My Best Days

While we rush head first into 2010's American Idol season, Danny Gokey has been planning first debut disc for quite awhile now. It finally arrives today.

Those fans that love his renditions of Carrie Underwood's Jesus Take the Wheel or Rascal Flatts' What Hurts The Most will be pleased, as Gokey eschews the pop and rhythm and blues leanings of his idol performances for a solid country release. The man's got a warm, comfortable voice. Nice sense of control and a good stage presence.

Local lore has it that legend Randy Travis told Gokey to go country. Good call. Mark Bright, producer of both Carrie and Rascal Flatts steps into the studio to lead Danny's first effort. The man will have a long career on the charts if he continues to choose great material and equally great producers. Let's hope Danny's fans follow through and buy the disc, really making these his Best Days.

ipod shuffled

Like to shake it up a bit every now and then. And it was way overdue, but it finally took American Idol Season Eight to make me shuffle up my ipod. Not since the year of Elliott Yamin and Chris Daughtry has there been such talent!

So adding to the old standbys of Sting and Karen and Richard Carpenter are now Kris Allen and Danny Gokey, in particular. Why now Adam Lambert? Just not a fan of the glam rock thing. Should his disc have a few things as strong as Mad World, I might consider a change of plan.

Certainly, there are some oddities on my ipod shuffle to make the most die-hard of Disney geek blush. One Little Spark from the Imagination pavilion (Epcot), the on board soundtrack from the original version of Space Mountain (Paris), and various odds and ends from Disneyland, Epcot, California Adventure and TokyoDisneySea.

Naturally, it doesn't end there. Jeremy Camp, Chris Tomlin, and Amy Grant give me an inspirational shot, with Michael Buble and Frank Sinatra providing the swing. George Strait still rules and Keith Urban adds a few more songs to my collection.

Can't wait for the traditional onslaught of Fall releases! I am sure A Change is Gonna Come once again.

Following 2009's Top Two...

Kris Allen and Adam Lambert are great together as they make the American Idol promotional rounds on television. I've seen quite a few video clips, and each man is impressive, funny, talented. They are clearly good friends. The best of the bunch: Kris on Jimmy Fallon's show. Yes, he's also been to Walt Disney World and New York as well. To see the Fallon clip, you can go to the website Kris Allen Nation . Well worth the time- funny as all get out!

Revelation

Just listened to Fight for Love, the follow-up album to the debut disc by Elliott Yamin. We all knew the man from American Idol Season Five could sing, but whoa!

This is the work I've been waiting for. Quite the surprise! Elliott wraps his warm but manly voice around some pretty excellent tunes. The title song is really the first great one on the album, but it just keeps getting better. From You Say all the way through Someday, the artistry and heart felt delivery result in a disc that is stronger than the first one. No sophomore slump here! Production is crisp and styles are varied. But it is Elliott's voice that's the defining element, and it is used to wonderful effect on all the backgound vocals.

The biggest revelation? Elliott can write them as well as sing them. In fact, the best songs here come right from his pen.

Messing with the Pack

Adam Lambert can sing. He can peform. He can also get a bit full of himself as evidenced by Tuesday and Wednesday night's American Idol. The voters had it wrong. He deserved to go home. Why?

Pure and simple, he disrespected the genre. Messed with the Rat Pack. Sang as if he was above the great masters like Sinatra and Martin. Or even the new leaders of the pack like Michael Buble. Between the ego and the performance, it was time to go.
Matt Giraud deserved to stay. His song choice was awful- "My Funny Valentine" is just a boring song- but he is a talented, soulful singer.

Kris Allen was good and convincing (as usual), but it was Danny Gokey who rocked the night with the best peformance of his Idol career.

Let's be honest, Adam will shine next week and should probably do a Queen song. He does have the right combination of showmanship, lounge singer and sleaze. (Kara DioGuardi totally nailed the "x" factor here- the thing I couldn't put my finger on!) The next few weeks will be very, very interesting!

All American Boy

Nice piece on USA Today about Kris Allen, American Idol, and how he stacks up compared to the previous front runners, Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert (very well, thank you). Shades of Chris Daughtry and Elliott Yamin from Season Five. Go here.

Rising and Falling Stars

Recapping last night's American Idol:

Danny Gokey- Nice guy, great voice, warm smile. Totally authentic. I like him, but why don’t I think he’ll go the distance? Must be song choice. "PYT" was terrific, but it has been a mixed bag since. Very, very solid. I’m rooting for him to hit the top three. Yes, sometimes, nice guys do finish first.

Adam Lambert- Last night’s performance showed a delicate phrasing reminiscent of a young George Michael. Definite stage presence, but he is a bit difficult to watch since his Elvis look a couple of weeks ago. I keep thinking kd lang here. Is America ready for its first gay idol? Probably, we’ve had them before- just didn’t always know it up front!

Kris Allen- He keeps getting better. Terrific voice and growing confidence. Knows how to "play" with the songs, changing each one to make it his own. Maybe last night’s Don Henley cover wasn’t his best- it was original- but give the kid a break. It was his first average performance so far. He may not end up the top dog, but he’s got my vote for best and most versatile voice.

Matt Giraud- Too cool. To tackle Stevie Wonder and give his song a new swing and lift it never had- wow! I’ll buy this song. Growing in confidence as a performer. A family friendly young Justin Timberlake. Give the man a contract.

Allison Iraheta - Once I heard she was going to cover the classic Bonnie Raitt song, I said, "If she can show some restraint with this, it will be amazing." She did- and finally won me over by showing she is more than a one trick rocking horse.

The rest: Lil Rounds, it’s time to go. Powerful voice, nice gal, but predictable. Anoop, above average potential with the right producer and image maker. Scott, hate to say it, but he should have departed a long time ago. Nice, talented folks, but none are in the league of those above.

American Idle

Middle of the night and much is on my mind. I can't get Danny Gokey and his strong version of Michael Jackson's PYT (Pretty Young Thing) out of my head. Is this Season Eight's new American Idol? Could be- yet, I've been wrong before. In the past, I would have put money on Chris Daughtry or even dark horse favorite Elliott Yamin to take the crown in Season Five. Yet, this guys seems to have the goods.

What else at 4am? Why do I even really care about construction at California Adventure, the cartooning of Walt Disney World, the economic plans of President Obama, and I'm ashamed to say, the pending cheap remake of our tired kitchen with worn paint, chipped countertop and leaky faucet? Good questions.

Let me guess. Boredom, too much television and forgetting about what is really important. Faithfulness, kindness, mercy, and caring for the needs of others. How easily I forget the bigger things! Oh God, hear my prayer and keep me heart atuned to you. It is so easy to be led astray by things deemed important in our brains by what we see and take in versus the things we know if we stop and focus on what is important to you. Glad it's Sunday morning and a time for spending an hour or two focused on you. Thank you, Lord Jesus, Creator of the Universe, for putting up with me!

Idol Starts to Warm Up

Let's just say that Season Eight of American Idol looks, well, interesting. Early standouts include Danny Gokey and Alexis Grace, although I'm sure the next couple of weeks will bring some surprises. Of course, once the Top Twelve hits, things really get fun- lots of stretching due to the competitors being forced to sing genres they don't feel comfortable in or songs they don't really like. The stress alone will cause some to break or just show off their bad side. Of course, if you've hung out here long enough, you know I am a big fan of Elliott Yamin and Chris Daughtry from Season Five. Not only could these guys sing, they remained good guys with tender hearts; their pride and ego in check all the way through. One of the true measures of a man is humility and grace.