a cover of "Once Upon a Dream"which is the original "Sleeping Beauty" song] and her anticipated proper follow up LP, Ultraviolence. *FUN Fact: the album is being produced by guitarist and vocalist for the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach. [the "Lonely Boy" band; El Camino]*
The lead single "West Coast" was released in single and audio/music video snippet form on April 14th of this year. As of now, that snippet has garnered 7,340,159 views on YouTube.
So what makes Lana one of many W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I? Apart from singles history and music video imagery, it has to do with her image and live performance history.
Image wise, Lana Del Rey had been maligned in the past for being "created" by A&R to sell records; someone who didn't "pay her dues" [code for "playing piss-ant clubs you can miss by driving past an inch of sidewalk".] something that has been said about Lorde and Kylie Minogue respectively. The main source of criticism of Lana's image came courtesy of Hipster Runoff. This is the nice review laden with sarcasm because originally...they had revealed through internet sleuthing that Lana was like any other struggling artist...but one who met Miley Cyrus in the past. Then, in a move of "What the fuck" sarcasm, the site then became the Lana Del Report. O_O
Live performance wise, she's rather hit and miss. Certain songs in certain venues = gold. Her TV debut was on Later...with Jools Holland [UK] and her U.S. TV debut was on SNL [making her the only singer since Natalie Imbruglia to be on the show and not have an album out {she was pimping Born to Die} at the time]. One got rave reviews, the other had Kristin Wiig appear in an ensemble similar to hers while "defending" her performance. Her make up performance wise came when she performed on the David Letterman show.
In essence, Lana while polarizing has been able to make a name for herself in the U.S. market. Ultraviolence will further this trend regardless of success level.
Keep ears to the ground for Round 16.
First things first, I must clarify; this series was on hiatus. Never was it going defunct. Now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the entry...
Round 15 of this series goes to surprise recording artist success, Lana Del Rey. Releasing her next proper album, Ultraviolence, some time in the summer of this year now is a better time than ever to analyze her short in length but already complicated career.
Before her proper debut effort, Lana tried 2 major hands at an identity in recorded music. First, she attempted a career under the stage name May Jailer with an effort known as Sirens. Then she tried Lana Del Ray and had an EP called Kill Kill and an LP named Lana Del Ray (which had a song called "Yayo" which appears on her proper follow up, Paradise albeit re-recorded.)
Her proper LP, Born to Die, was released in January of 2012. The lead single of the album was "Video Games" released in October of 2011. The single was met with critical acclaim; an abridged version of their take: "Internet people; shut the fuck up. This chick sounds weird and I like it." The music video would become something of a viral sensation. Directed and edited by Lana herself, the video mixed in vintage cartoons, skateboarding footage and webcam footage of herself. Her personal YouTube channel version has racked up 56,822,761 and her VEVO version has racked up 58,775,139 on YouTube. Added together that's 115,597,900 views as of now. Despite the internet praise (and kickass live versions on Later...with Jools Holland, Inas Nacht and a performance at the Premises) the song itself peaked at #91 on the Hot 100.
*DIS...IS A CLAIMER* "Video Games" was the only single of this effort to even touch the Hot 100.There were also a LOT of promotional singles thrown in there as well. I'm looking at the songs that I think had the intent of being released as official singles.*
The second single from the album was the title track, "Born to Die". Released in December of 2011, (and the first song/video of hers I had ever seen) the song would go on to receive just as much critical love as her debut single. The official music video was directed by Yoann Lemoine. The tallies are as follows: One posted on her channel has 25,136,630 views and her VEVO version has 146,650,595 views; added up, that's 171,787,225 views on YouTube as of now. Despite more polarizing to favorable views of the song and video, the U.S. peak for this was #31 on the Rock Digital Singles chart.
Third released was "Blue Jeans". Like her singles and videos before her, "Blue Jeans" built on the buzz surrounding her. There are technically 2 videos for this song. One was made by Del Rey, and had the same vintage cartoon and flair of "Video Games" and as of now has 18,864,871 views on YouTube. Another "proper" video by Yoann Lemoine was made for her VEVO and now has 87,162,638 views on YouTube.
Added together that's 106,027,509 views as of now. Despite that, single wise it peaked in the U.S. at #41 on the Rock Songs chart. [A kickass remix of this song was made by Penguin Prison]
Finally, "Summertime Sadness"; the original version. More about that later. Originally released in June of 2012, the song continued the "love or hate" reputation of Del Rey. On her own YouTube channel, the music video racked up 146,032,518 views. The video had her and Jaime King ("Goldie/Wendy" from "Sin City") act as lovers before Lana jumps from a cliff.*
*Which brings up our reminder of whenever an artist/group does something weird, this mantra must be said...
Just roll with it.
Now back to our regularly scheduled analysis...*
Her original version of the song would be her highest of the non Hot 100 peaks, reaching #5 on the Rock songs chart.
Born to Die, despite the polarizing reviews ([http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/26-meanest-quotes-from-reviews-of-lana-del-reys-n] and [http://www.buzzfeed.com/lindseyweber/13-nicest-quotes-from-reviews-of-lana-del-reys-ne] for reference though the list of nice reviews has a sarcastic review but more on that later) would peak at #2 on the Billboard 200.
("Wait; didn't 'National Anthem' make some waves with an appearance by A.$.A.P Rocky as her version of JFK while she played Jackie O?" Yes, but "National Anthem" is a terrible song. We do not talk about that song.)
Having est. a good career template, her next proper follow up; the EP Paradise was released in November of 2012. The only real single would be the second collectively to be released from the album.
First, a cover of "Blue Velvet" by The Clovers would be released as a promotional tie-in for her album and clothing retailer H&M. The music video was posted by H&M as an advertisement for their 2012 Fall Collection.
Then came the only single single release, "Ride". Released 5 days after "Blue Velvet", "Ride" was released with just as much critical accolade as her previous singles. The music video, despite being 10 minutes long, garnered 47,703,483 views on YouTube. As with her other singles with exception to "Video Games", "Ride" did not reach the Hot 100, but did peak at #21 on the Rock Singles chart.
Then "Burning Desire", which was an iTunes bonus track, was essentially used to promote the Jaguar F-type in a commercial film called "Desire". -_-
Paradise would peak at #10 on the Billboard 200 despite the single not touching the Hot 100. Even better, this EP garnered a Grammy nomination for Del Rey [nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Grammy Awards]
After a short film called "Tropico" was made and released, obvious success started to manifest through the soundtrack for the hated by high-school student book turned movie The Great Gatsby. The single she made for the movie was "Young and Beautiful". The video garnered 75,127,539 views on YouTube. With commercial success of the movie and the general soundtrack going #2 in the U.S., "Young and Beautiful" was not only picked as that album's lead single but it would peak at #22 on the Hot 100. This is officially her highest charting...non-remix single.
Then "Summertime Sadness" (Cedric Gervais remix) was released in July of 2013. This played to the wave EDM [Electronic Dance Music] that had been in U.S. Mainstram since at least 2010 [when David Guetta became a thing] Peaking at #6 on the Hot 100, this became her highest charting single to date and her first Top 10 U.S. single.
As of now, her work includes a song on the soundtrack for the upcoming Disney movie, Maleficent. [It's a cover of "Once Upon a Dream"which is the original "Sleeping Beauty" song] and her anticipated proper follow up LP, Ultraviolence. *FUN Fact: the album is being produced by guitarist and vocalist for the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach. [the "Lonely Boy" band; El Camino]*
The lead single "West Coast" was released in single and audio/music video snippet form on April 14th of this year. As of now, that snippet has garnered 7,340,159 views on YouTube.
So what makes Lana one of many W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I? Apart from singles history and music video imagery, it has to do with her image and live performance history.
Image wise, Lana Del Rey had been maligned in the past for being "created" by A&R to sell records; someone who didn't "pay her dues" [code for "playing piss-ant clubs you can miss by driving past an inch of sidewalk".] something that has been said about Lorde and Kylie Minogue respectively. The main source of criticism of Lana's image came courtesy of Hipster Runoff. This is the nice review laden with sarcasm because originally...they had revealed through internet sleuthing that Lana was like any other struggling artist...but one who met Miley Cyrus in the past. Then, in a move of "What the fuck" sarcasm, the site then became the Lana Del Report. O_O
Live performance wise, she's rather hit and miss. Certain songs in certain venues = gold. Her TV debut was on Later...with Jools Holland [UK] and her U.S. TV debut was on SNL [making her the only singer since Natalie Imbruglia to be on the show and not have an album out {she was pimping Born to Die} at the time]. One got rave reviews, the other had Kristin Wiig appear in an ensemble similar to hers while "defending" her performance. Her make up performance wise came when she performed on the David Letterman show.
In essence, Lana while polarizing has been able to make a name for herself in the U.S. market. Ultraviolence will further this trend regardless of success level.
Keep ears to the ground for Round 16.
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