Video - Foul Mouthed Joseph Gordon-Levitt Performs Nirvana's 'Lithium' at Seattle Benefit Show

Our favorite little actor who played Tommy Solomon on “Third Rock From the Sun” sure has grown up.

Yes indeed, he has grown up to be not only a movie star but a foul mouthed heavy rocker.

The actor was hosting the "Hit Record At The Movies With Joseph Gordon-Levitt" series at the Neptune Theater in Seattle Washington last week when he told the audience he was going to change things up a bit.

He proceeded to crank out Nirvana’s hit “Lithium” to a packed house of excited audience members.

The thing we found interesting was what a foul mouth he has as he dropped curse word after curse word.

Not that there's anything wrong with profanity...

I’m still not sure I can get used to seeing him up on a stage with a guitar acting like a musician… but props for trying.

Watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt Rock Nirvana's "Lithium"


And if this music thing doesn’t work out he can certainly fall back on his Hollywood acting career.

Gordon-Levitt can chalk up a few major blockbusters these last few years like “500 Days of Summer”, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, and “Inception” starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio where he is thrown into a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion.

And he is certainly keeping busy this summer filming the Batman action thriller “The Dark Knight Rises” with Anne Hathaway, Christian Bale, and Gary Oldman.

Joseph can also be seen this September 30th with funny man Seth Rogen in the comedy “50/50”, where Gordon-Levitt plays a guy with cancer and Rogen plays a guy who tries to cure it with a cocktail of sex, illicit drugs, and profanity.

Seriously?

Watch Joe and Seth in the latest “50/50” Movie Trailer


Joseph’s budding music career really seems to be taking off and he hosts a number of original tracks on his Last.fm channel that aren’t too bad.

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Video - Meet Megan & Liz Mace - YouTube Super Twins or the Next Music Sensation?

Every now and then we run across artists on the internet that makes us wonder why we haven’t heard of them before.

Where have they been all this time? How could we have missed them?

And so it is with 18-year-old twin sisters Megan and Liz Mace.

We stumbled across them almost by accident while looking for Demi Lovato covers of “Skyscraper” - and after a bit of sleuthing, listening, reading, and talking to people we figured we needed to share their story with our readers.

Megan and Liz Mace are 18-year-old fraternal twins who were born in Indiana, grew up in Michigan, and recently moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music.

They started singing when they were just two-years-old, and wrote their first original song when they were ten. Megan started learning how to play guitar when she was thirteen, and they have been making music together ever since.

Early on they became somewhat obsessed with singer Taylor Swift and quickly started covering her songs and uploading them to their YouTube channel in 2007 – and the rest is history.

Watch Megan and Liz Perform Demi Lovato “Skyscraper”


The twins quickly gained a huge following of fans that call themselves “Macers”, and as of today have over 88 million YouTube views.

They have even been on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Contacted by the show’s producers to talk about appearing on a later show, the unsuspecting twins were surprised when Oprah herself appeared on camera to talk with them.

If that wasn’t enough, Taylor Swift joined the video conference call to say “Hi” to Megan and Liz and congratulate them on their success and invite them to one of her concerts.

Their reactions are priceless…

Watch Megan and Liz on the Oprah Winfrey Show


They have even had the opportunity to meet Taylor in person saying,

“Obviously meeting Taylor Swift was a dream come true! It was almost surreal. She was just as sweet as you would expect here to be. Meeting her gave us even more respect for her!”

They were thrown into the music industry fire and honed their live performance skills last year while touring with Boyce Avenue and Tiffany Alvord - hitting up stages in San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Gainesville, and Orlando.

In 2009, Megan and Liz entered the Oxford Film Festival Singing Contest and won the opportunity to open for recording artist Savannah Outen during her concert in West Chester, Ohio.

That same year they signed a record deal with BMI Records and released their first album “All of Our Boyfriends”.

The EP is available on Amazon and iTunes.

After listening to the Album, or any of their 20 original songs on iTunes, you will see why they call Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, 78Violet, and Miley Cyrus their main influences.

They also cover songs by Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Lady Antebellum, Sara Evans, Usher, Jessie J, Adele, Memphis High, Selena Gomez, P!nk, Ke$ha, Bruno Mars, and Taio Cruz.

Watch Megan and Liz Music Video for “Here I Go”


These two young ladies can really belt out a tune and their complementary vocals and harmonies are those only achieved by their sibling connection.

One of the points of this post is to show that with some good talent and a teenager’s knack for mastering social media – you can become a star.

Megan and Liz have used social media to not only profile their musical talent, they also built an official web site to give tips on beauty and fashion ideas to other teens and sell merchandize like t-shirts, necklaces, and hoodie sweatshirts.

Brilliant.

The twins currently utilize Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, Formspring, iTunes, Amazon, MySpace, iLike, and Last.fm – not to mention all the personal fan sights built by others.

This is how you do it kids – forget about “Big Music” and the west coast record labels. All you need is some talent and a little bit of social media savvy.

Do it the right way and the right people will find you.

Watch Megan and Liz Cover Lady Gaga “Born This Way”


So, you would think that with all this music career stuff they wouldn’t have time for much of anything else right?
Wrong.

Both girls are still in a regular High School and both participate on the cheerleading squad as well as the tennis team. They are also considering joining the school choir.

And what about boys?

We suspect that both Meagan and Liz don’t have the time that normal high school kids have – but they still find time for boys.

In fact, their first album is called “All of Our Boyfriends”, and takes a Taylor Swift style approach where they sing about their boyfriends and lost loves.

The song “Indescribable” was written about Megan’s one time boyfriend Chris. Their fans were shocked when Megan told them she had broken up with him, and then elated when they got back together.

So, with the exception of being the next YouTube sensations and Nashville recording artists, Megan and Liz say they think they are leading pretty normal lives.

Brilliant.

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Music - Split Endz

Yesterday was another sunny summer day in Laguna Beach
where, in spite of the shaky economy,
the sky was so clear, the sun was so bright and the water was so blue
and all the shiny happy people were having fun.
It was the perfect Southern California summer day for a family get together

Even the long drive on the traffic filled 405 freeway didn't seem so bad when we could plug in my daughter's ipod with its 6000 or so songs and listen to music from the 1980s



I'm not sure why she had this song on her ipod
especially given the fact that this it came out in 1982
and she wasn't born until 1985
How could she possibly know this random song?
Do you even remember it?

Nevertheless, driving to Laguna Beach with my daughter,
singing Eighties music in the car,
and spending the day with my family
was pretty much the perfect way enjoy a sunny summer Saturday.

Video - Meet Austin Mahone – Social Media Genius or the Next Justin Bieber?

Have you ever heard of Austin Mahone?

I bet your kids have. And they either love him or hate him – but they have heard of him.

So, who is Austin Mahone? What’s his bio?

Mahone lives in San Antonia Texas and is a 15-year-old singer and musician known for looking like Justin Bieber and recording cover songs on YouTube.

So what? There are lots of kids uploading videos and singing covers these days right?

But Mahone and his fans are different.

His fans are known as Mahomies - and he has his own Blog, Facebook, YouTube, Dailybooth, Tumblr, Twitter, SoundCloud, Formspring, and Myspace accounts.

He records popular cover songs and posts them to YouTube and interacts with his fans on a daily basis and claims that Justin Bieber is his favorite artist.



And oh yea, Mahone LOOKS like Justin Bieber and his fans love him.

The thing that fascinates us about this young man is his savvy for working the social media to create a name for himself while building his own fan base from the ground up without a record label or marketing rep.

He has learned to do what many adults and big companies have failed to do – create a successful brand.

In addition to uploading covers he has hundreds of thousands of Facebook fans, dedicated fan sites, over 13 million YouTube views, and sells t-shirts, posters, wristbands, Stickers, and Necklaces.

Heck, he's even been know to run around shirtless just to tease his female fans.

This is the kind of interaction that defines social media.

His fans love him but he admits that he also has haters saying,

“Haterz don’t matter to me because they are just jealous and the hateful words that they say are garbage. That’s why I don't listen to hate. I am curious of what haterz have to say sometimes just because I'm a curious person. But their opinions of me don't matter to me, because I’m not trying to please them.

What is important are my fans. I love them so much and everything they do for me. Haterz can't hurt you unless you let them. And I just have one last thing to say.... Haterz gonna hate Mahomies gonna love.”

Austin’s success is a prime example of how social media can springboard you into fame, build a fan base, and possibly launch a music career if you’re good enough.

So how powerful can a homegrown fan base be to a young artist like Mahone?



One day last week his fans decided he should appear on the “Ellen Show” with Ellen DeGeneres, and in one magnificent push of social media network power trended the phrase “#MahoneOnEllen” on twitter for the day as a worldwide trending topic.

His fans also bombarded DeGeneres’s Twitter and Facebook account and called her studio’s switchboard requesting she book Austin as a guest.

Why is this significant?

Because it was Ellen DeGeneres and her “eleveneleven” record label that discovered 14-year-old Greyson Chance.

And with less effort than Austin, Greyson has been propelled into a celebrity status with his first album “Hold on ‘til the Night” due to release next week.

Related: Greyson Chance gives video tour of his home town - Video

That kind of power by your own fans is exactly what made Justin Bieber what he is today.

One thing that helps make Mahone a fan favorite is he covers songs that are popular in today’s young music culture ranging from Cody Simpson, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Ne-yo, Usher, Adele, Chris Brown, and Edwin McCain.



So take note big record labels.

The youth of today have developed the social media skills to find, fall in love, promote, and make famous the musical artists THEY want to see and listen to - not who YOU want them to listen to.

Not that there’s not any place for “big music”, but things are changing these days and kids have grown frustrated with the “business as usual” mentality shown by the music industry.

They say that “necessity is the mother of invention”, and our kids are inventing a new way to communicate and enjoy their favorite artists and musicians.

We hope some of the adults out there are listening because these kids can teach us a thing or two about what makes them tick – and they are showing us what it is they want to listen to and who they want to fall in love with as a fan.

After all, if Justin Bieber's pet cat "Spaz" can get his own @Justins_Cat twitter account - than anything is possible!

Related: Justin Bieber's pet cat Spaz joins Twitter

Time will tell if a shirtless Austin Mahone will become the next big teen idol or music sensation…

But shouldn’t we be listening to what they are trying to tell us?

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Video – New “Journey” Rocks the Today Show – Talks About New Album

Anybody who grew up during the 1970’s and 1980’s remembers the original band Journey.

Who can forget "Don't Stop Believin”, “Lights”, “Open Arms”, “Wheel in the Sky”, “Any Way You Want It”, and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin”?

And who could forget the unforgettable voice of Steve Perry?

Journey has been through a lot of transition since their inception when members from the original Santana left to create the new band.

Lead singer Steve Perry was hired in 1977 and became what most of us think about today when we think of the voice of Journey.

But today is a new day and Perry has left the group and been replaced by Pilipino lead singer Arnel Pineda.

Arnel is not the first replacement for Perry – but he is the latest.

We were excited when it was announced they would be performing on NBC’s “Today” Show - and if we close our eyes we can almost hear Perry – and remember the golden early days.

Watch the new “Journey” on the NBC Today Show

Okay, they aren’t bad – but it just doesn’t seem the same as it was in the old days.

But Journey has definitely left their mark on popular culture.

"Don't Stop Believin” was used on “The Sopranos”, and then adapted for the hit television show “Glee” and the “Family Guy”.

Watch Backstage with Journey Video on Today

The band's second album with Arnel Pineda, “Eclipse”, was released in May 2011 and debuted in the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart.

We give the new group a B+

Follow @InfoStar on Twitter – don’t stop believing!

Shirley Logan – A Fantastic Nashville Musician and a Mother Who Inspires – Video

Sometimes musicians get lucky.

They crank out one song and it takes over the world and then the world takes over them – effortlessly.

Not so with Indie song writer and musician Shirley Logan.

Logan has put in her time, and has worked hard to not only incorporate great music into her life – but also be a mother to her four children ages 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Shirley Logan is a very unique artist, and the kind you don’t find around much anymore today. For her it’s all about the music – not the fame, paparazzi, world tours, bling and fortunes.

After listening to her music you can picture her sitting around the campfire with her friends and children picking up her guitar and starting to tell a story.

And every song has a story.

“I love music…GOOD music. I have been influenced by many different styles and don’t exactly fit into one box. My desire is to write excellent music that will be appreciated by many, crossing over the lines that separate style… songs that are an expression of myself, my experiences, my struggles and issues that are universal to the human soul.

I want to write music that identifies with people at their core…honestly… I want to be known, and I want to know you… I would love to hear your feedback… thoughts…memories… revelations… revelations! Perhaps they will become a song...”

Logan, 37, admits that she had to stop listening to advice from people because everybody told her to be mysterious about her age and to not let people know about her children or divorce.

She talks about her experience of packing up and moving to Nashville and realizing she was in for a big challenge,

“I moved to Nashville on October 11, 1993. It only took a few weeks before I was discouraged and felt like I wasn’t good enough to be here…so many writers…so much talent. I had no idea what I was doing! I was twenty years old, didn’t know one soul and lived by myself on South Street just off music row. I got a job working for a management company through a new friend of a friend. One day the owner asked to hear some of my songs, so I gave her a tape (yes, a tape). She was a very confident no-nonsense kind of woman and didn’t skip a beat in telling me that I needed to work on my writing…I had a beautiful voice, but I would never make it in this town. I had only been playing the guitar for a few years and never considered myself a writer, I just wanted to sing….but it deflated me none the less. It would be years before I would share my music again. Three years to be exact.”

You can hear the influence of pop, indie, folk, country and Christian styles in her music and lyrics, and you can tell there is a deep story to every song she writes.

Take the song “Remember Who You Are” for example.

Logan says she wrote it in a moment when she was shocked at her own desire to forgive again after being betrayed so many times by the same person. Her thoughts led her to a deep belief that if it weren't for forgiveness and grace, we would destroy ourselves.



One of our favorites is the song “Who am I”.

She wrote it with Rivers Rutherford after struggling to define her style and realizing she was very shy about performing. She didn’t want to write about how many times her heart had been broken because she didn’t want to relive the pain.

Out of that journey came “Who I Am”.



Logan also penned a song after the devastating floods hit Nashville last year called “Don’t Stop When it Rains” and is an uplifting song for all those who were affected by the devastation.



Shirley is one of those singer songwriters that you can tell has gone through a lot of pain and disappointment. Yet, she has brushed herself off and has come to terms with who she is and what is important to her.

And after listening to her music and getting to know her a little more I can tell you those important things are friends, family and God.

Logan can be contacted from her Facebook page and her albums and CD’s are available from her website ShirleyLogan.com

God speed Shirley Logan.

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Christiana – A New York Singer You Should Get to Know – Video

Every now and then we run across a new artist or singer that really impresses us.

We found Christiana from her Facebook page and YouTube channel and are wondering why more people have not picked up on her distinctive style and unique talent.

She hails from New York and has spent a lifetime singing, dancing, and learning how to act - and has an impressive number of professionally done studio videos of her music.

Christiana is the Granddaughter of a famous Opera singer and you can tell by her fashion and musical dexterity that the glamor and style has transcended down through the generations.

The thing we liked most was her throwback to the classic vintage style of music. You know - music that you can actually listen to, enjoy, and understand the words.

Christiana names Judy Garland, Celine Dion, and Queen as her big musical influences – and we definitely see that as young and beautiful as she is, she sports an old soul when it comes to her music.

She almost comes across as a Marilyn Monroe meets Madonna old-fashioned style, but a few of her photos and music videos actually have a slight Lady Gaga look and feel – and we mean that in a good way.

Christiana is very elegant and sophisticated, and clearly does not need a meat dress, plastic egg, shoulder horns, or bizarre costume to express her mood.

She seems very comfortable in her own skin, and this is most evident in her video “Being Alive”.

With a sound somewhere between classical Madonna and Celine, it is a great example of her musical range and emotion she puts into her music.

Watch Christiana perform "Being Alive"


In another song titled “Werewolf”, Christiana shows how effortlessly she can belt out the power notes.

In every song we listened to we could always hear a blend of styles – sometimes pop, sometimes romantic, sometimes musical Broadway, other times more vintage old school.

It is refreshing to find an artist who seems to be all about the music and not the fame, costumes, paparazzi, TV appearances, World tours, tabloid stories, and meat dresses.



Christiana seems like one of those artists that could really outshine her competition if given the right opportunity, producer, studio exposure, and set list.

Perhaps the world is not quite ready to return to the days when music was music and Hollywood was Hollywood.

But someday, we will all wake up and realize that Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Kanye, and others were just an output function of a massive marketing scheme designed more to make money than actually entertain us.

Christiana is a classic musical entertainer.

Yes, someday we will once again stir our inner desire to simply listen to and enjoy music for what it is meant to be – music.

Good luck Christiana, we hope you get your big break and are given the opportunity to express yourself to the world in the way you so clearly are prepared for.

Follow InfoStar on Twitter – no werewolf’s allowed

Jennifer Lopez Announcing Return to American Idol for Season 11

Well, it sounds like the whole gang of judges will be returning for season 11 of American Idol.

We knew Steven Tyler was under a multi-year contract, and Randy Jackson has already told the media he would be back, and we all knew Ryan Seacrest wasn't going anywhere.

The only hold-out seemed to be Jennifer Lopez.

She had recently told reporters that she was “on the fence” about returning for season 11 and had not made up her mind yet saying,

"I had an amazing time doing it and I loved it, but I have a lot of other things happening, and it's going to come down to making a choice of really what I want to do for the next year. We're not really at the breaking point of 'You have to make a decision right now!' So I'm not.”

But today, E! News Online is reporting that Lopez will be making an announcement as soon as this week that she will be returning as a judge on American Idol season 11.

That’s good news.

Jennifer was a great addition as was Steven Tyler, and losing her after just a year would have been a blow to the show.

Some insiders say she was holding out for more money – asking for $20 million per season instead of her $12 million she got her first year.

But all you have to do is look at her schedule to see that this woman is as busy as it gets and fitting Idol into her schedule really is going to be difficult.

Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony are producing a Latin American singing competition show called Que Viva that has consumed a great amount of her time this summer.

She has also just been cast alongside Cameron Diaz in the romantic comedy “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”.

The movie is scheduled to start filming in 2011 with a 2012 Mother’s Day release date and will follow the lives of four couples as they prepare to become parents.

Lopez is also currently filming the animated comedy “Ice Age: Continental Drift” with Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Aziz Ansari, and comedian Wanda Sykes.

The movie is currently being filmed and has a projected release date of July 13, 2012. Plot details are top secret but producers have released the following “Ice Age 4” trailer.

Watch Ice Age Continental Drift Movie Trailer


And if those projects aren’t enough to keep J-Lo busy she is also preparing to star alongside Jason Statham in the movie “Parker” - a crime thriller centered on a thief who lives by a code of honor that includes never stealing money from people who need it.

While "Parker", with a $25 million production budget is still in pre-production, it is slated for release sometime on 2012 which means Lopez will need to find time over the next 10 months for filming.

And don't forget, Lopez also has a very active singing career going full tilt.

Whew… Now I can see why she was on the fence!

We’re glad she decided to come back for another season of American Idol and look forward to another year as exciting as last year’s revamped improvement.

Funny, we didn’t miss Simon Cowell for a minute.

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Video - Dani Shay Releases New Video of Her Personal Journey Through Life and Music

Dani Shay wants you to know who she is and what she is about.

She wants to share her views of music, poetry, laughter, and life – and says she is ready to share her music with the World.

“I feel that it’s my purpose, and my job to be exactly who I am.  I’ve been preparing, I’ve been learning, I’ve been growing. I know that after this I’m going to be in a HD studio recording with violins and other musicians and producers and a fancy mixing board. So thank you for welcoming me into your life.”

Many of you first met Dani Shay on the television show “America’s Got Talent” when she sang a parody of Justin Bieber’s hit song “Baby” after being told by friends and fans that she looks like the young superstar.

Related: Was that Justin Bieber on AGT? – Video

Twenty-two year old Dani comes from Orlando Florida and has been a musician all her life.

You can tell by her music and lyrics that there is a deep connection within her, and she is desperately trying to make sense of life’s journey through her music.

Last week, Shay was selected by the AGT judges to proceed to the live Hollywood round of the shows competition putting her one step closer to her dream.

Related: Dani Shay is going to Hollywood! – Video

But her journey almost ended last week when she decided to audition with her original tune “Super Heroes” and had to stop midway as her nerves got the best of her.

All three judges chastised her for singing an original, but gave Dani the opportunity to audition again with a cover of Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble”.

It was good enough for the judges to put her through to the live Hollywood shows starting mid-July.

Almost as if she knows she is on the cusp of fame, Dani talks about her current album “See Me Now” and says it will become known as the “stuff I did before I got famous”.

She self-produced it herself and says,

“I created this 10-track album by myself in the Fall of 2010, while on a week-long, completely secluded recording retreat.  It includes 2 live bonus tracks, and has a very personal touch.  :)  I’ll sign the first 1,000 copies I sell!”

The album is available from her website Danishay.com

Shay also created a ten minute video for The Next Great Singer web site that gives us a little insight into who she is, what she is made of, what she likes, what scares her, and what her dreams are.

Watch Dani Shay Self Discovery Video


We suspect Dani is right – after her national media exposure on “America’s Got Talent”, and her already embedded base of music and fans, the next stop is Hollywood or Nashville to launch a full-blown music career.

Even if she doesn’t get much farther in the AGT competition, enough people have seen her, and know who she is, that it’s just a matter of time before the music labels come knocking at her door.

Once she gets the right people, financing, and marketing behind her there will be no stopping this artist.

But Dani, don’t let the system turn you into somebody you don’t want to be. Stay true to yourself and always be yourself and let the world come to you.

And about that whole looking like Justin Bieber thing - it might have been the best thing to ever happen to you as it got the World’s attention.

That’s always how it starts – with just one lucky break.

Follow InfoStar on Twitter – Dani would approve...

Too Good Not To Share

I'm sure that most of you have seen this already
but for those who haven't,  I just have to share

Was That Justin Bieber on America’s Got Talent? No - It Was Dani Shay - Video

Meet Dani Shay From Orlando

We all know who Justin Bieber is.

No one knew who Dani Shay was…

Until last night.

Meet Dani Shay, Justin Bieber’s identical twin look-a-like doppelganger.

Twenty-two year old Dani is a splitting image of teen pop sensation Justin Bieber – and she doesn’t like it one bit.

Shay hails from Orlando Florida and is a singer songwriter who considers herself part of the Indie, acoustic, folk genre – NOT the teenage bubble gum puppy love genre.

And she’s not a boy – she’s a girl and proud of it.

In fact, back when people started telling her she was a splitting image of Bieber she didn’t even know who they were talking about.

Over time, it got to be such a problem she wasn’t really sure how to deal with it - so she pleaded with fans to take a deeper look at her – and not just look at the surface.

She made her plea via YouTube with the following video:



As Biebermania exploded, Shay grew frustrated that all anybody wanted to hear her play at her live shows was “Baby”. So she set out to rectify the problem with her own version of Bieber’s hit song “Baby” – she called it “What the Hell?”

Dani says she wrote the “Baby” parody as her way to fight back when people saw her for who THEY wanted her to be and not the person she really was.

Dani says,

“I am stopped everywhere I go because people think I am Justin Bieber. Before I even knew who he was, no matter what I was wearing, I would be asked for photos, autographs. “What The Hell” was my response to that. It expresses my initial confusion, the shock when I finally saw his face, the frustration with people only seeing him when they see me.”

Watch Dani Shay sing “What the Hell” Baby Parody


Dani very much has her own musical style, and even covers an Eminem song, but her biggest frustration was being compared to Bieber.

Her solo album “See Me Now” can be purchased from her website DaniShay.com, and she will autograph it on request and refers to it as her “pre-fame” album.

So, will Dani Shay become famous?

After last night - the answer is probably yes!

You see, Shay took the stage at the “America’s Got Talent” Houston auditions last night and had the opportunity to sing “What the hell” in front of 20 million television viewers.

She was a smash hit! The audience and AGT judges loved it and we’re sure we will be seeing more of her.



What do you think?

Will Dani Shay get her 15 minutes of fame?

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Music - A Whiter Shade of Pale

From the Morton Report
On this day in 1967, Procol Harum went to #1 on the UK singles chart with a song that over 40 years later would be named the most-played record of the past 70 years (with more than 900 known recorded versions by other artists).




I just thought that you needed a little music trivia today.

Kara DioGuardi Debuts Reality Show “Platinum Hit” On Bravo

Before American Idol nobody knew who Kara DioGuardi was.

And since she left the show… everybody has forgotten about her.

But now she is back in a new reality show on the Brava network taking us deep inside the music industry to see how hit songs are created.

The show is called “Platinum Hit” and stars not only DioGuardi but pop rock music icon Jewel.

The premise of the show is that a group of twelve unknowns has three hours to write a hit song, perform it in front of the judges (Kara and Jewel), and then await their fate.

Kara says that she understands that not all hit songs are rushed through a three hour process but says,

"Good new songs are the backbone of the music industry. There isn't an artist out there who could survive without hit songs. That's how it happens - you have to make an album, but you're touring and you're busy and your life is crazy. So they clear three hours on a Thursday night and they put you together with a writer and you come out with a song. That is the real world for today’s artists, and that’s what we’re going to show in Platinum Hit”.

Platinum will break the group up into teams where one team will write the “hook” for a new song, and the other team will complete the song and hope it passes muster with the judges.

But a lot of people are asking why Kara DioGuardi? Why not some big named music producer we have all heard of?

Kara DioGuardi IS one of those big wigs. You just didn’t know it!

So what songs has Kara DioGuardi written?

Not a lot of people truly understood her background and credentials when she appeared on American Idol – and she has spoken out publicly about that.

Songs that Kara has written or produced have sold more than 150 million copies, and she has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry.

She collaborated with Christina Aguilera on her album Back to Basics in 2006, co-writing 12 of the 13 tracks on the album, and DioGuardi wrote and produced "Ooh Ooh Baby" and co-produced "Heaven on Earth" on Britney Spears album Blackout.

She co-wrote and produced Pink's "Sober", Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up", Katharine McPhee's "Had It All", Carrie Underwood's "Undo It", and Theory of a Deadman's "Not Meant to Be", among others.

She wrote much of The Hannah Montana Season 3 Soundtrack including "Mixed Up", "He Could Be the One" and "Don't Wanna Be Torn".

Then there was Demi Lovato's song "The Middle", and "If I Can't Have You" for Meat Loaf's 2010 album.

DioGuardi also co-owns Arthouse Entertainment – a production company that provides songs, music, writers, performers, and complete compositions for other companies and artists.

Arthouse has been responsible for B.O.B’s “Nothin’ On You”, Bruno Mars “Just The Way You Are” and “Grenade”, Cee-Lo Green’s “Forget You”, Flo Rida’s “Club Can’t Handle Me”, Jim Jones' "We Fly High", Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me", David Archuleta's single "Crush", Mika's "Grace Kelly", OneRepublic's "Apologize" and "Stop and Stare”, Faith Hill's "Lost", "Sober" by P!nk, "Pieces of Me" by Ashlee Simpson, and "He Could Be The One" by Hannah Montana.

See what we mean? But why are we telling you all of this?

We’re telling you this so when you watch the show you can understand that Kara really does pack a powerful industry background and actually knows what she is talking about.

Regardless of what her American Idol fans thought.

Platinum hit airs on Monday nights on the Bravo channel.

Watch Platinum Hit Producer Sneak Peek Interview


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Saturday Morning Miscellany and Music

A little of this...a little of that

From Discover, Kissing and Cancer

From WSJ, Eternal Sunshine of the Springtime Mind

From WSJ, Modernism's Austrian Rebels

From Bloomberg News, Virginia Postrel on Oprah, American Girls and Binge Dreamers

From Businessweek, Tyler Cowen America's Hottest Economist

Amid Privilege for Professor C's post on Ethan Frome

Une Femme d'un Certain Age for a Taxonomy of Tourists

and for your listening pleasure
Air and Au Revoir Simone performing Left Bank

Video - Lauren Alaina Sings “Like My Mother Does” on American Idol – Impresses Judges

American Idol finalist Lauren Alaina may be closer to winning then she thinks.

Fans around the country are rushing to the internet today in hopes of learning more about the Rossville Georgia native who has country music in her blood.

Last night on the season 10 finals, 16-year-old Lauren blew away the judges, and viewers, with her version of Kristy Lee Cook’s “Like My Mother Does”.

Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler all seemed to agree that it was the best performance of the evening and would most likely propel Alaina into the winning spot.

If Lauren wins this year’s American Idol competition, “Like My Mother Does” will become her first single on her first album.

During her performance, Lauren moved through the audience and stopped in front of her own mother to sing a few bars. By the time she returned to the stage her mother was in tear as was most of the audience.

It was the cutest thing we’ve ever seen on an Idol show.

Watch Lauren sing “Like My Mother Does on AI”


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Music For A Friday - Blackbird Blackbird Pure

Ah, finally Friday
Lot's do to this weekend away from the computer...car shopping, training session at the gym, art gallery opening, dinner with a friend, hiking...the usual nonsense.

DSK and Arnold aka the "topic of the week" has been a gift that just keeps on giving with so much stuff all over the net. A friend wrote this to me in an email:
And preying on women is big time wrong! And from an egoistic point of view where is the satisfaction ? "A vaincre sans péril on triomphe sans gloire".
Indeed
So here is some music to start your weekend off
I like the chill sound but the video could bring on an epileptic fit
so listen rather than watch

Jewelry in Film: The Affair of the Necklace

Like Faux Fuchsia, at times I must listen to the commands of the universe.
Where FF is directed by the cosmos to bake
I am directed to watch movies.
Lately the black dog has been scratching at the door and I've keep it at bay by settling down on the sofa with netflix or amazon prime.
For several years I've wanted to delve into a series of posts on films where jewelry is an important element of the story,
and where better to start, as I am still in 18th Century Mode, than with The Affair of the Necklace

The film, based on the true story of an extortion plot aimed at Marie Antoinette, is told from the point of view of the con artist or should I say conne artist Jeanne de la Motte played by Hilary Swank. In the film, she is Jeanne de Saint-Remy de Valois, a woman of noble birth, who is forced into her role because she can't get the attention of the queen for restitution of her family estates.  De la Motte / Valois claims to have favor and influence with the Queen in order to solicit patronage by the out of favor Count de Rohan, played by Jonathon Pryce.

Here is the history from Wikipedia.

and a reconstruction of the infamous Collier Reine Breteuil

Considering the historical importance of the actual Affair of the Necklace in terms of undermining Marie Antoinette and the Royal Family, I thought that this would be an excellent film.
I was wrong.
This film was bad on so many levels I won't name them all.
But it needs to be said that casting Hilary Swank in the role of de la Motte was a mistake.
And, seeing the many historical inaccuracies, large and small, such as watching Swank saunter around Versailles with unpowdered hair was so annoying.

For me, the highlight of the film was the closing credits because of the Lisa Gerrard/Brendan Perry song "Ariadne".

Lady Gaga Releases Official ‘Judas’ Music Video - Watch

The wait is over.

The suspense has been building for a month.

There have been rumors, and we have seen snippets.

We have all heard the song a hundred times already, and yesterday the official Lady Gaga music video for her latest single “Judas” was released on YouTube and Vevo.

The traffic was initially too much for YouTube to handle and there were times when the video was unavailable or ran slow. In just 24 hours it has been viewed almost 3 million times. The video site Vevo was also overwhelmed for the first 12 hours after the release.

And for good reason. It is awesome.

While less bizarre than “Born This Way”, it does hold on to that religious overtones that Gaga herself has been putting out there for the last month.

It has crowns of thorns, bikers named John and Peter, crosses, a huge cast of dancers, lots of weird makeup, guys kissing, and an interesting part where Miss Gaga explores her fetish of water.

Or only criticism is that you can clearly tell she is lip-syncing through some parts of it due to the extreme camera angles and close-ups.

We also still think it sounds a lot like Madonna's "Express Yourself". So much in fact, we think the allegations of plagiarism may hold some merit.

But overall we love it.

Watch Lady Gaga Official “Judas” Music Video


Gaga also visited with Ellen DeGeneres last week for her first live performance of “Judas” that gave us a sneak peek of what to expect with the new video.

Watch Lady Gaga Perform “Judas” on the Ellen Show


Related: Watch Lady Gaga Official Video “Born This Way”
Related: Weird Al Yankovic covers Gaga “Born This Way”
Related: Gaga takes big fall on stage during concert

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Stevie Nicks Sings For Sara

Stevie and Sara

Back in July of 2008 I blogged about the special relationship between Stevie Nicks and Sara the beautiful daughter of my dear friend Joe, who died at the age of 24 after battling a rare form of cancer for 7 years.
Here is the link to the post
Stevie Nicks - A Class Act

Well, Stevie Nicks has finally released her first studio album since 2001, "In Your Dreams", and not forgetting her special relationship she has dedicated the album to Sara.
Here's what Nicks had to say about it in an interview in Spinner.com

'In Your Dreams' is dedicated to "Sara, my sweet girl," tell me about her?
Sara was a girl that had a very rare kind of cancer, and our friend Lisa Loeb connected me and her parents. They brought her to a show, and we became very close. She was about 21 when I met her, and she'd been fighting this cancer since she was 17. I was in very close contact with her and her parents through three years. In 2008, [after a Fleetwood Mac tour], I flew to Pennsylvania and spent a day with her. She died three days later

I lost my best friend to leukemia 30 years ago. There was a very similar feeling, except that when I lost Robin [Anderson], I was on the road and everybody was high, so it was horrible. I never got to really grieve about that because I was in the midst of this whole big Fleetwood Mac thing. But when Sara died, I was in Mexico in a very quiet house, and I was hit extremely hard. She loved my music so much, and she wanted me to do another record so much, and I was still on that "I'm never going to do another record" kick.

I just loved her so much, and it was very hard to lose her. She fought a really good fight between 17 and 24, and I dedicated the record to her because I felt in so many ways that it belonged to her.

All of this just goes on to remind me that life is truly very short and our time spent with the the ones that we care about  is so very precious and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Taking a tip from Belette Rouge, recently I've been listening to a lot of meaningful songs, personal anthems if you will, with lyrics that express my feelings in way that is more on point than anything I could write on my own.  I am not a poet.
Wouldn't you know it that Stevie Nick's new album would just happen to have another one of these songs that would be so meaningful to me at this very specific time in my life.
In fact it is the perfect song for the now ex Mr BHB.



i used to love you
see light inside of you
i used to dream that
you were an angel

This is such a beautiful ballad, don't you agree?
It may never become a commercial hit because of the long 5 minute running time which is almost impossible for radio play, but I do hope that she will get millions of downloads of it.

Anthem - Rolling In The Deep

La Belette Rouge recently posted about our need for having personal anthems at different points in our lives.  We've all had them haven't we?

Well, after certain events last weekend that resembled a French farce
this is my current life anthem.

Luckily, the timing for these events couldn't have been better as Easter, at least for me, signifies Spring and a time for new beginnings and paying more attention to the things that add value to my life.
Bon, on y va.