Recently in In the News Category

The most contestant getting the most tweets for American Idol's Top 16 guys' perfomance is Lee Dewyze for his version of Owl City's Fireflies (right). The original performed by Adam Young is a soft, melodic song that is one of my favorites of 2009. The American Idol version had me rushing for the remote to fast forward through the raspy out-of-tune version coming out of my TV.

However, most of the tweets are praising Dewyze's performance. Go figure.

The stand out performance for me was Michael Lynche's version of This Woman's Work. It brought judge Kara DioGuardi to tears. Even so, I don't think the guys came close to delivering performances equal to what the girls did last night.

I have uploaded the single covers for this evening's performances to the AlbumArtExchange gallery.

Crystal Bowersox was the obvious winner of the evening following American Idol's Top 16 girls' perfomance show tonight. Bowersox did an amazing version of Tracy Chapman's Give Me One Reason. She is by far the most authentic performer on the show this year.

Chapman released the song in 1995 on her album New Beginning (right). I've included the music video of her performance for those who may not be familiar with it.

Judging by the tweets being generated by Bowersox's performance, she is the one to beat this year. MTV has already released a story stating that she is "dominating" American Idol.

I have uploaded the cover for Bowersox's single as well as those for the other seven performers to the AlbumArtExchange gallery.

Crystal Bowersox - Give Me One Reason (Single)

I've seen several news releases today promoting the debut of Lady Gaga's new music video for Telephone featuring Beyoncé. The video is slated to make an exclusive debut on E! News on Thursday, March 11 at 11:30 PM (which I assume is Eastern Time).

The screenshot accompanying one of the news releases shows Beyoncé looking like a cross between Betty Page and a majorette who was attacked by a maniac whielding a Bedazzler. Even her shoes are covered in plastic gems.

I really lost interest in this Lady Gaga and Beyoncé collaboration when I saw the cover art for the single. It looks like something Beyoncé did a few years ago for that Austin Powers movie she was in. Rather than being camp, the graphics are tacky and poorly executed. The drop shadows on the images and the typography go in every direction. It looks like a high school Photoshop project. It is really a mess and far below the standards of Lady Gaga's previous projects.

One of the things I miss about living in Hollywood is having friends who are members of the Motion Picture Academy. The voting members get CDs and DVDs of the nominated scores and movies. Often, they would share them or give them away. I still have have a few around the house from years ago.

The "For Your Consideration" discs typically are marked as such and sometimes have special artwork (right). A few of these have made their way into the AlbumArtExchange gallery. They are perhaps as collectible as promo copies. I suppose that eventually they will be replaced by digital downloads.

This year, I didn't get to attend a Hollywood Oscar party. However, I was correct on most of my picks this year. This includes the winners for Best Original Score and Best Song. I knew that Michael Giacchino had to win for the score of Up. It is simply one of the best scores I've heard in ages. And, Crazy Heart was on just about everyone's list of favorites.

If you don't already own these two albums, I strongly recommend purchasing them. The Up score is available as a digital download. The Crazy Heart soundtrack is available as in standard and deluxe CD format and digital download.

The 82nd Academy Awards presentation will air tomorrow. As usual, the program will feature music from the Best Original Score and Best Song categories. I have ensured that the album art for all of the nominees have been uploaded to the gallery. Thanks to the AlbumArtExchange users who have contributed their scans and edited images.

Best Original Score

Avatar - James Horner

Posted by: jasonjunker

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Alexandre Desplat

Posted by: jasonjunker

The Hurt Locker - Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders

Posted by: zeefritz

Up - Michael Giacchino

Posted by: coolbud1

Sherlock Holmes - Hans Zimmer

Posted by: Music Hog

Best Song

The Princess Frog
Almost There - Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Posted by: *Mark*

Paris 36
Loin de Paname - Music by Reinhardt Wagner, Lyric by Frank Thomas

Posted by: zeefritz

Nine
Take It All - Music and Lyric by Maury Teston

Posted by: *Mark*

Crazy Heart
The Weary Kind - Music by Ryan Bingham, Lyric by T Bone Burnett

Posted by: zeefritz

As I predicted yesterday, the girls put on a much better show tonight on American Idol than the guys did yesterday. My favorite performance this evening was by Lilly Scott, who sang A Change Is Gonna Come. I've finished uploading the cover art for all of the singles for this week's performance.

Posted by: zeefritz

I just finished uploading the cover art for the 10 guys who performed on American Idol tonight. My favorite performance was by Michael Lynch who sand James Brown's This Is A Man's World. Most of the other guys didn't impress me veru much. I'm beginning to think that one of the girls will win this year.

With her 1972 hit You're So Vain (right), Carly Simon launched decades of speculation about who was the inspiration for the lyrics. There have been numerous rumors over the years. Was it Warren Beatty? Mick Jagger?

In recent a magazine interview, Simon may have finally spilled the beans and revealed that the song was written about record label owner David Geffen. She stated that there is a clue to the identity of the vain one hidden in a new version of You're So Vain on her forthcoming album Never Been Gone.

It was reported by the UK newspaper The Sun that Simon says Geffen's name backwards in the track. I guess that means they used backmasking. How '70s can she get?

I have to admit that it is a clever publicity stunt. I'm almost tempted to check out the album. Almost.

You're So Vain appeared on Simon's album No Secrets. How's that for irony? It seems as though Simon may have planned this stunt 38 years ago.

Tonight, four contestants were voted off American Idol and viewers got to hear Have contestant elimination anthem for this season for the first time. Just prior to the live show, it was announced that Leave Right Now by Will Young will be played each time a contestant leaves the show.

Young was the winner of the first season of Britain's Pop Idol. Leave Right Now is a UK hit single off of Young's sophomore album, Friday's Child (right). The single went to number one on the British chart, selling 117,700 copies in its first week of release.

Each year, the American Idol exit song jumps to the top of online sales lists. So, it is a big deal when the a song is chosen for the show. I had a great deal of difficultly locating the cover art for the single. There are actually two covers and neither one can be easily found online.

The first two elimination rounds for American Idol season nine took place this week. The results show will be this evening. So far, my favorite contestants are Crystal Bowersox and Casey James. I have uploaded the artwork for all 24 singles for this week's performance to the gallery. The singles are available for preorder on iTunes.

The artwork for the season nine singles is exactly like that for last year. I was kind of hoping they would do something a little bit different. I suppose it is a template that worked well last time around.

You can check out the other 22 single covers here: American Idol on AAX

Crystal Bowersox - Hand In My Pocket (Single)

Casey James - Heaven (Single)

This may be a first in the world of album covers. The man who slammed his Piper PA-28 into an IRS building in Austin, Texas last week, killing himself and one IRS worker and injuring another 13 people, appears on an album cover.

Joseph Andrew Stack (right) played in the Billy Eli Band and is featured on the cover of their 2006 album Amped Out. The album is currently being given away as a free download on the Amie Street website.

What some may find very creepy are the titles of some of the songs on the album:

• High Flyer
• Burnin' Me Down
• Tore Down In Texas
• Ghost Of A Memory

Stack is the last man on the right on the album cover shown below. I guess this is one to add to the lists of infamous album covers. It has to be right up there with Family Jams by the Manson Family.

Recently, London resident Lorraine Sands and her friends and family were given a private performance by Pet Shop Boys. The appearance was a prize awarded in a "priceless" contest sponsored by Mastercard.

The music video created during the live living room show features the duo singing their 1986 hit Suburbia (an approriate choice given the venue. I have created a composite of the original single cover using several online examples (below).

British electronic band Depeche Mode and watch manufacturer Hublot have launched an auction of collectible timepieces with all proceeds being donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust. Bidding in the Big Bang Depeche Mode In Aid Of Teenage Cancer Trust  began on February 8 and ends February 24.

Twelve unique timepieces featuring the album art of Depeche Mode's studio albums open for bid via an online auction through Patrizzi & Co. Auctioneers.

Visit the Auction Site

Doug Fieger, lead singer of American rock band The Knack, died of cancer yesterday in Los Angeles. Fieger was 57. In 1979, The Knack's My Sharona was number one on the Billboard chart for six weeks. The Knack is often classified as a "New Wave" band, even though they were a traditional guitar, bass and drums rock band. The band's drummer Bruce Gary also died from cancer in 2006 at the age of 55.

I have created a composite of the cover art for The Knack's second 1979 single Good Girls Don't using several images found online. Good Girls Don't reached #11 on Billboard. It is my favorite song by the band.

Yesterday, I ran across this Columbia Records publicity photo of Susan Boyle with a framed Platinum record plaque for her album I Dreamed A Dream. The album is quadruple platinum in the United States. I hope she has the wall space for it.

I like the image that they used for the award. I almost think it would have made a better album cover than the black and white portrait that was used.