Edit #2: scan of Blake in OK! Magazine
ETA: “Break Anotha” makes Blender magazine’s Bible for January!
TGIF! Check out these three new interviews, and don’t forget to watch Blake perform on The Tonight Show tonight on NBC!
mp3.com interview (this one also has audio!)
OK! magazine (check out the new issue for more!)
Thanks Kilroy, Mr. Lewis, and Donna!
Heh, I just re-looked at the band photo and noticed where PHJ has his water bottle placed ;). Accidental? *Coff*
Nic,
It kinda ummm makes you wonder doesn’t it? LOL
Nikki, I just submitted a friend request to the Kent page (and also to you, I didn’t realize you are not on my MS! LOL)
Is anyone else excited to see “Break Anotha” on the Blender Bible download list for January?
YES! :) Is that read by alot of people?
Thanks for pointing out the Blender Bible download list. Yes, I am excited about Break Anotha making the list. The Blender magazine has a monthly circulation of close to 2 million. The website Blender.com reaches an average of 5 million monthly. And the best part - readership and circulation is to mostly to the young and MALE demographic. I’m neither young nor male, but I go to Blender.com for the music and the humor.
OK, pardon the diversion while I impatiently await Leno and The Tonight Show. I’ve been reading a lot here, and I guess I have a question. (Cut to the end of this post if you’re impatient. It’s there, I promise.) I haven’t felt this way about a CD since I heard John Mayer’s first breakout Grammy winner. Like Mayer’s first CD, I love every song on Blake’s project (with the possible exception of the sappy “Without You”–and even that tune has certain redeeming qualities).
I bought Tedder’s One Republic CD on the basis of his production background with Blake and the tune “Apologize.” Only listened once. (Not fair, I know.) But “Apologize” still stood out so dramatically for me. Could we (G-Public) be suffering from a history of albums where one track is the end-all-be-all-knockout-track and the rest are just filler? Because I don’t think B has that.
As Blake promised and predicted, all his tunes have great melodies and hooks. (So, on the plus side, if my Mayer comparison proves correct, B has a Grammy nomination on his hands!) But, on the down side, for me, no single B tune has that “YOU’VE ABSOLUTELY GOT TO NOTICE ME BECAUSE THERE’S NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT OUT THERE” quality. “Apologize” is haunting. It gets under your skin. And as long as I’m on the subject, John Mayer’s “Daughters” (lyrically) gets under my skin too. Is that what it takes to have a number-1 hit single today?
Memphis Lisa,
I’ve always been the type person who has to feel something from a song to like it.
I love One Republic’s entire CD, but I relate to almost every song in some way.
I feel that way about Blake’s CD, too. Not necessarily that I relate to every song, but every song catches me and intrigues me…musically and/or lyrically.
I think everyone is tired of the crap that is out there and wants GOOD music. So much of what is on the radio now is so mixed in the studio, voices that are off key can be edited to be on key with the push of a button, instruments can be added and taken out. The thing with Blake and the whole band is that their music has that “live” feel because they’ve all been performers for a long time before they ever made an album. I realize that ADD didn’t perform on the album (except I think Kevin was on BA), but the album still has that feel. It has musicality…what so many artists lack, today. Making good music is so much more than just singing some words to 3 or 4 chords, and that is what most bands do. Blake is the exception…and a very welcome one!
Just my thought on it…but I agree that music has to do more than just have a good beat so you can shake your butt to it. :)
And why, oh, why do I have to sit through this lame monologue and stupid animal dude just to see Blake (and KJ)??!! Just get to it already! LOL
I hear ya Lori! LOL
Lori, I couldn’t agree more with your comments and sentiment! Bring on Blake and KJ!
Weird that Leno didn’t mention B as one of the guests after his monologue, though Blake’s name was definitely there during the opening (yes, am paranoid).
Memphis Lisa, that’s exactly why I bought 1R’s album too, but I was a teeny bit disappointed. All the songs sound so similar, I had a hard time paying attention to any of them. Only “Apologize” stood out to me. I really tried listening to the whole album a couple times, watched the bonus videos (from itunes) too, and the second single, “Stop and Stare” is good too. The odd thing is it sounds to me like it could just have easily ended up on Blake’s album. And I find Ryan’s voice not very distinctive, except on “Apologize” which is such a pretty song (in both the original and Timbaland versions, I like them equally). So I would have otherwise just downloaded “Apologize” rather than the entire album - am one of the record industry killers, y’all. I’d be curious to know what their single’s numbers are v. the album.
Killing time. Blake probably won’t show up on Leno until 12:15 East Coast time.
I read somewhere else that someone went to the taping and KJ has different hair. And she said Blake, too. So I can’t wait to see that. I’m kinda partial to the spiky hair…hope it’s not too different.
OMG…seriously wish I could fast forward this show!
Actually, he did, but I’m wondering if there will be any time left in the show for him to perform because the show isn’t scripted and he’s got these 2 guests on before the band performs. The animal guy and some comedian. I hope there will be some time left. He was mentioned as American Idol Winner Blake Lewis not American Idol Runnerup Blake Lewis. I especially noticed that. I wonder if anyone else did?
Oh, there better be some time left! LOL I was having the same fear, though.
The baby cats are cute, but come on!
This is really going to stink if after all this anxious waiting that we’ve waited for nothing. I will be ticked! LOL
The show was taped already hours ago and he performed BA. They’re not going to skip an entire musical performance, if anything they would cut out some filler if they thought they would run over for the actual airtime.
OK, porcupine quills? Thanks, Lisa, for being the voice of reason. Blake and KJ? Yep, they’re sure to be on…
WOW! I thought Blake sounded really good. Loved how he changes each performance just a little bit. I wish there had been time for a second number, though. He lookd great too!
Yeah, I very much liked that performance and his vocals DID sound quite good :). I’m kinda bummed there was no second song (why couldn’t they have cut out some of that dumbass comedian? LOL)
Blake was wearing the shirt he had on with Jared on The Sauce. Me likey.
The rendition was good I thought! Playing with the echo-ey bits there at the end, kind of neat. Jay Leno seemed a bit surprised at the energy of it all, eh? heh! :-)
ETA: Subdued?? You must be kidding.
Just back from NBC’s Tonite Show site, and there’s no footage as yet. So, if someone sees if they post the second performance, let us know! I’d sure like to see that.
OK, I’ll go out on a limb and comment. I think his performance was a bit…subdued. But arguably appropriate! For a late-night audience. He looked great. Sounded great. So did the band! Just wish B had a little more exposure than the cats and monkies. And I really wish Blake landed a spot in the co-pilot seat next to Leno. Overall, I’d guess? Great exposure. I, for one, enjoyed every minute!
Very good performance, but the way they set up the stage made the band seem too spread out. Wish they could have brought in the horns. Otherwise, nice cornrows on Kent and short sleeves for B.
Do you think the label pushed BA to be the first single, not only due to its high energy, but because in live performance, it makes B seem more rock - i.e., Good Charlotte rock v. Daughtry rock - and Clive wanted another rock Idol? Then again, the recorded song sounds not-rock so I’m just rambling here.
ETA: Memphis Lisa, I see what you’re saying. B didn’t seem as comfortable as he was on some of the other shows, like Ellen, but I wonder if it was due to the lighting and stage set-up, there was too much air around the performance, though the actual performance itself may not have been too subdued.
Kilroy,
funny you should say that, because I was just thinking that the CD track might have worked better if it DID sound more rock!! LOL. Especially for the HAC stations, which play so much pop-rock.
I also personally wouldn’t have minded if Blake had more alt-rock or pop-rock songs on his album, because it would helped prevent the tiresome JT comparisons. So, in a sense, I think it’s GOOD that the live performances have a funky rock-ish vibe at times.
Thank you…that is the word I was trying to think of. haha
I love Blake’s CD……every song moves me totally with the exception of the track with Lupe. I especially love the ballads which I never thought to be B’s forte.
I thought he didn’t get nearly enough time on Leno. The first time he was on they talked quite a bit. They should have shortened that stupid animal guy. I liked the perfomance, but the head banging and the pink do are a bit over the top for me. I’m lovin’ me some Blake, though. He deserves a grammy nom for ADD!
Ha, I’d like MORE of that. :) Of course, I’m the one who indulges in a little bit of death metal on occasion so I’m not the most representative sample.. lol..
The weird hair and punky-rocky vibe are fine with me, but yeah, I guess it might turn off some fans. Then again, hip hop or pop also turns off some people.
Blake is truly an experiment of sorts, I believe. The label may not even be sure exactly HOW to market him. Which is why we got several different styles of music on the CD, perhaps the goal is to release a few singles to see how the public responds to each.
Nic,
Speaking of different singles, I saw that “Without You” popped up at the Yes site while I was gone this afternoon. I’ve even seen Bshorty Grabs Mic, and of course HMW. It’s mainly college radio that does this but not always, but it’s really interesting. I’m kind of glad to see some of these stations playing some of the other songs on the CD too because at least the CD is played which to me is a good thing IMO. :)
Pam,
I also saw “End of the World” played on YES a few days ago, and it was probably a college station. ;) That’s great to hear that some of the other songs are getting a couple of spins.
I hope Music4me doesn’t mind me quoting her (lol), but she posted this over on IB:
On the Mediabase logon screen, where it says HAPPY NEW YEAR, it said “Avril Levigne and Blake Lewis ready to debut on Pop.” Any idea what that could mean?
That’s sort if interesting. It may mean nothing, of course, but I noticed that Avril’s new single hasn’t gotten much airplay either and her audience impression is low.
Nic,
Ok, if this does mean something, maybe this explains why so many people are getting the “we don’t have yet” responses. I had to go back to the Idol Chatter Blogs in the archives to dig this up. It was dated 12/19. It was a compare and contrast of Jordin and B’s airplay, sales, etc.
Nic,
Here is the login screen from Mediabase that music4me was talking about. I found it and she’s right, that’s exactly what it says! Of course, still don’t know the whole meaning behind it, but like you said, it could explain the low audience impressions for both artists. I guess we will soon find out. :)
Thanks for pointing the Mediabase ad out. I don’t know if it means anything, but it’s nice to see him at least acknowledged by RCA Music Group, heh! :) We can at least see there isn’t a new Blake song going for adds any time in the near future. So, I guess they either still think “Break Anotha” will catch on, or else they don’t care.
Leona’s single has been available on iTunes for a couple of weeks now. I’m really surprised it hasn’t even cracked the Top 100 songs yet. I guess I overestimated the current buzz for her here in America.
Star,
considering Clive shelled out 10 million on her contract, I am fully expecting Arista to pimp her single to the radio stations. :/ Of course, that makes me worry that Blake will not get the promo he deserves but I’m taking a ‘wait and see’ attitude.
Leona is really boring to me and a downgrade of Whitney-Mariah, though, so I wonder just HOW Americans will receive her despite the fact she’s big in the U.K.
I’ve heard most of Leona’s album and while it’s a little too heavy on the ballads for my tastes, I do like a few of the songs. I bought “Bleeding Love” and I also like “Take A Bow.” The others mostly blended together. I wonder if the version that gets released here will be that much different from the UK’s version.
I already saw an article saying she’ll be performing on Idol this season.
Yeah, I saw that article about Leona being on Idol and how they wanted “established” artists on there, and I thought “How is she established in the States”? Heh. ;) I’m sure they will do their best to promote her here.
I must confess I wasn’t too impressed by “Bleeding Love” when I watched the music video on youtube. It’s not a terrible song, but seems rather generic-bland to me. If most of her CD just blends together, I cannot ever see myself buying it.
Hello Expert, I am glad I pressed harder enough until I found list of top 20 singles and uk, because this post on New Interviews! at Team Plaid was extremely helpful. Just last Friday I was pondering on this quite a bit.
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Good Day, what made you want to write on New Interviews! at Team Plaid? I was wondering, because I have been thinking about this since last Sunday.