Jimmy Fallon, performing as Neil Young, and Bruce Springsteen, playing a younger version of himself, sang Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" last night.
Let me first say, although she's only 10, "Whip My Hair" has to be one of this year's most incredibly annoying songs. That chorus is like nails on a chalkboard. However, Fallon and Springsteen give it the classic rock treatment...
Looks like Miranda Lambert was this year's Taylor Swift. Here's a list of the winners from last night's CMA's:
Entertainer of the Year: Brad Paisley
Female Vocalist of the Year: Miranda Lambert
Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton
Vocal Group of the Year: Lady Antebellum
Vocal Duo of the Year: Sugarland
New Artist of the Year: Zac Brown Band
Album of the Year: Revolution, Miranda Lambert
Single of the Year: Need You Now, Lady Antebellum
Song of the Year: The House That Built Me, Miranda Lambert (Songwriters: Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin)
Video of the Year: The House That Built Me, Miranda Lambert
Musical Event of the Year: Hillbilly Bone, Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
Musician of the Year: Mac McAnally, guitar
They've found the next Susan Boyle... an armless pianist was crowned the winner of China's Got Talent last night. The winner, Liu Wei, lost his arms when he was electrocuted at age 10 while playing hide-and-seek.
The 23-year-old sang and played "You're Beautiful" to win the competition.
Check him out at the 2:20 mark:
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Did you catch the MTV Video Music Awards last night? I did, regretfully.
It's almost disappointing that pretty much the same five artists are nominated for every award and they've become so predictable in their monotony that it's hardly even entertainment anymore.
I'm sure some tuned in just to see what Lady Gaga would wear pretty much a different outfit each time she was on camera, including a meat dress.
Seriously... it's sad. Have you read this article from the Sunday Times about Lady Gaga? Sure is interesting... So is this one.
Anyway, back to the awards. I wasn't impressed. Florence and the Machine and Eminem held their own against a sea of crap. Why would they let Drake hack up a song over the blissful vocals of Mary J. Blige? Why in the world would they let Justin Bieber sing or lip synch and dance around? Taylor Swift showcased a more mature side while Kanye West proved he's still a douchebag, asshole and jerk off.
Chelsea Handler did her best to have fun, but her jokes were weak, no one cares about her sidekick and it was at times hard to watch especially as she jumped in the tub with the moronic Jersey Shore cast. Aziz Ansari did the painful intro to Kanye West's performance. Who thought that was funny in any way?
Of course Lady Gaga won a bunch of awards because that's who all of the sheep are following these days. Is it odd to anyone else that she calls her fans "little monsters"? Too often when I watch her costumes and hear her talking it comes across as too much of an act instead of something honest and dedicated.
A quick note of congratulations to The Avett Brothers who won the Best duo/group of the Year award at the Americana Music Awards last night.
The MTV Video Music Awards show will air this Sunday night at 9 p.m. Remember when it was cool? I remember watching them usually around the time when we'd go back to school because you cared who won. You wanted to watch amazing performances. You could also expect to see a surprise or two, or even an off-the-wall collaboration.
I remember back when Tom Petty came out to sing with Guns N Roses. I remember Pee Wee Herman coming out to start the show after his arrest. I recall, unfortunately, Michael Jackson walking out to kiss Lisa Marie Presley. However, I can't say I remember much of anything about the last, oh, 10 years or so of VMAs.
So, what can we expect this year? Eminem is set to kick off the show. I'm sure Lady Gaga will wear at least two or three different and bizarre outfits and probably walk away as the night's big winner.
Outside of that, does MTV even play any videos anymore? They sure don't on MTV. They used to on MTV2, but that seems to have gone the way of reality TV, as well. I heard there's an MTV3 out there, but no one is watching.
You're probably wondering who's even nominated... So, here is a complete list (along with my comments):
The guy's got musical talent that goes well with his comedic wit... Here's Jimmy Fallon performing as Elton John, Boyz II Men and Green Day at the Emmy Awards last night:
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So, the buzz going around the Internet today is all about American Idol and the future of the judges now that Simon Cowell is gone.
Ellen DeGeneres has decided to leave the show because "It was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings." Um, yeah, it's callled a judge for a reason and she did nothing but stroke egos and balk at any chance of giving someone real criticism. Aside from the fact that she had no background in music whatsoever.
A rumor is swirling that Kara DioGuardi will be fired. I say good riddance. She wrote a couple of songs for former Idol contestants and they bombed. So, maybe her day job isn't so safe either.
More rumors are swirling that the judges will be Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. Ugh. Way to push down a sinking ship and by that I mean Aerosmith. After all the problems in the band, would Tyler really leave the band - again - to go to a ratings starved television karaoke contest? I sure as hell hope not.
As for Lopez her career has been struggling for a while and she was on the path of Paula Abdul anyway.
American Idol worked in the beginning because it was new and fresh. Now there are 457 reality competitions and they all look the same. Time to find the next big thing and abandon the Idol ship while you still can...
Beavis and Butthead are set to return to MTV which is a little odd, since MTV doesn't even play videos anymore...
The Mike Judge-created duo hit it big in the early '90s by ranting and raving about music videos and spending time being generally stupid. No word if their friend Stuart (with his Winger t-shirt) will return, but they're saying the boys won't have aged a day.
Should be interesting to hear the duo take on Lady Gaga will they like what they see, or call her a man?
M.I.A. was on the Late Show with David Letterman last night for an interesting performance of "Born Free" that included a clan of clones... and it sounded like most of them couldn't sing. M.I.A. would have been better with a choral effect on the microphone instead of having a bunch of women around her. ... of course, that says nothing about the industrial music mess going on behind her.
Horrible song? Maybe not. However, I expect this more from a garage band performing at The Milestone or Snug Harbor on a Tuesday night as they try to "discover themselves" and not from some major-label artist that people rave about. I'm guessing her new album won't quite match the sales of the last one.
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I can appreciate unique qualities in the interest of artistic integrity... and then there's crap. For me, I find nothing of substance in this performance. It comes across as amateur hour and I've heard better musical and lyrical compositions from 6th-graders.
As Letterman says, "Happy Halloween!"