Stabili sul podio della classifica dei SINGOLI negli Stati Uniti, ci sono  Jay-Z e Alicia Keys con Empire State Of Mind, mentre sul trono della classifica degli ALBUM debutta John Mayer col nuovo Battle Studies.

Escucha Empire state of mind part 2

Normalmente pasamos total del rap (a menos que el estribillo lo cante Dido), porque no hay género en el que haya más basura, más delincuentes y menos talento. Pero Jay-Z es diferente, porque utiliza instrumentos de verdad, y además habla de temas no necesariamente relacionados con las drogas, las violaciones o la muerte de homosexuales. Empire state of mind es un gran ejemplo de ello, con esa producción impecable y esa letra tan emotiva acerca de lo maravilloso que es ser de Nueva York. Pero a Alicia Keys se le ha ocurrido que su estribillo tiene potencial para atraer a ese público al que escuchar rap solo le provoca ganas de guardar la cartera en un lugar seguro. La frase “¿dónde puedo conseguir esta canción sin el rapero?” es un clásico, y estamos hartos de tener que escuchar los temas enteros llenos de ladridos cuando lo que queremos es que llegue el puente y la diva se gane su sueldo. Alicia lo sabe bien y ha despachado a Jay Z de la ecuación con un par de acordes de piano y mucha cara dura.

Otra posibilidad es que Beyoncé temiera que Alicia le haya cogido el gustillo a robar maridos (su fama de destrozahogares le está empezando a pasar factura profesional) y le ha prohibido a Jay Z que se acerque a esa mosquita muerta, que como todo el mundo sabe son las peores. Claro que Beyoncé y Alicia van a grabar un dúo en las próximas semanas, por lo que habrá que estar atentos a las retorcidas artimañas que Bee utiliza para humillar a Alicia. Probablemente baste con ponerla a caminar a su lado. Lo cual nos lleva a otra reflexión: ¿os acordáis cuando hacer un dúo con Beyoncé era emocionante? Ahora tenemos uno cada semana, y se le están agotando los artistas. Es un poco como la guarra del insti, que por muy buena que esté llega un momento en que ya no tiene mérito hacer nada con ella. Los fans de Rihanna Las malas lenguas dicen que Beyoncé no soporta que Rihanna vaya a ser la artista con más  hits en billboard durante esta década, por lo que ha extorsionado a todos los artistas del momento para que graben con ella y así arañar algún que otro top 10 a última hora.

Pero de lo que aquí estamos hablando es de la segunda parte de Empire state of mind, que utiliza el estribillo y el puente y añade un par de estrofas (¿cuántas canciones compone al día Alicia Keys?) y por supuesto es preciosa. Aun así, y a pesar de que se hayan respondido nuestras plegarias, nos quedamos con la versión de Jay Z.

Aquella tiene un espíritu mucho más auténtico, muy de acabar de llegar a la ciudad y mirar a las luces con cara de paleto mientras te roban la mochila. Por supuesto buena parte de eso es gracias a la aportación de Alicia, pero el ritmo de Jay Z no puede ser más elegantón, entonces elegir entre las dos es como elegir entre una pizza margarita y una hawaiana: puede que una esté dentro de otra, pero si puedes tener las dos mucho mejor.

Al fin y al cabo, es Jay Z quien consigue lo mismo que Sinatra (ya, nosotros también hemos tenido que buscarlo en la wikipedia): que nos emocionemos con una canción sobre una ciudad en la que no hemos estado en la vida. Ese es el poder de la música. Y de nuestra estupidez.

Jay-Z feat Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind. Directed by Hype Williams, the video not only highlights the majestic boroughs and surroundings of NYC for folks to visualize, but brings forth somewhat of a revitalisation of the Empire state.

Jay-Z has spent a second week at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 with his Alicia Keys collaboration ‘Empire State Of Mind’.

The top ten Hot 100 Billboard Charts singles in full:

1. (1) Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys: ‘Empire State of Mind’
2. (11) Lady GaGa: ‘Bad Romance’
3. (2) Owl City: ‘Fireflies’
4. (3) Jason Derulo: ‘Whatcha Say’
5. (10) Ke$ha: ‘Tik Tok’
6. (4) Iyaz: ‘Replay’
7. (5) David Guetta ft. Akon: ‘Sexy Bitch’
8. (9) Lady GaGa: ‘Paparazzi’
9. (6) Britney Spears: ‘3′
10. (7) Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne: ‘Down’

A gravadora J Records confirmou em seu site oficial, que a diva pop Beyoncé vai fazer uma participação no próximo disco de Alicia Keys, “The Element Of Freedom“, que será lançado no dia 15 de dezembro.

Beyoncé canta na faixa “Put it In A Love Song“,  que deve ser um dos singles do álbum, que  traz também a participação do rapper Drake, que faz os baking vocal na faixa “Un-thinkable (I’m Ready). O disco também terá a música “Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down”, continuação da ótima faixa gravada em parceria entre Alicia e Jay-z no seu álbum mais recente, The Blueprint.

Particularmente gosto mais de Alicia Keys, conhecendo o estilo da cantora a música deve ser mais para o estilo de uma balada, uma boa oportunidade de ouvir mais uma vez a voz  Beyoncé sem as batidas dançantes que costumam ter suas músicas.

Confira o trackilist de “The Element of Freedom”:
Element Of Freedom (Intro)”
“Love Is Blind”
“Doesn’t Mean Anything”
“Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart”
“Wait Til You See My Smile”
“That’s How Strong My Love Is”
“Un-thinkable (I’m Ready)”
“Love Is My Disease”
“Like The Sea”
“Put It In A Love Song” (part. Beyonce)
“This Bed”
“Distance And Time”
“How It Feels To Fly”
“Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Broken Down”

Alicia Keys new single, Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart is from her upcoming album, The Element Of Freedom – which will be released on December 15th. Download Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart here .

After a lengthy hiatus Jennifer Lopez hoping make a dent on the music scene with new single Louboutins,off her new album Love? Written by The-Dream and produced Tricky Stewart, the song was originally created for Brandy before she left Epic Records – and nwo the song belongs to Jenny-from-the-Block singer. Download Louboutins here .

Kelis has a new song called Acapella that leaked today.The song was produced by French musician David Guetta and will be featured on her upcoming album, titled Acapella out next year. The song is a club-friendly track – a CLUB BANGA! Download Acapella here .

After four years missing from the music industry, Toni Braxton finally comes back to music scene with a brand new song titled Yesterday. The track is rumored to be the first single from her upcoming studio album which is called Pulse and will be dropped sometime in February 2010. Download Yesterday (Remix) featuring Trey Songz here .

La hermosa cantante dará un concierto en conmemoración del Día Internacional de la Lucha contra el Sida.

El concierto se realizará en el  Nokia Theater de Nueva York el próximo 1 de diciembre, y los fondos serán para colaborar con la organización Keep A Child Alive. Podremos disfrutar del concierto en vivo por las redes YouTube, Facebook y Twitter.

No nos olvidemos que  Alicia Keys lanzará su nuevo Album “The Element Of Freedom” el próximo 15 de diciembre, con el cual quiere volver a conquistar lso primeros lugares en la lista.

En este aciago año de regresos aterradores (Rihanna, Shakira, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Robbie Williams entre otros), no podía faltar su presencia. Alejandro Sanz, el único algo-parecido-a-un-cantante que es capaz de algo-parecido-a-cantar como si estuviera eternamente estreñido, vuelve con un cd muy de su rollo. Es decir lleno de topicazos, flamenquito indigesto, pop digerible y algo que se quiere asemejar al rock.

Todas las canciones las ha escrito él, excepto Looking For Paradise en la que participó Alicia Keys. Están producidas por él mismo y Tommy Torres, excepto la anteriormente mencionada, que también produce Bob Clearmountain.

El disco empieza de una manera fantástica con Mi Peter Punk, porque la canción da risa. Y en estos momentos de crisis la risa es muy necesaria. Es algo parecido al pop rock cantado por el hermano ronco de un orco. Me gusta mucho que la letra no tenga sentido, el absurdo es siempre es un aliciente para el humor. Me gusta mucho su pronunciación. Se ve que la nueva moda es cambiar los acentos de sitio y meter palabras en otros idiomas que ni entiendes ni pegan con lo anterior. Pero que más da. Aquí lo que mola es vender cuanto más mejor.

El trozo que más me ha gustado.

“Si no me entiendes, no te entiendo, y al revés
Que hay cosas que dependen del intérprete
Você, você e uma maestra do claquet
Puedo bailar ¿pero quién canta?
Me muevo por impulsos reconoceré
Que lo que yo no puedo es ser un gentleman
The man y the gent”

Si alguien lo descifra le doy un caramelo.

Desde Cuando nos devuelve al Sanz sosete de toda la vida. Si, es una balada. Si, empieza con piano. Si, es plana y repetitiva. Si, parece que se plagia a si mismo en la letra. Si, el subidón llega en el estribillo. Y no, no la puede terminar de escuchar por miedo a que me subiera el azúcar. Y punto.

Lo de Looking For Paradise es de otro mundo. Uno que canta mal de junta con una que canta bien. Uno que habla inglés de mercadillo se junta con una que lo lleva hablando toda su vida. Una canción sosa que no hay quien la aguante. Una letra tan empalagosa que te dan ganas de vomitar. Un sinsentido.

El título de la siguiente canción lo encuentro más que adecuado. Hice Llorar Hasta Los Ángeles. Si, eso es lo que haces cada vez que pones a cantar. Por favor, inserten la definición de Desde Cuando aquí – piano + guitarra + suelta un montón de gallos.

Sin Que Se Note empieza muy rock, pero no, es todo un engaño. Pierde fuelle a los 10 segundos. Pensándolo bien ¿Sanz cantando rock? Dios nos libre. Aquí también hay gallos, Sanz sigue sin saben entonar una nota con decencia. Se ve que eso de vocalizar también se le ha olvidado. Por lo demás otro autoplagio.

Lola Soledad nos devuelve al piano. La letra es bastante buena y nos devuelve al mejor Alejandro Sanz como letrista, que es lo que siempre se le dio bien, porque lo de cantar nunca fue lo suyo. La melodía de esta canción, pop-rock, también tiene miga y se deja escuchar sin muchos problemas. ¿El problema? La voz de Sanz.

Pero ya se acabó lo bueno. En Esta Tarde No Te Vas: Agreguen aquí la definición de Desde Cuando. Es que escribirla otra vez es una coñazo. Gracias.

En Mala, Sanz se cree malote, pero nada de nada. En la misma letra él nos reconoce que es un calzonazos. Y se nos pone a hacer fusiones. Un hibrído entre rock, pop y reggae que hubiera quedado bien si alguien con talento musical lo hubiera llevado a cabo.

Tu No Tienes La Culpa. ¡Qué pesadilla de hombre, Dios mío! Como le gusta el autoplagio. Lleva hasta las últimas consecuencias eso de “si algo funciona, no lo cambies”. Otro clon de Desde Cuando. Ya saben lo que hay que hacer.

Nuestro Amor Será Leyenda, la canción final, retoma algo eso llamado ritmo que Sanz parece haber olvidado y te despierta un poco del auténtico sopor causado por canciones anteriores. Nada maravilloso, no deja de ser otro autoplagio con ese ritmillo de pianillo y guitarrita tan caracteristico de Sanz (si, ese mismo que estais pensando), pero por lo menos la escuchas y puedes mantener la atención puesta en la canción sin mucho esfuerzo.

Y ya está.

Mira que lo tenía complicado, pero este cd es peor que El Tren de los Momentos y No Es Lo Mismo.

Las letras son prácticamente un calco de letras anteriores del propio Sanz.

La música también.

Este cd sobra.

Me quedo con Lola Soledad y nada más.

1 estrella de 5

Πριν λίγο καιρό η συναυλία των U2  μεταδόθηκε LIVE για πρώτη φορά στο Youtube.Αυτή την φορά το Youtube θα μεταδίδει LIVE παγκόσμια την συναυλία της Alicias Keys στο Nokia Theater της Νέας Υόρκης την 1η Δεκεμβρίου στις 8 p.m. (ET) προς τιμήν της Παγκόσμιας Ημέρας Κατά Του AIDS(WHO)

Γράψτε το κάπου,σημειώστε το,βάλτε το στο ημερολόγιο για αυτό το μεγάλο γεγονός!

Παρακολουθήστε  την LIVE συναυλία αυτή την Τρίτη από το κανάλι της Alicias Keys

Here is the Alicia Keys performance for ”Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” on the American Music Awards this past Sunday, November 21st on ABC.

Despite towards the middle the obvious move jacking of Ciara’s “Promise” video and not quite understanding what the guy was doing in the entire sequence (dude looked like he was about to mug her), I liked the performace. Keys’ vocals were strong and on point; her outfit was fly, especially that jacket and she made sure she had men and women drooling with her hip game (her shape is crazy sick).

Has Jay-Z become NYC’s leading man? I remember when I first played Jay’s “Empire State of Mind” back in August and that first guitar lick which laid directly under a solid kick drum automatically separated itself from the rest of the material on “Blueprint 3.” Al Shux, the track’s producer, knew exactly what he was doing.

Well fast forward to November 25, the track hand delivered Hov his first #1 single on Billboard’ Hot 100, it possessed Lil Mama’s irrelevant ass to hop onstage during Hov and A.Keys’ monumental performance at the VMA’s in September, became the official N.Y. Yankees World Series anthem and has everyone from Australia to the Bronx praising the Big Apple.

With that said, MSG.com is letting the people decide whether or not “Empire State of Mind” deserves the accolades of “Unofficial Anthem” status for the city of New York. On December 4th (Hova’s date of birth), MSG will air Jay’s “Answer The Call” concert from September at 10:30pm and then follow up with Frank Sinatra’s, “Frank Sinatra: The Main Event” concert from October 1974.

After the concerts, you can head over to MSG.com to vote if you think Jay’s,  “Empire State of Mind” should replace Sinatra’s, “New York, New York” as the Big Apple’s unofficial anthem. King of New York, 50? Riiiiiiiiiiiight. But hey, I still like your aggressive content. *Jay-Z Laugh* Hahhahahahahaha.

THOUGHTS????

Check out some of the fits that I thought was hot and creative…

My first impression when I read that there was going to be an “Empire State of Mind, Part II” was that it was doing the most/way too much. Music artists Rappers have fallen into a bad trend of re-making and remixing songs when they get a hit record on the air. Need examples? Well think Arab Money (Busta Rhymes) and Hottest in the Hood (Red Cafe), both tracks were remixed three times.A

Empire State of Mind, Part II slows it down a lot and isn’t a banger like Jay-Z’s version but I think it has a case of being more musically solid…Alicia Keys “The Element of Freedom” in stores 12/15/09.

I’m listening to Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys (awesome song). Miss Keys was playing in Rockefeller Plaza this weekend when I was in New York City. It is that kind of event that makes you realize that this is where everything is happening. In my entire life I have been to this city seven times, and every time I go there it is a completely different experience. Ironically, I am more free in New York than I am in Toronto, and I am a Canadian. Maybe I should move. Anyway, here is a list of some cool things I did this weekend.

The Apollo Theater

1. The Apollo Theater

My wife and I took the subway to Harlem, getting off at 125th and Malcolm X Blvd. For some reason I was surprised by how many Starbucks there were. I was also a little surprised by how small The Apollo Theater is on the outside. There is so much history here I just assumed there would be a big gift shop and a huge outer-facade (is that even a word?). There is a tour you can go on that we couldn’t do because there was a matinee performance of Dreamgirls (I saw the original on Broadway).

2. We walked the entire length of Central Park

IT'S A CONCRETE JUNGLE!!!!

For the first time I walked the entire length of Central Park from Harlem to the Upper West Side. Next to Stanley Park in Vancouver this is the nicest park in the world. It barely seemed like any time went by, but we walked miles. We watched people skating, saw a turtle, witnessed a wedding and watched two jazz trios. I kept remembering all of the movies I have seen that take place in this park (mostly Woody Allen movies).

3. Angelo’s Pizza (Next to the Letterman studios)

Angelo's Pizza

New York has six million people, but we actually bumped into my family at this restaurant. Maybe it was because I wouldn’t shut up about how great it is. We all sat at Madonna’s table right there in the front window. We also ate at a few Italian restaurants with more nouveau cuisine, but there is something about the basics that will work forever. Good tomato sauce, white bread, cheese, pepperoni and spaghetti done in an old fashioned New York Italian style. The last time we ate here my wife talked to David Letterman shortly afterwards.

4. The Empire State Building

The Empire Strikes Back

One night we went up to the top of the Empire State Building. It seemed to be going through a cloud and it was snowing even though on the ground there was no snow. It was still a great view and we were able to see people practicing for the Macy’s Parade. Interesting factoid: the observatory that is further up was supposed to be a waiting room for zeppelin balloons.

5. Macys Parade Practice

Macy's Parade

Well we didn’t get to watch the parade but we did see them practicing. There is always something happening in this town.

6. We stayed near Times Square

WHAT TIME IS IT?!!!

Um…if there is a recession someone forgot to tell Times Square. It was much more crowded then it was two years ago when I was last here. And yet I never felt like I wasn’t safe. And I was mugged here once in the 80s. It is now completely different from the Times Square I was mugged in. It’s all chocolate and toys now. I’ll save my Broadway experience for my next blog, but here is a teaser: GO SEE IN THE HEIGHTS!!!! Also Rihanna played here on Monday morning for Good Morning America. I missed it but my niece saw her.

We stayed at the Westin off of 43rd. Nice comfy beds.

7. The Brooklyn Diner

The Mixed Marriage of Irving and Gina

This is my favorite place to eat in New York. This is an interesting breakfast they have called The Mixed Marriage of Irving and Gina which has challa bread and Italian sausage. It was delicious. I love mixed marriages myself and this was as delicious as my own mixed marriage. I also had pancakes the next day that were also soft and yummy. They serve polenta instead of hash brown.

8. FAO Schwarz

The BIG Piano at FAO Schwarz

One thing I love about New York is that they are proud of their film history and they take every chance they can to exploit/celebrate that rich culture. Here two FAO Schwarz employees gleefully dance on the piano while dozens look on.

9. Gray Line Tours

Part of the Berlin Wall stands near the WTC ruins

We took the Gray Line Downtown tour. This was the only way we could see everything we wanted in the short time we were in the city. The only place we got off the bus was at the WTC site. My father told me that when I was a baby we stood there as they were building the World Trade Centre. In the 80s we both went to the top of the World Trade Center. And now we stand looking at the construction of the Freedom Tower.

10. We didn’t get in to see The View but we did stand in a cold line

Take some time to wait outside in the cold hoping to get in to see The View

Actually this wasn’t a cool thing to do. It was a freakin’ cold thing to do! And we didn’t get in to see The View. We stood in the stand-by line early in the morning. They do give you a complimentary breakfast which is nice. And I did get to see producer Bill Getty walk into work. And I learned that The View is actually filmed in a really ugly building. And they don’t have enough seats, because even people with tickets couldn’t get in. Get a bigger theater Barbara!

Of course the real reason it was so busy and crowded is because it is much cheaper to go to New York City now because of the recession. So there are a lot of deals and I encourage you to go down and experience the city Toronto can only pretend to be. Most of my immediate family went down to spend some time together and celebrate some birthdays, good health and my sixth wedding anniversary.

I’ll bet anything that the likes of Speidi and DWTS castoffs get paid less than a HEFTY fee to make appearances at public venues like Millions of Milkshakes or in the case of Speidi, airport restrooms…

I’m sure they’re just thankful for the FACT that anybody would want them around in the FIRST place.

On the other hand Superstar songstresses like Rihanna and Alicia Keys are going to be shaking their asses to the tune of $250 000 and up just to host NYE parties this year.

Alicia Keys will be hosting a concert in NYC for $250 000 and Rihanna will be singing for her supper at the Emirates Palace Hotel in the Abu Dhabi for $500 000.

AND for me to think that people were more than worthy of my prescence at a local club.

Ouch.

Remember when people would say “break it down” when referring to somebody really going buck wild on a track? “Break it down MJ!” I realize now that a “broken down” version is a little less vague. Peep Alicia Key’s “breakdown” of Empire State of Mind, Part Deux.

Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind Pt.2 (Broken Down!)

Its official, AllHipHop has reprted that Jay-Z and Nas are officially remixing the hit single Empire State of Mind.  It had been rumoured that Nas was not feeling being on the original (which he was slated to be) due to the closeness in essence of the song to his past underground hit, ‘New York State of Mind’.  I CANNOT WAIT!

Download/Stream Here

Well I know it’s a bit late and virtually everyone in the entire world knows what happened on last Sunday’s The X Factor so just for those people who have been living under a rock for the last few days, this is a mid-week X Factor update.

On last Saturday’s show it was Wham! week, and all of the finalists sang their socks off to try and avoid the dreaded ‘bottom two’ in the results show.

Unfortunately for John and Edward they found themselves there once again, with probably the biggest surprise of Sunday night’s show, Olly who was also in the bottom two.

Now if I know The X Factor, and I think I do, this will simply been the result of everyone thinking that they don’t need to vole for Olly because he is safe and everyone else will vote for him. When this happens, the ’safe’ act finds themselves in the bottom two and singing for survival.

Olly and John & Edward find out who will be sent packing

John and Edward were voted off by Simon, Cheryl and Dannii, and thank goodness! There were cheers of joy in my house as Dannii said she would be sending them home!

So now let’s look to the future and talk about this coming weekend’s show. There will be two major differences from now in on The X Factor. The first is that each of the remaining acts will have to sing TWO songs from now on, which means twice the pressure. It also means less time to practice your song so anyone who can still deliver polished performances is obviously putting in a lot of hard work. This week the final five acts will be singing songs by Elton John and Take That.

Alicia Keys

The second difference is  that the judges can no longer decide who goes and who stays from the bottom two – that’s right, it’s all down to the public vote now which means that if you like someone, you really have got to vote for them.

This week’s theme is Elton John & Take That! Whoohooo! When I found this out a very big part of me hoped that Take That would be performing on the results show but alas it is not meant to be, and instead Rihanna and Alicia Keys will be singing!

Rihanna

So that’s all for now folks, don’t forget that The X Factor is on Saturdays and Sundays at 8pm on ITV1.

No último American Music Awards fiquei beeem decepcionada com os looks mostrados pelas celebs que compareceram ao evento. Nada de novidade, ou até mesmo clássicos que chamam atenção. A escolha da maioria foram looks batidos e até vulgares am alguns casos. Como a maioria exibiu o corpão em dia, o resultado não foi tão desastroso.

Rihanna foi quem se saiu melhor, com um vestidão super volumoso Marchesa, com detalhes vasados. Parecia um origami. Atenção pro make, com delineador colorido. O cabelo que ninguém merece né!!!

Alicia Keys, de Giorgio Armani, fez um look  todo combinadinho: vestido, sandália e make. Apesar de ser bem colorido, faltou ousadia nas escolhas, arriscando outros tons.

Carrie Underwood foi de vestido nude com aplicação de pedrarias Theia e make clarinho, só com o olho mais esfumaçado. Opção clássica.

Shakira foi beem ousada colocando os pernões de fora num curtíssimo Herve Leger cheio de aplicações. O make foi leve e o cabelo recebeu apenas duas tranças de raiz na lateral.

E por último Fergie, que foi de vestido longo Armani Privé, com acabamento de zíper. No estilo rock’n'roll, combinou apenas com scarpin preto e make leve com cabelos soltos.

Qual vocês gostaram mais?

Imagens: Reprodução

Since it’s the day before Thanksgiving, instead of giving you a blog topic, I thought I’d give you a reminder of why we should all be thankful.

The Lord is my shepherd, and he knows what I like.

Feel free to comment…or just look and give thanks.  Happy Thanksgiving.