Batson's Blog

I actually watched the Grammys this year. I was a fan back in 1999 and 2000, when I was still pretty young. Then I saw Faith Hill's awful performance (in 2002 maybe?) and realized a lot of these performers weren't very good at singing live. I also started noticing that none of my favorites ever won. Pink didn't Best Pop Vocal Album in 2001. Norah Jones did. Matchbox 20 was nominated in 2001 for Best Rock Album, but they didn't win. Foo Fighters did. Kesha didn't win Best Pop Vocal Album in 2018. Ed Sheeran did. Daughtry didn't win Best Rock Album in 2008. Foo Fighters did. Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco didn't win Grammys in 2019 and 2017 for Best Rock Album. Those awards went to Greta Van Fleet (who?) and Cage the Elephant (again, who?). You probably get the picture by those few examples. There are always a handful of performances that are fun each year --- especially the unexpected team-ups that nobody saw coming. ...

2013 ended too quick! I didn't get the chance to finish up my 'best of 2013' lists. Today I'll tackle the best albums of 2013 and tomorrow it'll be the top movies of 2013. I didn't get the chance to listen to every album that was released in their entirety, but I did get the chance to check out the 13 of them that were listed below. 13. BEYONCÉ by Beyonce Sorry Beyonce fans, but BEYONCÉ didn't do it for me. While many praised the album for being groundbreaking, I struggled to maintain any interest in it. Overall it was boring. The theme of almost every song was about sex. There wasn't much variety when it came to the music either. Beyonce has a nice voice, which was showcased on a handful of songs on BEYONCÉ, but most of the songs consisted of her trying (and failing) her hand at rapping, singing breathily the way Britney Spears would or simply speaking. Maybe that's new ground for Beyonce, but it's hardly groundbreaking. ...

Pigs have flown. The world has ended. Peace at last! Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera teamed up on the season finale of The Voice to perform Gaga's single "Do What U Want." After the seemingly back-and-forth war that was going on between them for years, it was kind of surprising to see them partner up. Then again, Gaga said earlier this year that she's a big fan of Christina. It seems Gaga wasn't miffed over Aguilera's 2008 comments in the LA Times . The partnership may have been a surprise, but it was also very fitting. For two women who have similar vocal styles, outlandish (at times) looks, and similar sounding songs, it seemed appropriate that they collaborate for a performance. It was one of those 'it's never gonna' happen' combinations that actually ended up happening and worked really well. There have been several really good duets this year actually, whether it's a one-time-only kind of duet or one that is forever cemen...

How the mighty have fallen. Lady Gaga has always been unusual, but when she first took the world by storm a few years ago, she at least made good music. “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance,” “Alejandro,” “Paparazzi,” and even “You and I” were all great, catchy songs. They were different than what anyone else in pop or rock music were doing at the time. Her latest album – ARTPOP – proves that she’s run out of tricks. With Gaga essentially making claims of being a large part of pop culture in “Applause,” I was hoping she’d innovate on this album. Instead she’s settling for the techno, ‘futuristic’ sound that Christina Aguilera bombed with on Bionic . There are incredible vocal abilities put to use on Gaga’s fourth studio album, but it’s painfully obvious that she has nothing meaningful left to write or sing about. The ruling theme on ARTPOP is about sex and drugs. Considering Miley Cyrus has already owned that market this year, I’m not sure where Gaga is hoping to fit...

Last month Bruno Mars was announced as the half time performer for Super Bowl XLVIII . He's a fresh choice and an amazing singer. It should be a highly entertaining show if they can select some PG-rated songs in his repertoire. Who opens the show though? Who is the National Anthem singer? Miley Cyrus From a publicity standpoint, the obvious choice would be Miley Cyrus. The twerking, tongue-wagging, foam finger-waving Cyrus has been grabbing headlines since before her performance at the Mtv VMA's. If they want headlines, then NFL and Fox executives would be smart to choose Ms. Bangerz . It wouldn't be a bad decision on Miley's part either. After all the disparaging headlines and remarks she's gotten lately, it would be a nice change of pace for her to deliver a great version of "The Star Spangled Banner." Hunter Hayes If you take a look at the history of national anthem singers at the Super Bowl, most tend to be female. There are som...

Lets start out with the awesome news that I read recently: Daughtry is coming out with a new album -- Baptized – on November 19. I’m very excited about that since Break The Spell is, by far, the most played album on my iTunes. The lead single for that album is different than Daughtry’s last go around, which had a very rock n’ roll vibe to it. “Waiting for Superman” is more mellow, but still seems like something you’d expect from Daughtry. It's about a woman waiting for her Superman to come along and love her. I'm not sure what inspired the Superman-themed song (or why they didn't release this before the Man of Steel movie was released), but it's a stellar song. I read that the band was hoping to do a more radio-friendly album this time around, steering away from the hard rock they utilized on Break The Spell . Wikipedia’s page on Baptized says the band changed directions with this album, “hoping to fit into the radio generation at the moment.” Apparently...