Concert Review: Adam Lambert / Orianthi/ Allison Iraheta Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA 7/28/10

by Randi Reed
 
Adam Lambert: 
 
Having been a cheerleader of Adam Lambert from his first audition on American Idol, it was easy to say yes when a friend asked me to come along to see his show at the Pacific Amphitheatre...
 
…but I also didn’t know what to expect. Would it be the pseudo electronica alterna-dance Adam of his current CD, For Your Entertainment? Would it be the guylinered, leather-and-black-nail-polished “Rocker Adam” my girlfriends and I all crushed over during his early American Idol episodes?

What about the music? Would it sound like the album, or would the arrangements be the slightly guitar-heavier sound of his TV talk show performances of late? So many questions! Between you and me, after years of working in the live concert business and seeing “the man behind the curtain,” it was nice not knowing what was going to happen going in.

Adam Lambert is so good at what he does, and has such a commanding stage presence, it’s easy to forget this is his first major tour as a solo artist. He has a beautiful voice, which has become clearer and richer since Idol. His stage persona morphs easily from slightly dark magician-esque court jester, to gay cabaret rave dance host, to concerned friend of teens who are worried about feeling like a freak…all while somehow seeming to remain uniquely himself.

Watching him, I kept forgetting that, musical theater experience aside, he’s still pretty new at this. In fact, in my notes I’d just written “Adam Lambert is the male Cher”--which is a good, cool thing by the way; Cher is a fantastic performer--when I was reminded of his newness by a far-too-long “quick” change, complete with empty stage. That would never happen to Cher. Why weren’t the dancers sent out? Since the long “quick change” seemed planned into the production, here the problem stems from poor planning in production design and stage management, not necessarily Adam Lambert. Unfortunately, Adam’s name is the one on the ticket.

Until this point, I’d almost forgiven him for the fact that the show’s opening intro--a recording of “For Your Entertainment,” his CD’s title track--went on too long and that his entrance needed reworking. The logical thing would have been for Adam to go live and pop out from somewhere unexpected on the line “I’m here for your entertainment.” But that never happened. Instead, we were left staring at an empty stage with a backdrop of Adam’s face (from the CD cover) as the song played on…an unnecessary disappointment, and a waste of precious set time.

Additionally, though his musical theater experience serves him well, it hinders his performance as a pop star when it comes to crowd energy management. He commands the stage, but has not yet mastered the crowd. He had them, then the spell--and its accompanying energy--was broken by the long quick change, and then again later by an awkwardly placed introduction of every dancer (individually, by name) in the middle of a high energy dance number that had the crowd dancing only seconds before.

These issues likely stem from the fact that musical theater requires its performers to ignore crowd distractions and keep going according to script. Conversely, being a great live pop or rock star requires paying attention to everything happening in the crowd and ad libbing it to your advantage. … It’s a tough switch, but with his talent, Adam Lambert can do it. Until then, a few changes to the production design could help him out.

Oh, and as for the guylinered, leather-and-black-nail-polished “Rocker Adam”? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss seeing this side of him live. But sometimes guylinered, leather clad rock and roll guys are a dime a dozen. Unique artists like Adam Lambert are needed in this world. Adam’s message that it’s OK to be different is especially important for gay teens…or for that matter, for anyone who’s ever felt awkward or out of place. And that’s every bit as cool.

Orianthi:

One has to give guitar phenom Orianthi and her team a lot of credit for pulling together an album and tour after what was undoubtedly a difficult blow, both personally and professionally: Orianthi was the guitarist for Michael Jackson’s ill-fated This is It tour, which was in rehearsals when Michael died suddenly.

Had Michael lived, Orianthi would still be out on that tour as I write this. Knowing what it takes for a relatively unknown to put together an album and tour--let alone having to suddenly switch marketing plans while dealing with the death of your boss--I have a lot of respect for her.

Orianthi has fast fingers, good stage presence, and an interesting look. She clearly has strong rock roots—influences of Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, and even a little Slash are evident in her playing. Yet interestingly, she comes off as cheerful, not angry. In fact, Orianthi reminds me in a way of a blonde Suzi Quatro, if Suzi Quatro had a chirpily happy stage persona, sang songs with poppy choruses, and wore white or pastel leather…or perhaps she's like a young Lita Ford, without the F-you attitude.

Much of Oranthi’s music is radio friendly, which her voice fits perfectly. She sings it well, though her voice isn’t unique…not bad at all (if anything, she makes it look too easy), just not unique. Her first single, “According to You,” has a good, poppy chorus with lyrics delivering a surprisingly serious, positive message against emotionally abusive relationships. The juxtaposition works well, making the song stand far above the rest of the songs in the set.

On the negative side, her guitar work was a distraction rather than a plus at times, being a little out of tune and a bit sloppy on a couple of songs that had a more demanding vocal. On “Give Me the Bad News” it was…well, perhaps writing the word “atrocious” in my show notes was too strong, but close. Her vocals were fine, though, so reworking the guitar parts a bit would do the trick here.

Overall, Orianthi delivered decent songs, good stage presence, and a good performance, but her set still needs a little work...perhaps reworking the order of the set list or changing some of the arrangements to vary the tempos. But ultimately, Orianthi seems a good, accessible “starter rock star”…especially for girls who are past Disney but who aren’t quite up to someone more edgy and angry.

Allison Iraheta:

One of the frustrating things about American Idol has been its skill at killing a good artist’s rock cred. Idol’s core audience tends to be frightened by anything edgy or angry, and the audience that would usually like the edgier contestants is kept away by the perception that anyone who’s been on American Idol can’t possibly be cool.

This, I fear, may be the nemesis of Allison Iraheta’s career: the girl is just too cool for American Idol.

With powerful stage presence and a flirty-cool rocker chick stage persona, she comes off wise beyond her years. Her naturally raspy voice sounded a little tour –weary, but it somehow works for her, and sounded edgy and cool rather than tired.

In fact, she reminds me a little of the Divinyls’ Christina Amphlett, but with her own unique vibe, and I can see her potential to develop a similar cult following. But then there’s that damn American Idol thing hanging on her back.

She performed a good set overall, with a decent band, albeit with some “help”: it bothered me that I could hear her voice on the backup vocals and not just on the lead. With her talent, Allison Iraheta doesn’t need to resort to such tricks, which only further lessen her credibility in the rock world…which is a shame, because without the Idol mark on her back, I feel she could be a contender to be huge in the rock world. (A colleague remarked, “Maybe she could change her name and start over to get rid of the Idol thing?”)

All in all, I enjoyed Allison's set and would see her again; frankly, I enjoyed her performance more than Orianthi’s. Aside from the vocal help, the only major flaw I could find with Allison Iraheta’s performance was that it came to an abrupt end; she ran offstage with nary a “thank you”, bow, or goodnight.

But first tours are for learning that sort of thing.

RR


Follow me on Twitter @MusicBizAdvice.



ETA 7/14: a broken Twitter link and to correct a typo in Alison's review.--RR




© 2010-2013 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.

New Name for American Idol?

Wow, must the producers of American Idol be ticked (more specifically, the artist management arm of the show): Just when American Idol had finally achieved a sense of legitimacy within the music industry and we'd almost forgotten the Taylor Hicks debacle...BAM!

No surprises on American Idol's finale tonight, but I am thinking American Idol should be renamed...Here are a few suggestions:

"Rock" Star Lite (with the word "rock" in ironic quotation marks, as shown)

The Guy (or Girl) the American Idol Audience is the Least Afraid Of

The Music Idol of Christian Conservatives

The Guy Next Door Who Can Sing and Had Some Nice Moments but Who Doesn't Have as Much Star Quality as the Guy Who Really Should Have Won

The Guy Who Has Some of the Elements of the Total Package But Still Needs a Little Work on One or Two of Them

The Guy or Girl Most Appealing to Fox

Come on People! Kris Allen is talented, and he has some nice moments. But when Kris himself on the winner's stage seemed genuinely shocked and said, with true sincerity, that it should have been Adam, there's a problem.

As I wrote in our MBADC American Idol Armchair Quarterback column on MusicBizAdvice.com, of the two finalists, Adam Lambert is the total package: vocal ability, stage presence, looks, star quality, and needs the least development to be great.

Kris Allen has some, but not as many, of those elements. I'm not saying he doesn't have the potential. I even chose him as one of my favorites on one of his performance nights in the early part of the competition. But an idol needs more than potential. It should be there already. Adam already has it.

Idols are supposed to be different than the guy next door. Paraphrasing what Simon Cowell said recently in an interview, stars sparkle like diamonds and should be rare. I wholeheartedly agree.

On the upside, at least Adam doesn't have to sing or promote the winner's song ever again!

Advice to next year's wannabe winners on Idol: Pretend to be an evangelical, and talk about it a lot in interviews. Looking at the show's track record of winners, you'll apparently have a better shot.

(I'm kidding, so relax. I have nothing against religion, just a problem with those who try to make their own religion everyone else's. Believe whatever you like, live and let live, and don't exclude others who don't happen to believe what you do. Excluding others on the basis of their beliefs is what led to a whoooooooole lotta trouble in Germany, among other places.)

Someone, please bring back Rock Star (and its music director and house band with it)...It was sooo much better than American Idol. And a hell of a lot more believable!

Meanwhile, if you want to read our week by week rundown of the entire American Idol season, it's here:
http://www.musicbizadvice.com/American%20Idol%20Armchair%20Quarterback.htm

Another Lennon-McCartney night on American Idol?

So American Idol is changing the performance schedule in order to do another Lennon-McCartney night.

Another night of butchering the Beatles. Heaven help us...

When the first one was announced, the eternal optimist in me had high hopes that a contestant or two might rediscover a lesser-known gem, rearrange it, and have a performance as good as David Cook's amazing "Hello" a couple of weeks ago.

After seeing the performances, I came to my senses.

As every decent musician knows, Beatles songs are something you sit around playing and singing at home with your friends on acoustic guitars.You don't dare actually sing one in public, because no one will ever do them as well as they did, so you can never really make them your own.

Not even the best of the best will go there, other than as a fun encore at the end of the night (often with a playful McCartney-style headshake in acknowledgment). Or at a tribute event for one of the fallen Beatles. In other words, those that dare perform them in front of an audience know the deal: those songs, and the Beatles' performances of them, were perfect.

So it's reeeeeeally awkward watching the less-than-the best use those songs to try to get their careers happening.

All I can say is...if they must, I hope they go deep into the catalog.

You can read more about song selection and choosing cover songs here.

The Sanjaya Effect, & What the Media Isn’t Telling You: What Happens if Sanjaya Malakar Wins American Idol? (And Do Howard Stern & the Saboteurs Win?

Warning: For those who don’t know, I have two interchangeable uniforms: the jeans and tennis shoes of a former musician-songwriter, and the suit of an agent-manager-business person who’s worked with enough non-artistic business guys to know how they think when they’re wearing their suits. This entry gets into the head of someone in a very tight suit and does not reflect my musical sensibility… nor my artist development philosophy.

Over the past few weeks, there’s been a lot of media buzz about what happens if Sanjaya Malakar wins American Idol Season 6. For those of you who’ve been in temporarily stranded on a deserted island, Sanjaya Malakar is a 2007 American Idol contestant with teen idol looks and charisma, but with a voice that doesn’t quite live up to the hype. DJ Howard Stern and several American Idol-hating websites are encouraging people to vote for the least talented contestant. (More backstory on Stern angle.)

Currently, though American Idol producers insist otherwise, it’s contributing to Sanjaya’s continued stay in the competition…as singers with better voices get booted off.

“So if he wins, what happens?” the media asks in a panic. “Will it take down American Idol?” “They have to give the winner a recording contract, right?”First off, Sanjaya is unlikely to win, because the producers probably have backup plans to prevent such things. To borrow an oft-used phrase from Ryan Seacrest’s radio show, this isn’t their first barbeque.Secondly, although I haven’t seen the American Idol contract, the recording contract is probably a “first look” deal rather than a binding recording agreement. (A first look deal means the label has “first dibbs” on the artist and can then sign or pass the artist at their discretion.)

But, just for fun, let’s say Sanjaya actually does win the competition, and that the recording contract is a binding recording agreement. Here’s what will likely happen:

Nothing.

What the media isn’t telling you is, a recording contract is simply that: a recording contract. A recording contract in no way, shape or form implies that a record label ever has to release a CD it deems unacceptable. At the label’s discretion, a whole project can be scrapped and written off as tax deduction.

In other words, if Sanjaya wins and has a binding recording agreement, they’ll weigh the costs of releasing his solo CD vs. taking a tax deduction…a situation nearly every major label artist finds himself in at some point.

Should the American Idol artist development team decide to go for the CD, a decent vocal is easier to get than ever, thanks to Pro-Tools technology. And, like it or not, Sanjaya does have a cult following of tweens, because he’s “cute.” So speaking from a financial standpoint, the AI team could do OK by making a low budget CD, selling them mainly via download instead of hard CDs, and focusing on Tween-oriented merchandising, personal appearances, and acting...Which is essentially what occurred in the 1970’s with the recording careers of Tiger Beat teen idols like Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Tony DeFranco, Scott Baio, and Kristy and Jimmy McNichol. (Thanks to regular appearances in Tiger Beat magazine and his starring role in a popular TV show, Shaun Cassidy was actually a major concert draw with a string of sold-out arena shows.)

My hunch is, if Sanjaya wins, financially, the American Idol artist development arm actually comes out better than if he doesn’t win, because in their eyes, they’ll have the best of both worlds: a musically credible artist with a non-fickle demographic (in the form of one of the stronger-voiced contestants, a la 2006’s Chris Daughtry), plus, in the form of Sanjaya, a manufactured teen idol with the preferred tween demographic and all its inherent merchandising possibilities. (Young girls buy their idols’ stuff).

Musical sensibilities aside, these two musical entities have co-existed in the industry since the late 1950’s. As a microcosm of the music industry (or as a mini music industry unto itself, for that matter), why would American Idol be any different?
Regardless, the American Idol show will be fine. From a publicity standpoint, the Sanjaya Effect is probably a good thing for Idol: after several years of success, every fan base tapers off and needs new blood, and the media attention is bringing a new crop of viewers to the show (via curious former non-Idol watchers tuning in to see if “that Sanjaya kid” is really that bad after all).

And, I’m guessing that new rules and voting procedures for next year are probably being drawn up as we speak.

In effect, from American Idol’s point of view, financially the Howard Stern / Internet Sanjaya Sabotage Plot may actually turn out to be the best thing that could have happened in several seasons. Now wouldn’t that tick Howard off?

Copyright 2007 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.

Backstory on Howard Stern’s anti-Idoltry.

Aside from whatever Howard Stern’s official reason is for encouraging his fans to thwart American Idol’s system of choosing the winner, I have an additional theory: Professional jealousy.

For years, New York-based Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed “King of All Media,” was the most visible radio personality. In addition to his syndicated radio show, Stern was visible on E!,late night talk show appearances, award show appearances, movies, and God knows what else. Aside from ticking off the FCC now and then, he was pretty much untouchable in broadcasting.

Meanwhile, in the late 1990’s, at a Clear Channel station out in Los Angeles, a young DJ from Atlanta named Ryan Seacrest starts gaining visibility. Nothing too major, just stuff a hardworking DJ does to make a living in an expensive city…An appearance on Beverly Hills 90210 here, a talk show pilot or game show there, lots of voiceovers, and taking on lots of extra projects at the radio station. Then, celebrities start tuning in to Seacrest’s radio show because he’s gaining a reputation as a good interviewer, in addition to having a fun radio show. He switches from the evening shift to the more visible Afternoon Drive, picks up a sidekick named Lisa Foxx, and the buzz gets bigger as more celebs tune in while they’re stuck in traffic on the way home from the studio or picking up their kids from school. The ratings follow suit, Seacrest moonlights on the TV show Extra and on E!’s Talk Soup, and the buzz in the broadcasting biz really starts taking off.

Then Seacrest auditions for—and gets—a job cohosting a new TV show called American Idol. The show’s a hit and is picked up for the next season, but with Seacrest as the sole host. His afternoon radio show ratings soar, he starts getting ink in national magazines, and he and radio partner Lisa Foxx start winning awards, including the radio industry’s prestigious Radio Personality of the Year award.

Meanwhile, the FCC is coming down hard on Stern in the form of fines. In addition to the Infinity-owned stations that carry his show, Stern’s show is carried by some Clear Channel-owned radio stations. Stern’s thinking of leaving Infinity, but his contract isn’t up yet. Meanwhile, fines at the Clear Channel stations are exceeding Stern’s Clear Channel worth. Cut to Clear Channel hot shot Seacrest: He’s pretty agreeable, has a more family-friendly audience, and seems really happy to be there. Hmmm…Casey Kasem and Rick Dees shows need new hosts. What if…?

So, Clear Channel has Stern exactly where they want him and turns their focus soley to Seacrest. (As American Idol’s success continued, soon Seacrest was in talks for a TV talkshow, too, with opportunities for cross-promotion.)

To add insult to Stern’s unhappiness, some of the media begin referring to Ryan Seacrest as “the next Dick Clark,” “the real king of pop” and “the new king of all media.” Ouch. Seacrest appears on Stern’s radio show to promote one of his projects, and is a good sport when Stern starts ribbing him about the “new king of all media” title. Except Stern doesn’t sound like he’s joking as he defensively points out that Seacrest isn’t the “king of all media” because he doesn’t have a movie or a book. Seacrest is still a good sport.

Not long afterward, Seacrest replaces Rick Dees as the host of influential pop station KIIS-FM’s morning radio show and drops Stern’s syndicated show from their remaining 6 Clear Channel stations. Stern’s show on E! goes bye-bye, too. Stern makes a deal to take his show to Satellite radio. Much later, Seacrest joins E! as News Editor and anchor.

So…if Stern was a little ticked at Ryan Seacrest and wanted to take down American Idol, it would be a little understandable. Also pathetic, because Seacrest was just working his butt off, doing his own, very different thing, but a little understandable. But mostly it would just be pathetic, because Howard Stern and Ryan Seacrest are both damn good at what they do.

Copyright 2007 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.

Reader Feedback Reply to the American Idol and Chris Daughtry “Walk the Line” Controversy

Greetings Music Fans,

I’ve been going through MusicBizadvice.com’s feedback mail…

There’s been a lot of commentary during the past couple of weeks about Chris Daughtry’s forgetting to credit Live with the arrangement when he performed “Walk the Line” on American Idol's ‘50’s night a couple of weeks ago.

Some of you have asked how that affects the performance notes we wrote in the MBADC American Idol Armchair Quarterback, praising his song selection and the arrangement.

Here’s what happened from our point of view at MusicBizAdvice.com, and why our Armchair Quarterback notes about his performance stand as originally written:

The morning after Chris’s performance of “Walk the Line”, we were reminded that Chris Dughtry's arrangement was actually Live's arrangement. I love Live and had forgotten about their version. (Sorry guys, my bad. Apparently my brain cells' musical encylopedia wasn't working that night.)

I knew from the brewing backlash from Live fans on the Internet that American Idol had to address it--either by media statement, on Ryan Seacrest's radio show, or on AI. I made the decision to withhold comment on MusicBizAdvice.com until after their statement, because I felt to do otherwise would be unfairly proclaiming Chris guilty until proven innocent.

It would also be irresponsible of us, since votes are involved.

As you probably know, Ryan Seacrest and Chris corrected the omission during Chris's interview on the next American Idol performance show. After Ryan and Chris made the correction, I added an Editor's note to Chris's performance notes on our '50's Week page, as well as acknowledged it in Chris's performance notes for the next week, for those who didn't see it on the 50's Week page.

You can read the full Editor's Note here, which should answer part of your question regarding crediting Live. It also offers our best guess at why the omission happened.

As for how this knowledge affects what we wrote about Chris’s song selection and performance…

If we pretend for a moment that Chris had remembered to credit Live with the arrangement, my feelings about the performance and song selection still stand--in this case--for two important reasons:

A. Although the arrangement was word for word, it still works as a song selection and was still the right musical choice because Chris's voice doesn't sound like the guy from Live. Even on the same notes, Chris's voice has a clarity and energy that's unique.

B. Live's version was not a widely known classic with heavy, across the board airplay, so for most people there weren't immediate musical memories attached to it. (I like the band’s work and forgot it myself!)

Had either A. or B. not been the case, and if Chris wasn't unique as an artist, it wouldn't have worked as a song selection, and I'd call it karaoke.

As I said in the Editor's Note, the best musical example I can give is the Joe Cocker version of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends." The Joe Cocker version become a much-covered cover, and pretty much every rock band who ever played a bar in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s has covered the Joe Cocker version. The best renditions were done by people whose voices sounded completely different from Joe Cocker and held the notes differently.

Conversely, although I like Taylor Hicks’ voice a lot, if Taylor tried touring with it, it would sound karaoke, because he sounds like Joe Cocker. (Although for some reason I have the uneasy feeling that when the Top 10 finalists go on tour, we’ll see Taylor singing it. Please, no.)

So, Chris’s version of “Walk the Line” on American Idol was just fine, and our performance notes still stand.

Also, I don’t believe there was any underhanded thinking on Chris’s part with regard to not crediting Live, because he’d gone out of his way to mention another artist’s arrangement in a previous week. It’s live TV, performance nights are especially tight on time, and the contestants are still learning how to express themselves on camera.

That’s why the producers, musical directors, and people who put together the clip explaining his song choice should have made sure that, as a courtesy, Live was credited with the arrangement.

Fortunately, the voting audience didn’t take it out on Chris. I’m glad, because I think he’s an amazing singer.

We now return you to current topics…Were we surprised that Mandisa went home last night? Unfortunately, no. We liked her, but if you read this week’s MBADC Al Armchair Quarterback, you know we weren’t surprised.

Rock on (That was a really cool David Essex song from the ‘70’s, by the way…),
RR

Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief
MusicBizAdvice.com

Copyright 2006 Randi Reed. All rights Reserved.

Stage Presence: American Idol Contestants, and Stage Presence Then and Now..Plus AI's Producer Disses Shakira

Good Morning, Music Fans,

I’m in the midst of writing the performance notes into column form for the MBADC American Idol Armchair Quarterback for MusicBizAdvice.com but wanted to pop in with an observation…

At this stage of the game, the contestants should have a much better idea of cover songs that really connect with an audience.

They should also have far better stage presence than they do.

But, this is what happens when we have a generation of kids who take private voice lessons and only sing for their family, friends, and instructors...and who don't go to live concerts.

Starting at a young age (14, 15) my musical peers all learned what connects with a live audience by playing backyard parties, school events, frat parties, and jam sessions, and by getting gigs at tiny little clubs. Since they’d learned as they went along, it was rare for even local artists to not have stage presence. (Some more than others, but most of them knew how to connect.) They also built loyal fan bases.

Vocal coaching was rare then, too—Most of my musical peers never took a lesson until they blew out their voices on the first tour or got nodes on their vocal cords. (Not a great way to go.)

Conversely, now we have droves of kids who have a high level of technical ability, but have no clue what songs connect with an audience.

Seeing Katharine McPhee smile when she sings blues is the final straw. It’s the blues, Katharine. People with the blues don’t smile.

The same goes for Elliott Yamin. If it’s a sad lyric, don’t smile!

Readers, if you’re not playing live, start. Look for opportunities to do so everywhere you go…You won’t make a lot of money at it, and you’ll be doing gigs where you don’t get paid at all, but what you gain in experience and stage presence is priceless. Learn what you’re doing before you start trying to get famous.

Also, get out there and see live performances. If you're underage to get into clubs and tickets are too expensive in your area, check out DVDs of performances. Adelphia Cable's On Demand feature has a lot of free concerts in their music section, too. Watch a variety of performances, in many musical genres, to see what makes crowds react. (I don't recommend viewing clips on your computer for this purpose, BTW--You need a larger screen to really see exactly what the performers are doing to get that reaction.)

It's the musical equivalent of football and basketball players watching footage of classic games; they watch the plays closely to see what works, then they incorporate them into their own game. So go play, team!

I’m going back to my article now…Barring any server problems, it will be up on MusicBizAdvice.com before Ryan Seacrest reads the results on the East Coast. (Update 11:45 AM: It's up!)

P.S. American Idol Producer Nigel Lythgowe (sp) just said on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show that when Shakira was on American Idol, the contestants never met her, although AI requested that she go out and talk to them. He said, quote, “she wouldn’t get off her ass” and go out to talk to them, and that she's no longer welcome to have anything to do with the show because "it's about the kids" and, he feels she used the show to promote her CD without regard to the contestants.

Live your dreams!
Randi Reed
Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com

P.P.S. Yeah, yeah, I'm still learning how to insert links on Blogger, so bear with me...I'll have Webmaster Extraordinaire show me again and will go back in and change them. (Done!)



Edited to get rid of a typo, and to add a performance suggestion.--RR

Copyright 2006 Randi Reed. All rights reserved.