Kris is the Idol, Adam still wins, and Allison is a star!

My favorite moment of the finale was not Kris Allen's reaction to winning the title of American Idol (though it was one heck of a moment), but Allison Iraheta's subdued, yet powerful, performance duet of "Time After Time" with pop icon Cyndi Lauper, proving what a great performer and singer she is, and how great a finale it would have been had she been in the final two. Oh what could have been. I cannot wait until she finally releases her original music. I am certain she is bound to be a pop-rock icon, herself.

Other hi-lites of the night:

- Kris & Adam Lambert's performance of "We Are The Champions" with the remaining members of Queen.
- Mr. A-Z, Jason Mraz, sans the creepster goatee.
- Idol predecessor David Cook's performance of "Permanent" as a tribute to his late brother Adam. Amazing.
- Finally airing Kris's audition video, which was four months long overdue, ya think?!
- In the audience, Carrie Underwood, looked very pretty in pink.
- Adam's goth-industrial-winged-whatever get-up during his performance with KISS
- "The winner of American Idol 2009 is Kris Allen!"

...and lo-lites...

- Judge Kara DioGuardi, in a boost of her ego, attempted to one-up some no-talent bikini bimbo in a Mariah sing-off.
- "No Boundaries", although Kris sang this better the second time around ;)
- Rod Stewart, who I do not think he is sexy, nor do the rest of America.
- The fact that top 5 finalist Matt Giraud was never given the chance to sing a duet with a star, yet Megan Joy and Michael Sarver, of all people, got to do one (with Steve Martin...WTF)
- Kris apologizing for winning. (Dude, I know no one in Idol-land wanted expected you to win, but live it up. You represent the best of America's undiscovered talent and was bestowed the most-fitting title.)

And as for the runner-up, I have to say that I really do like Adam. Watching the finale back, it did cement my understanding of why he belonged in the final two. He is arguably is the best performer to come away from the show, came off as a very confident and seasoned pro (perhaps too seasoned), and left indelible images after every performance -- from his hair, facial expressions, outrageous fashions, and ridiculously impressive vocal range. Ultimately, I truly think Adam is better off without the constraints of the Idol contract. This non-win will enable him to do more things without the scrutiny the job title entails. I know his supporters may be very disappointed and angry at the outcome, and I certainly won't blame them for it, but we all know Adam will come out of this with tons of success. He already is an Idol. I may have been a bit critical of him in the previous post, but he still intrigues me. Perhaps if the judges hadn't praised him so darn much and all but bestowed the title all season long, I would have been squarely in his corner, too...but if it is one thing that America proved to be true last night, it is that it hates being told how to think and who to vote for. Let this be a lesson to the producers and judges for next year: showcase all serious contenders from the beginning, drop the fillers, and let the country do its thing.

Winning Moment:

Video: MJ's Big Blog; Photos: AP, Ray Mickshaw

Fresh Video - Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up"

First off, I dig this song. Kelly Clarkson has taken a great demo by Katy Perry (her version was originally titled "Hook Up" and contained the line "Keep your thing in your pants and your heart on your sleeve"), enhanced it with her vocals and the help of the pop-rock production gleen of Howard Benson and made it her own. And for this potentially huge summer hit, Kelly gets to show off her sense of humor for second single off All I Ever Wanted, "I Do Not Hook Up". The video starts at a bougie brunch or function of some sort. A virtuous-looking Kelly eyes the waiter who is serving champagne and in her fantasy, she removes her conservative-looking sweater, revealing a red cocktail dress, agressively throws him onto the table, gets on top of him, and kisses him. The terrifying looks on the guests' faces were LOL-funny. In the second fantasy, Kelly is having a girls night-out at the bar and eyes a guy across the room who is playing pool. In fantasy mode, she gets into heavier drinking, plops on top of the table and at this point the video becomes a scene right out of Coyote Ugly. Another LOL-moment is when she slips off the table and falls into the bar with everyone in shock. In her graceful recovery, she gets on her feet, holding a beer bottle, and acts like nothing happened as she yells out "Woo!". Priceless. Gotta love a drunk Kelly Clarkson.

If I am allowed to nitpick, the only thing I can gripe about it was the fact that as a developed concept, the two fantasies didn't really relate to each other, and the only cohesive piece was infatuated Kelly. I love music videos with plot, but this one just seemed incomplete and left me wanting more than I what I actually saw. I think the first fantasy should have been further utilized because the "wealthy heiress falling in love with the help" storyline has oodles of entertainment potential, rather than the bar scenes. That, or simply just left the video as a "girls night out". Perhaps director Bryan Barber couldn't decide between the two and decided to keep both, and this is the result we see here?

Kelly Clarkson - New Music - More Music Videos

Please Don't Leave P!nk

P!nk's new video for her third single off Funhouse, "Please Don't Leave Me", features actor Eric Lively as her fallen lover whose subsequent attempts to leave her house -- under which he is basically taken hostage in -- have been futile. And P!nk plays a convincing hybrid of desperate housewife and psychotic nurse from hell. The video is guided under the helm of longtime P!nk director Dave Meyers, who continues the tradition of creating memorable images for the artist.

'Cept this one's bizarre, a bit creepy, distrubing, and veiled under a very dark sense of humor. In other words, very P!nk.

Fresh Video - David Cook's "Come Back To Me"

At long last, David Cook is releasing his second single off his eponymous debut album (which, BTW, recently garnered RIAA Platinum status), "Come Back To Me", to mainstream radio while concurrently releasing "Bar-Ba-Sol" to rock radio later this spring. In anticipation for the former's release, David just premiered the accompanying music video on AT&T's music site, performed tonight on the results show of American Idol (Megan Joy got the boot. Praise Jesus).

The video, directed by Gavin Bowden, starts with David washing his hands and looking into the bathroom mirror of a music venue. He plays with his band, leaves, passes an alley, through the woods at one point, takes a taxi cab and ends up at the airport (baggage claim carousels, escalators, and all) -- all the while walking backwards in an ode to Coldplay's "The Scientist" video in which it borrows its reverse narrative style. It all makes sense at the end, and explains the somber attitude David portrays in the video, when he kisses his girlfriend (played by model Sarah Roemer) and bids a farewell to his lover before she takes her flight.

Anyway, very nice looking video. I was actually impressed by the video's cinematography. And kudos to David for singing the entire song backwards! It is quite a feat.

Fresh Video - Hey Monday's "How You Love Me Now"

Whoa! Whooooa!

I'm loving this song and the band at the moment. Yeah, there has been many comparisons between Florida-based Hey Monday and Paramore, and perhaps they are bound to occur when both lead vocalists are women. But the voices between HM's Cassadee Pope and Paramore's Hayley Williams could not be anymore different. Hayley has a distinctly charged punk rock sound while Cassadee's voice is saccharine-sweet and youthful (reminds me of Canadian indie pop singer Lights), which suits the type of music her band is putting out there, representing the "pop" end of the pop-punk spectrum, and by the sounds of their interviews, they are fully embracing it.

Anyway, the band premiered their new video for the second single "How You Love Me Now" from their Decaydance/Columbia debut album Hold On Tight on Myspace today.

Here are some screencaps, in which the very pretty Cassadee and her rocker boys work at an exclusive summer beach club, in which their emo/punk styles seem out of place with the predominantly preppy Abercrombie & Fitch clientele they serve. A preppy Casanova dude tries to pursue Cassadee (his bitches are giggling, so was it a dare?) but it's pretty much a fail as Cass is too smart not to fall for his shizz.

The title of hero truly belongs to bassist Jersey Moriarty who had two great moments in the video: (1) he leads the tug-of-war win in which his extra pull sends preppy Casanova into the mud along with his deflated ego, and (2) shows that even emo boys possess athletic prowess by throwing the touchdown pass to Cassadee. (Pssst...of course, the emo/different/unconventional kids are truly the coolest.)

Hey Monday - How You Love Me Now

Happy Birthday to Us: Lady GaGa et Moi

Left: Lady GaGa; Right: Lady GaGa concert bud Megan and I, pre-Yellowcard concert last April.

LMAO. Twenty-three years ago today, Stefani Germanotta a.k.a. Lady GaGa was born, along with a certain Friss Zene blog writer by the name of Ray V. ;)

Privileged to share the exact birthday with the freshest face of electro-dance pop, I dedicate this post to the quirky OTT blonde fashionista who has brought us hits with liners like "Puh-puh-puh poker face, puh-puh f*ck her face" and this little ditty...just...'cuz!

Fresh Band Love - Aranda - All I Ever Wanted

So I couldn't help but give a listen to a leak of Kelly Clarkson's newest album All I Ever Wanted, thanks to the iTunes Norway store, and did a little digging to find out a good handful of the songs on the disc are covers from other artists and bands: two songs came from Katy Perry's abandoned debut rock album ("Long Shot" and Kelly's second single "I Do Not Hook Up") and another two songs came from a little-known indie rock band by the name of Aranda. The band lent Kelly two songs from their eponymous 2008 disc: the eventual title track "All I Ever Wanted" and the rock headbanger "Whyyawannabringmedown". Kelly's versions, thankfully, strayed very little from the originals, in terms of melodies and vocals. The instant I heard Kelly's version of "All I Ever Wanted", my curiosity lead me to learn more about this band.

Aranda is a Oklahoma-based band, consisting of brothers Dameon and Gabe Aranda. Upon hearing a bit of their live performances on YouTube, they create a very distinct musical sound that defies singular musical classification. Namely, "All I Ever Wanted" is a shining example of the band's best sound, as it infuses rock with a little bit of funk and sung with an ample amount of soul. Then there are straight-up rock songs like "Still In The Dark" and the aforementioned "Whyyawannabringmedown", raspy soul on "It Ain't Easy", a brief country appearance on "Hooked On You" and southern blues on "Testify" and "Another Day".

BUY Aranda's album HERE!

Collectively, the songs amazingly work well together as it stands as a testament to the band's love for different styles of music and how they are able to compliment those sounds to their fantastic vocals. It is no wonder why such a popular mainstream artist like Kelly Clarkson and TPTB felt confident with Aranda's songs having pop sensibility and crossover appeal. Anyway, I hope this band goes very far from this exposure, as they will finally deserve some recognition for their fantastic songs.

Love At First Listen - Valencia's "Where Did You Go?"

Let me formally introduce you to Valencia. I've never been to any of their shows (although I would love to) but they are a band that I have been digging since I got a hold of their music. This relatively young quintet started out in 2004 and were originally on indie label I Surrender and now has a home on the major label turf of Columbia.

The band: Shane Henderson (vocals, top left), JD Perry (guitar, top middle), and George Ciukurescu (bass, bottom left) are 23, Brendan Walter (guitar, top right) is 22, and the elder statesman of the group is (Filipino/Pinoy!) 26-year-old drummer Maxim Loria (bottom right).

I've listened to a good chunk of pop-punk bands and so I can't fathom how a band as good as Valencia managed to escape my ears last year as they released their remarkable sophomore album (and major label debut) We All Need A Reason To Believe late last summer. I guess it is a case of sooner rather than later, since the album is full of pop-punk gems that are reminiscent of another Philadelphia band's latest album -- The Starting Line's Direction. Like the latter, the former is full of thoughtfully-written lyrics, wrought with emotion, and brought to full-force impact through anthemic rock choruses and power melodies.

Aside from my first love of "Free", the end trak on WANARTB, I gave Valencia's latest single, "Where Did You Go?" a listen and instantly found it as a track I could literally listen on a loop for a month. It is that powerful.

The song's message is indicative of the general themes of WANARTB: maturation, reflection, and mourning. In interpreting the song's lyrics, Shane tells the story of a man who is coping with the difficult end of a relationship. I later learned that Shane's girlfriend was killed in an accident in 2006 so this revelation does enhance the meaning of the song as the subject mourns the loss of his lover with his last words to her:

And it feels like this is the last chance I have to say every word that I've been fighting / Well, I have finally decided to hold my head up with pride and accept the way life takes you through these changes / 'Cause when you reach the stars, you've made it

Max's drumming throughout the song, the crunching guitars, and Shane's vocals all contribute to the song's message in the chorus: I get a little down on myself but when you came around, my whole world felt new / I opened up my eyes to the light and I saw deep inside of a love I felt was true / And if I ever let you go, I'm hoping that some time will show / That you're the one, You're the one for me

Check out their video, in which the band pays tribute to their hometown of Philly. The video may look low-budget (which makes me question the amount of money Columbia actually invested in promoting this band, alas I digress) but the song and this amazing band far makes up for it.

Rock Idol + Country Idol

To celebrate the opening of the American Idol Experience at Walt Disney World, Season 4 AI winner Carrie Underwood and most recent crowned David Cook were on hand to perform a duet of the Fleetwood Mac classic "Go Your Own Way". They both sounded great together. Perhaps they can go into the studio and record the track??

Take a look of their performance video by JeffLangeDVD:

Grammys 2009 Hi-lites

The Grammy Awards was full of a whole lotta drama when it was announced moments prior to the telecast that Chris Brown pulled out of the show for allegedly being accused of making a felony domestic battery against a female victim, who many sources are confirming to be Chris's significant other Rihanna, who was also scheduled to perform. The two were nominated for multiple awards, yet neither showed up. In Rihanna's place, Justin Timberlake & Al Green gave an impromptu performance. Rihanna was to also perform "Live Your Life" with T.I. but it was J.T. who accompanied the rapper with his vocal performance on their next single "Dead And Gone":

Another dramatic moment of the evening belonged to American Idol 2003 alum Jennifer Hudson who finally won a Grammy award for best R&B album and gave an emotional performance which alluded to the tragic murders of her family members this past year.

Of the four British ladies nominated for multiple awards this year -- Duffy, Estelle, Adele, and Leona Lewis -- it was only Leona, the mainstream breakthrough artist of the past year, who left empty-handed. Adele won the "Best New Artist" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for her song "Chasing Pavements", Duffy won "Best Pop Vocal Album" (Rockferry), and Estelle won for her collaboration with Kanye West on "American Boy".

For the rock awards, Coldplay racked up three wins for Best Rock Album (Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends), Song of the Year for "Viva La Vida", and Best Pop Vocal Group Performance. Radiohead's In Rainbows won Best Alternative Album while John Mayer has proven to have the best singing chops in two categories: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Say" and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Gravity", both from his '06 album Continuum.

Friss Zene fave Katy Perry performed "I Kissed A Girl" and it garnered very mixed reviews.

Oh well. At least she successfully channeled the spirit of Carmen Miranda as a lovely vision in fruit.

I've been taken over by 'The Fear'

I am not a fan of Lily Allen.

That being said, I have fallen in aural love with her latest song, "The Fear". I love it so much, it has been on non-stop repeat on my iTunes player since my discovery yesterday. Released as the first single off her sophomore album, It's Not Me, It's You, the sassy Brit has really captured my attention with a very synth heavy, hypnotic beat and lyrics so profound and acerbic about the consequences of celebrity and wealth. It is delivered in such a blasé way -- what I usually dislike about Lily's music -- but it works so well here.

Lyrics:
I want to be rich and I want lots of money
I don't care about clever, I don't care about funny
I want loads of clothes and fuck loads of diamonds
I heard people die while they're trying to find them
And I'll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
'Cause everyone knows that's how you get famous
I'll look at the sun and I'll look in the mirror
I'm on the right track, yeah I'm on to a winner

I don't know what's right and what's real anymore
And I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
'Cause I'm being taken over by The Fear

Life's about film stars and less about mothers
It's all about fast cars and cussing each other
But it doesn't matter 'cause I'm packing plastic
And that's what makes my life so fucking fantastic
And I am a weapon of massive consumption
And it's not my fault, it's how I'm programmed to function
I'll look at the sun and I'll look in the mirror
I'm on the right track, yeah we're on to a winner

I don't know what's right and what's real anymore
And I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
'Cause I'm being taken over by The Fear

Forget about guns and forget ammunition
'Cause I'm killing 'em all on my own little mission
Now I'm not a saint, but I'm not a sinner
Now everything's cool as long as I'm getting thinner

I don't know what's right and what's real anymore
And I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
'Cause I'm being taken over by The Fear

In addition to amusing lyrics, the video is another highlight, in which Lily starts off in a trailer in the middle of a (presumably English) field and ends up in a elegant mansion full of cupcakes, dancing presents, and male servants skipping and gliding in unison.

Fresh Video - Leona Lewis - "I Will Be"

Leona Lewis - I Will Be

I've been anxiously waiting for the music video premiere for British singer Leona Lewis's newest US single, "I Will Be" which finally premiered on the her official YouTube channel today. The video is predominantly set outdoors in New York City for the second time (first was in Times Square for "Bleeding Love"), more specifically on the Brooklyn borough side (the bridge is the backdrop for the last moments in the video.

Directed by Melina Matsoukas (Ne-Yo's "Closer", Katy Perry's "Thinking Of You" as examples of her work), the video has Leona finds herself and her love interest, Gossip Girl's obligatory male pretty face Chace Crawford, in a car with a luxury bag full of money. It is presumed that the two are participating in some kind of criminal activity as alluded in the already vague speaking intro (My guess is trespassing). How is Leona inexplicably carrying around that much dough in the first place can be anyone's best guess, though.

In much of the video, Leona leaves Chace to roam around Brooklyn's shady parking lots and creepy underground garages while she sings of admiration and devotion for her lover. The song, btw, was originally written by Avril Lavigne, Dr. Luke, and Max Martin. After loitering for a bit, Leona finally gets to running above ground while in pursuit and just as she reaches the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge, she is arrested by a police officer.

The concept is rather simplistic in its execution. Undeniably, Leona looks great here and the cinematography is spot-on in nearly every frame.

Check it out:

What do you think? Will "I Will Be" be Leona's next stateside hit?

Top 20 Playlist for January 11, 2009

Friss Zene Top 20 for the week ending on Sunday, 0.11.08

Katy Perry has the first #1 song in 2009

01. Katy Perry - Thinking Of You (#1 for 1 week)
02. Secondhand Serenade - Your Call
03. The Fray - You Found Me
04. Leona Lewis - Run
05. 30H!3 - Don't Trust Me
06. David Archuleta - A Little Too Not Over You
07. Katy Perry - Hot N' Cold
08. The Veronicas - Untouched
09. Nicole Scherzinger (PCD) - I Hate This Part
10. Valencia - Free
11. The All-American Rejects - I Wanna
12. Jesse McCartney - How Do You Sleep?
13. Beyonce - Halo
14. Leona Lewis - I Will Be
15. New Found Glory - Listen To Your Friends
16. P!nk - I Don't Believe You
17. David Cook - Light On
18. Thriving Ivory - Angels On The Moon
19. OneRepublic - Mercy
20. Chris Brown feat. Keri Hilson - Superhuman

Here is a more serious Katy Perry in her new video, in which she is channeling pinup girl Bettie Page, with Mr. Kyle XY (Matt Dallas) as the fatalistic love interest.

Love At First Listen: I Nine - "Don't Wanna"

I Nine - Don't Wanna
Mmm...Starbucks

The native South Carolinian band I Nine released the infectious pop rock song "Seven Days of Lonely" last year and its current single is "If This Room Could Move". However, the one song off their debut album Heavy Weighs The King that instantly hooked me in is the track "Don't Wanna", a potential next hit. It has already received some airplay on ABC's fall show promos. The band, led by female vocalist Carmen Keigans, delivers another anthemic plea about self-respect and unwillingness to compromise or change.

And support I Nine. Their album is available for digital download on iTunes

Live Rewind: Augustana at the Lahaina Civic Center - 08.15.08

I was extremely excited to hear about a concert being held in my neck of the woods. It is a rarity that such a show would come along that featured one of my favorite rock bands so I jumped at the opportunity and joined my friend and fellow concert/music lover Maricel for the 311 and Augustana show at the Lahaina Civic Center on Friday, August 15.

Maricel was already at the venue when I joined her at a little after 4 p.m. The show was an open aired venue located just at the back of the Civic Center grounds. Maricel and I were really there to see Augustana as we weren't fans of 311. We were among the first six people -- Augustana fans, for the most part -- in line and it was ridiculously hot. The humidity was unbearable as we continued to wait sweat in line for another hour. The doors were supposed to open at 5 p.m. but because the sound checks weren't complete (Augustana rehearsed "Rain" btw), we were hit with delay after delay until nearly a quarter till. Mari and I were extremely thirsty so when we finally got in, I went bought ridiculously overpriced beverages while she secured a spot that was literally in front-and-center of the stage.

We saw guitarist Chris Sachtleben, lead vocalist Dan Layus and the rest of the band being videotaped and interviewed on the grass just after their sound check. The show started at 6:30 p.m. with folk/ska opener Erin Smith and her band. Next up was the band of the night (to us): Augustana. Some dude from a local rock radio station introduced them and incorrectly told the audience that the band's latest album was titled "Don't Love, Don't Hurt" which prompted me to correct him by yelling "It's Can't Love, Can't Hurt!" He responded by saying that he may get punched for getting it wrong. Hey, I wouldn't go that far as to inflict physical abuse for a simple error but next time, do your research!

Dan and Co. began their 12+ song set with "Hey Now" and "I Still Ain't Over You". Then they broke out in two classics from All The Stars And Boulevards: "Wasteland" and "Stars and Boulevards". I was extremely satisfied at Dan's vox performance because he sounded just as great live as he is in a recording. He tended to shut his eyes when he sings and at times looked deep into a trance, as if he was experiencing nirvana. As for my visual experience, the lights were especially distracting from our POV and the shadows they created detracted from seeing his face clearly.

But the music was fantastic. They delivered beautiful, heartfelt tunes largely from their latest album (eight if I remember correctly) including their somber piano ballad "Twenty Years". And of course, they also played first single and latest hit "Sweet and Low". Dan returned to the keyboard to perform the song that gave the Southern California based band prime exposure, "Boston". He immediately followed with "Rain" in which he altered a lyric to include Maui. Chris intermittently sipping on Stella Artois (read: disgusting). Dan cracks a smile and a laugh mid-song. They performed "Rest, Shame, Love" and finally a Bob Dylan cover, "Baby Please Don't Go" to end their set. We tried to get the attention of two of the roadies to give us a set list that was taped to the floor, but it was futile. After seeing the set change in prep for 311, we found ourselves getting slightly closed in the by the expanding crowd and decided to leave our spots to possibly give meeting Augustana a try.

As far as we were concerned, the show was already over so it was a no-brainer for us to leave for a shot to meet the band of the night. We saw the band exit through the stage right fence gate and saw a security dude guarding it, so we went through the main entrance, ran (with my non-running Vans shoes) through a Civic Center party just to hesitate for a few moments to contemplate/strategize/not appear like we were stalkers/fan freaks.

We awkwardly walked towards them (they were chilling and drinking on those god-awful Stella Artois) and nervously approached bassist Jared Palomar. "Hi, I'm Ray." "Hi I'm Maricel". "I'm Jared. Nice to meet you. Did you guys see the show?" Of course we did! Jared was extremely friendly and introduced us to the rest of the band. (Note: He looked Asian, but we weren't sure if he was. We later found out he is half-Filipino!). Mari and I also took a photo with 4/5 of the band because Chris was M.I.A. at that very moment.

I told Dan, keyboardist and resident caveman John Vincent, and newly shorn, "naked" drummer Justin South that I saw them open for Snow Patrol at the Warfield way back in 2006 and that "California's Burning" is one of my favorite songs. After being asked where I went to school, South said he has friends who went to my college. Just as the band were heading into their van, Chris appears and we got to meet him.

The Augustana guys were cool and I had no regrets about ditching 311 in order to meet them. We did, however, get to hear Nick Hexum sing "Amber" from the parking lot, if that was any consolation. But what a neat feat Mari and I accomplished. I mean, who can say they got to meet and see one of their fave bands in their hometown? And to think I was done with shows after coming home. I was one happy kid.

Top 20 Playlist for August 10, 2008

Friss Zene Top 20 for the week ending on Sunday, 08.10.08

Quietdrive makes it two weeks in a row at #1

01. Quietdrive - Deliverance (#1 for 2 weeks)
02. Lesley Roy - I'm Gone, I'm Going
03. Rihanna - Take A Bow
04. Switchfoot - This Is Home
05. O.A.R. - Shattered (Turn The Car Around)
06. Carolina Liar - Beautiful World
07. The Veronicas - Untouched
08. The Midway State - Can't Stop Waking Up To You
09. The Maine - Into Your Arms
10. Carolina Liar - I'm Not Over
11. Robin Thicke - Magic
12. National Product - Love Me (#1 for 1 week)
13. If This Wall Could Move - I Nine
14. Shwayze - Corona and Lime
15. Shontelle - T-Shirt
16. Lady GaGa - Just Dance
17. Jack's Mannequin - The Resolution
18. David Archuleta - Crush
19. Cute Is What We Aim For - Practice Makes Perfect
20. Every Avenue - Where Were You

Falling Off:
Hit The Lights - Stay Out
Michelle Williams - We Break The Dawn
Ne-Yo - Closer
The Maine - Everything I Ask For
Ryan Cabrera - Enemies
Hawthorne Heights - Rescue Me
The Morning Light - Honest
Chris Brown - Forever

Watch the band perform it live (even better in high quality)...

Top 20 Playlist for July 27, 2008

Friss Zene Top 20 for the week ending on Sunday, 07.27.08

The Minnesota-originated power pop band Quietdrive recently leaked their newest single and title track of their album "Deliverance" on their official website. A bit of a departure from When All That's Left Is You from 2006, the song starts out with a mesmerizing synth and takes it up several notches when it explodes in an epic chorus sung by bleach-blond lead singer Kevin Truckenmiller.

01. Quietdrive - Deliverance (#1 for 1 week)
02. Rihanna - Take A Bow
03. Carolina Liar - I'm Not Over
04. Lady GaGa feat. Colby O'Donis & Akon - Just Dance
05. National Product - Love Me (#1 for 1 week)
06. Shontelle - T-Shirt
07. Robin Thicke - Magic
08. Every Avenue - Where Were You
09. Cute Is What We Aim For - Practice Makes Perfect
10. Carolina Liar - Beautiful World
11. Hit The Lights - Stay Out
12. Michelle Williams - We Break The Dawn
13. Ne-Yo - Closer
14. The Maine - Everything I Ask For
15. Ryan Cabrera - Enemies
16. Hawthorne Heights - Rescue Me
17. The Maine - Into Your Arms
18. The Morning Light - Honest
19. Chris Brown - Forever
20. Switchfoot - This Is Home

Falling Off:
O.A.R. - Shattered (Turn The Car Around)
Duffy - Mercy
Jon McLaughlin - Beating My Heart
Colby O'Donis - What You Got
The Spill Canvas - All Over You

Take a listen to this week's #1 song....

Top 20 Playlist for July 19, 2008

Friss Zene Top 20 for the week ending on Saturday, 07.19.08

Yep, the band formed in Hawaii and now based in SoCal takes the number one spot in the newly formatted chart with this power ballad.

01. National Product - Love Me (#1 for 1 week)
02. Carolina Liar - I'm Not Over
03. The Maine - Everything I Ask For
04. Cute Is What We Aim For - Practice Makes Perfect
05. Lady GaGa feat. Akon & Colby O'Donis - Just Dance
06. Robin Thicke - Magic
07. Shontelle - T-Shirt
08. Every Avenue - Where Were You
09. Ryan Cabrera - Enemies
10. O.A.R. - Shattered (Turn The Car Around)
11. Hawthorne Heights - Rescue Me
12. Duffy - Mercy
13. The Maine - Into Your Arms
14. Carolina Liar - Beautiful World
15. Ne-Yo - Closer
16. Michelle Williams - We Break The Dawn
17. Jon McLaughlin - Beating My Heart
18. Chris Brown - Forever
19. Colby O'Donis - What You Got
20. The Spill Canvas - All Over You

Take a listen to this week's #1 song....

Fresh Video Premiere: Cute Is What We Aim For - Practice Makes Perfect

Power pop/ pop punk band Cute Is What We Aim For, led by lead singer Shaant Hacikyan and includes new bass player Dave Melillo, is releasing their sophomore album Rotation on June 24th from Fueled By Ramen Records. Here's the video for the first single "Practice Makes Perfect". Oh and check out Shaant's new hair!

Honda Civic Tour featuring Panic At The Disco in San Francisco Tonight!

My third and last concert in eight days will be at The Warfield when I attend the second night of the Honda Civic Tour featuring Panic at The Disco, Motion City Soundtrack, Phantom Planet, and The Hush Sound. Three out of the four bands, including the latest signed Phantom Planet, are currently in the Fueled By Ramen family. Originally planned to have one show in San Francisco, but the first show on Thursday was quickly sold out and a new show was created to meet the demand, and this show also sold out!

I'm super excited to finally see one MCS in concert after missing them in the fall. I am also psyched about seeing Phantom Planet live. I really got into them my sophomore year of college (a couple years ago) when I found The Guest and learned they have even better songs than "California"! Keep tabs on this and I'll let you know how it went.