Blake Lewis was a guest on the Johnjay and Rich radio show in Arizona on Wednesday morning. The djs asked him only a few questions about the American Idol Tour - they didn't even know it had not started yet. They mostly focused on one topic of discussion - Blake Lewis sexuality. Pressing the question "Are you gay" to Lewis, the djs didn't let go, even when Lewis was saying "No, definitely not". By the end of the exchange, Blake annoyingly (and rightly so) answered that no, he is not gay, and that he would scream it out loud.
WTF is wrong with those djs?
Just leave him the fuck alone!!! Who fucking cares about who Blake Lewis is banging? Wether the guy is straight, gay or bi, dry humping trees or blowing beavers won't change the fact that he is madly talented and awesome at what he does. The guy wants to do music - he lives and breaths music, it's his life. That all he wants to talk about, that's all he wants to do. Why take more than 2/3 of an interview to ask him about his sexual orientation? I just don't. Get. It!!! I'd be mighty pissed if I was in his shoes.
And so in that spirit, let's talk about his upcoming album, which I am very much looking forward to. I cannot wait to hear what he comes up with. I am very excited that he seems to have lots of creative control over his album. Here's an exert from an interview he did:
Just one week before the American Idols Live tour kicks off in Sunrise, Florida, Blake Lewis is already hard at work laying down tracks for his upcoming album. “I just recorded my first track last night,” the Idol runner-up told TV Guide in an exclusive interview. “I’ve already written seven songs.”
Lewis, who is in the midst of rehearsals for American Idols Live, began recording in Los Angeles on June 18. Electronic musician BT has signed on to produce and rapper Doug E. Fresh, who performed with Lewis on the Season 6 finale, is in talks to beatbox on a song.
“There’s a couple of emcees I’d like to work with,” he says. “I’m going to have four or five people beatbox between tracks.”
Asked to describe the disc’s sound, Lewis says, “I’d classify it as electro-funk-soul-pop if you need to label it. I really love the sounds of the ‘80s so I hope to ring some of that back. I’m really inspired by electronic music.”
Fans can expect to hear the new tunes by the end of the year. “It’s on the chopping block because they want it out by Thanksgiving or Christmas,” he reveals. But the Seattle native promises that listeners won’t be disappointed.
“I’ve been working for such a long time writing a lot of songs in different genres,” says Lewis. “The first album is really a testament of who you are.”
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Jim with Avril and the band played a private concert for the Los40 radio station in Madrid, Spain, on June 26. Apparently, this concert will be shown on Spanish TV. Meanwhile, here are many YouTube videos of that concert that have been posted.
My Happy Ending
Complicated
Girlfriend
Sk8erBoi
When You're Gone (partial)
I Can Do Better (partial)
Everything Back But You (partial) - Lots of Jim in this one!
Ok, I think I have officially gone crazy. I found myself agreeing a LOT with Zach tonight. Fucking Zach Werner!!! I loved that he told the girls to stop trying to be what they are not, and go back to what got them in the top 22 to begin with. I couldn't agree more!!!
I was also surprised that the guys did better than the girls! Usually I start a season liking more girls than guys, but not this time around - the guys were great last night, and the girls... while most sang well, were lackluster in their performance.
Top 11 - Guys
Jaydee Bixby - “Johnny Be Goode” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVnCMyOzDis I really like his voice. But the poor guy seems to be stuck in the 50's. His voice is PERFECT for that style - but will he be able to get out of that box? We'll see I guess.
Clifton Murray - “I’ll Be” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzuOqLn2zoI OMFG, hell froze over. I agree with Zach!!! I think Clifton has a good voice, nice tone (tho a bit nasally), but he went way over board with the dragging of the notes and the long, sustained money notes. He didn't do bad, per say, but it was way too much and not believable in the least.
Derek Hoffman - “Move Along” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAxUYIq7dpU Oh, this was painful. Very, very bad. I think this guy has much more in him, but he didn't show anything with that. Justyn Wesley - “Some kind of wonderful” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsScmZhOFq0 Good voice, nice tone, and he seems to know what he's doing on stage. But I felt he held back a lot, and only let loose a little at the very end. I think he's got a whole lot more to offer than that. Dwight D’eon - "Cry" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRMt7sDhygs The first part of the song was way too low for him. The second part was good. Not fantastic, but good. I like this guy - like his voice, tone, look and the way he performed. I hope he can push himself more, and I think he can be really, really, REALLY good.
Greg Neufeld - "This Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVqwKcEUTx0 Ok, let me get it out of the way - SWOON!!! - *L* Greg did awesome with this. The first verse was off somehow tho. But when he launched into the chorus, that was awesome, right down to the end. The song suited his voice very nicely, and I am happy to see he's got new dance moves, other than what Sass calls the "bunny hop". He seems to have grown a lot since last year, and I'm hoping he'll go far this season! I like his voice and style very much.
Tyler Mullendore - “Brown Sugar” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbiThnQsPvo That was good! I think he overdid it with the growly voice, but one can tell how much fun this guy is having. That's what the others should do - just leave it all out there every time. And that's what Tyler did. Andrew Austin - Freedom 90" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqeNubCvI1M Well, I guess the people who are into his voice will have liked it. I didn't. That sounded extremely karaoke to me. Matt Rapley - “Isn’t She Lovely?” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrGljqoCenA Matt sang this song well - I really like his voice. But it was a very, very, VERY boring performance. I don't think this was a good choice for him - all he showed off was that he can do runs. His auditions were much better than that.
Brian Melo - "Stereo" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4mWksciOv4 I LOVE him for singing The Watchmen! Dany Greeves is an awesome, AWESOME singer, and while I don't think Brian sang it better than Dany (not a chance), I still think he did amazing with it. Suited his voice perfectly. The only negative for him is that not a lot of people know The Watchmen... Althought this was one of their best known song. Best of the night! Liam Styles Chang - "This Magic Moment" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CGiy3-AE-k I like this guy's voice very much. But I have a hard time matching his voice to his face. Doesn't compute, doesn't add up for me. I didn't like the physical performance at all - but closing my eyes, he sounded great.
Top 11 - Girls
Tara Oram- "Rose Garden" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG2PVYRBzyg Woo, country! *L* She seems to want to be Carrie Underwood - the moves, the facial expressions, the little nose wrinkling thing, the motion of the arms, even the taping of the mike with the fingers. It's almost uncanny. Not bad, but not wow either. Martha Joy- "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O1wI0Z6FtE Oh yeah. That song again. Woopidoo. *rolls eyes* She actually technically sang that song really well. But has the judges said, she has to feel her song, not just stand there and deliver.
Montana Martin Iles- "The Bird and the Worm" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx_ZK_P_NtQ I'm not quite sure what to make of this... She is far from being the strongest vocalist, but damn! The girl's got balls! She's totally unique in that competition. I actually really like when she waved at the guitarists to join her... She seems really comfortable on stage. Shades of Rossi in the make-up? *L*
Milla Miller- "I'm Goin' Down" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc5JU8-7Cmk I thought she sounded good. But she seems to phone it in, which is bothersome.
Maud Coussa-Jandl- "Dreams" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J6ufEeGwb0 I actually liked that. I just don't know if she can sing songs that are totally different than that.
Annika Oddegard- "Helplessly, Hopelessly" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZALGt1Uvqs Ouch, ouch, ouch. Not only is she pitchy, but the song choice is not great either.
Naomi-Joy Blackhall - “Judgement Day” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK-6_nsWAJk It was not too too bad when she was still singing in her low register.... But when she kicked in her higher register... OUCH OUCH OUCH! WTF was that? She sings much much much better than that. Christine Hanlon - “Possession” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM-x5ymiOTk She was pitchy here and there. But I like her style and her tone. I don't think she chose the right song tho. This song doesn't really go anywhere, and does not much to wow people. Scarlett Burke - “I Learned From You” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQvXyg3xSWM I thought she did better than the judges gave her credit for. Yea, she was pitchy in some places, but it not that bad. Not great, but not bad.
Khalila G - “Family Portrait” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5EG4QTJcGc I really enjoyed that. She's got a good voice, and she seems really like she's feeling her song. Good job.
Carly Rae Jepsen - “Put Your Records On” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzwAhe64gBU Bah. That reminded me of Antonella Barba, and that ain't a good thing. She did better than Antonella, but Carly is capable of much better than that. What's with the pimping she received? Damn!
**********EDITED**********
Well, we had our first elimination show last night.
Bottom 4 - Boys:
Clifton Murray Derek Hoffman Justyn Wesley Andrew Austin
Gone home: Derek and Justyn
I was VERY surprised to see Derek in the B4. Granted he was not good, but I thought the younger fans would keep him in there. Frankly, I was expecting Matt Rapley to be in the B4. Not because he's a bad singer - au contraire! But because his performance was so... boring. I was also expecting Clifton to go - I find him utterly creepy. But in the end, I do think the two guys who went home were the right choice.
Bottom 4 - Girls:
Maud Coussa-Jandl Naomi-Joy Blackhall Christine Hanlon Mila Miller
Gone home: Maud and Christine
Frankly, I was surprised that Anika was not in the B4 - she would have been my choice to be there instead of Christine. I was VERY surprised to see Mila in there, too. I would have sent Naomi home instead of Christine. Naomi has great potential, but she hasn't lived up to it since her initial audition. Her top200 auditions were pretty bad. I guess we'll see if she gets better with time.
Today's the day for new Blake Lewis vids! Apparently, this was done during the competition - Blake snuck out and went to a bar. It reminds me of an interview he did, where he said that he is "not a child, no need for a curfew". *L* Gotta love him!
"The "Blaker Girls" will surely swoon when they see the upcoming PEOPLE’s Hottest Bachelors of ’07 issue. Blake Lewis is featured as one of these bachelors, and he divulges his biggest dating secrets to the magazine. The first one concerns his approach to dating women. As he tells PEOPLE, "I was always jealous of guys who can go up to girls and ask for their numbers. It's never been my bag." Blake prefers to establish a rapport first. He calls himself a "dozen roses kind of guy." He's also done some serenading. "In an intimate setting singing to a girl is beautiful." Ladies, listen up--Blake does have some definite turn-offs. He tells PEOPLE, "I'm not a fan of carcinogens and I'm not a fan of lazy people. If a girl's sloppy, that's just a sign of laziness." He likes his girls neat and organized, just like he is! Check out the issue of PEOPLE for the whole article--it's on newsstands this Friday, June 15th. In the meantime, check out Blake's transformation throughout the American Idol season!"
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-norhKcHO8 (Talks about signing with 19E, but that if Clive Davis doesn't like his music, then maybe someone else will...
* The Stranger dot com has a very short but cute interview with Blake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N39LstsVEgg
* Cute interview with Blake on radio - saying 19E picked him up: http://podcast.kiss1061.com/kbks2/511023.mp3
* Blake Lewis Talks With Minneapolis' 101.3 KDWB Interviewed 'American Idol' season six runner-up Blake Lewis on May 31st. He discussed some alternate occupations, doing 'Live with Regis and Kelly' and his Regis Philbin impersonation, ... http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/MINNEAPOLIS-MN/KDWB-FM/BlakeLewis.mp3?CPROG=PCAST&MARKET=MINNEAPOLIS-MN&NG_FORMAT=chr&6531=787&STATION_ID=KDWB-FM&PCAST_AUTHOR=101.3_KDWB&PCAST_CAT=Celebrity_Interviews&PCAST_TITLE=Celebrity_Interviews
Videos:
* Video of Blake Lewis doing his beatbox thing with Ra Scion of Common Market. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmYxaNd4B5k
* A new "old" video of Blake performing pre-idol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rRuaxcGFbY
And just because I think he's a very handsome man:
Jimmy's voice is so beautiful on this song... I love it! Here's the video for "When You're Gone", but go visit http://www.strippedmusic.com/ for more videos and performances!!!
This performance was SO GOOD! The beats, the guitar and the piano mesh agreat all together. MUCH better than what he's done on American Idol. And he launches in "With or without You" by U2 at the end.
Mom Has Stacked Dinner Party Roster
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GOLDEN, CO—Their eyes widening in amazement as the 43-year-old rattled off
the names of heavy hitter after heavy hitter, impressed members of the
Dreesh...
