Roxor Blog

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!