Batson's Blog

Some singers collaborate and they are like peanut butter and jelly.  Their voices complement each other, their attitudes are similar or they are so different that it just works. Pink and Nicki Minaj Cardi B is the 'it' girl these days but I kind of prefer Nicki Minaj.  Her pop songs are catchy.  Pink and Nicki seem like a good combo. Pink has collaborated with Kenny Chesney, Eminem and, of course, the other singers on 'Lady Marmalade.'  Nicki did one of the best collaborations since 'Lady Marmalade' when she teamed up with Ariana Grande and Jessie J for 'Bang Bang.'  This just seems like it would be a fun collaboration in music video form and in song form. Chris Daughtry and Eric Church These two North Carolina boys who both love rock music could put together an incredible song.  While Daughtry is more rock and Church is more country, they both have some overlapping themes and sounds in their music. Both have delivered very good albums not too ...

If you've talked to someone at work this week, watched a news program or spent any amount of time on the Internet, then you know that Beyonce released a surprise album last week -- titled BEYONCÉ . It was called a "visual album" because of the fact that she released 17 videos along with the 14 songs -- all at once on iTunes. Without any buildup or promotion at all, Beyonce's album went to number one. Talk about a marketing plan that worked to perfection! While I've never been the biggest fan of Beyonce (I liked a few of her Destiny's Child songs and enjoyed listening to "Crazy In Love," but I wouldn't call myself a fan), I was impressed with the way she released the album and thought I'd check it out. I've seen a lot of people tweeting about it being flawless and mentioning that Beyonce showed a lot of growth on this album. After listening to it, I can't say I agree. More often than not, the album is boring, plain and has ve...

American Idol producers Nigel Ythgoe and Ken Warwick have been fired after season 12 of the hit TV show. The show has been in major makeover mode ever since it began dipping in the ratings, facing new found competition from NBC's The Voice . So far American Idol got rid of two producers and lost three members of the judging panel: Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson. They can give the show a new look, introduce new rules into the competition and get an entirely new staff, but the problem they are facing is one a lot of other reality TV shows face as well: how far do you go in revamping the show?

There were rumblings that Nicki Minaj may not be back for another season of American Idol, but it turns out that AI original, Randy Jackson, won't be returning next season . As American Idol struggles to stay relevant and remain on top of the ratings battle, they've pretty much resorted to musical chairs with their judges. First Paula ABdul was out. Then Kara Dioguardi and Ellen DeGeneres were in. Then Ellen was out. Then Kara was out. Then Simon was out while J'Lo and Steven Tyler were in. After a very boring season with Lopez and Tyler as judges, they switched it up, signing on the level-headed Keith Urban along with the feisty Nicki Minaj and "the Diva" Mariah Carey. That's a lot of switching around. With so many judges swapping spots, leaving and coming on board, it kind of takes the attention away from the aspiring singers. This is supposed to be the search for the next big music superstar -- so why so much focus on the judges? If Minaj en...