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Review: Duets: Third Time’s the Charm

Nicole Piering — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 17:23:28 +0000

It’s time to du-et again! As you enter the theater, we ask that you move all the way across your row, filling in all available seats. Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to the “American Idol Experience” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Seriously, if you’ve ever seen the attraction, you’ve seen this show…except the Disney version has a better voting system. To further prove my point, Jennifer Nettles & John Legend open the show with a rousing performance of “Music in Me.” I honestly couldn’t make this up. If you’ve been to the Idol Experience in Disney, you’ve participated in a dance break to this very song, led by Idol-winner Jordin Sparks. I hope the Duets studio has taken a cue from the theme park attraction and installed armchair audience voting devices so we can shatter the judging tablets of doom.

After a brief recap from our host, Kudos (Do they still make Kudos bars? I loved them in elementary school…), we’re off running with Team Robin. Sir Fluffy Hair sits his team down for some “girl talk.” What’s the deal with this guy? One second he’s grinding against their legs, and the next, he’s trying to braid their hair and play Dream Phone. Robin also declares that he was “born an underdog.” Dude, you’re dad was on “Growing Pains” and your mom was a singer who starred on “Days of Our Lives”…Underdog my butt. His first partner of the night is Alexis Foster, who once again forgot to wear pants. She’s tackling “Killing Me Softly” and the only thing I can think about as this performance begins is how their silhouettes look like those creepy commercials for that new reality show, “The Glass House.” Robin’s falsetto adds nothing to this song, but his creepy grunts and moans add even less. They’re killing me softly with this song.

Jennifer Nettles and Graham Elliot from Master Chef are up next. I’m confused as to how he escaped Gordon Ramsay’s clutches, but that’s the only joke I’ll make about John Glosson who takes us to church with “How Great Thou Art.” Jennifer tells us “you can’t rush Jesus” and I want her to be my best friend – except, I’d be embarrassed to be seen out in public with her because she has a penchant for wearing weird clothing. Tonight is no exception as she appears to be wearing some variation on angel wings. The outfit is fitting since John is performing in honor of his deceased brother. They sound all kinds of incredible together. Kelly remarks that she’s secretly plotting on how to get him off the show, and once again, therein lies the problem with a voting system where you judge your competition. Despite that, he jumps to first place and it’s clear that those threats were in jest.

Jordan Meredith is up next, tackling Miranda Lambert‘s “Mama’s Broken Heart” alongside of her idol/mentor/life coach, Kelly Clarkson. It’s clear that Jordan took Kelly’s advice to heart this week because this isn’t the same girl who has been on the show the past few weeks. She braves all kinds of foot fungus by performing barefoot, but they bring the sass hardcore. At times, they both appear to be possessed by some sort of man-hating, foot-stomping demon, but seizure-inducing stage lights aside, this performance is actually pretty fantastic. My only problem is that I feel like Jordan’s tattoo needs a microphone of its own and that the show should be renamed “Trios” to accommodate its performance. Jordan jumps into second place.

John Legend and competition latecomer Meleana Brown are tackling Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” and our Lilo-lookalike looks like a different person this week in her sleek white pantsuit. The way John Legend moves his mouth distracts me during this performance and he looks like some sort of odd puppet. Stitch, is that you? They sound great together, but the performance falls a little flat for me. Not good, not bad…just meh. It’s meh-ness puts her into third place.

I think Olivia Chisholm might be the most boring contestant on this show, so she opts to take on one of the most charismatic performers and iconic songs, Beyonce and “Crazy in Love.” Dressed like the “Dancing with the Stars” mirror ball, she takes the stage alongside of Fonzie Thicke. Fonzie takes on Jay-Z’s portion of the song and it comes off like some cheesy hype man at a Bar Mitzvah somewhere in New Jersey. The performance is surprisingly entertaining, but I’m not sure whether it’s due to Olivia or the fact that she picked a great song and has a swarm of backup dancers.

J. Rome & Jennifer are singing “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” and he’s dedicating it to his deceased grandfather. This is going to be emotional for him. It’s also going to be emotional for me because this song always reminds me of Zack and Kelly’s breakup at the prom…Damn you, Jeff! While it’s hard to compete with Jessie and Slater, Jennifer and J. Rome slay this song. How am I supposed to write a snarky review with performances like this?! Jennifer, J. Rome and the rest of the superstahs are all a blubbery mess and if I had a a heart, I assume I would be as well. J. Rome takes first place for the third week in a row.

The Bieber-squeal-worthy Jason Farol is up next, and we learn that he auditioned from his car so his parents wouldn’t hear him singing. KC brings in Jason’s dad who gets all teary-eyed as the two tackle one of the most over-covered songs on the planet, “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. They sound great, but Jason needs some of the confidence juice that Kelly gave Jordan to really shine. In the most baffling critique of the night, John the Muppet criticizes Jason’s pronunciation. Hello, Pot, meet Kettle

Closing the show is Miss Hoop Earrings herself, Bridget Carrington with Mr. Mumbler. For the first time, we see the “Duets” band on the stage and these two deliver another solid performance. Kelly says that this girl shines so bright, but I think that it’s just her tinfoil-striped dress. She falls squarely in the middle of the board, grabbing fourth place.

It’s now time for the ominous “show down” between the bottom two. Jason and Alexis must each sing acapella for a chance to stay in the competition. Jason is up first with a rather impressive version of “Me and Mrs. Jones” that stuns Jennifer Nettles. Methinks she wants to be his Mrs. Jones. Pantsless Alexis takes on “Natural Woman” and it’s all kinds of pitchy. In my untalented and untrained opinion, Jason should stay and the pantsless wonder should be sent home. First, the judges give a cheesy, cliche-filled “don’t give up” talk to the contestants before taking to their tablets of doom to send someone packing.

Our host Caboodle, wearing an unusually shiny suit, needs to take some lessons from Mr. Seacrest and work on creating the elimination tension in the studio. For a second, it looks like Kelly Clarkson thinks that SHE is the one possible being voted off the “duets” island. Nope, our first casualty is Team Robin member, Alexis Foster.

Duets, you’ve redeemed yourself tonight. In fact, I suspect that if this episode had been the first of the season, this show would be a much bigger hit. The judging is still flawed and John and Robin’s teams sorta blend together, but consistent contestants like John and J.Rome and underdogs like Jordan and Jason make it worth watching. They also make it clear that the best contestants are those whose names start with J.

Next week, we’re tackling party songs on Wednesday, so put on your party pants (even you, Alexis!) and join us for more tears, more cheese and more obscure Saved by the Bell references!

Video Picks Of The Week: January 29, 2012

Jeanna D. — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:17:40 +0000

Hi friends…

It’s time for our “Video Picks of the Week!”

Music Video

This week’s music video is Trace Adkins‘ hit, “Just Fishin’.” Sometimes you get a song and a video, and you just think to yourself… that could not have been done better. That is how I feel about “Just Fishin’.” It is one of my favorite country music videos of all-time.

The song served as Adkins’ lead single for his album, Proud To Be Here, and is nominated for “Best Country Song” at the upcoming Grammy Awards. The music video stars Adkins and his youngest daughter, and is a great representation for the very heartfelt and sweet song.

Continue reading for our live performance and cover song videos…

Live Performance

This week’s live pick is from one of my favorite artists. The video is Dierks Bently‘s acoustic performance of his number one hit “Every Mile A Memory” at Sprint Live Music Lounge in Austin, Texas. The song was the first single from his 2006 album, Long Trip Alone. Acoustic music and Dierks… you cannot really go wrong there.

Cover Song

This week’s cover song comes from pop/r&b star and one of my favorite American Idols, Jordin Sparks. The video is Sparks’ version of Rascal Flatts‘ mega hit, “Bless The Broken Road.” The Grammy Award winning track is one of my favorite songs of all-time. Jordin is a great vocalist, and she does a really beautiful job with this cover.

Thanks for reading!

Thoughts? Suggestions? Sound off in the comments.

Until next time…

Around The Social Networks: Stars Weigh In On ACAs

Jeanna D. — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 01:08:55 +0000

The stars took to Twitter and social networking sites to sound off on last night’s American Country Awards! They shared their appreciation to their fans, highlights from the event, and some pictures.

Here is what they had to say:

Jason Aldean:

@Jason_aldean Thank u guys so much for all the votes for the ACA… Now i gotta figure out where to put 6 guitars! Yall are awesome! See u in 2012, now its time to celebrate in Vegas baby!

Blake Shelton:

@Blake_shelton Thanks to every one of y’all who took time to vote for me for the ACA’s.. And for all the thoughts and prayers for dad! He’s happy about it!

Scotty McCreery:

@ScottyMcCreery HUGE thanks to all the fans out there who helped me win my first award tonight! yall are incredible n younever cease to amaze me! love yall!

Chris Young:

@Chrisyoungmusic I have the best fans in the world. And that’s not just saying it. I mean it. I have had a record deal for six years thanks to you. #thankyou

Kelly Clarkson:

@Kelly_clarkson I just found out I won 2 awards tonight with @Jason_Aldean! I had no clue we were even up for any awards haha! That’s awesome! Go us :)

Lauren Alaina:

@Lauren_Alaina Finally got to see @Jason_Aldean and thank him for letting me be part of his tour! (:

Josh Turner:

@Joshturnermusic Hanging backstage at ACA’s with my beautiful co-presenter Jordin Sparks.

Jordin Sparks:

@jordinsparks ?’d presenting 2 my girl Carrie & getting serenaded by @joshturnermusic? My heart skipped a few beats! Josh! I think we need 2 do a song! ;)

Eli Young Band:

@Eliyoungband Awesome #ACAs moment: our dressing room is right next to @TheAlabamaBand !!

The Alabama Band:

@thealabamaband Here’s a pic of Randy backstage with Blake Shelton getting ready for the show last night!

2011 ACA Red Carpet Pictures

Lydia Picknell — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:40:12 +0000

Now that the second year of the American Country Awards are over, let’s look back at some of the fashion winners and losers from before the award show. Thanks to FOX, we have some Red Carpet pictures you might not see anywhere else. Take a look below and let us know who you think was the Red Carpet winner last night.

Don’t forget to click on each picture to see it in full size!

The JaneDear Girls

Craig Campbell and his wife, Mindy.

Trace Adkins & his wife Rhonda

See more pictures below the “read more” tag:

The Eli Young Band

Lauren Alaina

The Band Perry

Jordin Sparks

Hunter Hayes

Thompson Square

Love And Theft

Scotty McCreery

Pistol Annies

Alabama

Kristen Chenoweth

Chris Young

Josh Turner

Toby Keith Performing Red Solo Cup At ACA’s

Lydia Picknell — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:47:22 +0000

Toby Keith has just announced that he will make the broadcast debut of “Red Solo Cup” at the American Country Awards on FOX on Monday night. This will be the first time that his fan-favorite funny little drinking single will be performed on television. The song became an internet viral sensation less than a week of it’s release on YouTube, and thanks to fan demand, it has just officially become Toby’s newest single.

The Second annual American Country Awards will be co-hosted by Trace Adkins and Kristin Chenoweth and is the only country music award show that gives fans all the power to choose the winners. Also performing for the first time at an award show are the Pistol Annies, who join previously announced performers Blake Shelton, Scotty McCreery, Thompson Square, Eli Young Band, Alabama, and The Band Perry. Appearing on the night will be Miranda Lambert, Josh Turner, Lauren Alaina, Jordin Sparks, The Big Show, The JaneDear Girls, Bill Engvall, Larry Mahan, Rodney Carrington and the male cast of “Pawn Stars.”

The ACA’s air live on FOX at 8 pm EST on Monday, December 5th. We will have our very own Ted Efron and Jessica Crans on the Red Carpet and backstage at the award show, so check back with us to get the latest news directly from the award show.