Music Monday Special Edition Part Two
Yes, another special edition of Music Monday. I went to see Push Play Saturday night, and here is the play-by-play.
I met up with Laura, Melissa, Alexa and some other girls about an half hour or so before I could go in with my all-access pass. I got in that line and we went in to meet the guys before the show. As we walked through, Phil Bensen was sound checking. We went upstairs to the bar and took our pictures with CJ, Steve, Nick and Derek. They were all really sweet and excited. They seemed to be more talkative with each other than the fans, mainly being cordial to the fans. They’re not as personable as some other bands, but they were nice and I felt comfortable taking a photo with them. I feel like they just aren’t used to having people take pictures with them in that type of situation, so it makes for an awkward experience.
I was taken back downstairs where I was in the front of the line to go in with Laura. I bought my t-shirt and got my second meet and greet pass, then got back in line where we were chatting with Phil. He asked me if I was excited to be in the front of the line. My response? “Heck yeah I am.” I was taken off guard by his question. I wasn’t really paying attention to him. He came back later and was chatting with us some more, and I said, in a side conversation, “That was hilarious!” Phil thought I was talking to him. Awkward. We were let in, and I was front row, a bit to the right (looking at the stage).
Phil performed first. He’s kind of amazing. Keep an eye out for his Music Monday profile in the next few weeks. He’s a jokester and he loves to perform. He came out after the show to play some more music, since he couldn’t play for a long time. After Phil was Emily Osment (the girl from Hannah Montana that isn’t Miley Cyrus slash Haley Joel Osment from Sixth Sense’s little sister). She was surprisingly talented, and she really rocked. The Boston show was her last show, so Push Play pranked her. They came running out during one of her songs with fruit (bananas and grapes) and Tostito chips. They danced around with them and threw chips out at us. It was pretty funny.
Push Play came out last, obviously. They played about the same number of songs as Emily, maybe a couple more. They played (I think I can remember this correctly, I might be missing one) Watch It Burn, Midnight Romeo, Heart Attack, Taking It Back, This Is Us Breaking Up (Better Off), Away Away, Start Again, Where I Belong and their Promo Rap. The rap was hilarious. I didn’t expect it, and I’m glad I got to witness it live. Emily and her band came out to prank them a few times. At one point they rolled fruit and sodas across the stage. They also came out during the Midnight Juliet serenade to pile stuff on the stage and gaze longingly at CJ, and once more later on to dance with pseudo-mic stands. Emily’s band is the funniest (slash hottest) thing ever. I may or may not have told her bassist I was over 18 before giving him the thumbs up and a big smile. Awkward again.
Post-show I met Emily and she signed my ticket. Phil also signed my ticket, and I got a picture with him. Then I went to meet Push Play again, and I took a better picture with Laura’s camera before heading outside. We waited for Phil to come out and play for us some more. He stepped outside, looked at us and asked, “Can someone hold this for a minute, I need to pee” before handing one of the girls I was with his guitar and walking back inside. One of the Paradise Rock Club employees asked her if she knew that she was holding a 2,000 dollar guitar. Her response, “That’s why I’m holding it with two hands.” Zinger.
Phil played a few songs for us, messing up the words and chords and making up words. We got some pictures with Emily’s bassist, Kevin, and keyboardist, Kylen. We had to head out after that, and then I was home.
The concert was a blast, and both Emily and Phil have a new fan. Maybe they’ll be spotlighted in the near future.
Just a note, next Music Monday will be another concert review. I’m seeing All Time Low, We The Kings, Hey Monday and Friday Night Boys on Thursday night.
Pictures coming soon: 5:57
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello readers!
I wanted to take the time to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and a good few days off from school to spend with your family and loved ones. As you may have already noticed, I haven’t posted a Music Monday. I decided not to post anything (except for, obviously, this) for the holiday week. This is so that I can take the time to catch up on homework and with my family while I have the time to see them.
Next week I should be back on schedule with Music Monday and I hope to have some questions for Advice Center Saturday. I do hope to have a live chat in the near future, I’ll post about that when I can.
So, have a great Thanksgiving!
- Jillian
American Music Awards 2009
I’m starting to watch this an hour late. Partly because I wasn’t going to watch it at all because of Desperate Housewives and partly because Desperate Housewives isn’t on because the American Music Awards is on, so I’m going to watch and liveblog it now.
Selena Gomez and the guitarist from Michael Jackson’s tour presented Best Male Soul/R&B. The winner is Michael Jackson. I don’t know if I’m okay with him being nominated/winning solely because he died this year. Without his death, he would not be as successful as he has been this year. I respect his music and talent, but he would not have been one of the big names of the year if he were alive.
Commercial break. I’m going to update you on what I missed as far as winners go.
Favorite Pop/Rock Group: Black Eyed Peas
Favorite Country Group: Rascal Flatts
Favorite Pop/Rock Female: Taylor Swift
Favorite Alternative Group: Green Day
And we’re back. Just in time.
Zac Brown Band is here to present Favorite Country Male Artist. It was cute that they would have Zac Brown say something and then his entire band join in on the next sentence. Keith Urban wins.
Demi Lovato and Kris Allen are here to present Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist. I wonder why Demi and Selena didn’t present together. Insert rumor here. Beyoncé wins. No surprise. Anna is happy. Rihanna performed. How is someone so untalented so famous? Her voice is just, as Anna puts it, “unpleasant.” I agree. She’s famous because we sing along to her songs, and then we wonder why we aren’t famous, because we are just as good, if not better, than she is.
Rascal Flatts are here to present. There’s something funny with the audio, so they were echoing. Gary LeVox made a joke about it. Carrie Underwood is now performing “Cowboy Casanova.”
Lady Gaga is now performing. She’s starting with Bad Romance. She and her dancers are wearing nude colored leotards so they look naked. Then they have this silver-y something on their heads and chests. Bizarre, but awesome. She’s really good live. I think Lady Gaga is one of the truly talented artists out there. Rihanna should take notes. We can see her face now. I wonder what Lady Gaga looks like in real life. Next song is on piano. Not just piano, though. Piano on fire. The song is “Speechless” by the way. Maybe this will be her next single.
Colbie Caillat is presenting the award for Breakthrough Artist and Gloriana wins.
Jennifer Lopez is still fierce.
Samuel L. Jackson is here to present the International Artist of the Year to Whitney Houston, only the seventh person to receive the award. It’s amazing how far music has not come. I mean, you don’t hear voices like Whitney’s anymore. They’re a dime a dozen.
Carrie Ann Inaba and Leona Lewis are here to present the award for Favorite Country Female Artist. Go Taylor! The winner is Taylor Swift! She’s accepting live from London. Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist goes to Michael Jackson. My roommate thinks that T.I. should have gotten it. Alicia Keys performed.
Eminem is performing, now. Next performer is Timbaland.
Charlie from Lost (Dominic Monaghan) and some woman are presenting Green Day’s performance of 21 Guns.
Best Rap/Hip Hop Male goes to Jay Z.
Ryan Seacrest is presenting Artist of the Year. Kings of Leon, Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson, Eminem, and Lady Gaga. TAYLOR WON! AHHHHH! This is the year of Taylor. I swear.
Okay. It took me two seconds to move on from my excitement. This never happens. Why did my attention move? Adam Lambert’s performance. He simulated a blowjob on national television. The editors did not seem prepared for this, as it was on television for approximately one second. Male Lady Gaga? You bet. There is so much pseudo-sex in this performance. Holy cow.
See you next year.
Hottie of the Month: November
Hey guys! Sorry I’m late with this for November. As you know, I was at an Honor Society concert on the fifteenth. Check out that review from Music Monday. Without any further ado, The Celebrity of the Month for November: Taylor Lautner.
I know that you know who he is. Taylor Lautner is the one and only Jacob Black from the Twilight film series. Here’s the visual:
Taylor Lautner, 17, got his start as Sharkboy in the film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D. He was born February 11, 1992 in Michigan. From there he relocated to California where he grabbed small roles on some popular television shows. Finally, he was cast as Sharkboy, and later as Eliot in Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Now, Taylor is making girls swoon with the smooth, tan skin and perfect white smile in his role as Jacob Black in Twilight and, opening November 20, New Moon.
Lautner almost lost his role as Jacob in the second movie, but he buffed up so that he could keep the role that thrust him into the spotlight of teenage girls everywhere. He may be rumored to have a girlfriend in Celebrity of the Month, Taylor Swift, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look. Keep an eye out for Taylor and be sure to check him out in New Moon!
Taylor Lautner Links:
Internet Movie Database
Image thanks to google!
Music Monday: Special Edition
Hey everyone! This week’s Music Monday is going to be a little bit different. Some of you know that I went to an Honor Society concert last night. I decided that instead of profiling a band, I’d review the concert and tell you all about my experience! I will provide pictures and links to the youtube account where I will post videos.
I arrived to the venue, Paradise Rock Club (which I live next door to) around 10 that morning. The doors opened at 6 and the show was supposed to start at 7. So, I hop into line and proceed to die of heat and the girls around me. They were super excited and it was much too early for any type of excitement. I was excited to at some point be allowed to pee and change into something that was less three-layers-y. So, I did a whole lot of sitting around. I went to get tea and a cereal bar at one point (the girl in front of me was chill with watching my stuff). Finally, Sandy and Catherine arrived and joined me in line. They got something to eat and I went back to my room to change into my skinny jeans, moccasins and a white v-neck.
The bus rolled up and the Paradise Crew unloaded the equipment so they could set up. Douchebag Steve (one of the employees of Paradise) probably sat around and complained about his hangover and laughed about how stoned he was. Jerk. We don’t like Steve from Paradise Rock Club. Anyway, everyone thought that the boys were in the bus. Of course they weren’t, so when they showed up in an SUV and went into the bus, everyone freaked out. Michael and Jason poked their heads out the front window and EVERYONE was out there hanging out with them-ish. I hung back, not wanting to be trapped in the crowd, but then I saw a little blonde head poke out of the back window. Everyone was on the other side of the bus, pre-occupied with Michael and Jason, but I saw Andrew. I sprinted over and grabbed Andrew’s hand, and then Alex’s hand. Amazing. People then crowded around me because they saw that I saw the boys.
They had to go, obviously, so they could eventually get inside the building. This is when the craziness started. People started just cutting me in line. One girl actually told my roommate and friend Kara that she was going to “pretend she had been there all day.”
… Really?
The line from that point on was a fiasco. I’m amazed I was even able to be in the middle of the crowd when show time started. But I was, and I stayed there for about half of Honor Society’s set. It started out with some girl named Mariah, maybe? She sang two covers and two song written for her. Good voice, terrible style, not-so-great stage presence. Next was Esmée Denters, who played seven songs, one of which was a cover. Her backing band was awesome, and she was really fun to watch. After more stalling it was time for Honor Society.
They started with Full Moon Crazy. They also sang Over You, Where Are You Now, My Own Way, Two Rebels, Why Didn’t I, Here Comes Trouble, See U In The Dark, Nobody Has To Know, Sing For You, Don’t Close The Book and This Bed Is An Ocean. Jason covered “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon, as well. During “Two Rebels,” I held up a sign with Sandy, Catherine, Kay and Kay’s friend. I was the L. It was so much fun. After that I needed to get out of the crowd. I was so hot and hungry that I was going to pass out if I were in there for another second. We moved up to one of the balconies on the side. The view was incredible from there, and there was more room to dance.
Kara and I each bought a t-shirt, so we were able to get meet and greet passes. I got in line for the meet and greet with Kara, Laura and Melissa and some other girls they were with. While we were waiting we were able to meet Esmée Denters. We finally got up to the guys. Andrew was first, and I gave him my CD to sign instead of the picture they had. Next was with Michael, and I told him that he was “amazing” and that I had seen them three times and I absolutely loved them and that they were incredible performers. He said Thank You and held my hand for like, a minute. Insert fan-girl moment here. Next was Alex and I gave him a hug. I went to Jason last and I had time to chat because Kara was telling Michael that she was from New City in Rockland County, as well. While I was waiting I told Jason all about Kara and how she was from Rockland County and that he was about to meet her. She asked him for a hug, and I was hanging back, waiting for her, and after he hugged her he turned to me and I gave him a big hug.
We left the building and waited outside for them so we could see them. When they came out, they had to go, so they couldn’t stop to take pictures with us all, but I got a picture with Jason. They left and I ran to City Convenience so I could get some cookies and a drink before going to sleep. I got back around 12:30.
All in all. Best night ever.
November 16: I updated with my pictures. The first is of the venue’s sign for Honor Society. Next is a photo of Andrew and Alex in the back window. The picture of me, Catherine and Sandy is next. The last two are Kara, me and Laura with Esmée Denters and me with Jason.
If you’d like to watch videos of the show, there are five up on my youtube channel: click HERE to watch. Be sure to rate and comment!
Country Music Awards 2009
Hey everyone! Tonight the Country Music Awards are playing on ABC Family at 8:00 Eastern Time. I’m going to do a liveblog for this event, much like I have done for the other award shows. This time, however, I am going to try using software called CoverItLive. We’ll see how we like using this over the way I’ve done a live blog in the past. Be sure to comment on here and on the pop-out window that you will be reading.
To see the live blog please click here! Thanks for checking out the blog, and if I disappear for an hour, it’s because I may have left for Glee. I’ll cross the bridge when I get to it. If my readers don’t like the way this works, then I’ll go back to the way I used to live blog with frequent post updates.
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Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are tonight’s hosts. The show was started off by Taylor Swift performing “Forever and Always.” Her performance was more rock and roll than one would expect based on her country, swet girl persona. Very exciting. She’s not a great live performer, but it was entertaining nonetheless. Carrie and Brad played music with their jokes, an unusual, but totally fitting technique. A nice dig to Kanye in there.
The first award, Single of the Year, was presented by Kid Rock. It went to Lady Antebellum for her song “I Run To You.”
We return from commercial with Carrie and Brad making some nice Swine Flu jokes. Carrie asked if Brad could feel her and tell her if she’s hot. He looked for his wife, distracted her, then did as Carrie asked. Darius Rucker performed “Alright” after that, followed by Kellie Pickler and newcomer, Jake Owen, presenting the award for Song of the Year. The winner is “In Color” by Jamey Johnson.
Carrie introduced Miranda Lambert’s performance with a comment on men who cheat on women. She could have been announcing either Taylor or her own performance, since they both have some biting songs about cheating men. Miranda Lambert performed “White Liar.”
We return with Carrie in her third dress, introducing Brad Paisley’s performance of “Welcome to the Future.” This portion of the show is straight performances, we don’t have any awards handed out as Brad’s performance is followed by a performance by Zac Brown Band. They covered “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” which is one of my favorite songs. They were incredible, especially the talent they have with their instruments. I wish I had gone to see them when they came to Agganis Arena at Boston University.
Surprise. Another performance. Brad Paisley introduced George Strait singing “Twang” followed by the stars of ABC’s The Middle. I love shameless self-promotion. They presented Vocal Group of the Year, won by Lady Antebellum.
Carrie Underwood performed “Cowboy Casanova.” I really love her. She’s so amazingly talented. Naomi and Wynonna Judd came out to present the award for New Artist of the Year. The winner is Darius Rucker (formerly of Hootie and the Blowfish). This is followed by a performance of Tennessee Line by Daughtry and Vince Gill. I love Daughtry. Heck, I love a lot of people from American Idol. Every commercial break they promise more Taylor Swift. I can’t wait.
Back from commercial, Little Jimmy Dickens came up on stage while Carrie and Brad announced Keith Urban’s performance to defend Taylor Swift. Very sweet and very funny! Keith performed “Til Summer Comes Around” – he was great. Another missed concert. Keith was even with Taylor when he came to Boston! Tim McGraw performed “Southern Voice” and then we’re back on break without an awards.
I watched Taylor Swift’s Fearless win Album of the Year, but then had to leave the room because of a smoke detector in my suite here at school. No evacuation, but it was loud and smokey, so I went to hang out with my RA for about 20 minutes. I will continue updates from here. Sorry for missing 20-ish minutes. Please check out the liveblog to see comments on what I missed. I was just informed that Taylor also won Video of the Year for “Love Story.”
Lots about Taylor right now. She just performed “Fifteen.” A really beautiful performance. Just her and her guitar with her fans singing along with her. That song makes me so incredibly emotional.
So, I got more distracted with this whole smoke alarm thing, so I missed a lot more. Taylor won Best Female Vocals. Let’s see who wins Entertainer of the Year.
And to finish this off:
TAYLOR WON ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR!
Music Monday #9
This Disney girl has been taking the world by storm since she was first featured on Camp Rock in the summer of 2008. She had her start at age 8 on “Barney ” with her best friend, Selena Gomez, and played Charlotte on Disney’s mid-commercial short, “As The Bell Rings.” While she is a talented actress, our ninth Music Monday is becoming best known for her powerhouse voice. This week’s Music Monday is Demi Lovato.
Demi just released her second CD, Here We Go Again, and finished filming Camp Rock with the Jonas Brothers this past month. She sings the song for her sitcom, “Sonny With a Chance” which can be found on her newest CD. Demi also went on tour this summer, making stops across the United States with American Idol runner up David Archuleta. Demi has arguably the strongest voice out of the three Disney starlets, and she has had a number of hits on Radio Disney. My favorite songs by her are “Remember December” – the video for which will be out in the next few weeks – and “Here We Go Again.”
Her voice will be booming on the big screen once again when Camp Rock 2 premieres in 2010 on Disney Channel.
Important Demi Lovato Links:
Official
Twitter
Myspace
Facebook
Music Monday #8
They aren’t really a band, and they don’t have a CD out yet, but this group of singers is definitely one of my favorites. I love hearing new music each week, and I can’t wait for the first CD to come out in the next few weeks. Music Monday number 8’s spotlight is none other than the cast of Glee! I recently downloaded all of the music available from the show, and I can’t wait for the CD for the first season to be available.
The cast is made up of Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), the Glee Club director and Spanish teacher. His students, Rachel, Finn, Puck, Kurt, Arty, Mercedes, Tina and Quinn are the most prominent singers in the group. You might recognize Rachel (Lea Michele) from the musical Spring Awakening, where she was part of the original cast as Wendla. Arty (Kevin McHale) is a former member of NLT. Some of the supporting cast, including teachers and guidance counselors, also have their own musical numbers.
Some of my favorites songs from the show are Puck’s version of “Sweet Caroline” (originally by Neil Diamond) and the two mashups, “Halo/Walking on Sunshine” and “It’s My Life/Confessions” by the girls and boys, respectively. There’s something really cool about song mash-ups.
This group of singers has even been invited to the World Series Game 3 to sing the National Anthem. Mercedes (Amber Riley) took the bulk of the singing and she was incredible! Be sure to follow them on twitter and become a Facebook fan.
Also, be sure to tune in each week (Wednesday at 9) to check out the new songs and episodes of Glee.
Image thanks to tvaddict.com
Celebrity of the Month: November
This month’s celebrity is up (kind of late) today for November! I completely forgot about it, but thanks to the live chat I had on blogTV.com, I remembered and got some ideas for this months. So, thanks to the ladies who joined me for the chat (Sandy, Danielle, Kay, Emily, Ann, Jessica and anyone else who was in and out) for giving me some awesome ideas. In the end, I made my decision.
Taylor Swift
Where do you know Taylor from? Where do I start? This beautiful blonde is most famous for her hits on the radio, especially “Love Story” from her album, Fearless. She’s already been profiled here once as a Music Monday artist, and she was suggested as this month’s celebrity because of her wonderfully down-to-earth personality, incredible talent, and how relatable her lyrics are. Taylor first released her self-titled album, Taylor Swift, and then followed it with Fearless in 2008. Just this past week she re-released the Fearless: Platinum Edition with six new tracks, including a piano version of “Forever and Always.”
Her music is so easy to relate to. Her lyrics speak to millions of girls all over the world. She touches on everything from heartbreak to first loves and family to friendship. In her song “Love Story” she talks about a girl finding her Prince Charming and tells her listeners that love conquers everything. On the other hand, in “Forever and Always,” Taylor
discusses her heartbreak freely, using her music as an outlet. “The Best Day” is a beautiful story about her relationship with her mother. Taylor created a video for this song on her youtube using clips of home videos, one that really touches the watcher with a glimpse into her life.
Taylor is also an extremely talented actress. She is a character in all of her music videos, and she brings these characters to life. Taylor also had a role on the show CSI: Las Vegas, and for a newcomer, she received very positive reviews. With more experience, Taylor could develop into an extremely strong actress, finding larger roles than on CSI and her cameo in the Hannah Montana Movie.
Taylor has already accomplished so much with the number of awards and nominations she has received. For example, Taylor has won American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, CMT Awards and more. I see a Grammy in her future. Be sure to follow Taylor on twitter, and check out both her Myspace and Facebook pages as she continues to grow, both in acting and music.
Important Taylor Swift Links:
Official
Myspace
Twitter
Facebook
Youtube
Images thanks to google.com
Music Monday # 7
Rumor has it that *Nsync is going back on tour! You know what that means! I’m going to spotlight them for this week’s Music Monday. And yes, this is going to be a post reliving my childhood. Even if they’re not going on tour, I at least have an excuse to write about those five men.
*Nsync, composed of Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone, were international superstars in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. Girls all over the world were in love with this boy band, and they had years of success musically. Their first CD was my first CD: their self-titled, debut album *NSync. Filled with hits like “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “I Want You Back.” Mint. I still love that CD. 
They then released No Strings Attached and Celebrity in 2000 and 2001. These two albums produced hits like “Bye Bye Bye” and “Pop.” Throughout their success on the airwaves, they also sold out hundreds of tour dates across the United States and some parts of Central and South America, like Brazil and Mexico. I saw their tour in Boston in 2001, when I was a sixth grader, just before the group went on Hiatus.
Since then, Lance Bass has been on Dancing With The Stars, Joey Fatone appeared in an episode of Hannah Montana, and JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake have continued with solo careers.
Hopefully this incredible group will come back together for a new tour or a new album in the coming year.
Image from rateyourmusic.com.
