Carrie Underwood & Steven Tyler Rocking CMT Crossroads

For those who thought Carrie Underwood didn’t have it in her, she just proved you wrong. Carrie Underwood not only shone next to Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, she also gave him a run for his money. Not only was the CMT Crossroads featuring both stars spectacular, it was also very rocking.

Prior to the show, Steven Tyler had said Carrie Underwood was the reason he joined the American Idol judging panel:

“You were why I took judging for ‘Idol,’ you are exactly why. Not only could you sing good, but you adapted to this…it’s a pit! It’s a deep, dark, ominous pit. And you get out there on-stage at night with that band, that great band you’ve got and you make people feel happy, first and foremost. All the rest, if people knew what we went through to get out on that stage… you have gotten past that and not a lot of people do – they have to get through drugs and alcohol, booze and divorces and even those didn’t make it. You were a natural at it.”

Carrie, in her turn, replied that Tyler was one of her inspirations growing up:

“I remember as a very small child, I could pick your voice out. Even then, you know that it’s different, you know that it’s special and can pick it out from a million other voices. You were definitely part of what gave me that musical, laid-back, in-the-pocket sensibility on albums and stuff like that.”

So without further ado, the videos:

Cryin’:

Dream On/Just a Dream:

Before He Cheats:

Undo It/Walk This Way:

 

 

Scotty McCreery Wins American Idol

Scotty McCreery winning American Idol is as surprising as someone finding out China has the world’s biggest population. Yes, it was that predictable.

And even though I voted thirteen times for Lauren Alaina all the way from Lebanon (yes, I outsmarted the American Idol geographical limitation system), it obviously wasn’t enough when you have more than 122 million votes cast for American Idol’s biggest finale, voting-wise, ever!

Both Scotty and Lauren sang with their idols on the finale, Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood, respectively. The finale also featured performances by Steven Tyler, U2, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Tony Bennett (who sang with top 3 Haley Reinhart), Judas Priest (who sang with top 4 James Durbin).

I had said before that Lauren needed to win more than Scotty but it doesn’t matter now. Apparently, they’re in a relationship since they went all kissy-kissy after Scotty won, which means Scotty should help Lauren when she tries to crack the country music scene. Win-win situation apparently.

Lauren Alaina, who was sure Scotty will win, said Carrie Underwood told her, prior to their Before He Cheats performance that “no matter what Lauren, you’re a winner and you’re going to be amazing in the country field.”

Scotty McCreery was loyal to the country genre since day one. He captivated audiences with his audition (my twitter timeline, filled with Country music loyalists was raving about him) and week by week, even when challenged with other genres, he made those songs his own, adding a country twist to them. Is it my cup of tea? sometimes yes, sometimes no. But the majority of those millions that voted like him, apparently.

After winning, and the need to constantly smile for camera snapshots coming in from everywhere, Scotty was asked by Carrie Underwood if his cheeks had started hurting yet. But apparently, he won’t be smiling for long. Why? the poor thing has an exam tomorrow. Talk about something raining on your parade.

Either way, I, for one, was happy with an all country finale since that’s my favorite genre. And whoever won would have been a good addition to the genre. They’re both very young with lots to give. Let’s wish them prosperous careers. Whose career am I more excited for, though? Lauren Alaina.

Carrie Underwood Going Viral

Who knew that the person that would be taking YouTube by storm these days would not be Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga or Britney Spears… but Carrie Underwood.

Showing everyone that you don’t need legions of teenagers and sexed up music to get the attention of the masses, she has gone in the totally opposite direction: gospel music.

Carrie’s first video to be considered a viral success was her duet with Steven Tyler at the ACMs on the Aerosmith song “Walk This Way”.

Becoming the top video in music on YouTube for a few day and also topping out the most watched videos lists in many countries around the world, “Walk This Way” stands in less than three weeks at more than 4 million hits.

And for those that might say the only reason Walk This Way became viral was the presence of Steven Tyler, Carrie indirectly replied with a breathtaking performance of How Great Thou Art.

Not only did she blow everyone away with her voice but her performance has actually reached the masses with the video currently standing at a little less than 2 million hits, a mere four days after her performance. How Great Thou Art is a gospel song, praising God… and it is sung in a divine way and people want to listen to it. Maybe other artists should take note?

Moreover, Carrie is now the #1 trending topic on Yahoo!, fueled by the growing popularity of her How Great Thou Art performance.

Read the Yahoo! article here.

A singer’s job is to sing, not to show skin in order to get attention. People are beginning to call Carrie Underwood this generation’s best vocalist. And that is not something to take lightly. She has no way to go but up… and as the pop masses would say: Get it, Carrie!