Month: April 2016

Smackdown Review: 4-28-16

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Roman Reigns promo

Even with Roman midway-ish through his “heel turn” if you can call it that, his promos are still as dry as ever. Not everyone can be great at it, but as the current world champion, he should at least try and work on it. It didn’t matter much here, because he was interrupted by two people who don’t even have to talk for them to get massive heat (the kind of heat that WWE wants for heels to get); Maryse and the Miz. I’m slowly starting to get the point of them using iconic movie lines in their promos, but that was literally the reason Roman punched him in the face. He didn’t say anything disparaging about him specifically, he just came out and got in his face and angrily said some lines. Translation: we need a main event for tonight and this is what it’s gonna be.

League of Nations vs Kalisto, Sami Zayn and Cesaro

The League showed no signs that they would split up in the promo they shot right before the match, because that’s how little effort WWE felt like putting  into doing it. Side note; King’s commentary as the match was about to start made me chuckle but in a “You’re kind of an asshole” way. He said, referring to the faces “They’re like the League of Inferior Nations” but Del Rio, like Kalisto, is also from Mexico. Just stupid. ANYWAY, the match itself was a little shorter (at least it felt short) then I’d like it to be, but four out of the six guys in it looked strong; Zayn and Sheamus not getting much in offense wise. Cesaro hit that fantastic running uppercut to Sheamus on the outside after one of the walkouts, and the match ended with Sheamus walking out before he could get pinned. I would’ve liked for that to have been the reason for him attacking the other two backstage instead of just “You walked out on me!!” but I’ll live.

Winners: Kalisto, Sami Zayn and Cesaro

Baron Corbin vs Dameon Sandow

Corbin looks strong as hell here, unfortunately over Sandow whose in-ring stuff I generally like as opposed to his gimmicks which I can’t stand. He hits the End of Days (which I’m in love with)  maybe 5 minutes in for the win. No run-in/attack from behind from Ziggler, but I’m kind of happy about that as Corbin goes into Payback looking like a beast.

Winner: Baron Corbin

Ambrose Asylum; Nattie and Charlotte w/Ric Flair

Ambrose prefaces this by running on Jericho for a few minutes. I’m excited about this match from a technical standpoint but from a creative standpoint there’s not much to go by. Ambrose tried to come across as the angry dude looking to avenge the semi-severe beatdown but then gets in the ring with Nattie and Charlotte and makes funny faces for the camera. Not my favorite. The girls killed it though; Charlotte sort of bringing up the fact that Bret Hart has cancer but never actually saying that and Nattie playing the “You’re young and foolish so I’m going to beat you” card. Flair’s line where he apparently told Nattie to kill herself was thankfully taken out, but it’s distasteful knowing that he even said it in the first place. These two had a fantastic match on the Network special a few weeks before Mania and of course on NXT a few years ago, so I’m super excited about this one.

Enzo and Cass vs The Social Outcasts

Gotta say, I didn’t watch much of this one. I really enjoy Enzo and Cass but I wanna see them in there against teams that actually matter. No offense to Curtis Axel, who looks like a million bucks compared to the other two. Enzo and Cass win with the assisted splash thing…whatever they’re calling it. New Day on commentary made it all worth it. So effortlessly funny.

Winners: Enzo and Cass

Apollo Crews vs Stardust

Again. I mean really, at least put him in there with someone the fans don’t actually care about. Cody got some stuff in over on Apollo’s leg and whatnot, but within a few minutes of that Apollo hit that stupid powerbomb finisher and got the win. Yawn.

Winner: Apollo Crews

Roman Reigns vs The Miz

We’ve seen these two wrestle before but for the first time I didn’t feel like I was watching a complete mismatch. Miz is not a placeholder Intercontinental champion, he’s the real deal and it’s about time they treat him like he is. Nothing entirely special though I was entertained watching, especially with AJ at ringside. The finish was rather quick with Roman hitting a spear basically out of nowhere, but it was again, the post-match stuff that made it far more interesting. Anderson and Gallows run out for the beatdown, Uso’s make the save and sort of clear the ring before Roman spears Gallows before a stare-down with AJ. Not that I’m dying to see it, but a six-man tag could be a fun watch somewhere down the line, but for right now, I’m set on AJ/Roman.

Winner: Roman Reigns

  • Not my favorite go-home Smackdown ever, but they sold Charlotte/Nattie and Roman/AJ super well. Would’ve liked to have seen a bit more build-up for Zayn/Owens besides that awesome video package we saw first on Raw, but that match is going to be great regardless. I’ll definitely be watching Sunday.

 

Track Review: Purple Rain- Prince

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I’ll probably do a review of one of Prince’s “Best Of…” records after I’m free from the hell that is the end of a college semester, but for right now even though it’s super cliche, I figured I’d do one of my all-time favorite songs. My first exposure to Prince was at 12 years old when I heard “Kiss” on the radio, and I was hooked right away. To this day, he is my 2nd favorite artist of all time behind Whitney Houston, but has probably inspired me more musically then any other. To me he was and IS untouchable. He was so brilliant, so versatile and just such an enigma. A true trailblazer and so far ahead of all of us in every aspect, we lost an absolute monster of a musician last week. However, his music will clearly live on till the end of time and even though he is gone, aspiring musicians will forever attempt, and fail, to reach the level he was at. But that’s ok though. We all need someone to humble us. Prince always has.

Purple Rain

The definition of an anthem. Not just an arena anthem, but an ANTHEM. A true rock n’ roll masterpiece. While it could possibly be mistaken for a breakup song of sorts, it has a deeper meaning; apparently referring to being with the one you love as the world comes to an end. At that moment, you wish things could be different. You want them to know that there is no one else you’d rather be with, that you want your last memory of them to be laughing as they enter paradise. While the lyrics are extremely poignant, they are not the most important aspect of the song. It’s a power ballad dominated not by the voice, although Prince’s emotional delivery is spot on, but by the instrumentation. Guitar-driven from the word go, a good portion of the song is Prince absolutely wailing on the guitar like only he knew how. Powerful organ, orchestral and drum sections as well, the song itself is really a mind-blowing experience with every listen. Billboard put out a fascinating story recently of one of the guys from Journey talking about Prince calling him and asking him if he thought “Purple Rain” sounded too similar to “Faithfully”, wanting to get his blessing before releasing it. “Faithfully” is epic, but I’d rank “Purple Rain” higher on the “list”. Prince’s music was upbeat. It was funky. Stuff you can’t help but dance to. Then you have “Purple Rain”; just a real drag-it-out-for-10-minutes/lighters-in-the-air badass power ballad that no one will ever be able to duplicate. The world was singing that song last Thursday, and I don’t think they’ll ever stop. It’s why I love music. We don’t get songs like that anymore, so it makes me appreciate being able blast the hell out of it and feel that emotion and allow that guitar to send chills down every inch of me so much more. There are other great rock songs out there, but this is one of the best. And it always will be.

Grade

5 out of 5

Raw Review: 4-25-16

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Raw took place from the XL Center in Hartford tonight and even though WWE produced a great show, the crowd was just not in it. This isn’t surprising though, as Hartford isn’t typically a wrestling city. You’d think it would be, what with WWE HQ located in the same state and NYC just a few hours away, but nonetheless, their lack of enthusiasm slightly took away from what happened in the ring, but not by much.

Shane/Stephanie promo

To be honest, Shane kind of sucks on the mic. I love him to death, but he does. He comes out and says the same thing every time and the fans eat it up, so of course he’ll keep doing it. Regardless, I’m ok with Stephanie coming back to interrupt him here. I’d rather have heard the news of Vince deciding who will run Raw at Payback from her then from Cole in a small spot before a commercial…makes it seem as though Shane has no chance. She will of course be a key player in the Shane/Authority storyline but won’t be doing any of the dirty work. That of course will come down to Triple H and maybe even Vince himself if they want to go that route again. The two of them had a fun promo, but the “security” thing isn’t interesting anymore. I don’t know if it ever was interesting, but for some reason the fans always pop loud for it *sigh*.

AJ Styles vs Sheamus

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not huge on Sheamus, but he and AJ worked extremely well together tonight. The match got a solid 15 minutes with some really cool spots such as the almost-lazy sunset flip powerbomb or even Sheamus’s double boot to AJ from the corner. But really, they kept me interested the whole time so there were of course some other great spots as well. My only complaint, which is my complaint with every AJ match, is the Phenomenal Forearm. It looks really cool, but I’m not sold on it as a finisher. The multitude of ways he’s able to lock in the Calf-Crusher is far more interesting to me so I’d like to see him do that more, but again, the Forearm isn’t a bad move whatsoever. I’d like to see these two in a program later on when Sheamus is out of this League of Nations hole (which will apparently be soon). Good stuff

Vaudevillians/New Day/Enzo and Cass promo

New Day and Enzo and Cass are always going to be an interesting listen. That goes without saying. Maybe I just haven’t been exposed to their mic work enough, but the Vaudevillians came across as extremely mediocre. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen of them in the ring thus far, but they didn’t do anything for me tonight. The promo as a whole was fine…nothing spectacular but nothing that will make me want to go do something else during the Tag Tournament Finals on Sunday either. I did get bored of all the catchphrases though, and would have liked to have seen SOME action.

The Uso’s vs Anderson and Gallows

I was really excited for this and was not disappointed. Anderson and Gallows hadn’t had a single match yet but tonight they looked stronger then any other team in the division. They spent almost the entire match dominating one of the Uso’s (I still don’t know which is which), looking like the biggest assholes while they did it but in the best way possible. For two bigger guys they move REALLY well and while they might not have the most complex moveset, they don’t need one. They’re there to beat the crap out of people and that’s what they did. I liked how they got the pinfall first before we even saw Roman, and his clearing the ring of them was appropriate.

Sami Zayn vs Rusev w/ Lana

I missed most of this match as I went to go get some food, but the last few minutes of it looked good. Rusev works very well with small guys so that’s not a surprise. Not so big a fan of a roll-up win though…I would have very much preferred a count-out or something. Good for Sami for getting the win though. Loved Lana throwing her heels at him after the bell…it’s really not fair that she lost her push honestly. Kevin Owens’ attack on Zayn after made me think “Ya gonna do anything else or nah?” but we’ll see them go at it for real on Sunday.

Stardust vs Apollo Crews

This lasted longer then I thought it would. I’m sorry but unless he’s Cody Rhodes I just don’t care…he can do so much better then this and he knows it. However, that neckbreaker off the ropes reminded me just how good he is and made me wish he’d do more stuff like that. Crews is a stud, but not really when he’s throwing guys with half his body mass around the ring like a toy. I still don’t like his finisher, but the fans are already accustomed to seeing it so I guess I’m going to have to get used to it. JBL’s commentary was my favorite part of the whole match quite frankly….he can be really funny when he wants to be.

Dean Ambrose/Chris Jericho promo

I don’t care what anyone says, I think Ambrose is good on the mic. People are like “His promos don’t match his real personality.” Well guess, I don’t give a shit about his real personality. I haven’t seen too much of him outside the ring so what I see in the ring is what I go by and I like it. Anyway, both guys know how to get the crowd in the palm of their hands; Jericho taunting them, Ambrose saying what they want to hear. This feud has been sitting around for a while and I’m glad they’re doing something with it. They have great chemistry on the mic together and I’m sure it’ll be even better in the ring. I love when Jericho does the Walls on the table outside. In reality it’s probably not that much more painful then anywhere else, but it certainly looks cool as hell.

Emma vs Natalya

Charlotte hasn’t been on commentary that often (as far as I remember), but she was actually pretty interesting tonight. I’m not a fan of her in-ring promo work as I feel like she’s still green in that area, but I enjoyed that. Though the match itself didn’t last all that long, Emma might not have had a career-defining moment but she didn’t look like a rookie either. I was pleased by how much of her stuff she was able to get in, but her loss makes Natalya look strong going into the title match on Sunday.

Baron Corbin vs Damien Sandow

The match didn’t actually happen as Dolph Ziggler attacked Corbin as he made his entrance. I’m fine with this though, because it makes Ziggler look like he actually gives a crap about the guy who’s knocked him out twice. I doubt he’ll win on Sunday, but he’s one of the best choices to get Corbin over with the fans who don’t know him well yet.

Miz w/Maryse/ Cesaro promo

Miz really is the perfect heel, and having Maryse there with him helps even more. She looks amazing and obviously has great chemistry with him that allows the fans to really rain hate down on them. The promo itself was a little bogged-down with outdated movie references, but I’m still excited for their match on Sunday even though we’ve seen it before. Cesaro is one of the best on the roster right now, of course, and a victory over the Miz will not only elevate him but allow Miz to get out of the mid-card rut he’s been in for far too long now.

Random Thoughts

  • The package for Chyna felt a little less authentic then some of the others we’ve seen, but I’m still glad they dedicated that time to her. Yes, I cried.
  • Kalisto and Ryback should NOT be on the Payback pre-show. They got stuck wrestling in an almost empty AT&T Stadium at WrestleMania and now they get bumped to the pre-show again. It’s not fair, considering that they usually have better matches then you’d expect.

Alberto Del Rio vs Roman Reigns

I was really bored for most of this match, and it wasn’t until later on when Roman hit the drive-by outside that I really started to enjoy it. Neither man did anything particularly special, it was the involvement of Anderson, Gallows and AJ post-match that made it as riveting as I found it to be. The beat-down from Anderson and Gallows was pretty predictable, but Roman looked strong seemingly taking out all three guys at once before AJ hits him with the Phenomenal Forearm. The crowd popped louder for it then anything else in the night, and I did too. This match with AJ on Sunday is probably the most excited I’ve been for a Roman Reigns singles match probably ever.

Overall

Some really good singles matches here including one as the main event, which I’m a fan of instead of the traditional 6-man tag we usually get before a big PPV. Most of the angles for Payback got the time and exposure it needed, and asides from the crappy crowd I was relatively happy with it. Not a bad go-home show whatsoever.

 

 

 

 

 

Random Wrestling Thoughts: Finn Balor

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I’ll admit it, I was a little late to the new NXT brand. I had watched the original season of WWE NXT on TV back in 2010 and enjoyed it, but lost interest early in the second season. That first crop of guys produced a lot of stars, the biggest of course being Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan, but after that season none of the new guys interested me much. Of course, season 2’s Husky Harris would go on to become Bray Wyatt and AJ Lee came out of season 3, but they would not shine brightest until they reached the main roster.

So yeah, when I heard NXT was being rebranded I kind of rolled my eyes at it and moved on with my life. It wasn’t until guys like Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and even Roman Reigns were called up that I realized I should start paying attention. While I never watched the episodes in full I always kept up to date with main roster call-ups and new signings, one of the most notable ones being, of course, New Japan’s Prince Devitt. As a wrestling fan, it’s hard to ignore talent, no matter what promotion the person is in, so I was super excited to hear that Devitt had signed on with WWE and would be joining NXT soon after. At this point, Finn Balor, as he is now known, is arguably not just the best NXT has to offer, but one of the best WWE has to offer as a whole. His whole aura combined with his incredible wrestling and storytelling ability needs to be seen by the masses, and unfortunately, NXT is not “the masses”. Although the brand produces some of the best pure wrestling efforts we’ve seen in recent years, it is still a stepping stone or better yet, training wheels, for the main roster. Balor has proven that he does not only deserve to be up there, but that he would have more success there then any previous call-up.

————

Even though it’s a few weeks late, there is perhaps no better time to call Balor up to the main roster then right now. The fact that it happened at a house show puts a bad taste in my mouth, but he lost the NXT Title to Samoa Joe (who I’m also craving to see called up, eventually) this past week. Unlike Kurt Angle, who has stuck with TNA for the past few years and has failed to build the name of the brand back up, Balor has done more then anyone else to legitimize the NXT name (besides Triple H of course), and has succeeded. Not that they don’t need him anymore, but with guys like Samoa Joe, Shinuske Nakamura and Bobby Roode, hopefully soon, there to lead the helm, NXT is in good shape. He could have dropped the title to Joe at Takeover: Dallas and been given the perfect send-off by the WrestleMania crowd before being called up to the main roster soon after like Enzo and Cass and Baron Corbin, among others, but it looks like that’s not happening. For what reason I don’t know, because unless he plans on staying with NXT for a while longer, I don’t see him winning the title back anytime soon. And even if he is sticking around, why would he? It just doesn’t make sense from a booking perspective to have Joe lose the title so quickly. I know Takeover events are few and far between, but the NXT title does not need to be flip-flopped like some titles in WWE are. Also, we all know that WWE likes to send people out on their back. Guess what? Finn was just on his back. It’s the perfect time, especially with all the impending returns from guys that he would have excellent programs with. Ultimately, Balor’s call-up with really shake up the main roster and will make everyone step up their game if they don’t want to fall behind him. The prospect of what he’s capable of doing when he’s up there is exciting.

Finn Balor will without a doubt be World Champion in WWE one day and even though it’s VERY early, might even be Hall of Fame bound. He’s that good. You can’t even tell me he’s not. Just think about this; The Undertaker hasn’t even retired yet, and he makes the Demon gimmick look fresh. Sure, it’s not nearly as dark as the Undertaker, but I have never once watched him and thought “Oh, I’ve seen this before.” What helps is that they don’t try and hide him from the outside world like WWE did with Taker to try and protect the character, so it makes him seem a little more real. It’s quite obvious that the rules have changed a bit as the social media age has developed and they’re not so serious about retaining the persona of a character outside the ring anymore but even so, his soft-spoken and humble nature makes him even more of an entity. You can tell he really respects the people he’s working with and wrestling itself, and that’s important.

Before AJ Styles arrived in WWE at the Royal Rumble in January, he said that if and when he were to come up, Finn would be one of the top people he’d like to work with. Just imagine that for a second. AJ Styles vs Finn Balor. Just give them a half hour and let them work and you have a classic on your hands. And don’t give it away for free on Raw like they just did with AJ and Sami Zayn. Like a Summerslam or a Royal Rumble. A grand stage. A program with AJ is just one of many you can get out of Finn. I’d pay LOTS of money to see him in matches with guys like John Cena, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, and so many others. Even programs he had down in NXT with Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe would be stellar in a WWE setting. They might be just slightly watered down, but it doesn’t matter. The fans will eat it up all the same. For those unfamiliar with Balor you can start him off against guys like Alberto Del Rio or Chris Jericho; guys who would be bring a lot out of him but wouldn’t be affected in any way but putting Finn over.

If the timing was right, I think a Balor/Undertaker match would be what any fan would die to see but unless they do it relatively soon, the door for it is going to close within the next year or so. Even though he works a VERY limited schedule already, Taker just doesn’t have the years left in him to sit there and wait for Balor to get up there with him. If I was booking and had no time restraints for either of them, I’d do it 5 or 6 years down the line. It’s really a dream match scenario and those can’t be rushed, but unfortunately time is not on Taker’s side. The next best thing would be a program with Triple H, again, once Finn builds himself up to that point. Between all the stars that will come out of NXT and guys like Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes who if they still around long enough, will peak late into their careers, Finn will have no shortage of people to work with. Eventually, he’ll be the guy to get the young kids over, but not in the way Jericho does it. Taker got guys like Randy Orton and Edge over by beating them, and that’s the role Finn will have to take on as well. I see only bright things for him. Now all he has to do is change his damn finisher.

 

 

Track Review: Give It Up- Nathan Sykes ft. G-Eazy

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When I saw The Wanted open up for Justin Bieber on his Believe tour in late 2012, I had no idea who any of them were as an individual. Fast forward to the summer, and Nathan is featured on Ariana Grande’s “Almost Is Never Enough” off the soundtrack for the “City of Bones” soundtrack. It was clear that he was a naturally gifted vocalist and clearly the best out of the group members. I was blown away. The band eventually broke up, leaving Sykes to pursue a solo career. Zayn Malik’s solo success could be the catalyst for someone like Nathan to do extremely well, which based

Give It Up

Sykes takes a musical turn here, going from his stripped-down piano ballad “Over And Over Again” which has gotten decent radio play (even putting out a duet version with Ariana Grande) to this mid-tempo pop track. It sounds almost a little too similar to Cee Lo Green’s “Bright Lights Bigger City” which wasn’t a big hit whatsoever, but Sykes is without a doubt a soul singer so that could be the direction he wanted to go in. Nathan is a young, humble kid with a squeaky-clean image so the lyrical direction of this song is just a little laughable; “Are you happy babe? I can make it Valentine’s”, but with a few listens I began to appreciate his willingness to put out music that most likely relates more to him then anything he sung with The Wanted. We got a little taste of it with last year’s “Kiss Me Quick” but now he seems to be really going for it. It’s definitely a song to dance to and the chorus is catchy with the Justin Bieber “Sorry”-esque “Woo-oh-oh-oh”‘s throw in there production wise. He doesn’t show a ton of personality voice wise, but hopefully the rest of his upcoming full-length album will illustrate his voice to its full potential. G-Eazy is the token rap guest spot on this track and like so many rappers do on pop songs, turns it down a bit for the sake of keeping it PG-13; “We snuck out without paparazzi swarming. I’m tryna show you you’re the most important in town one night, ain’t tryna be too forward.” It’s a bit underwhelming knowing the kind of stuff he usually drops, but you can’t fault him for it. Having his name on the song will help Sykes tremendously, and that’s all that matters. I don’t think it will do as good as Nathan is hoping for, but it’ll give him enough of a push that whatever he puts out next will hopefully gain some more ground.

Grade

  • 2.5 out of of 5.0

 

Track Review: Close- Nick Jonas ft. Tove Lo

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Nick Jonas has far surpassed any expectations for what anyone thought a Jonas Brother solo career would be. The youngest and clearly the most talented out of the three, Nick was the first to break away from the tween-pop label that had been placed on him and is now a bonafide pop superstar. Older, wiser, more sexually driven the ever before but apparently just as professional and humble as ever, Nick is doing it right. After his last album produced some of last years biggest hits in “Chains” and “Jealous”, we’ll have to see if “Last Year Was Complicated” lives up to the standard.

Close

Production-wise, this track is reminiscent to that of “Pillowtalk” by Zayn Malik, though seemingly a little more intimate. A Pop/R&B slow-jam, the song doesn’t really show much of a progression in Nick’s voice but it certainly does in terms of understanding Nick as a sexual being and as a lyricist to a lesser extent. “Jealous” was sexy in terms of Nick expressing his feelings, while “Close” is bedroom sexy; “I know you know you’re scared. Your heart, your mind, your soul, your body”. The line that defines the song “Space is just a word made by someone who’s afraid to get too close” is as witty as is creative, and he’s right too. Tove Lo is more interesting here then she is on most of her features, her friendship and chemistry with Nick coming through strong. She sounds good, while sounding confidently sexy. The song, until it gets remixed, won’t be a hit on any dance floor, but it will make you body roll and feel a little more turned on then you were before. I enjoyed it.

Grade

3.5 out of 5.0

Track Review: My House- Flo Rida

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Another song I felt inclined to talk about due to its involvement with WrestleMania last weekend. WrestleMania, for whatever reason, always has a myriad of “theme songs”, but there’s always one that is clearly the main theme. This year, that song was current chart-topper “My House”. This isn’t the first time WWE has used his music, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Flo Rida gets inducted into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame somewhere down the line.

My House

I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not usually a fan of Flo Rida. “Right Round” wasn’t bad, but then we got the atrocious “Good Feeling” a few years ago, and that song was shoved down our throats. Constantly on the radio and even performed right before the Rock vs John Cena main event match at WrestleMania 28 in Miami, it sampled “Something’s Got A Hold On Me” which I’m sure made Etta James roll in her grave and made me want to do the same thing.

When I saw “My House” suddenly appear at the top of the ITunes charts a few months ago, I told myself I was just going to try and avoid it. I hadn’t even listened to it yet, but I just didn’t want to be involved. Then of course, WrestleMania hype packages started airing on WWE programming. “My House” was featured on them, and I found myself really enjoying it. Slightly pleased and slightly disturbed, I went on to Apple Music to see if it was actually a good song, or if WWE’s stellar production team had fooled me into thinking it was. Low and behold, it’s actually a good song.

“My House” is one of the most fun pop songs released this year. It’s got a really simple piano line under the vocal that seems programmed to sound like a trumpet, creating an upbeat blues feel to the track. Flo Rida sings (yes, sings) about coming over to his house and partying, drinking and having some sexy time (you know, all the stuff he does every day), and it surprisingly doesn’t sound trashy like you’d think it would. When you read the lyrics it gives you that feeling of “oh so it’s not that PG is it?” but at least there’s other things happening around it to distract you from that, unlike Fifth Harmony’s “Work From Home” (you’ll find my review for that on my page as well) which has all the girls blatantly asking for sex with nothing else to cover it up. I’m not a fan of him rapping the bridge; I feel like it messes up the flow, but his sung vocals throughout sound pretty legit. Not that it’s a super hard song to sing or anything, but I don’t feel like his voice has been messed with. Overall, a good, fun track that I will not turn off in disgust when it comes on the radio. Good stuff.

Grade

  • 3 out of 5

 

Track Review: Work From Home- Fifth Harmony ft. Ty Dolla $ign

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I got to see Fifth Harmony perform America The Beautiful at WrestleMania last weekend at AT&T Stadium, so I felt it was only fitting to review their newest hit. Fifth Harmony is easily the more successful and far more interesting of the two girl-groups that came out of The X Factor a few years ago, the other being Little Mix. They’ve enjoyed success with tracks like “Miss Movin On” and “Worth It” ft. Kid Ink while Camila Cabello, the group’s clear front-women, even enjoyed some solo success late last year with Shawn Mendes on their track “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (which they penned backstage at the Taylor Swift concert I went to last July :D). “Work From Home” is the 1st top 10 Billboard single from a girl-group this decade….not bad.

Work From Home

Every single member of Fifth Harmony is talented. They really are. Just go on YouTube and search their Mariah Carey covers…those girls can really sing. This song does absolutely nothing for me though, and if this was the first song I’d have ever heard of theirs I would not care about them one bit. This is basically a song saying “Hey boy. I’m super hot and you should stay home and have sex with me instead of going to work” and while it’s a fun listen, it’s just really off-putting to hear these girls, who honestly seem so down-to-earth who sincerely adore their fans, come across as cocky as they do. At least with “Worth It” they were able to say “This isn’t a sex song, this is female empowerment” and have it be somewhat believable, but there’s none of that here. The lyrics are corny, and it does nothing to showcase ANY of their voices. At least Ty Dolla $ign’s verse is a little bit more playful and less repetitive then Kid Ink’s in “Worth It”. This isn’t a BAD song…I mean look, I’m gonna bounce (which is the perfect, and probably only word to describe the production here) to it in my car when it comes on the radio but it just puts a bad taste in my mouth. Honestly, the whole rip-off of Rihanna drama doesn’t help much either, but “Work” is clearly the better song so it doesn’t matter anyway. They can do so much better.

Grade

  •  1.5 out of 5.0

For 15 Years Of Memories, Thank You American Idol

Posted on by nwadeblogs_

American Idol was on for 15 years. I’m only 19 so there aren’t many things I can say I’ve been doing for that long, but watching American Idol is one of them. I clearly remember watching the first finale when Kelly won and then going on to watch the show religiously for the next 14 years. It had it’s heyday of course, but I watched with pride even after Simon left when so many people turned it off and switched over to “The Voice” or “X Factor” (how’d that work out for you?). It’s funny to think that a television show could have such an impact on someone’s life, but this show has. For that, I am forever grateful.

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If you had asked me to sing something for you when I was between 6-10 years old, I guarantee the only thing that would come out of me was a Kelly Clarkson song. My voice hadn’t dropped yet so I could sing it in her range (or something close to it, hopefully), and quite honestly, Thankful and Breakaway were two of the first albums I ever owned, and I listened to them repeatedly. Breakaway especially though. I mean c’mon, its GOOD MUSIC. Listen to it now, I dare you. It’s a badass album. So yeah, I was closed-minded. Whatever. I was a kid. It worked out I guess, since I auditioned for and won the Jones Beach edition of the “Kelly-oke” competition that she did on her “Addicted Tour” back in 2006 (so did Demi Lovato apparently….cool little tidbit). My prize was free tickets to what would be my first concert ever, and backstage passes to go meet my idol after the show. I don’t remember what I said or if I said much at all, but I do remember her being such a sweetheart, and so alert when I broke out singing “A Moment Like This” for her. People say that Carrie is THE American Idol, but they’re wrong. Kelly is the reason why the show went on to be as big as it is. Such a special human being.

There’s a term in the pro-wrestling business where you describe a new, typically young wrestler as “green”, which is basically someone with not a lot of experience. You could use that term to describe so many of the kids that came through Idol over the years, which is why I loved it so much. People would come in that audition room with no background in the industry, but were there because they LOVE music and because they thought that had a shot at making sure that music was a part of their life forever. Take Trent Harmon for example. One year ago that kid was working his butt off at his family restaurant and farm, apparently playing music for his cows. Fast forward to this past Thursday and he was named the last winner of American Idol EVER. His life will never be the same. I really think it’s absolutely amazing. You don’t find people like that on “The Voice”. Right now one of the original members of Destiny’s Child (or Girls Tyme back then) is on there, and even though she’s obviously super talented, there’s just something incredible about watching someone go from inexperienced hopeful to a bonafide superstar.

The best part was that you got to watch it happen over a 4-5 month period, so again not to crap on “The Voice” or anything but you actually got time to feel connected to these people and to watch them grow both in personality and natural stage ability. The best thing was when you’d feel genuine emotion when one of your favorites would get eliminated, just because you feel like you went along on the journey with them and helped them get to that position. People like Colton Dixon, Latoya London, Anthony Federov, Kristy Lee Cook,  Chris Richardson and Pia Toscano, just to name a few. I wasn’t worried about any of them post-Idol though, and most if not all of them have been absolutely fine. Of course you have people like Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and a handful of others who got eliminated earlier then expected but still went on to AMAZING heights. Those are the best ones of course. Those make you feel good.

Of course you only had people like Sanjaya and Lazarro Arbos who’d get a little too far and you’d think “Wait but they suck though why are they still there” but then you’d have to remind yourself that it is a television show and that you watched (and probably laughed at) so many people just like them in the audition episodes. It’s YOUR fault that William Hung got to “perform” on the finale the other night while people like Jena Irene, Devin Velez, Haley Reinhart and many others who deserved to did not. Not to say that some of the auditions weren’t fun to watch because they totally were. I still watch whatever Toni Braxton’s cousins name was, that Mary chick who was gonna quit beauty school if she made it….all the memorable ones.

Then you have those who inspire you musically and then those who just inspire you. Musically, I need to give shout-outs to Joshua Ledet, Angie Miller, Scott McIntyre, Elise Testone, Fantasia, Kris Allen, Jessica Sanchez, Kree Harrison, Philip Phillips, Tamyra Gray, and probably more that I’m forgetting right now. Those are the ones who never had to TRY and connect, they just did. They made me feel what they were feeling, and then some, through the TV, and what a beautiful thing that was. It always made me fall in love with music even more then I already was, and everyone that I mentioned had performance moments that I look back on now whenever I need a reminder.

As far as those who just inspire you go, two come to mind right away: David Archuleta and James Durbin. I could go on forever about both of them, but I’ll try to keep it short. You talk about connecting, here you have two guys who had their own issues, but never asked for pity or special treatment because of them. Instead, they translated whatever feelings and emotions they were going through into their music in such a beautiful and memorable way. Not to mention they are EASILY two of the most talented people to EVER come off the show. I know some people weren’t too high on James, but everyone and their mother absolutely loved David. He was only 16 at the time and you’d never expect a voice as powerful and soulful as it is to come out of him, especially with his demeanor which has always been so humble and youthful. I’ve seen him live in concert 4 times and I’m still so AWED by him…he’s just incredible. I got to meet him once too and he was seriously the nicest person ever even though I was standing there bawling in front of him. As for James, I was absolutely crushed when he was eliminated and I almost stopped watching the show because of it just because he was so invested in what he was doing on-stage and he always seemed to shine so bright up there. Not to mention he brought something totally new to the table, in terms of music and a type of energy we’d never seen before. I still support him and his music today and I think I always will. I’m just really thankful for both of them because they taught me that as long as you believe in yourself and in God, you can overcome anything and make any dream you have come true if you work hard and never lose faith in yourself. I can’t think of anything more that anyone could ever need.

Obviously the music was important….I mean that’s what the show is about. Idol introduced me to so many artists, songs and styles of music I would have never found on my own, especially when I was younger. Also, it was just so fun to see people change up songs to go with what they can do too. Melinda Doolittle’s “Have A Nice Day”, Scotty McCreery’s “You Got A Friend”, Kris Allen’s “Heartless” and so many more. Idol was known for that. Those moments were magic.

When I finally got old enough to audition I didn’t waste any time. I went at 16. I’d been saying for years that it was my dream to audition and be on it and whatever, but even though I never made it past that first cattle call day, I still feel so good about myself for just going and DOING it. I got to go  and surround myself with so many incredible musicians from so many different backgrounds and lifestyles and it was just such an uplifting and inspiring atmosphere. I did it at Gillette Stadium in Boston and at Nassau Coliseum in New York and I will never forget those days for the rest of my life. I think about them all the time and I just can never stop smiling.

So yeah, this is where it gets sappy. American Idol took a 5 year old kid from suburbia Long Island and gave him a dream, a dream that he will probably hold onto for the rest of his life. That kid probably didn’t even know what a dream was yet, but at that moment he knew that all he wanted to do for the rest of his life was to sing. To perform. To inspire other people to follow their dreams like he saw Kelly Clarkson and countless other people do over the years. I am that kid, and even though I’ve grown up, I still got that wash of inspiration every time a winner was announced. Every time someone would get up there and have an “Idol Moment” that would make the audience stand up and cheer for what felt like hours. I never lost that. 15 years of it and I never once felt any of it any less then I did when I was 5. It could have gone on for 15 more years and I would have felt the same way. I’m sure it’ll be back, and I’ll probably watch it, but the original incarnation of the show was and is so special to me. It gave me so much inspiration and so much purpose and nothing I can say will ever do it its full justice, but thank you American Idol. Thank you.

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So many people worked to make this show the machine it has been for 15 years, and even though I probably won’t get all of them, I need to send out to some individual-ish thank you’s to the ones that stand out.

  • To the “original” 4: Simon, Paula, Randy and Ryan. For the first 7 seasons (well really from 2 to 7) it was the four of you as the backbone of this show. You all offered something so unique to it, and the chemistry you had made it so much fun to watch. You were the definition of the “dream team”, and I wish could have sang for all of you. God bless.
  • To Simon Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe and the rest of the big executives: Thank you for coming up with this concept and bringing it into our homes for 15 years. Sometimes it got a little “producer-decision heavy” and it felt like more of what you guys wanted then what America wanted, but I like to think you always had the shows best interests at heart.
  • To Michael Orland, Ricky Minor and The Band and all the long-term vocal coaches: all of you were the reason why so many of those magical moments happened on stage. You are all so beyond talented and are the catalyst for what every musician should aspire to be.
  • To the producers and the crew: It’s always the people behind the scenes who work the hardest. I’ve gone to auditions so I was able to see what you all do, and you deserve so much credit. Without you, there is no show.
  • To the bloggers: To the ones who were always fair and accurate, I thank you. Special shout-out to Michael Slezak and Melinda Doolittle over at TVLine.com. Thank you for expressing everything the fans have ever felt about the show in a comedic yet analytical way, whether it was in “Idoloonies”, “Idology” or “Reality Check”. I always tell you how much I look forward to it and love it, and I truly mean it. I will always be a fan and will always be proud to be a part of the Idoloonie nation. Thanks guys.
  • To ALL the contestants: Thank you for sharing your talent and your lives with us for so long. It takes a lot to get up there and do what you did under the microscope that you did it, so thank you for doing it with such grace. It was always so inspiring to see.

 

Favorite Performances

10. Falling Slowly- Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox

9. Somewhere Over The Rainbow- Katharine McPhee

8. Bennie and the Jets- Haley Reinhart (exit performance)

7. Mad World- Adam Lambert

6. Bridge Over Troubled Water- Clay Aiken

5. Volcano- Philip Phillips

4. When A Man Loves A Women- Joshua Ledet

3. Summertime- Fantasia Barrino

2. Angels- David Archuleta

1. A Moment Like This- Kelly Clarkson

 

AMERICAN IDOL: Logo 2009. CR: FOX

AMERICAN IDOL: Logo 2009. CR: FOX