Fred Said . . .

These cool country-pop songs by Sugarland, I do not exactly think will be played on our local FM radio. So I decided to post them here. I so especially like this live version of Dream Academy's "Life in a Northern Town" where Sugarland sings with Little Big Town and Jake Owen. Great combination of voices.

From Wikipedia:

Sugarland is an American country music duo composed of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (background vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar).

February of 2008 found Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush recording the follow up to 2006's Enjoy the Ride. The new single entitled "All I Want to Do" was released on May 19, the day after the duo preformed the song on the 2008 ACM awards. "All I Want To Do" debuted at #27 on the country charts, the highest debut for the duo since 2006's "Want To" which debuted at #36. Love on the Inside is due to be released on July 29, 2008. In addition, a deluxe fan edition of this CD will be released on July 22nd. This will include the duo's collaboration with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, Life In A Northern Town.

Listen to the new No. 1 song this week. And more than that, it is also the 1000th Number 1 song of the Rock Era. Read more about this on http://3xhcch.multiply.com/journal/item/227.

According to Bill Lamb of About.com:
It was only a matter of time before the wit and style of British female singer-songwriters Lily Allen and Kate Nash landed on American shores. A distinctly US born version has arrived in the person of Katy Perry. Her single "I Kissed a Girl" is burning up charts, both sales and airplay, and look for more sassy women to vie for the pop spotlight she has so expertly snatched.

"I Kissed a Girl," fueled by an instrumental wallop provided courtesy of producer Dr. Luke, is the perfect breakthrough. Bathed in praise for "cherry chapstick" and "soft skin, red lips, so kissable," Katy Perry states her unquestionable independence with stylish spirit.

"I Kissed a Girl" is a perfect summer hit. The beat pounded out by drums, guitar, and bass will sound perfect with the top down. Both singles, "I Kissed a Girl" and "UR So Gay," demonstrate a songwriting talent to reckon with. This is likely not the last we hear from Katy Perry.

This is the new Number 1 song this week on the Billboard Hot 100. According to Billboard.com, "Viva La Vida" jumps from No. 2 to the top spurred by digital sales of 246,000 copies earning Coldplay its first No. 1 hit. The group's fourth Capitol album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," is expected to debut at No. 1 next week.

Review by Bill Lamb from about.com
(http://top40.about.com/od/singles/gr/vivalavida.htm):

Often with a popular and accomplished performer or band, it is possible to tell a particular song is their recording by the distinctive voice of a vocalist or the instrumental sound of the group. With Coldplay, it is something as ethereal and hard to pin down as the feel of their music. From the opening of the strings on "Viva La Vida," this is undoubtedly a Coldplay song.

"Viva La Vida" soars in with a grandiose instrumental arrangement and sweeping lyrics detailing the pain of being deposed from a lofty position. The big sound of the song constantly verges on becoming overblown, but Coldplay know how to walk the tightrope perfectly. Bells and chimes and orchestral swells are all there on the chorus, but Chris Martin's voice still pierces through like a clarion call. Lyrically, the pain of the protagonist is clear, but the sweep of words about Jerusalem bells, Roman cavalry, and Saint Peter give "Viva La Vida" an air of intelligence rare in today's most popular pop songs.

Coldplay have laid out the perfect carpet here to lead fans to the album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. "Viva La Vida" is already roaring into the pop top 10 and looks to be the band's biggest pop hit in the US yet. The success is well deserved. This song is timeless.

With banal lyrics like "magic rainbows" aside, I think David Cook was able to lift this typical corny Idol coronation song into his own level of cool. I can't wait for his new album due out later this year!

Check out this news item about David Cook's new Billboard Hot 100 record! http://3xhcch.multiply.com/journal/item/220/

Review from billboard.com

Despite its weary template, "American Idol" season seven managed to peak with a jaw-clencher: Which David will win? With a comfortable margin of 12 million votes, America got it right, as rocker David Cook was deemed the prize winner May 21. Unfortunately, he is saddled with victory anthem "Time of My Life," the same sort of gooey ballad that has beleaguered every Idol, but he delivers it with enough gritty panache to at least propel it beyond its clichéd thematic and melodic makeup. Despite the show reminding over and over about how much talent pervaded this season, most among the top 12 face an uphill climb in the real world. Cook is a star, as is earnest runner-up David Archuleta and too-early castoff Michael Johns. The real competition begins when we hear what these pageant finalists deliver post-reality series. Time will tell. —Chuck Taylor

Review from commonsensemedia.org

A power ballad of sorts, this song was written by Regie Hamm and sung by David Cook after becoming the winner of American Idol.

David Cook shines as he belts out his last song on the Idol stage. The tune is a perfect choice to showcase his American rocker vocal range, bringing forth the raspy sounds when needed and the clear, emotional notes from the bottom of his soul. The uplifting ballad is sure to be an anthem heard at many sporting events, in commercials, and at school dances, as it's full of positive messages about living in the moment and appreciating all you have. Putting the cheesy factor and generic made-for-TV sound aside, it will no doubt be a source of inspiration for many people.

This is the Billboard magazine review of this exciting new single from the Material Girl:

It doesn't take anywhere close to "4 Minutes" to realize that Madonna is poised to score her first top 10 hit since 2005's "Hung Up." The launch single from upcoming "Hard Candy"—her 11th and final studio album for Warner Bros.—co-stars Justin Timberlake, with production props from Timbaland. There's an awful lot going on in the busy dance track: sing-song verses, insistent foghorns, cowbells, chants of "tick-tock" and "Madonna, Madonna," and a rap from Timbaland—but the trade-off chorus between Madge and Justin of "We've only got four minutes to save the world" is hooky enough unto itself to sell the song. "4" qualifies as an event record between superpowers who not only share equal billing, but sound gangbusters together. Expect instantaneous penetration for this spring break '08 anthem. —Chuck Taylor

What do you guys think about it?

More familiar fare from the star of stage musicals...

Here are some songs from John Barrowman's latest album which he called "Another Side," since these are not songs from stage musicals for which he is more well known.

For those who don't know him, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barrowman) has this to say about him:

"John Barrowman (born 11 March 1967 in Mount Vernon, Glasgow) is a Scottish-American actor, musical performer, dancer, singer, and TV presenter who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. He currently lives in the UK with long-term partner Scott Gill.

Barrowman is best known on British television for his acting and his presenting work on theatre. His most prominent television role has been as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. He has featured in such light entertainment shows as Live & Kicking, Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, as well as appearing on the celebrity ice skating show Dancing on Ice."

..And the nominees are:

Feist
Ledisi
Paramore
Taylor Swift
Amy Winehouse

There is an all-female line up in the nominations for Best New Artist for this year. Of course, I am disappointed by the exclusion of Daughtry and Elliott Yamin in this list. I felt they also made great-sounding debut albums this year. Especially Daughtry who also had several nominations in the Rock categories.

Aside from Amy Winehouse and Paramore who had hit songs on local radio, the other three are practically unheard of hereabouts. I thought I was quite updated with music news so I am familiar with Feist and Swift, but the name of Ledisi is totally new to me.

Amy Winehouse should be the clear favorite here, since she has 5 other nominations in major categories, including , Album of the Year for her US breakthrough album "Back to Black", as well as Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Rehab". She is an English soul, jazz, R&B singer and songwriter, 24 years old this year. She actually had her debut release back in 2003 in Great Britain, entitled "Frank."

Feist is an indie-rock musician from Canada. She actually won the Best New Artist Juno there back in 2004. In the US, she gained prominence this year when her song "1234" (from her third solo album "The Reminder") was used in an iPod Nano commercial. The song eventually reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Taylor Swift represents Country music in this list. She is only 16 years old when her self-titled debut album was released late 2006. She has three Top 40 hits already with this album ("Tim McGraw", "Teardrops on my Guitar" and "Our Song"). In October 2007, the Nashville Songwriters Association International honored her with their Songwriter / Artist of the Year Award, making her the youngest artist ever to win the award.

Paramore is led by lead singer Hayley Williams. She is only 18 years old this year. It actually released its debut album back in 2005. But mainstream success hit with their album "Riot" released this year. The single that did it for them is "Misery Business," which peaked at #34 on the Hot 100.

Ledisi is an R and B singer from New Orleans. She had independent albums released in 2000 and 2002, but it was only this year when she had her major-label album called "Lost and Found". From this album, she had a single "Alright" which had only hit the R&B charts.

"Umbrella" was written by Jay-Z, Terius "The Dream" Nash, and Christopher Stewart. It was reportedly offered first to Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears, before finally being recorded by Rihanna. This became the first single off Rihanna's third album "Good Girl Gone Bad". It went on to top the charts all over the world earlier this year. It spent 7 weeks at Number One in the Billboard Hot 100. It spent 10 weeks at Number 1 in the U.K. Singles Chart.

You know this just has to be the biggest hit song this year by the sheer number of cover versions out there. I have put here the original Rihanna ftrg. Jay-Z single version. There is also a remix version with Chris Brown. Then there are various cover versions by Mandy Moore, Marie Digby, Scott Simons, and Vanilla Sky.

I have put here side by side the original version of "Apologize" by One Republic, and the more popular Timbaland remix, credited as Timbaland ftrg. One Republic.

The Timbaland version's first appearance in the Billboard Hot 100 was week 16/2007 (at number 95), and currently (week 45/2007), it is at Number 2.

Details about the band Los Angeles band One Republic can be found on http://www.myspace.com/onerepublic.