Pre-Fame Lady Gaga

Now here's something interesting - A no make-up, no crazy-outfit, brunette Lady Gaga! Or back then (actually just in January 2006) she was just plain ol' Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.

Quite a difference from the Lady Gaga during the recent VMA's huh?

Kara Dioguardi sings No Boundaries

Ok, here's Kara taking a shot at her universally panned American Idol 2009 coronation song. Probably suits her voice more than Kris', but a horrible song is still a horrible song...

What do you think?

(Also, I wonder what was the person who created the video thinking between 2:01 and 2:39 of the song...)

Taylor Swift pranks Keith Urban

Besides being country music's little darling, Taylor Swift is quite the prankster as well. She already did a hilarious turn with T-Pain at the CMA this year (look here if you missed it) and now she pulls this stunt on Keith Urban, midway through his Kiss A Girl set.

Love the Kiss gear and the bit at the end when they are synchronously swaying with their guitars!

Hopefully Taylor keeps her head on straight and keeps churning out catchy little ditties like her latest You Belong With Me.

One Man Band cover of I Got A Feeling by Black Eyed Peas

Well, whadya know... Two posts in one day after a long absence! I really must miss blogging... Anyways, this suddenly just popped up on the radar and I thought it was a bit too cool not to share.

This guy did a One Man Band cover of the Black Eyed Peas' I've Got A Feeling. Starts off a capella and then he adds in the guitar. Could do without the funny faces he makes, but it's still a good cover! Check it out!

Lucky and... Happy? Joi Chua duet with Jason Mraz in Singapore

Joi Chua was the lucky Singaporean singer who got to duet with Jason Mraz on the song Lucky during his recent concert in Singapore. Here's a video of their performance.

Now, is it just me or is Joi Chua just very happy to see Jason?

"I thought I was supposed to duet with a chick..."

I've no comment about how the duet sounds because I was just too mesmerized by the swaying 'dress dong' that I couldn't really pay attention to anything else.

U2 and Madonna start the Michael Jackson concert tribute ball rolling!

Without a doubt, MJ tributes are going to be featured in most shows during this summer concert season. And two of the music's biggest names have kick it all off!

First U2 gets the ball going with having a bit of "Man In the Mirror" and "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" at the end of their concert in Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium as part of their 360 Tour.

And then Madonna does this bit on 4th July 2009 at the O2 stadium, which MJ was supposed to have run his 50+ This Is It! shows. Complete with an MJ impersonator dancing and moonwalking to "Don't Stop".

Man, I love that song, especially the "mama say mama sa" bit... Classic!

Let's see who else jumps on the MJ tribute bandwagon now...

What Michael Jackson's comeback concert might have been like...

A video of Michael Jackson's rehearsal for his "This Is It!" tour in London has hit the Internet!

In the video, MJ can be seen rocking out to "They Don't Really Care About Us" from the HIStory album. Some bits of it reminded me of when he performed the song in Adelaide in 1996, the interlude and salute bit in particular.

MJ looks in good spirits throughout the song and looked like it would have rocked the house. Such a pity, the closest fans will ever get to this is now over the Internet and the live DVD of MJ's rehearsals that concert organizers, AEG, is planning on releasing.

I'm of two minds about this DVD, as it seems like just an attempt by AEG to milk money out of MJ's death. But then again, I'm sure many of MJ's fans would like to see the King of Pop's last performance even if it was only a recording of a rehearsal. We'll just have to wait and see...

Chris Daughtry reveals his Poker Face

Damn, when you are good, you are just GOOD!

Chris Daughtry was at a Germany radio station when they wanted him to perform a cover for them live. So he chose a song that no one would have thought he would do. Have a listen!

I even like his acoustic version of Poker Face better than the stripped down piano driven version by Lady GaGa herself, which she performed a bit at Idol last season.

In the words of Randy Jackson, "DAWG, THAT WAS HOT!!!".

Joe Jackson - Model Father... NOT!

I am sure that everyone has heard how the 2009 BET Awards was revamped at the last minute to become a tribute to Michael Jackson. And how truly fitting that it was done, as everyone who was there that night, from host Jamie Foxx to Beyonce to even, I dare say, LeBron James, would not be there if it wasn't for MJ. Everyone there was celebrating MJ's life and mourning his death.

All except MJ's own father, Joseph (Joe) Jackson.

"Great! I can now milk this for publicity!"

While the rest of the world mourns the passing of a legend, Joe Jackson turns up at the BET Awards unexpectedly and uses it as a platform to plug his own upcoming project!

Watch his red carpet interview by CNN...

The guy was totally dazed and confused when the interviewer asked him questions and even SMILED FOR THE CAMERA (!!!) when the PR person came up to read his statement on how he and the Jackson family are holding up!

At 2:52 into the video, he actually took the opportunity to bring up his business partner to plug his new record label! He just brushes off the interviewer's questions about funeral plans and the state and well-being of Katherine Jackson, Janet and the other siblings to make his "real good statement" about his new hip-hop record company.

C'MON Mr Jackson!!! Have you no shame?! Michael is not even buried yet and you are already using his death as a vehicle to peddle your next project!

If I was any self-respecting music artiste with any respect for MJ, I would boycott Ranch Records and see it flop!

You can tell even the interviewer was struggling to find something else to talk about.

I have no doubt that all the reports of the abuse that Michael and his brothers endured from their father during their childhood is totally true. Who can blame Michael for turning out like the man-child that he was when he was constantly physically, emotionally and verbally abused as a child by this cold heartless patriarch of the Jackson clan.

No wonder Michael left Joe out of his will.

So much for "handling his memory and legacy with dignity"! Hrmph!

WTF!


Related Articles:

• Remember The Time... A Tribute to Michael Jackson

My Road to American Idol 2009 Part 4: Finale Performances - Day 1

Man, we must have been tired from all the traveling... We originally had planned on waking up early to do more sight-seeing before the show, but Futaba and I both slept through the alarm and didn't wake up until 1030am!

So we just spent our 2nd day in LA walking around Downtown, having lunch at a Greek restaurant called George's Greek Cafe at a small shopping arcade called 7+Fig (because it was at the intersection between 7th and Fig... Duh...).

Though we were disappointed that we had kind of wasted the day, I think it was good because we managed to get some rest, especially Futaba who had not have good sleep since Aki was born, as she's a light sleeper who always wakes up for feedings at night.

Anyway, the best part of the morning was definitely getting the American Idol finale show tickets!!!

Nokia Theater - Here I come!

Was getting worried about the tickets as we were supposed to get them the previous day when we arrived, but there was a mix-up with the courier service, so it was only delivered on show day itself.

Anyways, the Nokia Theater was just opposite from the hotel we were staying in, so we left at about 3:45pm to have a look-see around the area.

GO LAKERS!

The Staples Center is located just opposite the Nokia Theatre and as you can see from the picture above, the Los Angeles Lakers were playing that night as well. It was the Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. Man, I wish I had tickets to watch this game as well. Can't have everything I suppose, eh?

Suprisingly, there wasn't much of a crowd at the Nokia Theater. I was expecting a larger throng of people, but it was actually quite manageable and easy to walk around.

Wonder what the guy at the bottom right saw...

I am guessing that since there were not that many celebs attending the performance show, not many people turn up for the red carpet. No complaints from me though as it was our first time there and we needed time to take pictures and also look around for the entrance.

Oh! And looking for merchandise too! I didn't come all this way to go home with just pictures after all!

Don't you just love commercialism?

We lined up to enter the theater at about 4:15pm. As you can see from the tickets above, we weren't allowed to bring cameras into the theater, so, being such law-abiding citizens, we had left our normal camera back at the hotel. However, I had to talk to JJ and Ean from Hitz.FM before going into the show, so I had my phone with me and was prepared to check it at the counter.

JJ & Ean from Hitz.FM and Jaclyn Victor (1st Malaysian Idol) during my Morning Crew interview on 4th May 2009

But while waiting in line, I saw lots of other people with cameras as well and 'Idol audience veterans' were advising everyone not to check in their stuff as the wait to get it back at the end of the show was baaaad! They basically advised the ladies to just stuff their phones or cameras into a zipper compartment in their handbags as they wouldn't search that thoroughly. And the guys? Stuff it somewhere... Discrete...

I'll leave it up to your imagination where I hid my phone... =p

Anyways, while inside the theatre, I snuck this shot out...

Inside the American Idol Shrine!
(Yes, I was that far from stage... =p)

This post is getting a bit long so I'll continue about what happens during a live Idol telecast and the post-show press and meet-the-fans session in my next post. I'm already halfway through so it shouldn't take too long... Fingers crossed...

Remember The Time... A Tribute to Michael Jackson

"TGIF! Weekend just around the corner!"

That was what I was thinking when I woke up this morning.

"Oh god...", was what I was thinking when I read the news.

Michael Jackson, King of Pop, died on 25th June 2009 at 5:31am Malaysian time.

I believe the whole world is reeling right now to try and come to grips with this earth-shattering event. I, like many out there, can probably track a good part of my life, if not all of it, along a timeline of MJ's music.

So to celebrate the passing of the King, let us not remember all the hooplah surrounding his personal life, but celebrate the man's genius and musical legacy. Apologies for the extra long post...

Here is my list of things that I remember the most of MJ:

1. I Remember The Time... I watched the Thriller music video for the first time.
My sisters used to watch the Thriller video on VHS when I was just about 5 or 6 years old.
with my sisters when I was 5 or 6 years old. I remember that I was a bit scared of the whole horror setup, but I was mesmerized by the dance sequence! We even had an instructional video on how to dance the Thriller dance! I remember my sisters trying to imitate and dance to MJ (and I was trying to imitate them). Thus my exposure to MJ's music began.

2. I Remember The Time... Watching Beat It & Billie Jean
After Thriller, before the days of MTV in Malaysia, I got glimpses of Beat IT and Billie Jean on Malaysian TV. It was always so cool to watch MJ do his thing in those videos. Plus the whole pavement lighting up as he walked in Billie Jean was just way cool. A few years later, I would also rush to the TV whenever I heard Weird Al's Eat It was showing. Thus my exposure to Weird Al and comedy music began.

3. I Remember The Time... MJ sang a capella on Oprah Now this is probably the even that kicked off my whole love for a capella music. I know that a capella music and beatboxing has been around way before MJ, but it was watching this interview that got me thinking "Damn! Can the human voice sound like that?". So it's because of MJ that I started singing acapella and doing vocal percussion.

4. I Remember The Time... Watching Moonwalker/Smooth Criminal

Moonwalker... Now what an epic short film that was... Ok, storyline wasn't great, but the music and special effects were out of this world! I remember wondering how on earth he managed to do that gravity-defying move during Smooth Criminal (which still remains one of my favourite music videos of all time). I just found out that MJ even got a patent (http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=MAUgAAAAEBAJ) for the method! Amazing!

Oh and I also played the game non-stop on my Sega Megadrive/Genesis...

5. I Remember The Time... I watched MJ's Concert Live

This was back in Adelaide 1996. MJ was playing at the Adelaide Oval as part of his HIStory world tour and I just HAD to go watch the concert, even though I had a Physics finals the next day. Exams come every year, but MJ doesn't come around that often! My seat was a bit far from the stage, but it was the experience that counted! The stadium's atmosphere was electric and everyone scream and danced and partied to the King as he worked the stage. I am glad to say that I have been privileged to have seen him perform and experience his magic live.

MJ performed at the Adelaide Oval in 1996

6. I Remember The Time... Watching Black Or White

This was such a media event when it was released in 1991. I rushed home from school to catch the premier of the Black or White video on the TV. Again, I was just blown away by how cool the technology in the video was. I mean, all that morphing at the end was just not done back then. And then I had to go rush out and buy the Dangerous album when it hit the stands here. It is remains as one of my favourite albums.

7. I Remember The Time... Watching In the Closet

I think almost any teenager with raging hormones at the time would have been transfixed to the TV when they watched the video for In The Closet. MJ and Naomi Campbell totally burned up the screen together. And MJ's silhouette dance moves kept my eyes on screen whenever Naomi didn't. Classic! There was also a lot of speculation who was the "Mystery Girl" who voiced the female voice in the song. Initially people thought it was Madonna, but it was later revealed that it was Princess Stephanie from Monaco. The song was originally supposed to be a duet with Madonna, but the idea was dropped. Pity, but the song is still hot though!

8. I Remember The Time... Listening to Man In The Mirror

Man In the Mirror was probably the first socially conscious song that I ever listened to and understood. I know there was We Are The World before it, but this was the first song that I actually looked at and analyzed the lyrics. And it made sense, even to a boy who was still in his tweens. MJ later came out with other socially charged songs like Heal The World and Earth Song, but this one was and still is my favourite.

9. I Remember The Time... Watching Jam & Remember The Time
I was really big into basketball when I was in high school. Was not very good at it, but still loved it anyway and I still follow the sport today more than football/soccer, which most people here in Malaysia prefer to follow. So when this video of the two biggest MJ's of the generation got released, you can imagine just how excited I got. Jam's a great tune, and the video was only so-so, but just to see MJ trying to teach Michael Jordan how to dance, it was good enough. Classic!

Then there was Remember The Time. This video was EPIC and filled with super cool dancing and chock full of special effects (this was like the Mummy even before the movie was made!) And it also had Ervin 'Magic' Johnson, another one of my favourite basketball icons, guest starring with Eddie Murphy and the super hot Iman.

10. I Remember The Time... HIStory

To me, his last great album was Dangerous, but that still didn't stop me from rushing out to buy this album of greatest hits and new releases. I just had to listen to his duet with Janet on Scream. It was also the first time that he swore on a song, which is also kinda significant. On a mellower note, this album also housed You Are Not Alone, which I loved in the beginning but kinda wore me down due to the repeated playing on radio.

So those are my top 10 memories of how MJ has influenced my life (ok, I cheated with some of them and put in a couple, but there were so many!) I am sure everyone has their own personal list and memories as MJ has reached out and touched so many though his visionary music, videos and style. He will be missed. Rest In Peace.

Michael Joseph Jackson

(29 Aug 1958 - 25 June 2009)
The King is dead. Long live the King.

Related Articles:

• Joe Jackson - Model Father... NOT!

American Idols Interview Each Other

The Los Angeles Times posted some fantastic vids on YouTube of the 2009 Idols interviewing each other. The videos show that theses guys really are friends and just enjoy making fun of each other.

My favourites are:

• Anoop interviewing Matt. You can really tell the camaraderie between these guys. These guys and Danny Gokey are close, as you will know if you follow them on Twitter (@dannygokey, @AnoopDoggDesai and @MGiraudOfficial, if you don't already know). It was also really funny when Allison jumps in and calls Matt LOSER!
  

• Kris interviewing Allison. She was just totally making fun of him and his whole heartthrob image thing.
  

• Kris interviewing Adam/Adam interviewing Kris. Now it was just total marketing genius to have these two interview each other. These two guys are supposedly really close buds and were roommates during Idol. They are polar opposites of each other and according to what "society" defines, shouldn't get along with each other. But they DO seem to get along and they apparantly DO have great and mutual respect for one another. Now if only their fans would get with the whole KRADAM program and stop dissing the other camp...

The other videos are also interesting (didn't really like Matt's interview with Anoop though because it felt like most of his questions were basically about himself: "What's the best part about being MY friend", "most fun you've had since hanging out with ME") but the vids above are my favourites.

Which are yours?

Taylor Swift & T-Pain Make Out...

... a collaboration at the CMT Music Awards that is! =)

WORD UP! T-SWIZZLE! T-PIZZLE!

This short video called Thug Story is just too funny not to be shared!

Love it when T-Pian does that "She didn't even swear" bit with his trademark Autotune sound... Hilarious!

YATTA!!!

"YATTA!"

...said Hiro Nakamura when he successfully teleported from his Tokyo office to New York in the hit TV series Heroes.

The phrase then became worldwide pop-culture and a popular catchphrase for the TV series.

But little do the people outside Japan know of how it reeeeally got popular in the land of the rising sun in the first place...

Ladies and gentleman, minna-sama... Get ready for Happa-tai!

"YATTA! YATTA!! YATTA!!!"

What the heck is GREENL anyway? Green Leaves??? Anyway, the song is from 2001 by a a fictional Japanese band called Happa-tai. You can read more about it in this Wikipedia article.

I will never look at Hiro Nakamura the same way again...

How are you gonna save the Cheerleader like that?!