The Giant Leap (Year) Post! Featuring Ferras, Ashlee, and Jon

Introducing...

Ferras - Hollywood's Not America

Ferras is a piano-playing singer-songwriter. His single "Hollwood's Not America" was chosen to be the exit song for the 2008 season of American Idol and is the first single off his debut album Aliens & Rainbows which comes out on April 1st. The song itself is a sweet, sweeping emotional ballad in the vein of its Idol exit predecessors "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter and Daughtry's "Home". It is certain that we'll be hearing this song a lot in the spring.

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PRE-ORDER Aliens & Rainbows on Amazon.com

Watch the VIDEO:

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Speaking of American Idol, my interest in this year's competition grew after discovering Filipino-American contestant Ramiele Malubay. The 20-year-old is a sushi restaurant worker from Miramar, Florida. She's been touted as the next Jasmine Trias. Although both are female Pinays, I think the two cannot be compared. And what was up with Ryan saying Jasmine found success in "her native Philippines"? Last time I checked, she was a first-generation Fil-Am born and raised in Hawaii. That would be like saying Carly Smithson is from "her native Ireland". Oh wait...she is from Ireland. Anyway, Ramiele would like to one-up Jasmine and become the "first Filipino American Idol". Here is her audition video followed by her performance this week for "Don't Leave Me This Way".

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Ashlee Simpson feat. Tom Higgenson - Little Miss Obsessive

In preparation for her third album Bittersweet World, Ashlee Simpson is releasing her second single "Little Miss Obsessive" featuring Plain White T's frontman Tom Higgenson. Ashlee doesn't really prove anything vocally but it's catchy and probably has the staying power that "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" failed to have.

DL HERE

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Didn't catch the Academy Awards last Sunday? Well Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the stars of the movie Once performed and won the Oscar for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly", trumping over the three nominated songs from Enchanted.

Here's the daper Jon McLaughlin (sans piano) during his live performance for "So Close". Being that it was his first nationally televised perforance, you could tell nerves overtook him during the first part of the song. He did, however, produce a memorable breakthrough performance.