Posted by chuck On March - 31 - 2009
We saw a star birthed tonight. More than a star, I think we saw a music artist emerge tonight. Tonight we saw a college student from Arkansas assert himself as a music artist, arranger, performer to be reckoned with. Forget American Idol, I want to hear this guy’s songs. Worship leader Kris Allen, in the midst of the Adam Lambert mania, took an iconic soul song “Ain’t No Sunshine” and dropped a completely new version on us that was as more soulful than the original. If you DVR’d American Idol, go back and watch this performance. If not, go to the iTunes icon below and download the video of this performance. Kris Allen took one of my favorite songs, a song that… Continue reading | 3 Comments
Posted by chuck On March - 31 - 2009
We are live, blogging the American Idol Season 8 Top 9 performances. At One21music we are covering the five remaining Christian music artists competing in Season 8: Danny Gokey, Matt Giraud, Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, and Kris Allen .
Check out my preview of tonight’s American Idol show at our Top 9 Performance Preview. We found out that the theme for tonight is iTunes top 100 downloads. Who knows what that means? The current Top 100 is loaded with rap, country and Disney machine songs. I guess the American Idol performers could make something great out of that mix but there does not seem to be a lot of songs of substance to use. We will… Continue reading | 7 Comments
Posted by ian On March - 31 - 2009
Eisley
Genre: Rock
Styles: Atmospheric Rock, Progressive, Pop
Location: Tyler, TX
Label: Reprise/Warner Bros. Records
Website: eisley.com
Christian label: No
Category: The Light whats this?
It will be a long time before you hear about a band like Eisley. Comprised of the three Dupree sisters, their brother, and cousin, the band arose from humble beginnings in Tyler, TX to meet an overwhelming response from fans and critics alike. They began in coffee houses as a musical experiment for the sisters, and soon after traveling to Cornerstone festival in 2002, Eisley (known for a while as Moss Eisley) embarked on their very first tour opening up for none other than Coldplay. At the time the oldest person in the band… Continue reading | 1 Comment
Posted by chuck On March - 31 - 2009
One21music.com is covering Christian music artists performing on Season 8 of American Idol. The Top 9 includes Christian music artist Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, Lil Rounds, Matt Giraud and Scott MacIntyre. The remaining music artists performing on American Idol Season 8 are Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert, Meagan Joy and Anoop Desai. See our Top 9 Power Rankings.
Programming Note: American Idol’s Top 9 Performance show has been extended to one hour twenty minutes. I will end at 9:20 edt /8:20 cdt. set your dvr’s accordingly.
Normally, on Tuesday mornings we preview the current week performance show with song predictions and analysis of who we think will thrive and struggle. This week is a different animal. American Idol has been very quiet about the… Continue reading | 2 Comments
Posted by chuck On March - 30 - 2009
Michael Sarver is gone and we are down to 5 Christian music performers on American Idol Season 8. What happened? In this group of talented American Idol performers Michael Sarver was definitely in the bottom half of the Top 10 and probably was one of the bottom three. I had him ranked ninth in our Top Ten Power Rankings article last week. There is a groundswell of appreciation for Michael Sarver on both faith oriented and secular American Idol blogs across the Internet. He is generally regarded as one of the nicest contestants ever on American Idol. Here is an excerpt form his exit interview that shows why:
“Do you really smile as much as you… Continue reading | 4 Comments
Posted by ian On March - 30 - 2009
Alright, so here are the CDs hitting stores tomorrow, Tuesday March 31rst 2009. Not a whole bunch to choose from but I know metal fans have been really excited about The Serpent Servant, and the The Tonic is always great. I will get those iTunes links up as soon as they are available, but be sure to pick up the releases through the links I have posted, so we can ALL help each other out…
Let me know if I missed anything…
The Serpent Servant
Impending Doom
Facedown Records
Metal
Buy CD on Amazon
Posted by ian On March - 27 - 2009
As Cities Burn
Genre: Rock
Styles: Screamo, Progressive, Post-hardcore
Location: Mandeville, LA
Label: Solid State/Tooth & Nail Records
Myspace: myspace.com/ascitiesburn
Christian label: No
Category: The Message whats this?
The world of underground rock and hardcore can be a roller coaster for most artists. With fickle but devoted fans, little to no money, and an ongoing pressure to be relevant and innovative, most bands crumble under the pressure. It is some where in the middle of never giving up and innovation that we find a band that knows this all to well, As Cities Burn.
Their first release, Son, I loved You At Your Darkest, was a breathe of fresh air for many hard… Continue reading | 1 Comment
Posted by ian On March - 27 - 2009
We are still recovering from SXSW still, but things are beginning to return to normal for the site. We are working hard to get the database built, get the word out, and talk to new bands. We will be rolling out a ton of new Christian Artist To Know posts, so get ready to expand your mind.
Here are the new items to come out of the Christian music world this week. There isn’t much, but I try to post REAL news items such as interviews, announcements, developments, ect. A lot of bands post new songs on their myspace or talk about pre-ordering their CD. That’s cool and all, but I try to keep this a bit more focused. Anyway, links to iTunes and Amazon MP3 are included in the headlines… Continue reading | 1 Comment
Posted by chuck On March - 26 - 2009
It is 11:00 and I am just sitting down to watch the results show. For Valentine’s, I gave my wife tickets to the one year anniversary of Austin’s performing arts center. The party was highlighted by a concert with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Marvin Hamlisch, who wrote “The Way We Were” and A Chorus Line, and great, great singer Linda Eder. A wonderful evening with my wife caused this article to be late.
American Idol’s Motown performance show was a disappointment for me (see our American Idol performance wrap-up). Adam Lambert gave his first sensitive performance of American Idol Season 8 and Allison Iraheta blew everyone away with her version of “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”. Christian music performers Danny Gokey and Kris Allen also delivered, but everyone else… Continue reading | 4 Comments
Posted by ian On March - 26 - 2009
Several weeks ago fifteen questions were posed to a number of music artists in the Christian music scene, ranging from the light-hearted to the deeply spiritual. We received many responses, some very helpful, and some…. not so much. Some of the answers were short and sweet, some were very drawn out and eloquent. Many expressed frustrations with the current landscape of the music industry, while others were hopeful for a future of uncertainty. We heard from guys who had been performing for years, and bands that are just now starting to get names heard. From indie rock to hip-hop, from hardcore to worship, the Christian music scene spoke back to us.
Realize that these answers are by the people making… Continue reading
