Roxor Blog

Syesha Mercado is the only female singer left in American Idol. With both of her competitors being males, is she up for the challenge? As far as her singing skills go, she is definitely up to par with my front-runner pick in the male group, David Cook. And, just like David Cooke, Syesha is a great performer on the stage. She has the energy and draws the crowd into her music. She has everything that a great performer should have including the looks. Now, granted she kind of screwed up several weeks ago attempting a Whitney Houston song which the judges didn’t think went quite well for her, even though I thought she did a pretty decent job. Ever since that performance Syesha has found herself in the bottom three or two, only to survive to yet another week.

I would personally like to see the final two American Idol contestants be David Cook and Syesha Mercado.

David Archuleta has been all the rage lately with American idol fans and the judges. The question is…Is he really that good? In my honest opinion - I think not. If you ask me, David Archuleta is mostly hype. Now don’t get me wrong, as he can certainly sing. It’s just that to me he is not diverse enough in his musical arrangements and not a flexible enough singer.

He sings the same tune and harmony every week and never changes up. He constantly sticks to safe songs and never takes chances with the music. He gets up on stage, does a quarter squat, puts the mic to his mouth and sings with that weird smile that only gets the little girls screaming for him. What he needs to do is get up on that stage and perform! If David Archuleta would actually perform and sing with some enthusiasm then I would think he would have a chance against David Cook, who I believe should win the American Idol contest.

Do you agree? Let me know…

Brooke White has been hanging on a string as far as her American Idol performances go. I am not too fond of her performances to date and believe she is long overdue to be sent home. I believe the only thing keeping her in the Idol running is her down to earth girlish charm. Other than her looks and charm, she has been turning in less than stellar performances. She messes up a line here, delivers a weak performance and still she hangs in there. To me it is frustrating to see a contestant that turned in a much better performance than Brooke get sent home while she keeps getting more and more chances. What does she do with all these chances she keeps getting? Well, if you ask me, nothing.

David Cook has been one of my favorites since the start of the final 12 contestants on American Idol. Not only is he very talented but he brings a unique style to the show. Unlike other contestants David changes a song to match his criteria and takes chances by going out on stage in front of millions of people and offering up his rendition of the song. His renditions have been absolute genius in my opinion and he always puts his own twist to the tune. And he is not just some one-song wonder. David has managed to consistently put out quality tunes every single week and consistently challenge his skills and impress the judges with his amazing renditions.

Whew! It’s been quite awhile since R.E.M released any sort of album. What took so long? Who knows! Their first album in nearly four years, Accelerate is a total rock victory for the band. Accelerate is the first album by R.E.M. absent Bill Berry who quit in 1997. When the popular drummer left the band, singer Michael Stipe was quoted as saying that R.E.M. had become a “three-legged dog” with Berry’s departure. Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills have continued as the dynamic trio and kept R.E.M. alive.

Accelerate becomes the group’s first studio album in four years. Ultimately, I must say that R.E.M. sounds whole again, which is probably the best thing about this album. R.E.M. is no longer the “three-legged dog” they claimed to be in the past – they are now complete in their purpose. Stipe sings at the end of his record, “Music will provide the light you cannot resist” and “I’m Gonna’ DJ.” You can surely believe him — as Stipe and his band believe in themselves once again.

Another week on American Idol has passed us by and this week Chikezie left us. Chikezie originally auditioned for American Idol way back in season six, however he did not make the final cut. This time for season seven he was back with a vengeance and made it through to the top ten.

Chikizie was seen by some people as a good singer with down to earth values. He grew up singing in a home surrounded by Nigerian music. Chikezie was known for making a song his own and bringing in his personality to the lyrics. Paula once told him that he was always on pitch when singing his ballads and that he was a very pure singer. Chikezie was definitely one of Paula’s favorites, however Simon had his doubts about him. Before his elimination, Idol’s Simon Cowell told him that he was in danger of being eliminated because he chose the wrong song. The previous night, Chikezie had performed the ballad “If Only for One Night”.

Chikezie will surely be missed with his soulful ballads and stunning performances.

Elliot Yamin has been quite busy since his debut on American Idol. Earlier this month he made a trip to Africa with the 2004 American Idol winner Fantasia Barino. The trip is for the “Idol Gives back” TV special, which airs on April 9th on FOX TV. During the tour, the two handed out mosquito nets to families, which help protect against the deadly malaria virus. Malaria is responsible for killing almost 1 million people per year in Africa alone, and more than 3000 children per day. During their trip, Elliot and Fantasia visited hospitals and villages and helped raise money for the needy in that country.

Before this trip Elliot had just returned from a USO tour, in which he performed in front of members of the U.S. Air force and U.S. Army. The whole tour lasted for a period of 11 days. Countries included Germany, England, Belgium and Holland.

Elliot continues to perform in various locations of the world and contributes to the music industry through his superb R&B/Pop vocals. We’ll wait for his next album patiently.

If American Idol remains a talent show, not a popularity contest, we may have more homeboy rocker kind of star material. Check out the 2006 contestant and the fifth place finalist Chris Daughtry, who climbed up the entertainment industry ladder faster than the Idol winner Taylor Hicks. Daughtry sold more than 3 million copies of his self-titled debut album and was awarded the number one selling album of 2007. No Grammy’s as of yet, but four nominations speak for themselves. Very strong vocals, a good band, and catchy rock songs make Daughtry stand up to the best in the business. Recently launched countrywide tour with an opening act for Bon Jovi proves that Daughtry is recognized by the seasoned rockers as well. Though Daughtry quickly rose to the superstar status, he tries to keep a down to earth profile. He frequents morning shows and keeps his blogs updated with personal video messages to his fans. Way to go Daughtry!

The much anticipated “sixth album” from Weezer is scheduled to be released soon and a lot of people are looking forward to the improved compilations on this new album. It has been almost three years since their fifth album “Make Believe” made its debut when it was released to the general public. The sixth album was originally scheduled for release sometime in the spring; however in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Rivers Cuomo stated that it would be released in April of 2008. The recordings were done last summer in 2007 and will be produced by Rick Rubin. Rivers Cuomo has hinted that he will be playing drums on two of the songs and also stated that the album will contain longer and non-traditional song forms than others contained. The fifth album “Make Believe” was released on May 10, 2005, and was a very successful album.

This new album has a lot of Weezer fans sitting on the edge of their seats in anticipation, including me. “Make Believe” is one of my favorite albums and with all the great tracks on it I have really been looking forward to something more to come from Weezer. Let’s hope that these new arrangements that Cuomo mentions sits well with the fans. Anyway, if you have any opinions I’d like to hear them, so comment away!

Van Halen - When I hear the name I immediately think back to the late 70s and early 80s when I was a teenager and  they were the talk of my High School. Everybody knew the name. Everybody had their albums. Everybody loved their music. I remember waiting for the next big album to come out. It’s just amazing how time flies! It’s still fresh in my memory. To me, their music was unique and they had their own special style that defined who they were. Van Halen will always have a place in my thoughts. But how did they come to be? I never thought about it until today. Some of you may know and some of you may not, so without further ado…

Van Halen was originally formed in Pasadena, CA way back in 1972 as a band called “Mammoth”. Eddie was the lead singer at the time (David Lee Roth auditioned, however he was turned away as lead singer for unknown reasons). The group mammoth continued playing at clubs and any place that would let them play. However, the money was tight and the group was paying a lot of money for the sophisticated sound equipment that they rented. Now, guess who they rented this equipment off of? right - David Lee Roth. Eventually the underpaid group needed to cut costs and save money so in exchange for the use of this equipment they allowed David Lee Roth to be their lead singer and the rest is history! Now that David is on board we still have this band called Mammoth. Well, the story is that Mammoth decided to change their name because it was discovered through undisclosed sources that the name was in use by another band - so the name “Van Halen” was born! This was in 1974, by the way.

Other cool facts are that Gene Simmons helped Van Halen out by giving them funds for their demo tape. Remember, “Runnin’ with the Devil”? That song was originally included on their demo tape.

If you know of any other cool things about Van Halen I’d like to hear form ya! So comment away!