Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

Happy Father’s Day Big D!!!!

djanthonywebster

Yes, Vicki, it was quiet recently. I hope we will have more exciting things to share in the next few weeks after Blake’s performances.

Thanks for sharing a little about your special day with us.

jenlar, that sounds awesome. I love homeade ice cream. I love ice cream period. LOL.

bshorty4L, I deleted your rant. Please read the guidelines, especially #4 and #11. Thanks.

Scroll down the page a little.

I’m so gald that you had a nice father’s day with Blake. :)

I have been digging thru the YouTubes, looking at ones I haven’t seen in awhile, and finding a few I haven’t yet seen. I highly recommend it for entertaining one’s mind, while we anxiously await more LIVE news and footage from later this week! Can’t wait.

I am not sure if this video was posted or not. A high school student singing HMW.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cVquvu31NS4

I really like the new Remix you found!

I did too Bully. The guy did a nice job with it. I assume he is a DJ. He has a Myspace listed, have to check it out. Glad that a lot of people out there seem to be enjoying HMW, even though the stupid radio stations didn’t.

I think I saw something out on the internet that the HMW remix went up to number 39 on the Billboard Club Dance chart (it was 48). I think Charles C. here had told us before about that chart. I will have to find where I saw that it was up to #39 now. So that is encouraging.

http://idolforums.com/index.php?showtopic=483568&st=9580

Enjoy, as I know I am! ;)

http://pro.corbis.com

I am loving that keyboard pic as an icon, like that one girl made. Mmm. But the other ones are all so nice too, esp the “motion” ones at the bottom.

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/sparklemyworld/Blake - Chad Batka Photoshoot/

GreeneyesXo - talk about great pics WOW!!! by the way we’ve been seeing more pics of Blake..is this for marketing down the road????

bshorty4L - I love your passion BUT it takes a lot of money to start a record label company..we can’t get enought people to purchase a CD so how is one go about starting a new company….big money..so since we can’t start a record label company, keep supporting the Blarmy wave and also request his songs on the rado

LD - your XM voting must have helped because XM 29 or UPOP played BA this weekend..SO I’m still voting like crazy..so reminder

keep voting xmfan.com gotta keep trying

the college kids we hired for the summer noted that they hear Blakes song on aol.com that’s good

?? if HMW in on the BIllboard Club Dance chart at #39…is there something that we can do to keep him there or requesting…would love to see Blake at the top 10

Joyce, the club play chart reflects the spins a club dj gives a song in a dance club, it’s not like radio where one can call in a request (and get it played, but only if the radio station corporate overseer has added the song to the playlist).

I read Bshorty4Life’s post yesterday before it was appropriately deleted. I found it sad and disturbing. I’m writing this out of respect Bshorty4life–I think you need to take a break from fandom. You’re too emotionally invested in the fate of someone you really don’t know. Take some time off and focus on accomplishing something for yourself–whether it be learning a new skill, developing a craft, honing some talent, taking a class, earning a certification in something you always wanted to do–just something that will give you personally a feeling of accomplishment and will give you a sense of control over your life. You shouldn’t be feeling this angry or unhappy. Take some time away from hardcore Blake Lewis fandom and when you come back, relax, enjoy his music, performances, interviews etc and don’t fret over his career. It’s his career, his life, not yours.

Joyce– I’m still doing the voting thing every day, but it’s good you remind us!

Blake sold 700, same as last week, total 299,000.

All idol sales

So close to 300,000!!!!!! Come on you guys. We need to do something special for the occasion!

Also, Kevin still has a show in Las Vegas with Blake and ADD listed on his site on 6/19. Johnny sent a bulletin today that he will be in Las Vegas tomorrow. I am just wondering if they will have a show with Blake and the rest of ADD band that was not yet listed. Any finds?

Uh oh. He needs to stay over 1000.

Sorry bout that big angry rant, i was drunk when i wrote it and decided to literall type everything i was thinking. And charles, I will never stop supporting blake until he’s reached superstardom. That will happen when we all decide to step up. I dont need to find a hobby, i’m very big on baseball.

He’s almost caught up with Katherine.

He’ll be on the road tomorrow for a weekend of events…

As far as record sales go, a tour would help… Maybe that will happen. Anyone going to this years tour? I would be curious how it gets changed up from last years.

300K is not bad for the songs not getting airtime… Maybe that will change too… One of my coworkers listens to Satellite radio and says he hears B once in a while there. MOre than typical radio. Not just HMW, or BA either. That’s good. Also, my sis said ADD was one of the choices on her flight home from Europe.

Have a great week. d

so Please keep voting….its important to keep what little play time there is alive

Big D ..XM29 is satellite radio, its countrywide that’s why we need everyone’s cooperation…

He’ll be on the road tomorrow for a weekend of events…

Yes, I’ll be seeing him in NYC on Tuesday and I’m super excited. The BLArmy is going to be promoting and handing out flyers and I think a few cd’s! It should be fun!

As far as record sales go, a tour would help… Maybe that will happen. Anyone going to this years tour? I would be curious how it gets changed up from last years.

I will also be going to a few of the shows this year and I’m wandering how different its going to be aswell! I promise to let you know when I find out:) I’ll be excited to see David C, Carly, and Brook! I liked them alot!!!

I am glad that no fangirl mania broke out for me this year. It makes me feel good, to remain my normal self, content Blake was somehow a special exception to my rule! heh! I like some of D Cook’s music, and have it to enjoy. I like Brooke, and I like Jason Castro, but they aren’t enough to get me to spend the money and time to see them. (KY’s stop this year is in Lexington, at the Raupp Arena you-all.)

I am also not going to AI tour this year. I think I watched a few recorded performances this season but there was not really anyone that I was interested to follow.

I am glad that no fangirl mania broke out for me this year. It makes me feel good, to remain my normal self, content Blake was somehow a special exception to my rule!

Same here, Bully, same here.

No AI tour for me either. No compelling reason to go. My concert plans include Mark Knopfler, Coldplay, and Amos Lee. (And Blake Lewis, of course, if he should ever do a show in my part of the country. That would be the Southeast, and specifically Georgia, and even more specifically Atlanta!) I never hear Amos Lee on the radio, either.:)

I didn’t even watch much of AI this season. After Season 6, it seemed…flat and manufactured to me.

After Season 6, it seemed…flat and manufactured to me.

Hey M4M– You know what’s odd? Is since NashvilleStar went to NBC, and they are trying SO hard to copy Idol’s formula(right down to bickering judges, yawn) it has fallen FLAT, and yes, manufactured! The whole thing, so staged…the first show was almost unwatchable. I watched the episode this week with trepidation, and thank heavens it was a little better, otherwise I’d have to opt out. I like the whole giving the kids a chance to find their dream and get discovered thing, and hate for it to fail just because the networks are so desperate and grasping.

BTW, I heard from a source that BillyRay Cyrus has a heckofatime reading teleprompters. That can’t help the delivery of his schtick one bit! *smirk*

http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/3115968-Music-Rap-Hip-Hop

Blake Lewis will release “Without You” as a single in Japan! Can anyone verify this?

Have a wonderful time, those of you out there fortunate enough to be seeing him in person!

Can’t wait for all the footage. I’m pumped. :)

Oh, you guyssss…The SummerJam in Nashville was last night. Here’s the Link to vids, and they have pictures and stuff too I guess. They gave Jordin a big Surprise Guest while on stage: Melinda Doolittle!
I’m still wiping the tears, it was really sweet.

Bully,

I just through watching that vid and it almost had me in tears! How sweet is that? That is what you call a lifelong bond! :)

HMW has moved up from 39 to 29. Woot Woot!

and he spent a lot of time greeting fans!

http://maximumthreshold.net/
^he’s gonna be on that internet radio show around 10pm est.

ps that melinda and jordin video made me cry too! so sweet!

EOTW, This is wonderful news for Blake. I hope it will keep climbing up.

But there were some things that Blake mentioned that we can look forward to and we should not overlook. Blake said that they have a nice arrangement of Emotional Waterfalls for EP. There is also a possibility of a tour starting in September. Plus he is working on a new album and has been collaborating with other artists.

It is amazing to me that they take almost every A.I. person and just kill them if they don’t fit into the genre. How can they not capitalize on these very talented people? Whether you liked a particular contestant or not, they were exposed to millions of people. How can they not take advantage of that in some way? I thought Taylor was very entertaining and his pre-idol music was really good. Bo Bice was really good, but look what they did to him? I was not a big fan of Katharine, but she is gorgeous and has a lovely voice and seemed popular. Elliott was amazing, but they passed on him because he did not fit. It is sad that they cannot/do not want to think outside of the box. I hope that records/major record companies actually disappear and people/smaller labels release singles. I think that would give new music a chance to be heard. It is too expensive to make an album unless you have a major label to back you. And you don’t get airplay without the major label backing that either. Also, I hope Myspace and other websites can succeed in promoting new talent.

We actually shouldn’t be sad about the news….they didn’t promote him anyways. They should have let him tour.

Thanks for the great post Kasia. It IS their loss. I can’t wait for the release of Emotional Waterfalls!!!!

The news of more stuff coming anyhow, like an EP of EW is rather exciting. I am looking forward to the projects we have heard about.

Ohh, I’m also excited for that Emotional Waterfalls EP, and everything else he has lined up!

EOTW, yeah Blake and ADD played at the HP Software Universe thing in Vegas. Some pictures of him performing. And a nice mention of Blake’s performance at the Fly Summer Jam, here.

http://podcast.maximumthreshold.net/podcast/?p=86

p.s. love all the new ads someone has created over there on idolbored..he should use them to promote himself..someone is really creative!

???? his CD….does Blake own this or will future sales go to Arista????? becuase if Blake owns the rights and receives the profits from the CD then he’ll need continued support from us to get more sales

dag,, yesterday I went to a baby shower and on the way there and back, I phoned in my requests for HMW…I had an ear “headache” from all the calls..was this in all vain?….I don’t know gotta keep his name out there

can’t wait for a new CD as well as a tour..most likely small venues but that would be nice and personal just like the upcoming Canal Room..

Honestly, when he started talking about touring with BT this fall, I figured that contract was going to be dropped. That tour would not be a record label thing at all, nor would it be much in the way of promoting the pop sound that B was going for on the album. It’s the avant garde side of things and that is exactly what Arista didn’t know what to do with. No big label will support that type of thing.

I do wish he hadn’t said that he never wanted to sign with a big label and that he was forced into it. I would seriously doubt there was any forcing there. To me, he just chose the wrong label to sign with for his music style and personality and that’s not their fault really. But, I bet he learned a lot about how the business works through them and I’m sure he will use that knowledge in the future.

I used to cringe when he was asked how things had changed since idol shortly after idol and he would say, “things are still the same, but I don’t have to do my own promoting now.” He obviously misunderstood that part. There is always self-promoting opportunities in this business and every artist needs to take advantage of that.

Now, it’s on him and it sounds like he is up to the challenge. I would love for a smaller label to pick him up and give him some support, but doing it solo might give him some of the cred back that Idol took…and yep being on that show does take cred from artists in other artist’s minds.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristent/2585367099/

If anybody has articles, pictures, or videos from his performances yesterday and today, please post. I think we all need a positive distraction!!!!!

Kasia, thanks for posting the photo and the podcast link.

Man, it’s going to be a tough day out on the Idol boards. My blood pressure is already going through the roof. All the haters are coming out in full force. I WILL be strong though and not comment on any of them. If I start feeling weak and I am getting ready to post, I will come on here and you guys can talk me off the ledge!

Hang on. You know what people who “hate” Blake will say, so is there any need to confirm it? Come back here any time for support.

I have to admit that I have been actually so surprised, as this is my first experience with AI stuff, that there is so much negative emotions and hate toward Blake, by people who most likely never met him. Some of the reactions were so strong almost giving the impressions as if Blake did something personally to those who expressed those emotions. The intensity of emotions is something that was puzzling in my journey.

I am hoping that this experince will allow Blake in a way to distance himself from AI. The advantage might be that he and not the show producers etc will be telling others what his music stands for. I agree with the points that newduck made. I felt that AI show by forcing the contestants to sing material that very often not represented their musical style took away some credibility and pigeonholed them.

http://frommymindtoyoureyes.blogspot.com/2008/06/rip-add.html

I have mixed feelings about his being dropped. The label never gave it the support it should have had. Arista/J almost seemed to have a split personality in regard to the treatment of Blake. They had to put a lot of money into the production end of it with the expensive producers they hired. Then, it was like they moved on and gave it nothing more, and could care less if it succeeded or not. Probably because of the shake-up at the label. But, who really knows?

I’ll be glad to see Blake have the freedom to plan his own path, with some lessons learned, the support of a lot more fans than he had before AI, a top-notch management company, the friendship and respect of top producers and artists, etc. He still comes out with many more gains than losses from this past 1.5 years.

By the way, remember last winter when we’re speculating on what was the one song on ADD that Blake supposedly didn’t care much for? Most speculation centered on Without You and I Got U. But now I think the song was Break Anotha. Since that song came out I’ve learned that Clive was the one who suggested Blake record it; that the song was written by a couple of hired gun songwriters that Clive likes to favor; that it was originally intended for a woman to sing (makes sense given the subject). Blake and Ryan Tedder do have a co writing credit on it, but I think they just tinkered with the song a bit by adding the lyrics about the “two sides of me” so that a guy could sing the song with some credibility. I have a feeling that Break Anotha was one of the songs Clive wanted Kelly Clarkson to record for her My December album that she passed up on.

I have to admit that I have been actually so surprised, as this is my first experience with AI stuff, that there is so much negative emotions and hate toward Blake, by people who most likely never met him. Some of the reactions were so strong almost giving the impressions as if Blake did something personally to those who expressed those emotions. The intensity of emotions is something that was puzzling in my journey.

Kasia, it is amazing isn’t it? The intensity of the emotions is almost scary. I think it will be good for Blake to get away from Idol. He can still be grateful for the experience and the exposure it gave him, but in most cases, AI fans really are a fickle and (different?) bunch.

CrystalJ. Great post. We do have to remember that he does come out with more gains than losses from this past 1.5 years. I know I have to keep reminding myself of that. He has met a lot of amazing people that he can now collaborate with.

Exactly why do you go to these boards if you know it’s going to be nasty. They really aren’t worth getting angry over

newduck, I agree. But some of the sites are ones that I enjoy going to like MJs. I think it is a great site and MJ runs it in a very fair way. There is some great Idol info on that site and I enjoy being a lurker over there. Just not today :)

Come back here any time for support.

I’m here for ya!

Thanks Kasia and music4me! I have alleviated my stress by cleaning my entire house today! I haven’t once meandered onto my window’s ledge!!!! Of course the fact that it is like 110 degrees outside probably influenced me also.

I’ll be glad to see Blake have the freedom to plan his own path, with some lessons learned, the support of a lot more fans than he had before AI, a top-notch management company, the friendship and respect of top producers and artists, etc. He still comes out with many more gains than losses from this past 1.5 years.

Crystal J.,

That put things in perspective nicely.

Although I’ve had mixed feelings about Chris Sligh, I respect him for making that post about Blake. I think he spoke as a friend, as well as a musician.

I have yet to read or hear anyone say that “Break Anotha” was a great first single. It seemed to be the one track that least represented Blake and the album, but it set the course for A.D.D. and everything that followed. Arista is doing what many businesses do when they are on the ropes — reshuffling and looking short-term to try and stop the bleeding.

I still think Blake has a great future ahead in the music business.

charles c.,

I agree!

BLAKE NEEDS TO BE ON AN INDIE LABEL WITH PEOPLE WHO RESPECT HIM AND CAN NURTURE HIS TALENT.

I ALWAYS FELT THAT HE GOT AN UNFAIR BAD RAP FROM A LOT OF AI FANS FOR PULLING AHEAD OF OF MELINDA IN THE CONTEST. THE HATERS OUT THERE ARE IRRATIONAL AND MY BEST ADVICE IS NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM. THE BEST THING THAT CAN BE DONE IS TO PUT POSITIVE ENERGY INTO SUPPORTING BLAKE, AT LEAST THAT’S MY FEELING.

New website to support Melinda Career and Album. Come join us. Also stop to the forum and read what Melinda have to say.