No Song Unsung Blog

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival took place this past weekend with Prince’s performance creating quite a buzz among attendees and Prince enthusiasts.  An interpretation of Radiohead’s “Creep” was done in Prince’s signature style…

Whenever I see Prince a wave of nostalgia rushes over me as I think about those days in my bedroom listening to Prince on my cassette player and pretending that I was part of his band.  I really, really wanted to be part of his band.  I would often daydream of starring in one of his videos.  I wanted to be the girl wearing the raspberry beret.

As much as I love Prince’s music, I still have yet to see him in concert.  One time I was close to seeing him here in San Diego, but I wasn’t able to get four tickets all together for me and my friends.  His next scheduled concert is in Dublin, Ireland on June 16, 2008. 

What I love about music is that it has the ability to bring so many people together as one. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, Democratic, Republican - when we like a song, we’re united in harmony. We’re all in the moment enjoying the melody and enjoying the music that inspires us. Perhaps that’s why events like Woodstock in the past and the annual Lollapalooza gatherings were so successful. There are no competitions - just straight-up music from people who have words of wisdom to spread or stories to share.

Speaking of which, Lollapalooza will take place on August 1-3, 2008 at Grant Park in Chicago. I visited Chicago for the first time last summer and now I understand why Grant Park is definitely the perfect venue for this event. The lineup for this year includes big names such as Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Kanye West, and Nine Inch Nails - along with other other artists I’m not too familiar with.

What if the world became one huge music festival?

Many of us use music as a way of expressing ourselves while others use music as a therapeutic tool to heal the soul. I know I feel my spirit soar when I sing a song I feel emotionally connected to!

Then there are others who use music as a platform to give back. Simon Cowell, the producer of American Idol, has used the power that the show has had to do good by putting on the “Idol Gives Back” special every year. It’s a show full of guest performances by some of the hottest names in the industry - all coming together to bring awareness to the people who are less fortunate than us.

I had no idea who was going to be performing, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Gloria Estefan with Sheila E! My favorite performance of the night was by Mariah Carey who’ve I’ve admired ever since her career started.

Let’s rewind a little to last night when Idol contestants sang inspirational songs. I’ve been teetering between David Cooke and David Archuleta as the winner, but regardless I think all of them will go far in the business.

Here’s David Cooke performing the song, “Innocent”…

Make a contribution and save a life! Visit: AmericanIdol.com Check out my thoughts about the 2007 Idol Gives Back show…

So we’re down to the “Elite Eight” of American Idol.  Unlike previous years, this season I’ve watched every episode of American Idol.  I think it’s because of the top eight that we have now.  Every single one of them has something unique and their styles of singing are all so different. 

I was rooting for Ramiele Malubay because she has such a strong voice, but I have to say that she picked the wrong songs and didn’t have much of a stage presence. It’ll come with more practice, though.

I don’t really have a favorite because like I said earlier, each of them has star quality in their own special way.  I will say that David Archuleta’s voice is so smooth that I literally feel myself melt like butter whenever he sings!  No doubt in my mind that he’ll have a long career in performing.  My favorite performance so far was when David sang, John Lennon’s “Imagine”.  If you missed it, check it out below…

For a rundown of this past week’s performances, check out PopTherapy.com

Check out my past posts on American Idol

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