FOR ALL THOSE NOT IN TO V-DAY: ANTI-LOVE SONGS

I know, I know. Some people are not into the whole Valentine's Day business. I get it. You just broke up or you hate the commercialization. Well, I feel your pain, girl. Here are some songs to offset the mushy love crap you are bombarded with all day today. Check it out below and let the anger boil up inside you. Go out and berate happy couples on the street or call your ex 100 times and hang up on him/her. Or commit the ultimate act against love and listen to Mariah Carey while watching a  Gwenyth Paltrow movie. I know that seems extreme, but you're trying to prove a point.  I love you anyway.

AMAZY MUSIC AWARDS 2012: TOP 20 SINGLES; 20 THROUGH 16

Girls, girls, girls... 2012 was a big year for the ladies in music (again). I love the ladies...in music. Here is the first installment of four for my top 20 favorite songs of 2012. Here we have a breathy newcomer, a reunited girl group, a hot mess, a classy new mom and an American Idol. Watch and love and stay tuned tomorrow for #'s 15 through 11.




20. National Anthem - Lana Del Rey
19. Something New - Girls Aloud
18. Where Have You Been - Rihanna
17. Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson
16. Skyfall

AND THE GRAMMY NOMINEES ARE...

....eh. I am underwhelmed by the crop this year, quite frankly. I own ONE of the album of the year nominees. How is that possible? Anyhoo, here is the list of categories I give a crap about (my picks in italics) and for the full list go HERE.

Album of the Year
Black Keys, El Camino
Fun., Some Nights
Mumford & Sons, Babel
Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
Jack White, Blunderbuss

Song of the Year
Ed Sheeran, The A Team
Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe
Miguel, Adorn
Kelly Clarkson, Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, We Are Young

Record of the Year
Black Keys, Lonely Boy
Kelly Clarkson, Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
Fun. feat. Janelle Monae, We Are Young
Gotye feat. Kimbra, Somebody That I Used to Know
Frank Ocean, Thinkin Bout You
Taylor Swift, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Best New Artist
Alabama Shakes
Fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean

Pop Vocal Album
Kelly Clarkson, Stronger
Florence + the Machine, Ceremonials
Fun., Some Nights
Maroon 5, Overexposed
P!nk, The Truth About Love

Best Dance/Electronica Album
Steve Aoki, Wonderland
The Chemical Brothers, Don’t Think
Deadmau5, Album Title Goes Here
Kaskade, Fire & Ice
Skrillex, Bangarang

KELLY CLARKSON IS VOTING FOR OBAMA, RELEASES LYRIC VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE

If it's good enough for Kelly, isn't it good enough for you? Clarkson recently addressed a crowd at a concert in London about the upcoming presidential election, and she is standing with President Obama this time. She explains:
"I’ve been reading online about the debates and I’m probably going to vote for Obama again, even though I’m a Republican at heart. I can’t support Romney’s policies as I have a lot of gay friends and I don’t think it’s fair they can’t get married. I’m not a hardcore feminist but we can’t be going back to the 50s. Obama is a great guy. I’ve met him and I’m a fan of Michelle too. She has been busy promoting better education and healthy diets, which is something we could all use a dose of reality on."
That's nice to hear. You see, some people DO care about ALL the issues and want to help out their fellow Americans with equality. Good for you, Kelly, and thanks! Here is the lyric video for Kelly's catchy, fresh new single, Catch My Breath.

KELLY CLARKSON IS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AMERICAN IDOL ALUM SO FAR

Though Carrie Underwood has sold a few more albums, when you combine track sales and radio plays, Kelly Clarkson, the original American Idol, comes out on top. Billboard reports that Kelly has sold 10,600,000 albums, has had 15,900,000 track sales and 4,260,000 radio plays, placing her at the top of the list. Carrie is sitting pretty at #2 with 11,500,000 albums sold, 13,900,00 track sales and 2,426,000 radio plays. The top 10 are rounded out with #3 Daughtry, #4 Jordin Sparks and #5 David Cook. #6 belongs to none other than Clay Aiken, #7 is Kelly Pickler, #8 David Archuleta, #9 Fantasia and #10 Ruben Studdard. For a list of the 24 most successful Idol alums click here!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLY CLARKSON!

Fellow Texan and original American Idol Kelly Clarkson is 28 today!! Kelly can sing like nobody's business, is always a class act and isn't afraid to speak her mind. That gets her in a little trouble sometimes, but hey, that's why we love her, right? Kelly has made her mark on the music industry and proven herself a force to be reckoned with. Happy birthday! And in the immortal words of the 40 Year-Old Virgin...KELLY CLARKSON!


Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone [good quality]
Uploaded by darklibra. - Explore more music videos.

TAYLOR SWIFT'S RECORD COMPANY DEFENDS HER OFF-KEY WARBLING. KELLY CLARKSON AIN'T HAVIN' IT

Oh, lordy. Chalk it up to a bad performance and let it go. Not Taylor Swift's record company. They defended it AND pissed off Kelly Clarkson in the process. SNAP! Big Machine's Records CEO Scott Borchetta made the statement that, "She (Taylor Swift) is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to (her fans), and they speak directly back to her." Okay. So far so good. BUT THEN, ""This is not 'American Idol.' This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance." CLEARLY!! I have said since the beginning that Taylor is not a very good singer. I can deal with that. She writes some cute songs. Well, when Kelly Clarkson got wind of this, she put down her pizza and stepped up to the mic. Kelly fired back with this statement on her blog.

"Wow …..Dear Scott Borchetta,
I understand defending your artist obviously because I have done the same in the past for artists I like, including Taylor, so you might see why its upsetting to read you attacking American Idol for producing simply vocalists that hit ‘the high notes’. Thank you for that ‘Captain Obvious’ sense of humor because you know what, we not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the ‘right’ notes as well.
Every artist has a bad performance or two and that is understandable, but throwing blame will not make the situation at hand any better. I have been criticized left and right for having shaky performances before (and they were shaky) and what my manager or label executives say to me and the public is “I’ll kick butt next time” or “every performance isn’t going to be perfect” ……I bring this up because you should take a lesson from these people and instead of lashing out at other artists (that in your ‘humble’ opinion lack true artistry), you should simply take a breath and realize that sometimes things won’t go according to plan or work out and that’s okay.
Sincerely,
One of those contestants from American Idol who only made it because of her high notes"

Very very well said, Kelly. Don't f*ck with American Idol, Scott. You will ruin everything for Taylor.
[source][source]

NEW ARTIST: MATT MORRIS

Who was that cutie singing with Justin Timberlake at the Hope for Haiti concert? Matt Morris is a new artist recently signed by Justin Timberlake's label. For those of you as old as.....um......old people, Matt is also the son of country music superstar Gary Morris. Matt has been writing songs for years, including several hits for Christina Aguilera (Can't Hold Us Down), Kelly Clarkson (Miss Independent), and Reba McEntire's duet with Justin on her Duets album. His debut album was just released entitled When Everything Breaks Open. What really sells me on Matt is that he is openly gay and married to his husband Sean. They married when California allowed gay marriages for a hot second. [source]

STING IS NOT A FAN OF SINGING COMPETITION SHOWS

Sting went OFF on some of the most successful shows on television recently. The former Police frontman is not having any of this "televised karaoke" and says it's filled with talentless wannabes. He says, "I am sorry but none of those kids are going to go anywhere, and I say that sadly. They are humiliated when they get sent off. How appalling for a young person to feel that rejection. It is a soap opera which has nothing to do with music. In fact, it has put music back decades. Television is very cynical." Right, because when you walk into a record label there's NEVER any rejection!!! You are treated with only respect. NOT! He even goes off on the judges of the X Factor saying,"The X Factor is a preposterous show and you have judges who have no recognisable talent apart from self-promotion, advising them what to wear and how to look. It is appalling." WOW! Somebody woke up on the wrong side of his record sales this morning. Obviously there are some untalented people involved with these shows, but there are also your Leona Lewises and Kelly Clarksons who go on to great success. So maybe Sting is just sucking on some bitter pills. He's still hot though.[source]

DIVAS (?) LIVE: MORE LIKE DIVAS (?) EAT

Okay, I have always forgiven a girl for adding on a few pounds if she's paid her dues, but these girls HAVEN'T!!! The closest thing to a DIVA on this years' Divas Live on VH1 was Kelly Clarkson. I mean Cyndi Lauper was there, but just as a guest. Miley Cyrus? Jordan Sparks? Adele? Really? Don't you need more than two years in the biz to be a diva? I think so. Also, I feel sorry for the craft service table back stage that had to feed this herd of divas. Seriously! It was like a sumo wrestling event. I loves me some Kelly Clarkson, but girlfriend looks like she's been living American IDLE for a couple of years. Jennifer Hudson wore a pair of shiny tights. TIGHTS!!!! It was appauling and I don't want to think about it anymore. To add to the atrocity, there were really only two good moments in the show. Leonna Lewis (who cares) sang a duet of True Colors with Cyndi Lauper (yeah!) that was good and the finale of Kelly Clarkson with Melissa Ethridge singing Bring Me Some Water was pretty amazing. All-in-all, this years Divas (?) Live sucked. Oh, did I mention Paula Adbul made an ass of herself for two hours and opened Divas LIVE with a fully lipsynced performance? Yeah, she did.