Folks, I know the quality/quantity hasn’t been quite the usual the past couple of days, but I’ve got a few crazy things going on right now, including an attempt at settling into a new living situation. Details on the other side, but it looks like there won’t be any posts until next week. Stay tuned, true believers. In the meantime, here’s DC showing a little bit of empathy for my situation…
david cook
All posts tagged david cook
– As expected, Beyonce debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart with “I Am…Sasha Fierce”. What wasn’t necessarily expected, though, was the ascent of “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), which blasted to #2 ahead of “If I Were A Boy” at 3. “Single” hadn’t been available digitally until last week, but once it was, it sold over 200,000 units, debuting at #1 on the Top Digital Sales. For anyone who believes that the video as an art form and a promotional tool is dead, I ask that you reconsider that conclusion. Between the original, all of the online tributes and parodies, and the hilarious send-up on “Saturday Night Live”, that video earned every single penny that they put into it.
– Right behind Beyonce on the Top 200 are a pair of pop/rock debuts from Nickleback at 2 and American Idol David Cook at 3. While both looked to be neck and neck early on, Nickleback took the decisive lead in the end, with first single “Gotta Be Somebody” at #19 on the Hot 100. While “Light On” has some good momentum at radio, the sales on the single have dried up, dragging it down to #91 this week. Cook does have a couple of nice distinctions to celebrate this week. His full-length garnered the most sales for a debut digital release since Soundscan started tracking sales, and tops the Top Digital Albums chart.
Other than a lot of Christmas records floating around, there really aren’t a lot of exciting things going on with the Album chart, other than a debut from Il Divo at #5. The scary thing about this week’s chart is that total sales are a whopping 32% down from last year. While that sounds like gloom and doom, just remember that Thanksgiving is as late this year as it can be, throwing off retail calendars and basically creating one less week of shopping than usual. This week’s mega releases are going to have to do some serious work, but I just don’t see the recovery with these titles. Kanye is expected to come in around 500K, followed by Guns N Roses with 300K, and Ludacris & the Killers clocking in over 200K. Folks, this is not a good sign.
– Back on the Hot 100, T.I. continues his domination with Dragostea Din Tei “Live Your Life” at #1, but “Whatever You Like” continues its slow descent at #4, and Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” drops back one spot to #5. Lady GaGa continues her quest for a cheeseburger world domination by jumping up another 9 spots to land at #7, joining label boss Akon in the Top 10 for the first time. What I want to know is, if Cherrytree can get GaGa into the top 10, why can’t they get Robyn? Am I missing something? [BTW, did anyone else hear about the Lady passing out at a club show in Seattle? A friend of a friend was there, and said it was pretty crazy.]
The Fray pick up top debut this week at #28 with “You Found Me”, which should continue to do well after its placement during the American Music Awards on Sunday. The full-length is out in early February in multiple formats, including a Deluxe Edition currently up for pre-orders on their website that will also get you early access to their club tour in January. Interesting twist on the marketing…as part of the purchase, you will also receive digital access to live tracks recorded during the club tour that you may end up on if you go. These are some smart boys, I tell ya. Cities on the club tour are Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia and New York. (And yes, I’ve already pre-ordered my copy.)
Strong moves this week include Ludacris and T-Pain’s “One More Drink”, which I heard today and didn’t hate, climbing from 54-38, Rihanna’s “Rehab” leaping 61-34, a 71-58 jump for 50 Cent’s “Get Up”, and a strong 80-61 leap for Usher’s “Trading Places”. [I caught this a couple of weeks ago, and meant to post it, but notice that Fitty’s CD is not among the top sellers this week, due to him blinking tweaking the new record that caused it to be pushed into 2009. Can you say “Kanye”?] One last record to watch is Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”, which may re-enter the Top 10 next week, based on some big moves at radio this week.
Alright…I’m paraphrasing a bit in the title, but you sure can pick up that vibe from his interview with Logo NewNowNext. Here’s the interview…click ahead to the 1:15 mark to hear his comments on Proposition 8. [h/t to Towleroad]
| Gay music and video from NewNowNext.com |
Man crush aside (okay…I admit it, Mr Yuri), I’m extremely pleased that an artist like David Cook, who has a huge built-in audience waiting for his record (look for a top 3 debut this week, with about 300K in sales), will go out on a limb and make his voice heard on an issue that no one really expected him to say anything about in the first place. It’s straight allies like Cook, Yuri and Keith Olbermann that are going to make the difference in this struggle for equal rights. Whether you believe that marriage is the answer, or at least civil unions, or an end to ALL marriages, the fact remains that the LGBT community in the U.S. is still second class. We can’t marry, we can’t serve openly in the military, and in much of the country, we can still be fired simply for our sexual orientation. If that’s not second class, I don’t know what is.
I was wrong. I jumped to conclusions. I was tired. (Okay…maybe I still am) No matter which way I go at it, the error is mine and mine alone.
The David Cook CD is EXCELLENT.
Error number one in my review process? I listened to it on my laptop. Bad move, apparently. After I swung by the store to grab the CD this morning, I popped it into my car CD player. When the first chords of “Declaration” blasted out of my speakers, I realized that it has been a long time since I’ve actually listened to a new CD in my car. Usually the car radio is reserved for my Sirius Radio (and Radio One), but this CD is definitely a driving record, both in beat and in setting. The first three tracks, “Declaration”, “Heroes”, and “Light On”, really set the tone for the whole ride, which I enjoyed immensely. In fact, I actually did a little extra driving in order to make sure I got the full experience.
Are there any flaws? Actually, yeah…there’s one flaw that really stands out to me, and I actually hesitate to mention it. (For those who don’t want several songs spoiled, skip to the next paragraph) David’s got a really bad habit of coming out of the bridge with a mellow version of the first couple of lines in the chorus, before kicking back into overdrive for the rest of the song. He does it on “Declaration”, “Light On”, “Heroes”, “Lie” and “Avalanche”. I get it…it’s for that “big finish” effect, but it can easily become an obvious formula.
As a whole, though, I think it’s fair to say that “David Cook” is the most genuine release of all the Idols to date. With the exception of “Time of My Life”, which many Cook fans despise (but I genuinely like), there isn’t a song on here that screams “sell out”. This CD sounds exactly like what you would expect David’s big-label debut to sound like. How rare is that? A record that delivers on its promise.
– The big news this week is the debut of the “Twilight” soundtrack at #1, matching the achievements of “Juno” and “Mamma Mia” to become this year’s third #1 soundtrack. Too bad, so sad for “High School Musical 3”, although I’m pretty sure they will sell more total units than “Twilight” once all is said and done. Paramore’s “Decode”, which appears on the soundtrack, debuts on the Hot 100 at #34.
– Other debuts this week include Hinder at 4, Andrea Bocelli at 8, Brad Paisley at 9, Q-Tip at 11, and Sarah Brightman at #38, which leads several Holiday albums into the upper reaches of the chart. Faith Hill, Yo-Yo Ma, Harry Connick Jr, Amy Grant and Elvis are all looking for a piece of that fruitcake. “The Fame” plummets from #17 to 52, but that’s nothing compared to the 18 – 80 drop that Bloc Party takes with “Intimacy”.
– Pop Radio is about to say goodbye to P!nk and hello to Katy Perry at #1. “Hot N Cold” has the momentum, and looks poised to hold the top for a few weeks once it arrives. It’s only competition is T.I.’s “Whatever You Like”, but I don’t think that one will have enough juice to do the job. So look for “I’m Yours” (at #5) or “Live Your Life” (at #9, most increased plays this week) to hit the top next. Most added AGAIN this week is Lady GaGa’s “Just Dance”, which makes a 34 – 23 move, along with a 27 – 21 move on the Hot 100. This thing is turning into a MONSTER! Brandy also takes a big jump from 38 – 29, and David Cook debuts at #40. (Come on…I had to.) Top debut on the Hot 100 is Kanye’s “Heartless” mainly driven by the pre-orders for his new disc, dropping in two weeks, and “Love Lockdown” re-bullets at #13.
Have you ever waited for an album to come out, and you just knew it was going to be stellar, and then it doesn’t quite measure up to the hype? Yeah…me too. So it is with a bit of hesitation that I declare that the new David Cook CD due out next week doesn’t fully hit the spot. Now, having said that, “Light On” didn’t thrill me upon first listen, but it is now on my most played, so maybe that’s what will happen here. And there are some great tracks right off the bat…”Lie”, “Life on the Moon”, “A Daily Anthem”, and “Permanent” all show the promise of the Rocker Idol. Here’s hoping that by the time the full-length is available for my purchase that I’m good with the remainder of the CD. In the meantime, here’s the full-length video for “Light On”.
– If it’s Tuesday, it must be new releases, right? Today’s batch includes Taylor Swift (only $3.99 at Amazon), David Archuleta, Tracy Chapman, Seal, T-Pain, David Foster, and Deborah Cox. The cavalcade of reissues and re-releases include discs by the Smiths, New Order, Enrique Iglesias, Hilary Duff, Genesis and Abba. However, I predict a dark horse this week that may make a big splash is the new holiday release from Enya. I can’t think of an artist that is more appropriate for Christmas music than her. I’m not saying it’ll be GOOD, I’m just saying it makes sense.
– Looking ahead to next week, an interesting match-up appears. I doubt I have to remind regular readers that David Cook’s CD, but competing for your 19 Entertainment dollars will also be Il Divo, Simon Cowell’s Opera Boys. For most Idols, I would say this isn’t a big deal, but I think these two acts probably share a little more audience then Mr Cook would like to admit. “But they’re BOTH dreamy!”
– In other David Cook news, he has an AOL Sessions that will premiere on November 21st, he’s playing the Red Carpet party prior to the American Music Awards on the 23rd, and he’s currently appearing in ads for Sketchers (which I believe every Idol winner has done following their win). On the retail tip, we know so far that there are bonus tracks on the iTunes (“My Last Request”) and Wal-Mart (“Breathe Again”) versions. And finally, in the Continual Pimping Department (an artform we admire GREATLY around the PMN water cooler), Entertainment Weekly unleashes yet another feature on Mr. Cook. The cool thing about this feature is that it gets into the whole “how do I rock when the housewives/cougars made me what I am?” dilemma. My favorite quote (you KNEW there would be one):
”I do take music seriously. But I don’t take myself all that seriously. I’m kind of a goober from the Midwest who hit the lottery.”
– Despite the King of Fizz not giving them their proper due (I blame him personally for “Boyfriend” not going to #1), “What Is Happening” will get a physical release on November 24th. It looks like they will be releasing some sassy remixes (including a techno Ultrabeat remix), so here’s hoping that might help get them back into the UK Top 10. The Feist-ish video couldn’t hurt, either…
For some amusing Alphabeat visuals, check out the BBC Chart Blog’s latest addition to their “How To Destroy…” series.
– On a personal note, I’d like to thank all of you that have supported me over the past few months. This started off as a little experiment and hobby, but has really turned into a passion. I set a goal a few weeks ago to do a post a day for a month, and so far, so good on that. Due to a search engine find, the blog has exploded in the page view department, with over 1,000 views in the past two days. It’s a little humbling when folks you read and admire compliment your work, but I am grateful for any and all feedback. Thanks for your support…while it’s cool to document this for myself, it’s even better to have a dialogue with voices other than the ones in my head.
So the American Idol juggernaut is preparing to kick into overdrive, fueled by two high-profile releases and the impending Season 8 premiere in January. Here are some details to hold you over…
– Master Archuleta releases his debut album on Tuesday (Monday in the UK), and I have a feeling it’s going to be a big one. I’ve heard several tracks off of the album on AOL, and it’s REALLY good. “Touch My Hand” is a really catchy pop song, “A Little Too Not Over You” could easily be a single, “Don’t Let Go” has a Jon McLaughlin vibe to it, and “Your Eyes Don’t Lie” has a cool “futuristic blues” vibe to it. [BTW…”Not Over You” was co-written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil of High School Musical fame, not to mention “C’est La Vie” for you 80s buffs.]
There are throwaway tracks that try to ape current trends like “Barriers” and “My Hands”, and “Desperate” could have been cool, but David gets lost in the production. It’s the simple stuff where he really excels, though. “To Be With You” is just David, a piano, and backing vocals by future Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, and it’s gorgeous in its simplicity. “You Can” is a mid-tempo acoustic ballad that looks to be Archie’s true strength. No song on the record proves this more than “Angels”. I am about to spout pure blasphemy here, but David A’s version of this Robbie Williams classic is AS GOOD as the original, but for different reasons. While Robbie’s version has a beautiful darkness that is lush and deep, David’s soars with a purity that gives the song a completely different spin. Debate it all you want, and maybe time won’t be so kind to this new version, but for the moment, I stand by my proclamation.
– Following a week later is David Cook, who anyone who reads this blog should know about by now. Entertainment Weekly has an interview with David where they talk about the new record, the obsessive fans online (don’t look at me like that), the show, and where he goes from here. My favorite quote from the article:
I still feel like that awkward musician; I think I always will. That’s a huge component of me staying kind of humbled and grounded about the whole thing: I get the flimsiness of it. I get that it could all go away. I mean, fame is fleeting….But I’m at peace. I’ve got guys that I’m playing with that I love to death, and I’m playing music that I think we all really get into, and as long as we’ve got that and a place to play, I’m good.
– The monster known as Idol returns on January 13th with the usual month or so of auditions. If you’re looking for a taste, check ’em out here. They’ve also got a little intro vid on new judge Kara DioGuardi for your perusal here. All I can say is, here go my Tuesday and Wednesday nights for the next six months.
– Craig David’s video for “Insomnia” dropped this weekend, and while I am still loving it, there is no new ground broken here. Can anyone say “Closer”?
– While we are talking about Davids, let’s talk about David Cook on Saturday Night Live last night. While I think he did a good job, it seemed like there were some serious nerves keeping him from putting his performances over the top. Single “Light On” was really the stronger of the two, but “Declaration” was a solid track as well. I’m concerned about the band, though. If this is the band that is going to back him up at all live events, I think he might be in for a bumpy ride. No video for the live performances, but that’s become normal for SNL. Here’s a video that contains that track of “Declaration”, followed by a rough video of “Light On”.
On the subject of David Cook videos, look for the premiere of “Light On” tomorrow morning on DavidCookOfficial.com. The video was shot two weeks ago at L.A. Valley College football field, and director Wayne Isham was behind the shoot. For those of you who might be curious, it appears that David and former American Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell are still an item, as Caldwell was spotted hanging out with Cook on the set. [UPDATE: Here’s a sneak peak at the video…] [UPDATE #2: Here’s a link to the full-length video.]
Sunday I mentioned that David Cook would be on Saturday Night Live on November 1st, and how that could be a big boost to the release of his self-titled debut CD. While an appearance on SNL doesn’t necessarily guarantee sales, it’s been known to happen. Back when I was a record store manager, it wasn’t unusual for customers to come in the following Monday saying “I don’t remember their name, but they were on Saturday Night Live this week, and I can’t get their songs out of my head.” Even repeats of the shows that featured up-and-coming artists would generate interest.
Case in point…Adele. Talk about a lucky girl! SNL gets its highest ratings in 14 years, and Adele gets a #1 record at iTunes. Look for a HUGE jump on the Billboard album chart this week. I wouldn’t be surprised if more radio stations don’t start adding “Chasing Pavements” or “Cold Shoulder” in the next week as well. Part of the beauty of the digital age is that the consumers can make their voices heard immediately, rather than the next business day.
For those of you not up on Adele, shame on you! This is a record that I picked up in February, and that’s never been fully out of rotation since. “Chasing Pavements”, “Hometown Glory”, “Make You Feel My Love”…the record just has an amazing depth for a 19-year-old who is soulful well beyond her years. The fact that she hasn’t broken through doesn’t surprise me, as I have become used to this type of disappointment over the years. The injustice of Five Star not becoming massive in the U.S.! “China In Your Hands” not a hit! Liberty X can’t cross over! The British carnage along the U.S. highway of success fills two landfills.
Interestingly enough, Adele came out recently and conceded that the chances of “Chasing” making it big in America appeared to have been reduced, thanks to an online prankster. Seems someone has taken to posting on websites like Urban Dictionary that “pavements” means “buttocks”, and that “chasing pavements” means that you’re after some…buttocks. Says Adele:
“Because of that some radio stations in the States wouldn’t play it. The guy wrote it on the Urban Dictionary website, which I’ve used for years and ‘chasing pavements’ was never on there as a slang term before.”
Honestly, if someone had come up with this translation without Adele suffering consequences, I would think it was pretty clever. All I can feel at the moment is disappointment, but hopefully this “breakthrough” on Saturday will help overcome that issue and give Adele the success she deserves. Having said that, Adele probably has a good reason for failure to have some consolation:
“I don’t like flying. I hate it, and I don’t want to start taking Valium, so I’m not going to get over there much.”
Adele’s CD is on sale at iTunes and Amazon. Pick it up here or here.
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