NEW Michael Jackson Album: “Xscape”

Michael Jackson. The King of Pop. The man who invented the moonwalk.

He’s back in the spotlight today with the official announcement from Epic Records and Michael’s estate that a new album of unreleased tracks will be released in May!!!

Can you even stand it?!  I’m so excited right now that I could do this…

I really can’t do that exactly like MJ…but I’m still excited!!! 😀

This isn’t the first album to be released since that somber day of June 25th that Michael left us nearly 5 years ago this summer! 😦 Oh no! This will be the second project of unreleased tracks released from the King of Pop!!!

The first Michael Jackson project of unreleased tracks called: Michael  was officially released by his estate on December 14, 2010, only a mere year & 1/2 after his tragic death.

I have that album in the best version of all-time: iTunes LP and it is amazing!!! My special edition LP is a digital player that includes a full-screen view where I can view lyrics, song credits, and special pictures 😀

The album has great collaborations with Akon, 50 Cent, & even Lenny Kravitz!

Akon, 50 Cent (pronounced ‘fiddy’), & Lenny Kravitz

Here is my favorite song from that collection:

I love the beginning where Michael is describing how he wants the song to sound! 😀 It’s such an intimate look into the mind of my favorite musical genius!!!

As far as Michael’s soon to be released album “Xscape” goes…it will be an 8-song collection of previously unreleased tracks.

The official release date for this baby is going to be: May 13th

L.A. Reid, the executive producer of the project, took the lead in scowering for Michael Jackson recordings in which his vocals were completed. From there, he went on to “contemporizing” each by bringing in incredible producer (my personal favorite) Timbaland.

L.A. Reid  & Timbaland

Timbo also enlisted the help of his talented friends & producers Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Stargate, Jerome “Jroc” Harmon.

Rodney Jerkins, Stargate, & Jerome Harmon

L.A. Reid  released this official statement: “Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with. We are extremely proud and honored to present this music to the world.”

Well I’m extremely excited to hear it!!!

By this rare photo of Rodney Jerkins & MJ, we know that he was lucky enough to work with Michael Jackson  himself!!!

The title track “Xscape” was written, produced, and originally recorded in the studio by Michael and Rodney! 😀

Epic Records is set to release a deluxe edition of the album Xscape  which includes all the recordings in their original form! You’ve got purchaser #1 right here guys! HAHA 🙂

Both versions will be available on tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1st, for pre-order on iTunes! And I’ll have you know that a global campaign will ensue shortly for this album!

More information for Michael super fans is said to be released soon included the coveted track listing!!! 😀

Here is the leaked demo of the album’s title track, Xscape:

GOSH! HAHA I absolutely love it! 😀

The song just got taken down 😦 So I hope you heard it!!!

Michael was a tortured soul, yet one of the most beautiful human beings this world has ever seen, and certainly one of the most talented!

If you don’t know what I mean, watch his movie This Is It!  😀

I hope that many people will purchase his album Xscape  in May! I can’t wait to hear the other tracks and I’m excited for the vision of L.A. Reid and Timbaland come to life!

#MichaelJackson new album cover tribute! lol #Xscape #XscapeMJAlbum #MJXSCAPE #MichaelJacksonXSCAPE #MJMondays #cover pic.twitter.com/wJSMtIOgXM

— Music Row Girl (@musicrowgirl) March 31, 2014

Demi Lovato Neon Lights Tour review

Last night I had the sheer pleasure of going to my nearby hockey arena in Nashville known as Bridgestone Arena  to see Demi Lovato  with my parents who were here on vacation! 😀

I’ve been a Demi Lovato fan my whole life since I first saw her opposite Joe Jonas in Camp Rock, a cheesy Disney Channel Original movie. I love cheesy movies so I’m not at all hating on Camp Rock.

I’ve seen Demi open for the Jonas Brothers, I met her that night after the show, and saw her 2 other times in concert during her double headlining tour with David Archuleta and her appearance on a Jingle Ball Christmas concert sponsored by my then local radio station in the Tampa Bay area, 933FLZ.

Demi has always struck me as an amazing singer as well as a female artist with an incredible message to share! 😀

Last night on her stop in Nashville, there were no disappointments and my image of Demi has possibly even been upped a few notches!

This was a Simon Cowell  showdown y’all! Let me tell you why…

All seven of his girls were on this tour! The 5 girls of girl group Fifth Harmony, pop diva in training Cher Lloyd, and of course his fellow X Factor judge Demi Lovato.

Fifth Harmony  opened the show and I thought it was pretty neat that they were all in designer boxes and the front of them blew off as a special effect. It was kind of reminiscent to 5 Barbie dolls in boxes…so if they were going for that look: I got the message loud and clear!

They were all very kind to the audience and spoke to us a lot. My only real complaint I will insert here is that their dancing was a little too “adult” for me. It just didn’t seem to be sending such a great message to the youngest of young girls in the audience. I will say that they were all great singers though and they did a great job.

Next up was Cher Lloyd, one of my favorite up-and-comers to the pop music scene over the past couple of years, and I was so excited to see her since I never had before!

I really had no freaking idea that Cher Lloyd was going to blow my socks off! She was absolutely exquisite and her band was so rock and roll! I couldn’t believe how full of a band she had as a pop solo artist, but it made the music equally as rocking as her vocals!

My mom kept asking me “Where are her pants?” LOL #NoIdea

Cher WOWED the crowd with her “very first love song”, the new radio hit Sirens and I even made this little Instagram video…and if you listen carefully you can hear me singing really loud! http://instagram.com/p/mJg-WISZMb/

And before I forget there was this guy between every act doing magic tricks with members of the audience! His name is Collins Key and he was doing tricks that made no sense! HAHA I wanted to be able to guess how he did it, but there just was NOOO WAYYYY! (His tagline) He is from America’s Got Talent come to find out from a friend of mine…just another TV show that Music Row Girl has no time to watch! 😦

Collins was there to warm up the crowd and he did a great job of it!

Next up was the one and only, Miss Demi Lovato!!!

The first thing that caught my eye about Demi’s tour was her stage! Talk about a thing of sheer beauty!!!

Demi came out of a square shaped riser in the center of the cat walk, there were circles of different heights for the band members to be displayed on, there were many lights, and there was a wonderful, oval-shaped screen in the center.

Here is the setlist according to http://www.setlist.fm/:

I will go ahead and vouch to say that setlist is 100% accurate! 😀

The neat part that I saw in the beginning of Demi’s show is that every song flowed right into the next seamlessly without any hiccups! Cher Lloyd came out to do her famous rap on Really Don’t Care which was fabulous and my fellow Demi Lovato superfan, Brianna, who sat next to me at the show said that she really hoped that Cher would do the song with her so we screamed when it really happened! HAHAHAHA 😀

So the first 5 songs were seamless and very upbeat! The show had such an incredible momentum unlike any show I’ve ever seen before!

Then there was a wonderful acoustic version of every Lovatic’s favorite Lovato ballad entitled: Catch Me, and the coolest ever version of an old throwback Demi song called Here We Go Again.

Right before Catch Me, Demi gave us this amazing quote:

“I’m in basically the music capital of the world” – @ddlovato #Nashville #NEONLIGHTSTOUR #MusicCity

— Music Row Girl (@musicrowgirl) March 30, 2014

I had to tweet it because it shows how much people are respecting Nashville!

Then Demi did a riveting performance of her ballad Nightingale and I truly forgot how amazing her song Two Pieces was, but during her performance I remembered just how well written that song really is! 😀

Then Demi sat at the piano and things got real. She said to the crowd that she wanted to take the time to tell us what she stands for.

She told us that she has been through a lot in the past couple of years. “Most people get tired of hearing me tell my story, but I figure if I tell it again…at least one person will hear it for the first time, and they may be inspired to give recovery a chance.”

Demi went on to say that she used to be very depressed and troubled…”I’m pretty f***ing happy now.” She said she was sorry for cursing and that her mom was in the audience and hates to hear her curse. Demi has openly stated her love for cussing like a sailor and it’s so widespread in the music industry so I don’t mind it.

She said the following and I quote: “If you open your mind to the possibility of surrendering to happiness and health, you won’t believe how beautiful your life can be.”

If this little pep talk from a former self-harmer, substance abuser, and altogether pain stuffer wasn’t enough to inspire everyone in the audience…I really don’t know what is!

Demi makes recovery not only her path in life, but her message for everyone she meets! She’s truly an inspiration!

I decided to stand during the encore when Demi broke into Skyscraper  because I thought that she stands for so much, and I want to take a stand for her and her ongoing recovery.

I’m so grateful to have seen Demi again and I look forward to more years of music and inspiration! 😀

Avicii replaced by Deadmau5 at Ultra

A couple days ago before Ultra Music Festival  started, our beloved DJ: Avicii  was hospitalized yet released quickly. His press statement was not revealing at all saying “he’s fine” and it was mystery as to why he was put in the hospital in the first place! 😦

Yesterday afternoon it just so happened that Avicii  finally gave us a press statement saying: “Avicii  has been diagnosed as having a blocked gall bladder and is currently being evaluated for a potential surgery to remove his gall bladder. He has had to cancel all his commitments for the week, including a highly anticipated performance last night at the Ushuaia Pop Up at the Avicii Hotel at SLS and his headline performance tomorrow at the ULTRA Music Festival.”

Feel better soon Avicii  and I’m sad we won’t be hearing you at Ultra this year 😦

To replace Avicii  is Canadian DJ Deadmau5  to close out the show tonight at Ultra

The main stage lineup at Ultra also includes Alesso, Armin Van Buuren, Martin Garrix, Krewella, and Nicky Romero!

I’m excited for Ultra  to hear new song Legacy  with Krewella & Nicky Romero:

Here’s the official tweet from Deadmau5:

We are THRILLED to announce that @deadmau5 has been added to #Ultra2014 and will close the main stage tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/PR6FaUcDiZ

— Ultra Music Festival (@ultra) March 28, 2014

 

It’s really unfortunate to see Avicii  not able to perform in Miami for the throngs of EDM fans from all over the world, but I at least hope that Deadmau5  will hold a tribute and sample Levels  for the crowd:

And by the way…I was absolutely mesmerized by Tïesto last night! 😀

He closed out the first night of Ultra  with a world premiere song and an hour & 1/2 set! He did his incredible version of John Legend’s  All Of Me  and had the crowd roaring! He was just stellar as can be and I recommend trying to see that performance again when it’s posted on YouTube  after the festival 🙂

Tin Pan South rocking through Nashville!

Last night was a truly magical “Nashville cool” night at my first show of Tin Pan South 2014.

Tin Pan South is a 5 day, Songwriters Festival, from Tuesday through Saturday, located in Music City AKA Nashville at all the great venues.

Tin Pan is sponsored my NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) where the theme is “It all begins with a song”

I’ve been to a couple shows over the past 2 years that I’ve been in Nashville and they are just incredible!!! Every single songwriter in this town is talented, whether you know them by name or not!! March always seems to sneak up on me and my parents couldn’t have picked a better weekend for a visit!

Here is the official logo for this year’s Festival:

Guitars, banjos, violins and pianos…their graphic designer went all out this year! 😀

I told my parents as they were planning on going to Tin Pan shows with me that we have the opportunity to see Kara Dioguardi while they are in town!!!

Well my mom just about did a backflip when I told her because we both share a common bond for loving to watch Kara sing the songs she has written for other artists on YouTube!!!

My parents definitely agreed that we could not in a million years miss that show!!!

So my parents and I headed out last night to 3rd & Lindsley for the show. I suggested that we should get there at least an hour early and we made it just on time for 5 o’clock 😀

They let us in about 20 minutes later which was so great and we found seats at a table quite close to the stage! I had never visited 3rd & Lindsley before, but it was nice as can be inside and had a great vibe!!!

So my parents and I are sitting there getting to know the songwriters / Tin Pan South fans at our table, when all of a sudden…Kara Dioguardi  walked right behind us!!! My mom was sitting next to me and she turned around to talk to Kara!!

My mom said “Hey!! Kara! Everybody at this table has a picture with you but me!” Then Kara laughed and my mom went on…”My daughter and I love you so much! You have NO idea how many times we have watched “Lost”, the song you wrote for Faith Hill!”

Kara said, “Oh, on YouTube?” and my mom said, “YES!…..Kara! If you sing Lost I will crawl in a hole a die tonight” HAHAHAHAHAHA I said “It’s one of the most passionate performances we’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile Kara said “Oh you’re so sweet” to my mom and I so many times I lost track! 😀

She was flattered by our praises and then my mom who is incredibly bold whenever she meets celebrities (She once told Fergie “I love your nails” while she held her hand and touched every nail) told Kara: “Put your head right here between me and Stella and we’ll get a picture!” HAHAHAHA

My dad: “Are you telling her what to do?” (At this point Kara is bent down with her head next to my mom’s, grinning from ear to ear) & my: “Yes I am! She loves us!”

Here’s the evidence:

View this post on Instagram

That crazy time you meet Kara Dioguardi BEFORE THE SHOW! #nashville #TinPanSouth #KaraDioguardi #songwriting #songwriter #intimate #omg #meetandgreet #euphoria

A post shared by MRG (@musicrowgirl) on Mar 27, 2014 at 3:31pm PDT

I actually met Kara this same time last year at a Tin Pan South show at The Listening Room Cafe, yet when given the chance to meet Kara…you can’t say no! She’s so nice and so talented! 🙂

Last night was already off to an insanely good start with a meet and greet with one of the most talented songwriters at Tin Pan, and then once the show started it got even better!

But before I get to the show…watch Kara singing Lost:

As for the show last night…

The setup for Tin Pan South shows are “songwriter rounds” meaning that the songwriters typically sit on stools at the edge of the stage with their guitars, or at a bench with their keyboard, and go down the line and do 1 song each until we get to about an hour and a half of incredible songs and performances! 😀

The early show at 3rd & Lindsley @ 6 pm featured 4 songwriters: James Slater, Jeff Cohen, JT Harding, and Kara Dioguardi and the show boasted the quirky title Beauty & The Beasts! 

James Slater, Jeff Cohen, JT Harding, & Kara Dioguardi

Instead of running everyone through a play-by-play, I’ll just tell you what songs we were lucky to hear last night…

James Slater

1. Mexicoma cut by Tim McGraw

2. High Cost of Living cut by Jamey Johnson

3. Open Season on my Heart cut by Tim McGraw

4. In My Daughters Eyes cut by Martina McBride

5. Lookin’ for That Girl cut by none other than Tim McGraw

 

Jeff Cohen

1. Crazy for This Girl, cut by Evan and Jaron

2. Postcard From Paris cut by The Band Perry

3. Giddy on Up cut by Laura Bell Bundy

4. In Her Eyes cut by Josh Groban

5. Nice Talking to Me cut by Spin Doctors

 

JT Harding

1. Somewhere With You cut by Kenny Chesney

2. Alone With You cut by Jake Owen

3. Nobody’s Sad on a Saturday Night cut by Uncle Kracker

4. Smile cut by Uncle Kracker

5. Somewhere in My Car by Keith Urban

 

Kara Dioguardi

1. Pieces of Me cut by Ashlee Simpson

2. Walk Away cut by Kelly Clarkson

3. Sober cut by P!nk

4. Mama’s Song cut by Carrie Underwood

5. Undo It cut by Kara Dioguardi

 

Some incredible songs, huh?!

I forgot my camera last night unfortunately 😦 but here’s an iPhone photo from my mom’s phone last night 😀

The show was wonderful and so entertaining!!! I hope everyone can make it out to a Tin Pan South show this weekend! If you can’t, I recommend you travel to Nashville for Spring Break next year!!!!!

Discover: Sarah Davidson + EP Review

So as you may know, if you’ve been keeping tabs on Music Row Girl,  I just started doing a post 1 day a week, no specific day, for the past 2 weeks in which I tell you about a new artist that I’ve discovered and can’t ignore!

This week’s feature is: Sarah Davidson

Sarah is a fresh face to the country music scene right here in good ol’ Nashville!!!

In a recent interview with Billboard, Sarah describes her southern roots: “I’m from South Georgia, and grew up singing and writing. I wrote my first song when I was eleven. I moved to Nashville to study music business at Belmont. I fell in love with this town, got my first internship on the row, then got my first publishing deal. I was trying to make it as an artist.”

My mouth is agape at this point because I didn’t know she went to Belmont!

That’s where Music Row Girl  is currently finishing up her degree in Music Business in order to graduate in May!!!

We both went (one is still going) to that beautiful garden of a school in Nashville!!!

I’m really not sure what I’m more excited about, Belmont University’s Music Business program being thrown around in Billboard or the fact that Sarah moved to Nashville to attend the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business!  I’m going to have to say I’m equally excited over both!!! 😀

Shameless plug to my soon to be alma mater:  http://www.belmont.edu/cemb/

Before I go any further, let me just mention that Sarah is 1/6 of the wives that have been cast in a new series that’s only 5 episodes in on TNT called: Private Lives of Nashville Wives

Monday nights at 10 pm for Nashvillians like Sarah & myself

It’s not a Bravo version of The Real Housewives so less shade & fights happen 😉

I have admitted to you now on numerous occasions that I barely watch any TV at all, yet I did watch the first episode when in premiered around a month ago on February 24th! 

I know! Shocking right?! Music Row Girl watched a TV show?! Oh stop! HAHAHAHA 😀

Well on the first episode is where I discovered America’s new favorite country sweetheart because she was premiering her music by being filmed in songwriting sessions and even at an outdoor performance in Nashville as part of CMA Fest!

Let me just mention that Sarah owes her last name to country superstar songwriter Dallas Davidson, who wrote Honky Tonk Badonkadonk among other top hits in country music, yet they have very-recently parted ways and are heading for divorce.

Sarah is remaining so positive since the news fell on the 18th of this month, even though the split is so fresh! You’ve got to hand it to her for that!!! 😀

The day I tweeted her was the same day as the public divorce announcement, and I hadn’t known that at the time…well she responded!

I’m still waiting on a tour and a Nashville concert answer but hey! A tweet 😀

So without further ado, I want to give you Music Row Girl’s  first ever album review:

Sarah Davidson – Sarah Davidson EP Review:

1. Drink You Up: I’m absolutely loving this first song in the collection! It’s a wonderful song that talks about longing to be with someone and experience them to the fullest. It’s a quintessential, longing love song done in a very modern, country way! The melody is so great and memorable! This song is a jam you would listen to with your girls in your car and sing at the top of your lungs!!! 🙂

Take a listen:

2. Ride Around: You know that on a country record today, I better hear a song about a car! HAHA Well this is Sarah’s car song…and I love it!!! What’s better than riding around in a car with no destination in mind…just wanting to be with your beau, roll the windows down, put your feet on the dash, and try not to get in trouble?! She nails it with this song too and the instrumentation is beautiful!

Take a listen:

3. Get Out: This song is describing how badly you want your ex to get out of your life, but their memory is too strong to Get Out. This is great songwriting right here straight out of music city. She is describing how bad she wants him to get out…and then the punch line: but your memory just won’t Get Out!!  Another stellar song in my opinion!

4. No Sad Songs: This is an awesome anthem for a girl who wants to go out on the town and forget about her ex. “I ain’t got time for no sad songs…Keep it all about my girls going out tonight“…”Faster the beat, faster I’m movin’ on.”  What awesome lyrics paired with an incredibly fun banjo-picking melody and a great message! Move on and go out with your girls and live it up! Okay, Sarah! We’ll do that! 😀

5. Run Wild: This song is so much fun lyrically and musically. I really like how fun it is! She talks about wanting to run free and be wild while she’s young. “Might find me a country band, throw up my hands, and Shake it! Shake it!”  She’s funny on this song and really endearing. Very great song about youth, rebellion, and country crazy! Every country album needs a song like this…And I love, love, love the A Cappella ending!

The bonus track AKA the theme song from Private Lives of Nashville Wives, is only available with Sarah’s physical album at Wal-Mart, which is so smart because now I’m going to go buy one! HAHA 😀

That song is called Bright Lights Big City and you can listen to a snippet here:

There are 2 ways to get Sarah’s self-titled EP that just came out this Tuesday 3/25:

1. iTunes: Click on this link to buy it now for $4.99:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sarah-davidson-ep/id824286343

2. Wal-Mart: Click on this link to buy it online for $5.00 w/free store pickup:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/35119534

If you just happen to be in Wal-Mart  you can pick up the EP for it’s retail price of $8.98! 🙂

I’m going to most likely have to have the theme song, so I’ll be in a Nashville Wal-Mart very soon in because I have to have all the exclusives!!! 😀

For more information about Sarah Davidson…Check out her adorable and modern personal website: http://sarahdavidson.com/

And don’t miss her Instagram: http://instagram.com/sosarahdavidson?ref=badge

Or her Twitter: https://twitter.com/sosarahdavidson

I wish the best to one of Nashville’s own & I’m excited to see her perform soon!

Miami Ultra Music Festival COUNTDOWN

If you ever wanted to go to Miami…this weekend is probably the best time to go!

We are only 2 days away from the Ultra Music Festival 😀

I can’t believe it’s already here and I really wish that I could be there with all the lucky people for the 3 day long rave in beautiful downtown Miami, Florida!!!

The festival is located in a venue called the Klipsch Amphitheater, which is an official Live Nation venue! Klipsch is an outdoor amphitheater located in Bayfront Park on well-known Miami street: Biscayne Boulevard

As you can see the amphitheater is surrounded by trees, ocean, beach, and high-rises:

The Klipsch Amphitheater is in the park with the seats spread out like a fan 🙂

I couldn’t think of a better location for a 3 day rave! No way!

Miami – CHECK!  Beach – CHECK!  Park – CHECK!  High-rises – CHECK!

I don’t want to throw people off when I use the word rave so here it is:

Now I like how it says sometimes take illegal drugs because I don’t want to go ahead and say that it’s always the case…but for this guy at the famous festival Coachella…it was!!!

That video always gives me a good laugh 😀

What I mean by rave is a sweet combination of neon lights, glow sticks, dancing, and electronic dance music or as we all like to call it: EDM

Check out this photo from a previous spring break rave *ahem* Ultra Music Festival:

There’s a lot of lights at an EDM show! Just as it should be!!

Ellie Goulding was the first person to teach us how important Lights are! 😉

So I heard today on Billboard  that everyone’s new favorite 17 year old DJ, Martin Garrix, spoke at a press conference today in Miami!

This doesn’t at all surprise me that he’s already in Miami considering I saw his fellow DJ-extraordinaire Afrojack post a picture with Martin at his very own party at Ultra last night on Facebook 😀

There’s the selfie yet again! HAHA

Speaking of selfies, don’t miss my blog about them here: http://wp.me/p4hDFH-jE

And also…speaking of Afrojack, he just announced on Facebook that his very first full-length album Forget The World will be released on May 19th this year and is available for pre-order here: http://smarturl.it/ForgetTheWorldDeluxe

Forget the world, but don’t forget the pre-order on iTunes! 😉

Back to our young golden EDM boy, Martin!

So there was a press conference held today at Miami’s Nikki Beach Club to discuss his upcoming projects including a very, very recently recorded collaboration with another musical golden boy: Ed Sheeran!!!

Martin still needs to complete the track but I just wanna hear it!!!

While we are waiting for “clearance” from Ed’s record label Atlantic, let’s just be excited as heck to hear his voice on an EDM track! 😀

Martin Garrix and his team AKA SB Management (Scooter Braun) were probed to answer questions about Martin’s future today as Scooter joked, “We have a plan. I’m just not going to tell you.”

With Justin Bieber‘s manager by your side…you can’t go wrong! 😀

I bet everyone in Miami is dying to see Martin  this weekend if they didn’t already last night at his party!!! I know I would be! HAHA

The festival is running through March 28-30 AKA this Friday, Saturday, & Sunday!

Here’s the insane lineup for the 2014 ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL:

Here’s what each stage is looking like for Friday, 3/28:

Here’s what each stage is looking like for Saturday, 3/29:

And here’s what each stage is looking like for Sunday, 3/30:

Avicii, Tiesto, Hardwell, & Martin Garrix are my must-see guys for the weekend!

Here’s a link to Ultra’s website for more info: http://www.ultramusicfestival.com/home

Please tweet @musicrowgirl with any of your updates from Ultra!!!

Check out my blog about Avicii taking over Miami’s SLS Hotel: http://wp.me/p4hDFH-65

And here are special events at the SLS this week sent to me by an executive 😀

Tickets available for those events @ http://sbe.com/nightlife/locations/hyde-beach

And check out all of the special events here:  http://sbe.com/nightlife

Can’t wait to see the ultimate spring break parties go down this weekend! 😀

And for all of us in the North that are not experiencing 80 degrees Fahrenheit and more…we always have the official Ultra Music Festival YouTube streaming channel to keep us warm: https://www.youtube.com/user/UMFTV

Danity Kane announces US tour!

I’m about to explode inside with joy after hearing that my favorite girl group of all-time, Danity Kane, will be going on an official U.S. tour sponsored by Live Nation 😀

So as you can see, the tour will be called “No Filter” and I guess they are trying to say that they will not be holding anything back!

Checkout their tour announcement VIA YouTube:

As we all know, our beloved girl group Danity Kane  announced their return to music last summer minus D Woods who wanted to remain solo.

Left to right: Shannon Bex, Aundrea Fimbres, Aubrey O’Day, & Dawn Richard

They are officially going to hit the road this summer beginning in May for a 13-date affair throughout the U.S.

So my initial thought when I heard this news was OMG YES and right after that I thought ONLY 13 TOUR DATES?!?!?!?!

I know people, it’s sad but true. Only 13 dates 😦

What I can say is: If I can find a friend crazy enough, I will plan on a 6 hour road trip from Nashville to Charlotte, North Carolina. That probably won’t happen but HEY! It’s my only shot to see Danity Kane and it’s the closest place they are coming to Nashville! 😀

Here is the little list of tour dates for the No Filter tour:

May 16 – San Francisco, CA: The Fillmore
May 18 –  Anaheim, CA: The City National Grove of Anaheim
May 21 – Chicago, IL: House of Blues
May 22 – St. Louis, MO: The Pageant
May 23 – Cincinnati, OH: Bogart’s
May 24 – Detroit, MI: The Fillmore
May 25 – Cleveland, OH: House of Blues
May 28 – Charlotte, NC: The Fillmore
May 30 – Boston, MA: House of Blues
May 31 – Silver Spring, MD: The Fillmore
June 1 – Philadelphia, PA: Theatre of The Living Arts
June 3 – New York, NY: Irving Plaza
June 5 – San Diego, CA: Humphries By The Bay

The Fillmore is a venue in 4 cities! HAHA 😀 Good to know!!!

There’s my Fillmore in Charlotte 🙂

Check out the many Tweets that the best girl band ever sent out today:

http://t.co/fCisD2aaBm Danity Kane is back #dknofiltertour pic.twitter.com/i3opMhNohZ

— Danity Kane (@danitykane) March 25, 2014

WE ARE GOING ON TOUR!!!! danitykane #DKNoFilterTour http://t.co/ygyMauYNKL

— Aubrey O’Day (@AubreyODay) March 25, 2014

You ready? DK on a stage near you. No Filter needed … danitykane #DKNofilter http://t.co/lis1t3ztXG

— Dawn Richard / NEON (@DawnRichard) March 25, 2014

VIP tickets on sale tomorrow! General admission on sale Friday! xobex http://t.co/4SOaiXqfph

— Shannon Bex (@ShannonBex) March 25, 2014

VIP tickets go on sale tomorrow and General on Friday! http://t.co/MnTSCeX279

— Aundrea Fimbres (@AundreaFimbres1) March 25, 2014

Here is the group’s official press statement: “The symbol for the tour is our unfiltered selfies, a mosaic compiled of over 100,000 unfiltered images that our fans sent in.”

Their message to their fans is: “Danity Kane is doing this for you. We want to give, see, and promote a real, unrestricted, uncensored, unfiltered life! That’s why we make music and that’s the way we want to see the world!”

I love the premise of this tour and the fan involvement in AMAZING! 😀

So as you could see VIA all those band tweets, tickets go on sale FRIDAY and VIP tickets go on sale TOMORROW!!!

Here is the Ticketmaster link for everyone: http://www.ticketmaster.com/search?tm_link=tm_homeA_header_search&aid=1070285&user_input=danity+kane&q=Danity+Kane

I love the whole idea of unfiltered selfies! 😀

Here is the lead singer, Aubrey’s selfie:

View this post on Instagram

#DKNoFilterTour Our imaging is thousands of our fans unfiltered photos making up our unfiltered selfies. THANK YOU @miguel_bonillas!

A post shared by Aubrey O'Day (@aubreyoday) on Mar 25, 2014 at 9:11am PDT

Check out my blog about selfies here: http://wp.me/p4hDFH-jE

And check out my blog about Danity Kane here: http://wp.me/p4hDFH-7T

I hope that many of you can get out to one of those 13 cities to see Danity Kane this summer! If I can’t go, I will be on Twitter interacting with fans on those special summer nights 🙂

Let’s never forget DK’s crazy good songs like this one:

Shakira: Most-liked musician on Facebook

2014 is the official year of Shakira!

I keep seeing the Colombian queen in the news every other day and it’s beginning to peak my interest at why she is becoming Oh so popular!

The news came in on Friday that Shakira has become the “Most liked musician” on Facebook! How many likes does she have?? On Friday the reported number of likes was 86.2 MILLION yet today that number has grown to 86.7 MILLION.

I believe that it is absolutely outstanding to be the most-liked musician on Facebook and I’ll tell you why. Facebook has the most users of any social media platform with:

1 BILLION USERS and counting!

So it basically is saying to Shakira that out of the 7 Billion people in the world…1 Billion have internet access and an online persona…therefore, the majority of the world that is technologically savvy and not into a private life LOVES you more than any other musician!

WHOA! I’m sure that hasn’t even sunk in for Shak yet!!! 😀

She’s such a ham with her son Milan 🙂

Shak is such a cool nickname! Probably better than RiRi!

Well it just so happens that Rihanna is hot on her heals with 86,316,936 likes!

They are neck and neck in the Facebook Likes race and here’s how others weigh in:

No other female phenom in Pop Music is close to even 70 million with Katy Perry pulling in at 65.8 MILLION.

All likes aside, Shakira is such a force to be reckoned with.

Most people think that if they become a judge on a singing competition TV show it will not really do much for their career other than get them more exposure, however, with a little TV show they like to call The Voice on NBC being the best thing since sliced bread, Shakira is making waves and more fans just because she is a judge!

I don’t get to watch much TV because I’m so busy as I’ve told you guys before, yet when I get to watch The Voice I end up laugh my butt off whenever Shakira makes a silly comment! She’s hilarious!!! See that goodness here:

In other news, it was reported last week that Shakira is managed by none other than Jay Z, who recently got rid of the dash (-) between the y and the Z, and is signed to his record label Roc Nation which also boasts Shak’s fellow Facebook Like contender, Rihanna.

He may have been inspired after her duet with Beyoncé!!!

Shakira told UK paper The Sun: “He’s not my boss. He is my manager. In fact he says that I boss him around.”

Funny thing is, it’s really easy to see that happening! HAHA 😀

“My hips don’t lie and neither do I” – Shakira quote from The Voice

Speaking of Hips Don’t Lie, a few months ago I was getting ready to go out to a concert and I wanted to hear that song for some odd reason!

I did a YouTube search for the official video and all I could find was a Live version from Holland of all places! HAHA 😀

It is actually the most incredible version I’ve ever heard so I played it on repeat like 8 times in a row that night! lol

The song even includes a broken down bridge where Shakira sings “I’m on tonight!” over and over and over again!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 Check it out here:

I’m just going to let that roll while I finish writing! 😀

Also in the news a couple weeks ago it was reported that Shakira’s boyfriend, Gerard Piqué who plays soccer for FC Barcelona (Fútbol Club), made it a law of sorts that Shakira is not allowed to make another music video with a man ever again!

Shakira told Billboard  this month: “He’s very territorial, and since he no longer lets me do videos with men, well, I have to do them with women. It’s more than implied in our relationship that I can’t do videos like I used to.”

Let’s pause and remember her & tennis champ Rafael Nadal in Gypsy:

#NeverForget

She went on to say: “It’s out of the question — which I like, by the way. I like that he protects his turf and he values me, in a way that the only person that he would ever let graze my thigh would be Rihanna.”

No one is complaining about that song or video because everyone loved it! 😀

See my review of “Can’t Remember to Forget You” here: http://wp.me/p4hDFH-2p

Shakira began dating Gerard in 2010 when they met on the set of Shakira’s video “Waka Waka” which was the official theme song to the 2010 World Cup hosted in South Africa!

They had a son named Milan born on January 22, 2013 and even though they aren’t married, Shakira adores her beau Gerard so I think it’s safe to say that a 4 year relationship and a 1 year old son might just give Gerard say on what Shak does in her music videos! Gerard is 27 and Shakira is 37 but I can’t even tell! 😀

They are such a cute family!

Gerard posted this video of Shak and Milan jamming out in the studio last Tuesday night on Instagram: http://instagram.com/p/lsc22QtsKP/

While we are on the topic of Shakira I must say that I was absolutely confused when she was a performer at President Obama’s first inauguration ball on the night that his official oath of office was taken on January 20, 2009.

I really don’t know why she was there, but she played the harmonica and it was so out of left field HAHA At any rate, she was an interesting party guest/performer:

It is so appropriate to write about Shakira today because her new studio album comes out

😀 TOMORROW 😀

The album is self-titled and probably had some influence from Jay Z:

Shakira is having such an incredible year and her new album is going to dance its way up to the top of the charts!!! Congratulations Shak! 😀

I have been promoting this song like crazy, but before you go…Check out Empire:

Pentatonix light up The Ryman

Last night I went to The Ryman to see an A Cappella group called Pentatonix

Back row: (Left to right) Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, and Kirstie Maldonado

Front row: (Left to right) Avi Kaplan and Kevin Olusola

Mitch, Scott, and Kirstie explained to us on stage that they had grown up together and attended high school at Martin High School in Arlington, Texas.

In their sophomore year of high school they decided to meet after school and start a singing trio. They described themselves as “the biggest show-choir nerds ever” 😀

After they arranged a trio A Cappella version of Telephone by Lady Gaga and posted it on YouTube, they gained significant attention and took it as motivation to keep going.

The crew graduated high school in 2010 and the adorable guy with the blonde hair AKA Scott Hoying went to University of Southern California (USC) to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Popular Music, while Kirstie Maldonado headed off to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Musical Theatre at the University of Oklahoma, and other original member Mitch Grassi was still in his senior year of high school back in Arlington, Texas! 😦

Our beloved A Cappella trio that split up 😦

It just so happens that while our boy Scott was at USC he joined an A Cappella group called SoCal VoCals (very clever!!) and he learned about the show The Sing-Off  from another member of the group!!!

For those of you who don’t know, The Sing-Off  is a singing competition show solely for A Cappella groups that premiered on NBC in December of 2009.

The show made a return in December 2013 after a no-show 2012 with new judge Jewel, along with veteran judges singer/songwriter Ben Folds, and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men. The show is presented by every music lover’s favorite, lovable man: Nick Lachey of the boy band 98 Degrees.

The show has seen other judges such as well-known singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles who was replaced by Jewel, and the incredible Nicole Scherzinger of the late and great girl group The Pussycat Dolls.

So as for the Pentatonix, they reconvened to audition for The Sing-Off  after Scott persuaded Kirstie and Mitch to join him, but they ran into a problem when they learned that the show required at least four members 😦

Luckily, Scott met Avi Kaplan, an unbelievable bass singer, through a mutual friend, and then the new quartet typed in beatboxers on YouTube and the first video they watched was of Kevin Olusola beatboxing and playing his cello at the same time AKA “celloboxing”. They were hooked and got in touch with him right away!

The group met the day before the auditions for the third season of The Sing-Off  and Mitch skipped his high school graduation ceremony in order to be there! 😀

As the story goes, the group rocked the show every week, WOW’ed audiences across America, and wound up winning the third season of The Sing-Off  in 2011!

With that knowledge, about 2 months ago, I went ahead and purchased a ticket to their show at The Ryman in Nashville for a mere $40 and only 10 rows from the stage!!!

What I can honestly say about last night’s show is that it was UNBELIEVABLE!

The show started at 8 pm because there was no opening act which was fine with me 🙂

The show started with one my favorite EDM songs blasting in The Ryman:

Once they faded out Euphoria with the sheet still up and no one able to see the group, the lights turned down as the show was about to start and the entire crowd started chanting, “PTX! PTX! PTX!”

I really couldn’t believe it HAHA 😀 PTX is of course a short acronym for Pentatonix.

Once the show started, after the first couple songs there were screams comparative to the screams I’ve heard at N’SYNC concerts back in the day…AT THE RYMAN! hahaha I’ve never heard screams like that before in the Mother Church of Country Music and I’ve been there for so many shows!!!

There was a significant amount of fangirling in The Ryman last night!

We heard a lot of incredible songs at The Ryman last night and I was truly floored at the talent of each member in the group!

They were very talkative to the audience which was nice and unfortunately I have no video to show you because The Ryman is adamant about no one taking video footage which I can certainly understand.

We heard the Evolution of Beyoncé which was incredible:

We also heard their version of the Evolution of Music which was crazy good:

We were probably the first crowd to hear their version of Happy as well:

That video has had almost 4 million views in its first 6 days which is crazy!

They did an incredible version of an original song called Natural Disaster:

And lastly, the incredible bass Avi, showed us his ability to sing 2 notes at once:

He told us not to listen to the low note, but the “Mariah Carey whistle notes” above it!

In The Ryman, with world-renowned acoustics, you can only imagine how incredible that sounded! 😀

They did a song with no microphones especially for The Ryman which was really special to hear 🙂 That song was an original called “Run To You” that you can hear below:

My opinion of the show is that it was simply outstanding! I would see them again tonight if it were possible! Not even kidding you 😀

Their covers of Say Something by A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera, Can’t Hold Us Down by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Royals by Lorde were incredible as well!

Kevin also debuted his “celloboxing” which was unreal and they brought a random girl onstage to sing Lets Get It On by Marvin Gaye to her! HAHA 😀

Mitch hits some of the highest notes I’ve ever heard for a guy!

Watch out Adam Lambert!!!

I also hung around by the tour bus for a little bit and got to meet Kirstie who was so kind to take this selfie with me 🙂

#Selfie with @kirstin_taylor of @PTXofficial @TheRyman #winning #PTX #Pentatonix #Nashville #theryman #acapella pic.twitter.com/bipDY2i7NL

— Music Row Girl (@musicrowgirl) March 23, 2014

Check out my blog about the infamous word/song Selfie here: http://musicrowgirl.com/2014/03/20/let-me-take-a-selfie/

As for now I’m going to wish you a Happy Sunday and check out my pics from the show:

Discover: Tori Kelly

This is my second edition of Discovery Saturday in which I tell you of an artist that I haven’t been able to ignore and have been listening to rather constantly…

This week I want to feature the artist Tori Kelly

She has a smile that lights up the room 😀 She’s so endearing!

Tori has a very interesting history in the music industry and I’m here to tell you all about it!

She began singing at just 3 years old and learned to play both the drums and the guitar by the time she was 16! Now that’s impressive!!!

By popular demand from a Tori Kelly superfan named Max 🙂 I have to make this blog a little bit longer to add the fact that Tori was also on Star Search when she was 10…

She didn’t win, but she got seen by a large audience!

And Miss Kelly was on America’s Most Talented Kids when she was 11! Check it out:

She won the competition and beat out Hunter Hayes!!!

Ain’t he just adorable?!

This amazing young songstress was even signed to Geffen Records at the age of 12, but because of conflicting ideas, there was a mutual agreement for Tori to be released from the contract.

I can’t believe I glazed over this! HAHA  Thank you Max!!! 😀

Miss Kelly began writing songs at the tender age of 14! I don’t even recall if I did anything that cool at 14 years old! I was boring back then and I’m never going back! HAHA

She hails from Wildomar, California which is located in the southern part of the state.

She began sharing the songs she had written on YouTube a few years later and she had no trouble winning over an online audience!

Her guitar-playing is wonderful and I think that her voice is so intricately beautiful as well.

Her YouTube channel grew to have more than 55 million views and almost 700,000 subscribers which is pretty insane if you think about it!

I just subscribed to her YouTube channel and I was number 840,778! 😀

At 21 years old, Tori made her first major label debut on Capitol Records with her 5 song EP called Foreword released on October 22, 2013. She fuses pop and soul in a way that I really have never heard before and she also has an incredible collection of songs on a 6 song EP called Handmade Songs By Tori Kelly that was released on May 1, 2012.

Handmade Songs were produced and mixed by Tori herself!

Tori expresses this about her music: “One of the most important things to me as a songwriter is to make music that’s young and fresh, but also soulful and real. I want people to feel like they know me once they listen to my songs.”

That’s a wonderful premise for your music and I feel like knowing an artist is the most exciting part of the artist/fan relationship!

Tori is the daughter of two musicians so we automatically know that talent for music was in her genes! 🙂 Her father is a singer and a bassist, and her mother plays the piano and the saxophone! What a talented family!!!

Here is my favorite song from Tori, All In My Head (Live Acoustic):

See what I mean about the intricacy of her voice?! It’s so unreal! 😀

And she’s quite the talented guitar player if I do say so myself!

I just found out a few days ago that Tori auditioned for American Idol back in 2009!

She was great as always and I have no clue why Simon Cowell said “No” to her and told her that her voice was annoying! Really?! Maybe he didn’t have his coffee that morning.

Well Tori made it through to Hollywood, yet she didn’t make the Top 24. Lee DeWyze won that year and Crystal Bowersox was the runner-up.

Although Tori got a picture with David Archuleta so she still won something:

Kelly started playing shows at local coffeehouses after Handmade Songs (released on May 1, 2012) climbed into the Top 10 on the iTunes Pop chart!

Well guess who showed up at her very first coffeehouse show in California?

SCOOTER BRAUN AKA JUSTIN BIEBER’S MANAGER!!!

Okay so Justin was not in attendance as well to clear up my usage of that picture 😀 Although, Mr. Braun was in attendance!

Scooter is a bonafide manager turned mogul and is responsible for flying a kid from Toronto to Atlanta, having a bidding war between Justin Timberlake & Usher over who would mentor him, playing small shows in malls and concert venues, and then for his last WORLDWIDE ARENA TOUR…Scooter secured a reported $80 million from Live Nation in order for Justin to even go onstage at these shows around the world!

Scooter has done an incredible job with Justin Bieber’s career as clearly stated above and he is also responsible for managing Ariana Grande, Cody Simpson, Asher Roth, Carly Rae Jepsen, Psy (Mr. Gangnam Style himself!), Martin Garrix, boy-band The Wanted and he is managing up-and-coming artists: Amber Riley from Glee, Madison Beer, Todrick Hall, boy-band Rixton, AND Tori Kelly!!!

Carly Rae Jepsen, Ariana Grande, Psy, Cody Simpson, and Martin Garrix

That’s right! Tori’s manager is the superstar that is Scooter Braun!

Being an SB artist must be a blast! 😀

As everyone probably knows by now…I am a huge fan of Justin Bieber and now Tori is in his family tree…technically! HAHA I’m so jealous!!!

The only picture I can find of them in Kohl’s! LOL 😀

Tori is already widely successful in the music business for 21 years old, but no one else tells me about her so I’m just making sure everybody knows who she is, that her music is amazing, and that we should all listen to her more!

Miss Kelly got to grace the stage at the famous South by Southwest or as we all know it: SXSW in Austin, Texas as part of the Scooter Braun “Sunday Funday” as well as 3 other performances in Austin! Congratulations girl!

Here is a clip of her at SXSW:

Everybody loves No Diggity ever since Pitch Perfect HAHAHA 😀

Tori also has this amazing love song written to her future lover:

Tori is a wonderful artist and I can’t wait to see her play in Nashville one day soon!!! 😀