Source: http://www.jasonmraz.com/biography.html jasonmraz is a southern california wanna-be born in virginia to a brief stint in new york studying the ancient art of musical theatre. jason began playing guitar late in life, 18, at strawberry fields and on the streets of manhattan. during that period of experimentation and transformation, jason was inspired by a psychic in central park to dream the way he does today. the lesson offered to him was "to avoid the questioner and go with what you know. get experience youth, he said" and following this new rule as well as his instincts to sing he eventually made his way out west where he has spent the last two years in san diego learning from the best about sleep, peace, and poetry in song.
jason has always had a vision to see how songs could be interpreted if left only to the listener to decide. what began as "songs to sleep to", a collection of songs for an album fit to play during one's dreamlife, has now evolved into a moving wide awake exploration for jason. since his ridiculous move out west (according to his virginia native family), he has shared venues with bob dylan, paula cole, jewel, and david gray to name a few.
in 2002 jason set up camp in los angeles and partnered with percussionist toca rivera playing weekly there and still in san diego at the world famous java joe's in ocean beach. (check local listings) together they are traveling the coasts this summer and are moving to make the album jason once heard in a dream.
the following is an excerpt of an interview i never had with jason earlier this year. it is 2001, the year of the snake, jason's birth year. he is excited, optimistic, and encouragably humble.
what inspires jasonmraz? "robots. i admire the old ones man predicted would evolve that look a lot like humans in aluminum foil costumes. it says something about how we envision the future. at least, how our forefathers saw it"
"god. understanding that there is god in everything. especially us. and god sees fit that we do and say whatever we need to to play our part in this life. knowing there is no right or wrong answer.. and stuff."
"breakdancing. i never learned to do it when it came around the first time. but i once saw a man of 60 plus years throw down. i knew it was never too late to begin anything."
"smoking. it's religious. something about seeing your breath, breathing fire, feeling like a dragon or sinatra. i think sometimes i'll smoke myself new octaves." "..and dreams."
what about musical inspirations? "oh those. the last few years i've submerged myself in anything i could get my hands on. there's so much out there. i love instrumentalists like AIR, or name any DJ. i'm more into dancing than understanding someone's story. if i listen to too many words at once i get my own out of order. but if i have to answer i'd tell you belle and sebastian, beck, bjork, john coltrane, miles davis, nick drake, bob dylan, michael jackson, dave matthews, greg page, toca rivera, sade, ..sir mix-a-lot to be alphabetical. that's a tough question. i could name hundreds i keep in rotation."
how do you meet toca rivera and convince him to join you? "it wasn't hard. he was one of the first people i met when i moved to san diego. i joined he and his brother carlos olmeda and we did some touring together and a commercial for spike lee, thanks to carlos. that was an amazing experience. after awhile we all went our own way to write and make sure we didn't kill each other before the ride was over. i asked toca if he wanted to keep playing with me. i dug the groove toca laid down with his drum. he says he digs the songs and i like delicate touch on the harmonies he finds. he's like every member of the dave matthews band and boys to men rolled up in one prized wind-up teddy bear designed to beat drum. and the ladies love some toca rivera. he was once on the love connection in the eighties. grand champion i think."
any pets? "just toca.. no, not anymore. times were tough once. we got hungry."
any loves in your life? "just the pursuit of happiness right now. that's love to me. but whatever or whoever gets in the way i'll ask to dance usually."
how many times a day does someone like you look at his tongue in the mirror? "twenty, at least. that's four times an hour during the five i'm awake at home working. and usually those are during the midnight hours."
so where are the rest of your hours spent? "searching. be it hidden within the grip of l.a.'s tit, or tucked safely somewhere in my head that i lean to in my bed. i love dreams. i can't get enough of them. everyday i wake up asking myself, who came up with that? oh, you did."
like what? "like this one dream i had. i was visiting a high school where i guess i was working for this new telephone company. i was with my partner and we were installing a new phone booth into one of the halls. before we were even done programming the thousands of numbers needed to program, there was a line through the whole school waiting to use this phone. it wasn't your average phone. you could dial up old conversations you'd had with someone years ago, like a loved one or former schoolmate. you just sat there and listened to the two of you talk. the phonebook was printed to give you letters you had written or once received that needed to be found and rediscovered. i woke up laughing and wishing i could get to one of those phones. i tried to get some investors and get the prototype rolling but it was a lot harder to do that was presented in my dream. but you see what i mean? i never would have come up with that in my state of awake."
"i think there is so much life to be lived and learned, especially when you are asleep. and the things you can do are boundless compared to this simple life. i'm sure everyone flies from time to time and it's always enough to leave an impression and create a memory of doing so. and that's what a life is really. a collection of memories."
are you into finding what's symbolic of your dreams? "always. but according to freud i'm a pervert. i find peace of mind where i need to and complete awe in others. i think of them as movies i've seen and come up with my own interpretations. often in my music. it's how i've gotten so far i believe."
like the saying, follow your dreams. "exactly. eventually you find the fine line between when you are awake and when you are knocked out. and then you're really collecting and creating. it's important that i try to make a life rather than a living."
you seem to be doing just that. and folks are catching on. it seems you are gaining new followers day by day who just love what you do. "i think maybe they laugh at what i do. but as long as i can take them away from any stress for a couple of hours, i'll be anyone's clown. i love to see the world smile. and while the world's got it's mouth open grinning, i'll sing right down their throats hoping they'll find their own way of regurgitating it later spreading the sickness of simple life. like a global vomiting of wisdom, purity, and enlightenment. good things."
so what's next for jasonmraz? "i think just that. i've had a lot of luck finding those who share my dream and wish to pursue this as a career. we're taking the steps now to advance to a more major market and turn more on lives to the madness. there are still many secrets i wish to unveil and many places in this world i wish to see and feel. i hope to just keep moving, writing, singing and sleeping until there is nothing left to be said and done. and by the looks of our current boundaries, we've only just begun."
one more question. if this were a perfect world. where would you be and what would you be doing? "i've had this one before. i'd be right here doing this. it is a perfect world somewhat and we all have the power to be and do what we choose. there is nowhere i'd rather be and no name i'd rather call myself."
great. now if anyone asks, you never saw me and this never happened. "i never knew you."
We've got no big surprises on this week's country charts -- which just goes to show the limitation of lighting candles and muttering incantations. Taylor Swift's self-titled CD and Blake Shelton's single "Home" still occupy the high ground. Only a few fresh titles have broken through on either chart.The album making this week's biggest splash is the multi-artist collection, Country Sings Disney. It arrives at No. 15 and features tunes by such characters as Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus, Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Alison Krauss, Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts.Del McCoury's Moneyland, an assemblage of hard-time ballads from the likes of Merle Haggard, Mac Wiseman, Emmylou Harris and Patty Loveless, emerges at No. 51.New songs sweeping into the chart are Carrie Underwood's "Just a Dream" (No. 45), Lee Ann Womack's "Last Call" (No. 56), Little Big Town's "Fine Line" (No. 58) and Gretchen Wilson's "Don't Do Me No Good" (No. 59).Following Swift on the Top 5 albums list are Toby Keith's 35 Biggest Hits, Underwood's Carnival Ride, Alan Jackson's Good Time and Sugarland's Enjoy the Ride, in that sequence.Songs No. 2 through No. 5 are Jackson's "Good Time," Brooks & Dunn's "Put a Girl in It," Montgomery Gentry's "Back When I Knew It All" and Sugarland's "All I Want to Do."Guess we'll just have to leave it at that.
PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- LEA Salonga was the very first Filipino artist to put the Philippines in the entertainment map of the world when she was recruited by Cameron Mackintosh to play the lead role of Kim from the award-winning musical play, “Miss Saigon” which was first staged in London in 1989 and on to Broadway earning for her various awards as Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical which include Laurence Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle. She also played the role of Eponine in the Broadway production of “Les Miserables”. She also performed the song “A Whole New World” (of Disney’s “Alladin)” in the 65th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California, where the song won an Oscar. Lea sang the song in the movie as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in 1992 and for “Mulan” in 1998 and more notable international projects followed.Another Filipino singer, Marlene de la Peña, made it really big in Japan in the late 70’s to 80’s. Freddie Aguilar’s “Anak” made its mark in the international music scene when it was interpreted and recorded in over 80 languages by different foreign artists. Asia’s Queen of Songs, Pilita Corrales was the first Filipino singer-performer to have performed at the Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in the ‘70’s. She also wowed Australia where one street was named after her. The late Reycard Duets (Rey and Carding) also left a mark at the Las Vegas strip during their prime (70’s to 80’s) while S.O.S. or the Society of Seven (where Martin Nievera’s dad, Bert Nievera started out) was already wowing crowds at the Outrigger Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii for decades. When Bert left the group to re-settle in the Philippines, Jun Polistico took over and eventually, the late Gary Bautista replaced Jun. Even up to his death, Gary was performing. (They’re now performing at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas with Lani Misalucha.—Ed.)We’ve heard of other Filipino artists making waves in the international music scene but their achievements were not as big as Lea’s.Due to advance technology, Internet has become an important part of our daily lives. Fourteen-year- old ABS-CBN’s “Little Big Star” third placer Charice Pempengco became an overnight sensation when her rendition of Whitney Houston’s hit, “I Will Always Love You” was posted on YouTube which brought to the attention of Ten Songs Productions in Sweden. In June last year, she recorded seven songs on Stockholm which included three cover songs, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” and Shakespeare Sister’s “Stay” plus four original songs, “Amazing,” “All The Money in the World,” “It can Only Get Better” and “Born to Love You Forever”. A few months later, the music video of Charice singing “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Dreamgirls was again posted on YouTube which paved the way for her to get invited by Seoul Broadcasting System, the biggest TV network in South Korea to perform in “Star King,” a popular talent show in that country where she sang “And I Am Telling You”. That music clip was re-posted again on YouTube which led her to American TV network’s “E!s”. Her Star King performance in South Korea was featured in The Daily Ten with the headline, “A Star is Born” on November 14, 2007 followed by “Queen of the Week” on the Hollywood Royalty segment and “A Queen is Born” on November 16. It was also fea ured in “The Ellen Degeneres Show” on its November 28, 2007 episode. In that episode, the host showed web videos of different people she would like to have as guests on her show. This prompted Ellen to personally invite Charice to perform on her show. And on December 19, 2007, the young singer sang her already popular version of Dreamgirls’ ”And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” and Whitney’s “I Will Always Love You” where she was given a standing ovation by the audience on both songs.Now under contract with ABS-CBN’s Star Records, heard that an American record producer has already shown interest in signing up Charice. While Charice is on her way to international fame, another Filipino, forty-year-old rock artist and lead vocalist of The Zoo (being managed by TV director Bert de Leon), Arnel Pineda is on the verge of international recognition after he was picked out via Internet’s YouTube as the newest lead vocalist of America’s rock band, Journey, the group behind the classic hits such as “Open Arms,” “Faithfully,” “Eversince The World Began,” “Separate Ways,” ‘Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Who’s Crying Now,” “Anyway You Want It” and more.Come February 1, Arnel is U.S. bound to face a bigger challenge in his musical career.“Dreams do come true,” he enthused after his electrifying farewell performance with his former band, Zoo at the Hard Rock Cafe in Makati last Friday night.The 5’3" rock artist is just a simple guy who came from a poor family. But his dreams and visions are bigger than he could imagine.“Don’t stop believing,” that has always been the mantra of Arnel since he focused on his singing career at a very young age. He first joined Hijos Band which eventually evolved into the AMO Band. He also tried his luck in Hong Kong but came back to the Philippines after his separation from his former live-in partner. He was so devastated to the extent of destroying his voice. When he had his throat examined, he was informed by the doctors that he will never regain his good voice again and he can’t be singing anymore.“Pakiramdam ko noon, kalaban ko ang mundo. Hindi ako makapaniwala because singing is my life,” says Arnel.But his will to regain his voice remained. After six months of rehabilitation, he continued singing and touring until he was signed up as a solo artist by a major record label but luck was still elusive to him until he crossed paths with TV director Bert de Leon in Hong Kong. De Leon convinced Arnel and his mentor, Monet Cajipe to return to Manila and form a new band called Zoo which was immediately signed up by MCA Records headed by music stalwart, Ricky Ilacad (OctoArts’ big boss younger brother). Zoo released their debut album called “Zoology” (with “Pain in My Heart” as its carrier single) late last year. “Pain In My Heart” is Zoo’s guitarist’s (Monet Cajipe) original composition. The music video of the song, directed by Gino Nacianceno was premiered last January 13 on MYX.Despite Arnel’s leaving Zoo to embark on a bigger journey, the band formed by Bert de Leon will continue with its new lead vocalist, Reujenson Lista together with Emil Bondoc (bass), Edgar Mendoza (keyboards) and Nathaniel Baruelo (drums). Arnel, on the other hand, will be facing a tough schedule ahead which include rehearsals, recordings and tours with his newfound ‘family’, The Journey. Source: http://www.philippinestoday.net By: Ma. Anaflor Residuo
NEW YORK - The Jonas Brothers will perform at this year's Video Music Awards. It will be the wholesome pop group's first-ever appearance at the event, known for its decadence and eye-popping water cooler moments (many involving Britney Spears). In a statement, brothers Kevin, Joe and Nick said: "This is an awesome opportunity. We have grown up watching all the amazing and iconic performances on the VMAs. It is an honor to be a part of something so incredible." The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles on Sept. 7. (MTV and Paramount are corporate cousins within Viacom Inc.) As previously announced, in a first for the awards, MTV will enlist its Web-savvy, youthful audience to help decide the nominees. Viewers can vote on two categories each week including Video of the Year and Best New Artist by visiting the awards' Web site. Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ By: Anaflor Residuo
Considering the high sap factor of most of Lifehouse’s hits, getting the band’s frontman Jason Wade on the phone is like getting your most sentimentally inebriated buddy—the guy who’d just gotten his heart puréed by means of a “let’s just be friends” talk or pumped-up via steroids of infatuation—on the phone. You’d expect this of a guy who’s penned lyrics bordering on EQ genius and delivered with gravelly vocals of catharsis, bottling yearning and self-realization as bassist Bryce Soderberg and drummer Rick Woolstenhulme supply the amp-thundering sauce to each track.
With a little more dirt and motor fuel in their new album “Who We Are”, Lifehouse proves they can grind those guitars harder and talk about other things (try suicide and kidney transplants) apart from, you know, being “whipped.” Still, the record’s also got its share of ultra-introspective, emo-solemn ballads; the stuff that’ll get all the girls flinging their panties at the stage when the band comes to the Philippines “for the first time”, rocking the Araneta Coliseum on July 26. And hey, all those girls’ boyfriends might just be as enthusiastic as well.
You guys have been touring the US cities lately so it’s quite a trip you’re going all the way here.
I’ve been to the Philippines before but I was really young. I lived in Hong Kong for three years when I was seven, passing through the Philippines with my family, but this is definitely the first time the band is playing here and we’re really looking forward to it. Seems like we’ve got a pretty good following over there.
Yeah and people here know Lifehouse as a sort of flagship band for softies, which is a bit different from what you guys are now via Who We Are, your latest album, which packs-in harder rock with a little more grit. There’s even a song about some dude’s suicide…
I feel like we’re really comfortable with both at this point. You know, when “You and Me” came out, I think a lot of people wanted to pigeonhole us as just kind of like an acoustic rock band, but our roots from No Name Face on have always been more electric guitar-driven. But I kind of like the balance between both.
The third record really dealt with the falling-out that I had with my father that a lot of people perceived to be about a girl or whatever. And I kind of dealt with that and kind of moved on and didn’t really wanna write about that on this record. I feel like I’ve always written what I know—whatever’s going on in my life—and I feel like I’m in a really comfortable place in my life right now with my relationships. But it’s almost like when you’re happy, these songs are kind of harder to write. You can write better songs when you’re falling apart and when you’re in a lot of pain, but, I don’t know, I’m starting to use other people’s lives as inspiration and you almost become an actor and start role-playing and trying to put yourself in different scenarios outside of your own life.
The song that talks about suicide is “The Joke,” which deals with the issue of kids getting bullied today and people not realizing how many commit suicide because of it. So I wanted to tackle something that I’ve never really written about and I had to write the song three different times, putting myself in the kid’s shoes and write it from his perspective before I really connected to it.
At least there’s an effort to stray from just being that band girlfriends listened to while their boyfriends approached your music with pitchforks and shovels—were you ever bothered by that?
(Laughs heartily) Our first single “Hanging by a Moment,” a lot of people didn’t realize it was a rock song first—that it was number one in alternative radio for, like, eight weeks. And then it crossed over to Top 40 and I think all the little girls got really excited about it, which turned off the guys. But over the years, we’ve never changed our sound to appeal to anybody. We’ve just kind of written our songs and got the crowd wanting to come to our shows and it feels like guys now aren’t so much ashamed to say that they really like Lifehouse.
And if it wasn’t for “Hanging by a Moment,” we probably wouldn’t have a record deal right now and I’d probably be working at Dunkin Donuts (laughs). I feel like it was a blessing and a curse. It took us eight years to kind of get beyond “the band that sings ‘Hanging by a Moment’” and it’s been a long, uphill climb, but I feel like I gotta have respect for that song ‘cause it definitely got us out of being a bar band or whatever. But at the same time, it was kind of hard ‘cause people didn’t even know the name Lifehouse. But if you’d sing “Hanging by a Moment,” they’d know the song.
Was slapping on the guy-liner a conscious effort at changing your image a bit?
(Laughs) That was just for that one video! (the vid for “Blind”) Kind of like an art piece or whatever. You won’t be seeing me in guy-liner at the show!
Is there some ritual that gets you so damn in touch with your emotions? I have this image of you looking wistfully across a lake when you write these songs.
(Laughs) Well if I did have a ritual, I feel like it wouldn’t really work. I have a songwriting style that’s so random, like, a lot of the time, I don’t really sleep a lot during the night—I just get woken up by a thought or an idea and I write a lot of my songs at three or four in the morning. I’m always listening to the older ‘60s stuff like Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. The Beatles are my all-time favorite band. I feel like they wrote some of the best songs that can never be duplicated. That time so much inspired me—so I’m always listening to that.
Then again, Zeppelin was the sort of band you knew trashed their hotel rooms and diddled their groupies. I have a feeling that with Lifehouse—not so much. How do you guys not live that sort of rock star high life?
Well, a lot of us are family men, you know. I’ve been married for eight years and Rick has been with his girl for, like, seven years. And Bryce and Ben are single so they kind of do their thing. So I feel like we’ve got a good balance since [Rick and I] are like the anchors of the band, keeping this thing going for a little over 10 years now. I feel like we’re the responsible leaders and it makes room for everyone to have a good, healthy time.
Our band is really tight-knit so on days off or whatever on the road, we always end up at restaurants getting Mexican food and margaritas together or going to see movies. We’re all really good friends and we try to keep each other grounded and never become those unapproachable rock stars that feel like they’re better than everyone else.
Apart from settling in as responsible rock stars, your latest album is your first self-produced album. So now, you guys can pretty much play whatever the hell you want to play.
Absolutely. We wanted to cut the cord with preconceived notions with what kind of record Lifehouse should make on this one. And we wanted to make a record that was fun to play live, ‘cause we’re a band that lives out on the road, so writing just ballads isn’t really fun to play live. So that’s another reason why this record is a little more uptempo ‘cause we wanted it to be exciting in an energetic live show.
I feel like we’ve always been a band where we don’t wanna recreate the same record twice just ‘cause it was successful. We kind of took a risk on Stanley Climbfall, our second record, and that was a little heavier than the first one. It didn’t really do very well but I’m still proud of the fact that we tried something new and didn’t just write another Hanging by a Moment just to be successful. So when we get back in the studio, I wanna continue to grow and change and even lyrically, come up with new concepts.
You also mentioned in an interview that these days, you “don’t give a damn” so much. Were you referring to how Hanging by a Moment, with all its lash-batting introspection and being the most overplayed song of ’01, turned you guys into the poster babies of soft pop rock and how you don’t give a damn about that anymore?
I mean, as an artist I feel like, whenever you’re gonna write a song and put it out there for the world to criticize, you’re opening yourself up to becoming more vulnerable. And to be honest, when I started writing songs when I was 15, my ultimate goal wasn’t to get a record deal or get famous and make a lot of money. I needed to write these songs just ‘cause I was going through a hard time. And for me, making music and writing lyrics kind of gave me an outlet—almost like therapy, so when all this stuff started happening, it took me years to kind of get comfortable with it. I think I’m finally at a place in my life now where I’m comfortable performing live. I would get stage fright in the early days and feel really uncomfortable in front of the cameras and all that stuff. So it’s been one of those things where it’s been an eight-year transition for me to actually feel comfortable in my own skin. And I feel like, as a band, we’re getting to that place where we can just be ourselves and not really care what people think.
And also, getting successful is being able to go to places like the Philippines for five days or so, and places that we would never get to go to if we had a nine-to-five job. And I know the guys really feel the same way, so we’re looking to enjoy the culture over there and have a good life experience.
Lifehouse in Manila by Concertus Productions, brought to you by MCA Music, MTC Phils, NoCurfew, Gant Time. Co-presented by Tanduay rum, Clear for Men, SM Mall of Asia, Discovery Suites, Chrysler, Global Destiny Cable, Azta Urban Salon, Figaro, ETC., Jack TV, 2nd Avenue and Crime and Suspense.
Paraluman officially released their debut album, PARALUMAN INLAB, under Soupstar Music and Universal Records.
Category: General
Posted by: cory
The local music industry’s newest find for 2008, Paraluman, is finally out as the newest signed artist of Universal Records. This is the same band that gives an LSS (last song syndrome) to its listeners with their hit song EMILY. Paraluman consists of five talented members—Madeline Ramboyong (vocals), Arjay Romero (lead guitar), VR Romero (bass), Jay Macalincag (rhythm guitar), and Jimbo Cuenco (drums). As soon as their single Emily reached the airwave, many listeners kept on asking for it. The song is catchy because of the serenading voice which is somewhat paradoxical to its lyrics. Some lines give some screaming and shouting yet Madeline’s voice is still pleasant to the ears. Soon, their single hits radio countdowns and after sometime, Paraluman released the music video of Emily which was first aired on MYX last May 16. Today, Emily still ranks on Campus FM’s daily countdown and RX daily survey.
With the growing number of listeners who recognized the real talent Paraluman offers, the band released their album, PARALUMAN INLAB, under Soupstar Music and Universal Records.
Grab your own copy now because after hearing Emily, you’ll surely want more!
In all the years that I’ve been at MTV News, no other interview I’ve been assigned to has gotten me the number of “Have you talked to her yet???”s as today’s sit-down with Miley Cyrus.
I know she’s a big star, and I admit: “See You Again” is great at the gym. But, man — from everyone screaming outside the “TRL” tapings to about 17 co-workers stopping me in the hallways, everyone seemed very excited about Miley. I got to 1515 Broadway at 8 a.m. and was pretty amazed at the huge line that had already formed outside in anticipation of her arrival. Around 10 a.m., when Miley was scheduled to arrive, I finished typing out my questions and headed down to the studio.
She came in a little later and headed straight to the greenroom. And after apparently waking up at 6 a.m. for “Good Morning America,” she was obviously exhausted as she ended up passing out on the couch while her team applied makeup.
We waited. And waited. Watched her rehearse and then tape some shows. Waited some more. Then at almost noon, we were told that it would be better if we just came back at 1. We came back and finally — finally! — at 1:30, she was whisked into the interview room and crews filed in, one after the other.
When it was our turn, I walked in to see her slumped over in a chair but turning down a Red Bull because she’s hypoglycemic. I sat down, was told my 10 minutes had been cut way down and that we were speeding. Six minutes later, I was done! She’s very sweet but just seems so incredibly tired. (Give her some naptime, people!)
We talked about her album and how it’s for all the girls out there who hate their current/ex-boyfriends, the rumor that she’s doing a movie with Jennifer Aniston, how the ups and downs of celebrity have taught her to be guarded — but not too guarded — and what she thinks of the younger artists being billed as “the next Miley Cyrus.”
All in all, a lot of work for such a short interview, but productive all the same. I’m a little bummed that I didn’t ask about her awesome dance-offs. Next time.
You’ll be able to see the whole interview for yourself Monday and much more from the sleepy Miss Cyrus in the days to come.
Singer Chris Brown is staying tight-lipped following speculation about his relationship with Rihanna.
Brown has been linked with the Umbrella star after the pair were spotted together at a string of locations including her home on the island of Barbados.
He says he's sick of people asking him about his love life.
Brown spoke while on a promotional trip to Nigeria, west Africa, where he joined fellow R&B star Usher.
When David Cook found out he had passed his initial audition for "American Idol" and would advance to have a chance to compete on the hit television series, he felt something besides happiness and anticipation.
Cook felt uncomfortable about the situation.
The reason was he didn't plan to audition in the first place. Cook came to the audition in Omaha to provide moral support for his brother, Andrew, who was trying out for the show. Cook only auditioned after he was prodded into doing so by his brother and his mother (who also came to the audition).
"We were in the same audition group in the first round, and I was the only one out of the group that made it," Cook said in a recent phone interview. "So yeah, it was a little awkward. I made it a point, as soon as I got out of the arena, I said to him, 'If you don't want me to do this, I won't.' And his response, this kind of speaks to his character, he said, 'If you don't do it, I'll kick your [butt].' "
With an incentive like that, Cook, 25, had little choice but to stay in the running. And what a run it became, as he eventually made the show, and in May, won the "American Idol" competition by beating out fellow finalist David Archuleta.
The fact is, Cook said he never saw himself as "Idol" material. He was well on his way to pursuing a music career in the more conventional way.
Born in Houston, Cook and his family moved to Blue Springs, Mo., near Kansas City when he was 2. It was there that Cook, then 15, formed a rock band called Axium. That group never panned out, but he continued to pursue music, while also going to college to study graphic arts.
In 2006, he graduated from college, released a solo CD, "Analog Heart," and moved to Tulsa, where he had a gig lined up to play guitar in the Midwest Kings, a group that had built a regional touring base.
Cook was working on a second solo album when he auditioned and wasn't looking to necessarily change his game plan.
"I was back in Tulsa, bartending and doing a record, so I was pretty happy with where I was at," Cook said.
Besides, Cook wasn't sold on the idea that his rock-pop sound would be a good fit for "American Idol."
"I didn't really know I was what the show was looking for," Cook said. "I had watched in the past and never seen a rocker win the show. And to me, it was kind of like, if somebody like Bo [Bice] or somebody like Chris [Daughtry] can't come on here and win it, what shot do I have?"
That said, once he began advancing through the audition process and eventually landed a spot in the field of 24 contestants who would appear on the show, Cook said he was committed to taking his best shot at winning -- despite some reports to the contrary.
In particular, Cook was quoted in the June 26 issue of Rolling Stone magazine saying he was never in the "Idol" competition to win it, saying this helped take off some of the pressure of doing the show.
But Cook said that statement was "a bit of a misquote."
"I went into the show with every intention of trying to win. I never assumed that I would," Cook said. "I mean, look, there are 100,000 some odd people who tried out this year, and I think for me to have gone into it without the intention of winning it would have been a huge slap in the face to everyone who auditioned and didn't get to that point."
Quite a few people didn't think Cook would come out on top, either. He was initially seen as a darkhorse in the field of 24, and when the competition finally boiled down to Cook and 17-year-old David Archuleta, he was still considered by many to be the underdog.
In fact, "Idol's" famously outspoken judge, Simon Cowell, predicted that Archuleta would win hands down after the two Davids faced off for the final time on the "Idol" stage.
Even Cook began to buy into that line of thinking. After arriving that morning to prepare for the Wednesday evening's finale, Cook was told the vote was 56 percent to 44 percent. He figured that meant only one thing.
"I was like. 'OK, Archie's got it,' " Cook said. "I didn't really think much about it the rest of the day. I kind of went through the motions of getting ready for Wednesday night's finale. I was just stoked to be playing with ZZ Top."
Hearing his name announced as the winner was a surreal event for Cook.
"It was kind of an out-of-body experience," Cook said. "I felt like I was watching it with everybody else."
Since that evening of May 21, Cook has been busy preparing for the next steps in the life of an "Idol" champion.
He jumped into rehearsals with the other top 10 finishers to prepare for his featured slot in this summer's "American Idols Live" tour. The tour makes its annual Utah stop with shows tonight and Tuesday at the E Center in West Valley City.
Cook will perform five songs, as well as participate in a pair of ensemble numbers, and is pleased with the material the performers and the organizers of the show selected.
"Everybody seems really happy with their set and we're all able to not only do songs from the show but also throw in some stuff that we weren't able to get on the show, but stuff that we enjoy performing," Cook said. "Like, I'm doing 'My Hero' by the Foo Fighters, and that's one of my favorite songs, just high energy. So it's cool. I think we're all getting to show a little bit more of ourselves to everybody."
Cook also has his sights set on recording his first album under his new record contract with 19 Recordings/RCA. The album is due in mid-November, which means time will be tight once the "American Idols Live" tour ends in mid-September.
"I'm a rock singer, so it will be a rock record," Cook said. "But the good thing about rock music is there are some sub-genres there. So there's room to meander. My goal is to put out a record that's both eclectic and cohesive. If I can do that and find that balance, I think the sky's the limit."
Chances are, when Cook's debut album arrives, it will storm the Billboard magazine charts. He already smashed all previous records from the digital music age by landing 17 songs on various Billboard charts at the same time at the end of May. "The Time of My Life," the song Cook performed after winning "Idol," led the way, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart with a first-week total of 236,00 downloads.
Even Cook seemed to have a hard time grasping his presence on the charts.
"I think every so often everything kind of lines up for you, and hopefully that's what's happening now," he said. "I've said it a few times before, I think if this all ends tomorrow, I've already had a hell of a ride. I'm content. And I think moving forward, the goal is to keep that vibe. If I can keep being happy doing this, great. That's one thing I'm not willing to compromise."
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