August 9, 2012 
Happy Dog Days Of Summer everyone!
I have been slacking and enjoying the company of family and friends, while recuperating from my latest and greatest cold and flu virus. I think the crazy, unpredictable weather and the lack of sleep may have contributed to my latest minor health setback, but it sure was fun while it lasted.
And who can ignore the excitement of the Olympics? It has been such a great run, hasn’t it?
Michael Phelps is a rare jewel in athletic history and certainly revved up the ratings for NBC – although I found their coverage erratic and manipulative to say the least. Sitting around all night waiting for key athletes to perform is not my idea of entertainment. What happened to a posted schedule of nightly coverage?
Oh well, onward and upward. Next week, America’s Got Talent is back in full swing with the Finalists from the YouTube auditions. Awesome! Is Sharon Osbourne still on tap as judge or has she left the show mid-season? Oh me, oh my so much controversy. I love it!
And then there is the judges’ selection for American Idol. Now that Mariah Carey is on board, who will bookend her?
Nick Jonas is far too young in my opinion. The fact that they are even considering him speaks volumes for the direction Idol is taking. It’s not about the singers anymore, just the judges. How are we to create stars from this show when the Top 12 are currently eclipsed by the superstars in the judges’ seats?
And, we cannot forget NBC’s The Voice which begins its third season in September. I personally know of two singers who may be contestants on this show. As the preliminary auditions are to yet completed, we will have to see how this pans out. However, the pairing of Michael Buble with Blake Shelton has winner written all over it. Agree or disagree?
And how do you think X-Factor will fare this season with the inclusion of Brittany Spears and Demi Lovato?
So, let the conversation begin!! I need group therapy here! :):). Hit the comments section!
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wow, i had no idea what you meant about michael buble joining the voice, so i went to your link. he seems like a ‘happy, fun, person, so his combining with the lovely, quiet, shy, blake should be a GREAT combination. 🙂 🙂
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I went to the American Idol tour concert Monday night. I took some notes and intend to flesh them out over the weekend. In a nutshell, everyone was quite good – there were no “holes” in the lineup. Deandre was adorable & has quite the butt “wiggle” which he used quite a few times when he was a back-up singer. Hollie did her wonderful cover of “Rollin’ in the Deep”. And in my opinion Elise did a very successful cover of Adele’s “Rumor has it”. More to follow :)!
I have not kept up with America’s Got Talent but there are hours of it on TiVO. And I’m looking forward to The Voice. Any word whether or not they are dispensing with the “Battle Rounds”? Sure hope so.
Sounds like you’ve had a lovely summer, MCL – that’s the way it should be :)!
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MCL, you got a couch on here, I could use soma that group therapy!!! 😉
Michael Buble and Blake Shelton…BRILLIANT!
Darlene, how exciting, hope you will share all of the details with us!!!
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Summer colds and flus are horrid, I hope you’re fully recovered and able to enjoy the rest of the summer!
Jason Castro put out a new song this Tuesday (Aug. 7)–“Only a Mountain”, available on both iTunes and Amazon. It popped right to #3 on iTunes Christian & Gospel chart, and Jason posted a thank you video to his fans that very night!
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This Saturday is the big day for me:) I get to attend a M&G with the Top Ten plus I will be giving them a rather unusual gift:)
MCL: Tim Urban–on his twitter page–made that same point about how the judges are overpowering the contestants. BTW, did you ever see my posts on whom O would have as AI judges?
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I should have said lovely summer except for the flu part.
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Hi All.
I know a lot of people go “reality show burn-out” after Idol this last season. Iv’e been staying pretty much keeping up with them all. I did do Duets (incidently Rosanne do you have that show there in Canada? I asked because nobody’s really said much about it.) I’m also doing BET’s Sunday’s Best. Also there’s a new country music talent show coming out in a couple of weeks as well (can’t remember the name).
As far as America’s Got Talent , I’ve been keeping up with that too. There are a lot of great acts on this season, but not much in the singing department on the show (at least in my opinion).
There is however one musician on the show this season that to me is sensational, and that is William Close, player of the earth harp. Its like a gigantic super huge violin which he created in 1999 except they say when its in an auditorium, he actually makes the building a part of the instrument itself and its sounds fills the entire place. He’s gets standing ovations from the audience and judges every time). Very different. I predicted him to go far from the from the first time I saw him. He’s already in the top 20. I predict him to be among the top 5. He is one of my favorites this year.
He added a singer and drums (which he made himself ) to his last act which just made it that much more outstanding. For those who have never seen or heard him , I found this clip of him playing before he’d ever reached AGT’s stage that you gives you an idea of what he;s like. He’s played a lot of places already and I’m sure after AGT he is going to just “blow up”. I’d definitely go to that Las Vegas concert.
He’s not everybody’s cup of tea but check him out and decide for yourself.
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Once again my proof reading has proven to be horrible please forgive the typo’s
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Hey everyone! Nice to see some friendly faces – well I wish I could see you but you know what I mean!! I had two days of pure rest and feel back to my old self again.
Yes, Rereader – summer colds are indeed the worst but it was nothing like that wicked flu and cold big I had most of May. Awful!
Anyway, there is so much to discuss and I just want to see AGT on my TV next week. Now that the Olympics are winding down, I am ready to get back to my reality show routine.
Will check back later but thanks again for all your comments. You guys and gals are the greatest..
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Oh Darlene. – if you wish to contribute an article about your American Idol Tour experience, I would be happy to publish it.
Same with you, James, especially since you are going to the M&G. Also, I did see your comments re judges for Idol. They should hire just a plain ‘ole regular viewer like yourself. It would be interesting to watch and see the process evolve from someone not politically connected to the show.
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Ive been keeping in touch with you Rosanne and will be happy when you’re 100% better. I went through that most of April and May. Maybe it’s because we are being exposed to some little ones and our resistence is down?
Darlene and James, it looks like you will be seeing a really good Idol show. Watch out for “Proud Mary” with Jessica, Joshua, and DeAndre. I have watched the video of this performance 15 times!
Found an interesting article and interview with SIOBHAN MAGNUS. Her comments are relevant and thoughtful. She addressing the type of music high on the charts and talks about the kind of music she wants to make.
SIOBHAN MAGNUS AT TENT (Cape Cod Times)
Escapism pop is hot these days while demanding artists have a tough time getting heard and Magnus thinks she knows why. “It reflects the times. People tend to lean towards this kind of mindless music when times are tough. When the economy is bad and things are not easy — kind of like a Depression — people want fantasy and to have music that takes their mind off of things. But I’m hopeful things will change in the country and in music.”
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120809/ENTERTAIN/208100304/-1/NEWSMAP
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H rereader & Vonnie! Good to see you’re still around. Rereader, I am excited about the success Jason Castro is having. Slowly but surely. I love his voice and he still remains my favorite male finalist on Idol!! Such a sweet and gentle soul.
Brother Karl, I have been keeping up with the Talent-Driven Reality Shows, too. I haven’t seen BET’s Sunday’s Best yet. I’ll have to check it out. I am a forever fan of “So You ThinkYou Can Dance” where Nigel is a judge. I believe he has another show called, “Opening Act” coming August 17.
There really has been a saturation of these shows. I will watch, “The Voice”, “X-Factor”, and “Dancing With the Stars”, but I am not getting addicted to these shows like I am over “American Idol”!! I look forward to “Smash” in January.
Like many of us, I hope Idol selects some honest and open judges. I have heard Pharrell and Nick Jonas, as well as Brad Paisely as possibilities. Idol will probably announce them after the Olympics are over. It has been exciting, but like Rosanne, I am ready to get back to regular programming.
(MCL, I hope you can read Siobhan’s interview!)
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Karl you wrote, “He’s played a lot of places already and I’m sure after AGT he is going to just “blow up”. I’d definitely go to that Las Vegas concert.” I absolutely agree! Absolutely awesome! Sorry I joined late in the discussion.
Rosanne, I just noticed that you left out the “X-Factor” in the above photo. Was that deliberate? LOL!
Oh, Darlene – you have already gone to the Idol concert! Lucky you!
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Hey Karriann
Sorry I’m just getting back with you. We’ve been babysitting a very hyper 2 year old dog here with our 13 year old dog who can;t see or hear and this has really been keeping us on our toes but they are both still sleeping so I’ll take the chance now while I have it.
William Close on AGT with his earth harp is such a unique act. I’m blown away every time I hear him.
BET’s “Sunday’s Best” is a small scaled down version of a “gospel” Idol. (They air the bad auditions they get around the country, celebrity judges, mentors, they honor different genres, the whole 9 yards) Works pretty much the same way too except the judges do most of the voting and the viewers have their say around the final 3. Right now they’re down to the final 6. Its different …in that there is no age range. As usual most of the contestants are younger. This season there are a couple of 18 year olds in the finals that are pretty good but a couple of years ago a 70 year old man came in 2nd place. Its on every Sunday at 9pm but I warn every body you’ve got to be a fan of gospel music to like it though because they are really going to “take you to church”.
Aside from Sunday’s best , I hate to admit it but I’m really am going through some reality TV talent show withdrawal fits, so needless to say I am glad the Olympics are coming to an end so I can get some more AGT .
Oh ..by the way… I don’t drink Snapple but I’ve been buying a lot of them to see if I can win the trip the AGT finale’s . Does anybody know when the contest is over?
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KariAnn / oh no!! I didn’t mean to leave it out. I guess my subconscious is at work. Will add it in!! Haha. That is too funny.
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Rosanne
Hope you’re doing better. Ive asked a couple of times now but you probably just overlooked it or got real busy and forgot but ….
Did you guys have the show “Duets” there in Canada?
Just curious?
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BrotherKarl – yes, we do have Duets here. But, to be honest, I couldn’t get hooked into watching the show. The timing was wrong for me and, after American Idol, I just couldn’t handle another singing competition. Were you watching it? How did you like it?
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Hey Rosanne and I do completely understand .
I did enjoy Duets. It was very short (about 9 weeks) , only about 8 talents to judge, and one voted off every week. The judges not only had to mentor their own contestants , but also actually performed with them, so even if the judges were only concerned about their own reputations, they had to have some invested interest in the contestant. With the exception of the one contestant that had to drop out, I think it was pretty obvious from the beginning who the best talent was and that talent won. It was a pretty predictable show.
I like it because there wasn’t an age limit and it wasn’t so long and drawn out like Idol and the other shows are.
I hope they bring it back again.
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How do I submit the article? I also have pics:)
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James – that would be terrific. Please send them to masterclasslady@hotmail.com. Looking forward to reading and publishing it, along with the pictures. Thank you so much for this. 🙂
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Hi Rosanne,
I finaly got some of the videos uploaded,. I was having issues with my browser. I don’t want to post a complete article I would just like to share some video from the concert. Sorry about the shaky camera but I was zoomed in pretty close and that just makes it worse when you are trying to hold it steady. The sound quality is pretty good though.
The Youtube channel is: http://www.youtube.com/user/jmarhartley2012?feature=results_main
Here is one video. There are 5 on the channel from the N. Charleston Tour event. Here is one. Click on the channel to view the rest. Hope you enjoy them!!
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Taymaro. Thank you so much. Loved this song by Colton. Very beautiful. He is a great composer and artist.
While I was on the YouTube channel, I had a peek at DeAndre, Joshua and Jessica’s Perfomance of Proud Mary. Wow! That’s all I can say! Wow!!
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LOL @ WOW!!
DON’T TRY IT ROSANNE!!!
My sister tried to shake her booty like that after watching the video and she threw her hip out!! LOL
That was high energy wasn’t it?? I thought that performace was loads of fun!
I have more that I just haven’t gotten uploaded. I will post when I get more uploaded. Some turned out better than others. Unfortunately I don’t think I have one of Joshua’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” that is good enough to post. That was my favorite performance of the show. Sometimes you just want to put the camera down and enjoy it first hand instead of through a view finder on a camera. But I do have a few more that I got a good portion of. Everything was moving fast. There were no gaps between performances and I missed the first coupld of seconds of some of the songs.They got a lot in during the two hours though and it was fun!
I also have lots of pictures that I will make a slide show out of and put some of the contestant’s studio releases as the music. I killed the battery on 4 cameras and my cell phone taking video and pictures. Should have taken extra batteries.
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Taymaro – do not worry. I won’t try it! I don’t need to misplace a hip!
It was wonderful to watch though! Haha
Thanks for all the videos. I hope to add some in a separate blog topic. Keep on sending the links. They are so much fun to watch.
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Did anyone watch “Teachers Rock” on CBS tonight? Carrie Underwood, Adam Levine,, Josh Groban, Garth Brooks, and others honored America’s teacher. There was testimony, chidren, acknowledgement, and entertainment.
Carrie sounded great; her message was even better! These celebrities were honoring teachers and teachers important in their lives. The message was basic – art, music, and physical education are important to the welfare and personal growth for our children!
Politicians who are using our children as escape goats while cutting taxes for a certain group of people should be ashamed of themselves. Congratulations to CBS for scheduling this important (and entertaining) program!
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Kariann – I am sorry I missed that program. It sounds wonderful.
Been so busy here. Plus waiting for my fourth grandchild to be born. I am sure you can relate to that. :).
Glad your husband is feeling better. Hope his recovery is a fast one.
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