No More Tears (Enough is Enough)

Well, I welled-up a couple of times last night. Last night watching IDOL GIVES BACK, the Annie Lennox piece tore me apart, partly because she is so genuine and partly because when she sang, it was both moving and jaw-dropping. Her voice, if possible, is stronger than it was over 20 years ago when she first came on the scene. With her last two original albums not being too overwhelmingly wonderful as her "Diva" CD, I fear that, much like Stevie Nicks, she is becoming overlooked and under appreciated as one of the great contributors of Pop and Rock music. With her apparent exit from Clive Davis' label after a career-long run, I can only hope that her new label will encourage a return to melodies & choruses combined with thought-provoking lyrics. Again, her "Diva" is the best album of the 90's in my book. Do you notice a Brooke White resemblance in the picture here? Fergie kicked ass on her solo tune and her "Barracuda" with Heart. I immediately went to buy "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You," by Heart - one of their last (and funniest) pop hits. And as expected, Miss Carrie's "Praying For Time," killed me! I'm hoping she records a studio version with a little more pop/country flair (add some acoustic guitars) so it'll become a hit the way her "I'll Stand By You" did. So, that's what I enjoyed. Here's the other end: please put Robin Williams out of MY misery. Two songs from Miley? I get it. She's huge. But for Fox to give-way to a Disney and ABC star is quite astounding. Gloria Estefan. I noticed her weight-loss and fresh face. Did you? Regardless, I fear that Gloria will be remembered for her "Conga," and "Get on Your Feet" schlock and not the wonderful pure pop ballads like "Words Get In The way," "Cuts Both Ways," "Anything For You," and many more. Never known as a fabulous singer, that woman wrote some damn-good ballads.

NOTE: 30 ROCK and THE OFFICE return tonight! Sheer joy! (IDOL results air tonight as well.)

My other cry of the night? Damn you Diane Sawyer and your "Primetime" special on Randy Pausch! Randy, a college professor, gave an uplifting and inspiring speech which was later posted for students who didn't have the chance to see it. Millions and millions of views later, his logical proverbs and motivating stories have become a book, "The Last Lecture," as well as a quiet movement. Pausch was diagnosed with cancer and a prognosis of 6 months to live. He's on his seventh month and will ultimately leave his wife and 3 children (under 6) very shortly. Therefore my tears were combined of sorrow and inspiration indeed. Get the book or watch his speech for free at You Tube.

Lack of Inspiration

Inspired? InTIRED! --- Something you might not know about me: I love inspirational music. Bebe & Cece Winans are amazing and made incredible albums together with some of the most hookiest melodies in pop and R&B. That said, from the obvious ("You've Got A Friend") to the WTF (Our Lady Of Peace's "Innocence"), I really wish there was a job at Idol to be the contestants A&R guy. I want that job. But alas, the kids have to pick their own songs. Coaches advise them but cannot give them their "final answer." Here's what I shouted out last night to the TV: "If you're on American Idol, after 7 seasons and are singing a song that was not a top 20 or top 10 smash, you're an idiot and you're singing for yourself - not for 'the win' and not for the viewers." This exclamation was prompted by both Carly's Queen choice and David Cook's Innocence song. You are boring me. You're boring America. And with that, I offer some other choices that would have been better: Baby D (in need of an up-tempo tune) would have killed on Natasha Beddingfield's "Unwritten." It's a no-brainer. It's one of the most popular songs of the decade and would have catapulted him to the top again (because he would have "made it his own" by merely being a guy singing a girl's song.) I have an "UpLifting" playlist. Below is just a sample of the 100 song collection I've made. These would have been amazing by anyone on the show last night. While there is a Broadway night soon, the choices of something no one know but will kill, such as Sondheim's "Sunday," would have put whoever sung it, on the pedestal of Fantasia's "Summertime" performance 4 years ago.

NO MORE DRAMA (Mary J Blige)
YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE (New Radicals)
LET YOUR SOUL BE YOUR PILOT (Sting)
I MADE IT THROUGH THE RAIN (Manilow - a redo by D Cook coulda killed!)
ANYTIME YOU NEED A FRIEND & MAKE IT HAPPEN (Mariah)
NEW ATTITUDE (LaBelle)
SWEET FREEDOM (Michael McDonald)
FRIENDS (Bette Midler)
DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE (Streisand)
STEP BY STEP (Whitney)

That's just a sample. While I'm glad no one chose "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or "Wind Beneath My Wings / From A Distance," the choices of "I Believe" and "You've Got A Friend," showed what I knew: Seyesha has no deep catalogue of songs in her iPod and when pushed to be obvious, Brooke steps up and delivers. Yawn. Seyesha? BYEsha! Kristy Lee Cook? Kristy Lee BOOK your flight home. They need to go next. Seyesha's got balls! Whitney one week and an Idol winners song the next!?

I hear that IDOL GIVES BACK is going to be wonderful tonight. I read that performances by Annie Lennox and Fergie shine. Just as she did last year, I expect Carrie Underwood's cover for the telethon this year will again become a #1 download. Last year, it was a pared-down Pretenders "I'll Stand By You." This year: George Michael's "Praying for Time." Someone knows how to choose inspirational songs! The telethon stars at 7:30P tonight with the results show bumped to Thursday.

It's official! Spring is here and final 5 must go! The final 5 pounds that is! So if I seem more cantankerous than usual, please have pity as I'll be trying my best to be carb-free and booze-free. Close your awe-shocked mouths. I said "trying." Lord knows I'll pass over a loaf of bread to get to my wine! It's all about portion control... not seen in my 2 bowls of pasta with turkey sausage last night. 38 is weeks away. BRING IT ON!

Bleeding Love: LeLe Lewis Debuts

Leona Lewis' debut CD drops today. For those of you completely out-of-it, she won Simon Cowell's "X-Factor" series in the UK and was immediately signed by Clive Davis. She's been dubbed the second coming of Mariah and Whitney. Judging by her vocals and first single (the inescapable #1 "Bleeding Love,") she certainly sounds it. USA Today seems ho-hum on the full album but I have high hopes that her blend of Pop & R+B (not hip-hop) will be a welcome debut for her and welcome return to melodies for us. Fingers crossed. "You cut me up and then I keep bleeding love." Great lyric.

The Sex & the City stars attended the Point Foundation benefit the other night (pic). It made me think, we're just 8 Fridays away from the film in theatres and made me happy that they lent their time to the charity which helps disowned gay teens with housing and college scholarships. Yeah Carrie & Co.!

Read a piece on the very funny Rachel Dratch in the NY Times regarding the comediane being the forgotten SNL female. She really should be working. Reminds me that these other fine funny ladies should be seen more as well: Cheri O'Teri, Nora Dunn and Jan Hooks... the last two and their Sweeny Sisters makes me laugh out loud just typing it.

Have you seen the "Maid of Honnor" commercials? The film is about a best friend (Patrick Dempsey) realizing he's in love with his best girlfriend just as she asks him to her maid of honor for her wedding. Isn't this the reverse of Julia Roberts (the best friend) realizing she's in love with the groom-to-be in "My Best Friend's Wedding"? Where are the new ideas, Hollywood?

Happy IDOL Tuesday! My favorite day of the week!

Zac Attack!

I'll be taking in THE RUINS this weekend, which every time I say it, I think "the runs." Gross and juvenile, I know. I can't find any reviews of the film which doesn't bode well though, so I may back-out.

Spring Jams: Jordin Sparks NO AIR, Chris Brown WITH YOU (an Irreplaceable rip-off with "boo" lyrics), Madonna 4 MINUTES (great on the treadmill), Mariah TOUCH MY BODY (now my favorite song of the year so far), Carly Smithson HERE YOU COME AGAIN (love this slow full single version from iTunes), Ryan Cabrera SAY, and wait till you kids here the dance remixes of Kimberley Locke's FALL - coming 4/15 @ iTunes.

Hot Damn! My high school crush Zac Efron (pic) is filming 17 AGAIN (which is very "BIG" like). (A) He's hot. (B) He plays basket ball in the film and (C) I'm hoping a guy covers the great Eurythmic's song for the film (cue Rob Thomas, John Mayer, Daughtry). Check out some scenes: http://movies.aol.com//movie/seventeen-again/33126/video/clip-no-1/2100265

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is officially picked up by NBC. It won't return until winter which gives you time to watch the DVD's. Add it to your Netflix. I promise, it's worth it! Another DVD series on your list should be THE DAMAGES.

I've gotten sucked into seasons 2 of DIRT and THE RICHES and they're still so juicy and good. My concern is that they only filmed 8 each before the strike and didn't resume production which could mean FX pulled the plug. Damn it!

I love Renee Zellweger. Great actress. But her new face (botox, restalyne?) combined with her squinty eyes and pursed lips just looks so unnatural its sad. Why do some of these ladies do this?

Happy Birthday Brett! 52 never looked so good!

Dolly & My IDOL Day

"Here I Come Again" to paraphrase Miss Dolly. I know, it's been a week! But I'm back! So, I'll start with Dolly night. Dolly is a genius, a national treasure, a true talent. That said, with the exception of Whitney, no one but Dolly should sing Dolly songs. It's kind of the equivalent of having a Joni Mitchell night. Get it? Anyway, Carly, Booke, Cook, John Michaels and Baby D stood out. Carly finally gave her best performance of the season. Interesting that the Cook gets praised for his stolen arrangements but no one mentioned the Tatted-Arm belter's ballad version of one of the most peppy-happy-pop songs ever recorded (Here You Come Again)??? Castro was good but still needs to kick it up a notch. "Hallelujah" was a month ago, Dreddie. But yet I feel, based on voting, we could see Baby D, Castro and Cook in the top three... in that order. I do love that loppy-Paula is BACK! She starts her sentances with absolutely no idea where the hell she's going or how to end them. And her jumping on Simon so loudly with every disagreement is waning. Speaking of talking back: Carly & Brooke - put yourself in Shut-Down mode! (Dolly note: Yes, I'll be seeing "9 to 5," the musical in Pasadena later this year!)


My IDOL Day: Last Wednesday, when Kimberley returned to IDOL, it was a quite surreal yet comical day for me. It started with picking her up and getting a phone call from Christian Siriano that he had landed and could not check into the Mondrian as his room wasn't ready. Nice job, Mondrian. I dropped her at IDOL then drove to pick up the dress. I wanted to meet Christian yet was on a time-clock and had to get back to the set quickly. However, C decided to cutely hem-n-haw over whether he should come with me to CBS at that moment because he wanted to fit Kim in the dress as had to be there for his Craig Ferguson appearance (the same time IDOL tapes). Eventually, I convinced him he could shower in Kim's large dressing room so he rolled out a piece of luggage as large as my Jeep and we were on our way. I said , "Lady, that thing's the size of four of you!" He said drone-like, "It's got wheelssssss." Aside from being very talented, he is a quick-wit, very sweet and very appreciative of his new-found stardom.

So, between him getting ready - yes, I witnessed the hair process of C's 'do - and Kim getting all dolled up with her make up and hair guy, complete with C taping down her own two "Idols," it was quite a comical scene. Just before Kim's appearance, we were brought to holding room where all the kids were. Being a fan of Baby D (a much better nickname than Archie), I kept my eye on him to see if he's a sweet kid, the way he seems on TV. And well, he is. I kept noticing him looking for a moment to talk to talk with Kimberley as if Mariah were in the room. Shades of me at age 16 looking longingly at Liza Minnelli for a chance to enter her conversation so I can say "I love 'The World Goes Round.'" (True story.) They lined the kids up to bring them on-stage, all passing Kim. And Baby D jumps at his chance. With a big grin and his lil' hand out-reached, he says "I love your song 'Change.' It's my favorite." To which I almost wept-over it's cuteness and Kim gratefully beamed for him saying "Change" and not "8th World Wonder." Chatty-Kathy, Carly talked us-up because she knew some of Kim's co-writers from her "True Story" album. Being very business-like, I could immediately tell this girl has been put through the wringer by the record biz but still knows how to schmooze at the drop of a CD. (Shades of me: 4 record deals with no release by age 30.) Others who made their way to chat-it-up with Kim include a very flirty Chikeze (who later asked me if Kim was single - a very bold brotha), Brooke (sweet as pie with her compliments of Kim's singing) and KL Cook (who noted Kim's country cover of the Clay Walker song "Fall.") And yes, Castro seemed to be 4-joints-into his day and I wanted Michael Johns to ask me for my number.

Tomorrow I'll start to get back to other things non-Idol. But for now, I'm happy to have these 20 minutes back every morning for coffee and typing! Happy April!

A Yawn-Night at Idol

While not as loopy as seasons past, I think our Miss Paula was the loopiest last night than she's been all season. I'm sure it's because she added a combo of decongestants to her pills of-the-norm, as she sounded a bit under the weather. But her more-than-usually run-on comments combined with her ode-to-the-80's ripped Leather & Lace dress brought to mind the "Hey Paula" we love! Anyway, yes Seyesha's vocals were amazing, but I just feel as soon as she goes back to an uptempo, she'll falter, Most vulnerable: Chickeze, Ramielle, Brooke and Carly. I really feel audiences are not connecting with Carly. With her tattooed arm (yet to be EVER covered up), her frumpy clothes (what is she really hiding under there?), and her Our Miss Brooks hair and face, she just seems like my nephew's 2nd grade teacher, not a star and certainly not the rock star she's sees herself as. It's like she wants to be Pink with Felicity Huffman's style. Choosing a somewhat obvious Total Eclipse was both brave and dumb. Taking a large, bombastic song known for its climatic build and trying to sandwich it into 2 minutes never works. And that ending note!? She's just letting me down and is clearly in need of a strong arm of A&R'ing. My goal tonight backstage, other than my pic with Baby D, is to give my number to his father to call me every week for song guidance. "You're the Voice"? Enough with your message songs Archuleta! Are you in a pop star competition or the presidential campaign? Brooke was ok, but it's again too obvious that she jumped back to the piano with a ballad just as she did for her best night with Let it Be. David Cook? Amazing. The hair still bugs but if he shaved that near-comb-over, the Daughtry comparisons would be louder than they are. But he is now on a consistent roll. Jason Castro: step up your game or you'll be gone by #5! As noted by some friends, all Kristy Lee Cook needed to pull out was either a fire-baton or sign language. Did Jon-Benet Ramsey do this tune at age 5? So pageant. Very shameful I feel and yes, as Simon said, the most "clever" song choice ever. KL Cook is unfortunately and wrongfully safe.


So, I'll be there today, all day. I'll try to dig as best as I can. Be sure to tune in tonight! And if you haven't bought Kimberley Locke's "Fall" at iTunes, do so or send it to a friend. This is the time we need to see sales jump.

Quick Bits

A busy week this week so here are some things to note:

I watched Dan In Real Life (Steve Carell) and The Brave One (Jody Foster) on DVD this weekend. There were just ok. Enjoyable enough for DVD.

George Michael is going on a US Tour! He plays LA Forum on 6/25!

Idol's Josh Gracin and Phil Stacey drop their country albums in April. And Clay Aiken's new album of originals is out in May, which I find shocking. I didn't think they'd keep him.

The rooftop at Fiesta Cantina is superfun! They DO need to invest in some new furniture & decor there though.

I just uploaded Paula Abdul's Greatest Hits into my iTunes. Truly enjoyable, mindless pop. She was the original J-Lo -- the first of the non-singers really. She's got that Crazy Cool Vibeology.

Dolly Parton's off bed rest from back surgery so expect a big media push for her Backwoods Barbie CD which dropped about 2 months ago.