Back in the day, I was a huge fan of the punk group, The Donnas. They were four girls who loved music and refused to let anyone tell them they couldn't rock as hard as the boys. Flash forward to right now, and you've got Care Bears On Fire following in The Donnas' footsteps. The trio just released a music video for their single, "Barbie Eat A Sandwich," and I want to know what you think. Weight and eating disorders is a huge issue for so many teens, and CBOF is putting their own spin on the matter.
Are you into Care Bears on Fire's all-girl punk rock sound? What do you think about their message?
I'll admit it - I'm obsessed. I don't just catch Greek every week, I DVR it so I can rewatch ibecause there's nothing better than Ashleigh's crazy fashions, Rusty's 'can't-catch-a-break' girl drama, or the Cappie-Casey-Evan love triangle. Plus it's hilarious.
And tonight's mid-season finale, "Friend or Foe," looks so good! I've always been Team Casey & Cappie, so I hope they're officially back together after last week's kiss. And what's up with Cappie and Evan? I definitely spotted cops in the preview which doesn't look promising for their rekindled friendship. As much as I want to find all that out (trust me, I'm so counting down to 9 p.m.!), I'm also really sad because that means no more new episodes of Greek until January!
It's okay though, because High School Musical 3's Olesya Rulin is back for her guest-starring role as one of the Zeta Beta Zeta pledges, and she's choreographing a dance routine for the ZBZ house -- how HSM of her!
Check out the Greek mid-season finale this Monday, November 2, at 9/8 central on ABC Family, then head back to j-14.com and let me know what you think!
Are you as excited to find out about Casey and Cappie as I am?
"For Your Entertainment," the first official single off of Adam Lambert's debut album with the same name, hit the radio on Ryan Seacrest's KISSFM radio show this morning. It only took minutes for Twitter and blogs to explode with opinions on the highly anticipated single from American Idol's fierce & fabulous (and my fave) runner-up! With a catchy, pop vibe and a fun chorus, the song makes me want to get up on my feet and dance! And as a huge Adam fan, I think he totally delivered. I love it and can't wait to hear what else "Glambert" has in store for us with his album. If you missed the single's premiere this morning, listen to it on: AdamOfficial.com, or Adam's official MySpace page!
"There are songs that dip into an electro, pop feel, like this one, and then there's songs on the album that have guitars, live drums, a real rock sound," Lambert told Seacrest on the air this morning, describing what to expect on the album. "There's something for everybody and there's something for every mood." I've got high expectations for the album and its collaborations with Lady Gaga, Pink, and Muse! Adam's album For Your Entertainment drops November 23rd, and I will definitely be picking it up!
Sooo: Love it or Hate it? What do you think, J-14ers? Are you as excited for Adam's album as I am? What about Kris Allen's album? Dish with me below!
There's nothing I love more than gabbing about pop culture with my friends... so when I was invited to chat with the fab & funny gals of PopEater's Girls on Pop, I was totally psyched!
And of course, I had to throw in the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato's "Bounce" video (um, should I be embarrassed that I actually did the ham & cheese and the chicken wing on the podcast?! I obvi need Big Rob to show me how to bounce. ;))
Check out the episode here:
Here I am (looking all cool with headphones -- ha!) with PopEater's Amber!
I love telling you guys about new bands, and yesterday I was lucky enough to check out one of my faves, Every Avenue, for the first time -- so of course I had to share all the deets with you! The Michigan-based pop-rockers are currently on tour with The White Tie Affair, and last night's stop at NYC's Highline Ballroom.
The eight-song set was so energetic! I was actually surprised that the lead singer, Dave Strauchman, didn't get whiplash from rockin' out so much (which I definitely told him -- yep, that's me hanging out with Dave after his interview). The majority of the songs they played were off their last album, Shh. Just Go With It, including my fave track, "Where Were You? and the one Dave wanted everyone to get off their feet for, "Chasing The Night." Dave said it was his favorite to play at Highline. "I just have a really good time with that one," he told me.
They also played the new single from their upcoming album Picture Perfect, "Tell Me I'm A Wreck." It has a slightly poppier, more mature sound than some of their older tunes, but there's no doubt it's Every Avenue, and it's just as catchy as anything off Shh. You'd think it had been out forever because everyone at Highline was singing along already -- the whole band seemed happily surprised by that!
Some bands look like they're just running through motions on stage, but you could tell Every Avenue was thrilled to be on stage. It's not just a job to them -- they love their music. They also love being in the Big Apple. "New York is one of our favorite places to play!" guitarist Josh yelled from the stage. Dave agrees. Not only did he get to hang out with other bands, he saw a famous face before the show. "Tony Hawk walked in front of our van today," Dave says. "I thought that was the coolest thing ever!"
It was an awesome show, and I'm psyched for Picture Perfect to drop on November 3. In the mean time, get ready for an exclusive q&a with Dave, and check out their shoutout just for J-14 below.
One of my fave bands right now is Parachute -- my friends have been Facebooking about them for months, and I listen to "She Is Love" on repeat. Frequently. So I was psyched to check them out last night at NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom! It was Parachute's first show opening for Kelly Clarkson during her All I Ever Wanted Tour, and they rocked the house. If I wasn't obsessed with them before, hearing "She Is Love" live has made me love the band even more. I even got to hang out with the boys after the meet & greet, which is when they made the awesome video above!
The Parachute guys were tired after the big show, but all the boys were so nice and guitarist Nate McFarland was still psyched after the show. "My favorite part of tonight was being able to say, 'Are y'all ready for Kelly Clarkson?" Nate told me. "'Since You Been Gone,' 'I Do Not Hookup,' 'My Life Would Suck Without You,' 'Breakway' -- these are all anthems of my life." Plus Nate and his bandmates, lead singer Will Anderson, drummer Johnny Stubblefield, bassist Alex Hargrave, and saxophonist/keyboard player Kit French all signed an awesome prize just for a lucky J-14 reader -- but you'll have to wait and see what it is in an upcoming issue!
Then Kelly Clarkson came on and she was so good! Can you tell that's my theme for the night? I love music, so seeing someone with a truly natural, amazing voice live is a really cool thing. My jaw even dropped a few times when she hit really high notes! "I really love music," Kelly announced mid-show. "I like all kinds," and she proved it by covering Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight," The Black Keys' ", Alanis Morissette's
"That I Would Be Good," Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," and The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army."
But that wasn't her only interaction with the audience -- she talked to her fans between almost every song, and every time she held the mic out for us to sing along with her, she had a huge grin on her face. She was so cute admitting things like how excited she was to do a duet of "Because of You" with Reba McEntire (who was in the audience!) and that she never likes to write happy songs but always winds up falling in love with them, like she did with her tune "I Want You."
She performed classics like the breathtaking "Because of You" and "Never Again" plus lots of songs off All I Ever Wanted, including "Impossible" and an acoustic take on "Already Gone." I completely rocked out to "Since U Been Gone" and loved that she closed her 20-song set with the most energetic version of "All I Ever Wanted" that I could've imagined.
This was the first time I got to see both Parachute and Kelly Clarkson live, and I certainly hope it's not the last -- both acts were amazing.
If you're as obsessed as I am for The CW's hit shows like Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill, then you are going to love their new drama, The Beautiful Life, premiering tonight!!
This series surrounds the lives of young models, living together as they try to make it big in New York City and featues some amazing actors (I bet you'll all recognize them) such as Sara Paxton, Mischa Barton, and Corbin Bleu! Not to mention equally as great newcomers, like my new fave hottie, Benjamin Hollingsworth (he's really cute!), who plays Chris Andrews, a first time model.
As you probably can imagine, drama ensues on-screen when fighting each other to book the next big job or fighting for that new model's heart. Could this mean catfights on the catwalk? I guess we'll have to wait and see!
So are tensions as high off-screen as on-screen? Not a chance! In fact, the cast is so close to each other that a few of them stopped by our latest InTune event (I got to meet Sara Paxton!) to support their cast mate, Corbin Bleu (who I was beyond excited to talk to, he is so nice!), while he performed for us!
Make sure you guys tune in to The Beautiful Life -- you won't want to miss it!
New York City is pretty busy right about now, thanks to all the New York Fashion Week happenings going on around town, and this Jersey girl got to see it all first-hand! I hung out at the Caravan event during last evening's Fashion's Night Out extravaganza that took place at stores across NYC.
Cobra Starship'sGabe Saporta co-hosted the event, along with All-American Reject's Tyson Ritter, and Gabe even took over the DJ booth for an hour! He told me he didn't think he was a great DJ, but I thought he did a great job! We heard some sweet tunes from the Ting Tings and Cobra (of course!) throughout the night, and who can complain about that? Gabe and I got to catch up again (remember, he was just in the J-14 offices a few weeks ago!) -- turns out Gabe and I went to high school in the same town! I'm always psyched to see Gabe though -- not only do I love their hit single, "Good Girls Go Bad," Gabe's a super nice guy and he used to be the lead singer of one of my fave bands from back in the day, Midtown.
But the night didn't end there! I also saw Greek's Spencer Grammer and Sonny With A Chance's Tiffany Thornton! And at the end of the night, I ran into one of my fave singers, One Tree Hill's Kate Voegele, who was wearing the cutest red dress with a little bubble hem. I last saw her play at Highline Ballroom back in May, and she told me she was just in town for Fashion Week, but she'll be back in NYC this fall on another tour.
It was a night full of fun, sweet music and fashion, and awesome tour news. Plus, I got a sweet prize signed just by Gabe for a lucky winner -- but you'll have to wait for an upcoming issue to get the deets on that! ;)
What do you think of Cobra Starship and lead singer Gabe? Are you into "Good Girls Go Bad?" And what fashions are you psyched for this fall?
Back already for a sixth season (but for the first time in the fall!) it seemed like it was my interest for So You Think You Can Dance that was falling last night. I'm still a big fan, but felt like I've seen it all before. What did stand out to me last night was last season contestant Evan's brother Ryan Kasprzak's tap dancing battle with Bianca Revels. I did think it was odd though how Ryan wowed the judges with his spoken word routine, but Cole (the guy with the funky spiky hair on one side of head) did the same sort of thing -- but badly, and the judges hated him. Which tapper did you enjoy the most? Ryan, Bianca, or the third tapper, Phillip?
-- Erik
I am starting off season six of So You Think You Can Dance with a positive attitude! Maybe this is because I coupled my Dance watching with Glee, the best new show in possibly the world/universe/my DVR. It's also because I was wooed last night with some fab dancers -- I really liked that they focused more on the better dancers than the embarrassingly-bad ones. (Am I the only person out there who actually does not like seeing people humiliate themselves on national TV?!?) But truthfully it's also because I've realized that my fave seasons are always the even numbered ones: #2 was the first I watched and I was obsessy-sessed with Travis, Heidi, and Ivan, both #3 and #5 I only like-liked the contestants, and #4 I was head over heels in LOVE with Twitch, Katee, and Gev, etc... So I'm pretty much positive that season six will host my next SYTYCDance love affair. Siiigh! Can't wait!
-- Lisa
Let us know in the comments below, fellow SYTYCDance fans: did you watch last night's episode? What did you think? Will this be the best season ever? And is Wednesday night now ridiculously great with Dance AND Glee, or what?!?!
On October 8 2007, I went to the Apple Store in SoHo in New York City for a special concert featuring an up-and-coming country star. There were only a dozen people in the audience... even the customers in the store barely turned their heads when the young girl started singing. Boy they must be regretting it now.
Flash forward two years and the same young artist is packing Madison Square Garden -- with fans ranging from tykes to grandparents, little brothers to businessmen -- all rockin' out to her first show at New York City's legendary venue.
Welcome to the journey of Taylor Swift... from country teen singer to pop culture superstar.
The first time I chatted with Taylor was just a few weeks before her debut self-titled album was released in October 2006... and I was immediately taken with her genuineness. She was unlike any other star I'd ever interviewed... her enthusiasm was so real and her passion for her music so heartfelt. She was at the airport getting ready to board a flight, talking from her cell, but she just had this energy and spirit that radiated over the phone that made it clear that she was going to be the next It girl.
Sure it took time, but the one thing that always stuck whenever I talked to Taylor over the years was how real she truly is. She always says what's on her mind, and is completely true to herself. None of that fronting for the press or just saying what she thinks people want to hear. And seeing that made it clear that she was no overnight sensation... she put in the hours and made sacrifices in her life to really get where she is today -- and surely deserves every ounce of success she's getting!
And that's why it was especially touching to see her perform again in New York City... but this time instead of 12 people in the audience, there were tens of thousands of people all screaming her name.
The moment was definitely not lost on Taylor... after surprising fans by appearing in the back of the stadium, she walked through the audience, hugging and saying, "I love you" to lucky fans along her path. And when she got back to the front, she just stood there soaking it all in... for a few minutes. She had made it.
Her dreams had come true... and it was obvious every person in the audience could feel that they were part of a special moment in Taylor's life.
xoxo,
Rachel Chang
J-14 Executive Editor
(Me and Taylor, at the Apple Store in 2007 (left) and backstage at Madison Square Garden (right))
Feeling that creative blood flowing? Enter at Est. Today to make a shirt for you and your friends (starting at only $12!). The winning design will be featured for the world to see at J-14.com!
