Archive for the 'BT' Category

Know My Name - Next Single?

I’ll admit to being bit skeptical about Blake getting a new single released, based on the lack of radio response to “Break Anotha” and “How Many Words.” (I’m not even going to speculate on why the response has been so lukewarm. I’ll leave that to peeps in comments! ) So, when I heard through the grapevine that Josh Hoge announced at a recent concert that Blake was pushing for “Know My Name” to be the next single, I took it with a huge grain of salt. Then this popped up:

He may have been a runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol, but singer/songwriter and beatboxer, Blake Lewis is still a winner. And with his album (A.D.D.) Audio Day Dream still pushing out singles like “Break Anotha,” “How Many Words” and the upcoming, “Know My Name/Hyper Psyche” (featuring Lupe Fiasco), Lewis, in an exclusive interview with UGO, is out prove to that he can “beat box” any competition.

Is it wishful thinking? Maybe. We’ll have to sit tight and see. I know many peeps thought KMN would have made a better first single than BA. I have to agree.

The video interview does mention some other projects on the horizon for Blake:

  • BT- song on his new album
  • Collaborating w/ The R**** on a song for the AIDS charity, Dance for Life (I couldn’t make out if he said the Roots. It sounded more like the Rude. But isn’t he doing something with Black Thought? Help!). ETA: It’s Darude.
  • Working with KJ Sawka on a trip-hop album
  • Hopefully about to begin recording his new album

Thanks, EOTW.

Odds & Ends

A few things floating around the Internets…

One of my favorite Idol analysts, EW’s Michael Slezak, found a way to plug ADD in his recap of the season 7 finale.

That said, Jordin looked adorable (as usual), and seeing season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis mouthing the words to his one-time rival’s song gives me one more reason to plug his sadly underappreciated album Audio Day Dream.

If you haven’t read his recaps or watched his Idolatry vids, you should. Funny stuff.

ArtisanNews interviews Blake about ADD in the short vid Blake Lewis Remixes it Up. He talks about the music industry, his vision for ADD, and the addition of Lupe Fiasco on “Know My Name.”

Seattle PI ran this piece following up on Blake and Sanjaya, and gaywired.com has posted this interview, where he mentions a tour with BT in September and possible future projects with Black Thought from the Roots and Doug E Fresh. Finally, in this interview from dancemusic.about.com, Blake discusses the remix EP and his involvement in the electronic music scene.

Enjoy!

Thanks Kasia, Nikki, Star, Bully and EOTW!

Blake performs with BT!

Last night Blake performed with one of his idols, BT, at the Winter Music Conference in Miami, FL. Check out lots of photos from the event here! Thanks MJ!! Love this one…

More Album News!

After two months of basically silence on the news front, we’re now seeming to get an overload of new information about Blake’s album, due out this fall. No new info about the actual label, but here’s a new article from Billboard that talks more about the album, producers, and collaborators. An excerpt:

Lewis says he’s recorded eight songs so far, working with producers such as Sam Hollander, Mike Elizondo and J.R. Rottem, with bt working on another track.

“It’s your favorite ’80s mix tape,” Lewis says, “very inspired by Michael Jackson, Prince, Erasure, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, the Cure. It’s all over the map, really — very influenced by ’80s hip-hop, old school breaks, whatever.”

“They’re letting me down the album I’ve always wanted to make,” says Lewis, who’s written 11 of his own songs for the set.

Mike Elizondo most recently produced a big chunk of Maroon 5’s latest effort It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. He’s also worked with such artists as Eminem, Nelly Furtado, and Fiona Apple. Sam Hollander has worked with a good roster of artists as well, including Gym Class Heroes. And we already knew about JR Rottem and BT.

ADD is sounding like it’s shaping up to be a GREAT album!

Thanks Kirsten and star!

News Roundup

The lack of buzz about season 6 since the finale aired has been astounding - in case you can’t tell by our meager June archives. However, now that the tour has started and recaps are starting to come in from just about every city, we’re finally starting to gear back up with some AI news regarding the tour - and a little info about the albums.

Why management and recording deals haven’t been announced yet for Blake OR Jordin is anyone’s guess. Right now, all we can do is speculate, since the people who DO know aren’t talking (as well they shouldn’t be, since there has been no official announcement). Hopefully, we’ll get some news soon, because I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m really anxious to know what’s going on with the albums.

However, in the meantime, here’s a little mini interview with Blake that a reporter from the Houston Chronicle was lucky enough to snag before the PopTarts show in Houston on Sunday (the link will also give you snippets of his interviews with Lakisha, Gina, Phil, and Haley). Here are the highlights about Blake’s album from the link:

Lewis describes his upcoming disc as “2000-’80s.” He was listening to rough mixes of new tunes on his IPod and graciously offered to–gasp!–let me hear a few.

“I haven’t let anybody hear this yet,” he said. My hopes were high.

It was an expectedly eclectic, electro-pop mix, ranging from Kylie Minogue-esque club grooves to a quick sample of ’80s hit Owner of a Lonely Heart. Killer stuff.

“I try not to be put in a box,” he says. “I’m inspired by everything. I’ve got six tracks done. I’ve got a track that’s very Erasure-sounding, a track that’s Sting-meets-Neverending Story and a track that’s very electro-poppy Depeche Mode. It’s all over the map.”

Sound awesome (ding!) to you? It does to me! I definitely can’t wait to hear this album!

It’s also been discovered that not only is Blake working on his album with a producer he’s said that he’s always wanted to work with, BT, he’s also been in the studio with Ryan Tedder of One Republic. Check out his myspace for more info on the artists he’s previously worked with and is currently working with. Also, check out the song “Apologize” on One Republic’s myspace. I heard it for the first time last week (yeah I know, I’m always behind) and it’s a hot song, fo sho.

Also, Blake got a mention in an article about 311 in the Palm Beach Post. Check out the full article - it’s really great. Here’s part of the bit that mentions Blake:

This past spring, a whole new group of people got an education in 311 - American Idol fans, via the relatively adventurous musical tastes of Seattle’s Blake Lewis. The band was contacted by the show’s producers for permission to let Lewis sing its All Mixed Up. Mahoney says they agreed but didn’t realize how much mileage they’d get.

“We didn’t know (Lewis) was such a big 311 fan. He really kicked a— on All Mixed Up,” he says. “After he sang the judges said they didn’t know who we were, and he said ‘They’re my favorite band. They’re great.’ It was the best publicity ever.”

And after that, 311, in turn, became big Blake Lewis fans - “Nick went a couple of times to the tapings of the show and hung out with (Lewis) and made friends with him,” Mahoney reports, adding that the diminutive beat-boxer also covered their version of Love Song.

Last but not least, for star, because she’s awesome (ding!) and got us some killer video from Nashville last week.



We want YOU!
December 2008
S M T W T F S
« Nov    
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
Apple iTunes