Lady GaGa’s new album Born This Way (releases May 23rd from Interscope Records) has spawned two highly successful singles including “Born This Way” (which spent an astonishing 6 weeks at the #1 spot atop BIllboard’s Top 100) and “Judas” (which provided GaGa with her 9th Top 10 single!). If the early reviews of her latest release from the album “On The Edge of Glory” is any indicator, she is likely to have another. On the heels of “Judas,” “On The Edge of Glory” (released on Monday) continues to show GaGa’s unbelievably unique musical qualities and is distinctly different that anything she has ever done. VEVO has an audio playback on GaGa’s YouTube Channel of the new song and you can take a listen to it below. The song is superb and promises to deliver yet another hit for the new reigning Queen of Pop. “On The Edge of Glory” is available from Interscope Records at musical outlets nationwide and for digital download on iTunes.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Lady GaGa Releases “On The Edge of Glory”
Wonderland Closing on Broadway
Despite its successful runs at both the David A. Straz Center in Tampa, Florida and Houstons Ally Theater, Wonderland, the musical re-telling and modernization of the famous Lewis Carroll story Alice in Wonderland is closing on May 15th at Broadways Marquis Theatre. The cast was informed of the shows fate before the evening performance on Tuesday. The musical marks yet another Broadway flop for composer Frank Wildhorn, who has the dubious distinction of never having a successful show grace the stages of the Great White Way. A national tour of Wonderland is being planned; and despite the millions of dollars lost by investors and producers on the production, Wildhorn already has another show in the pipeline. Bonnie & Clyde is expected to hit the stage by years end. I was able to see Wonderland when it premiered at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa in the end of 2009.
The show was riddled with plot holes and I was very surprised to see the two leads, Janet Dacal (Alice) and Darren Ritchie (White Knight) were selected to reprise their roles when the show transitioned to NYC. Both were weak in their performance and demonstrated a less than stellar vocal ability.Although the show underwent drastic rewrites and its score was enriched with new musical numbers, critics were not impressed. According to Playbill:
Critics did not embrace this modern riff on the fantastical world created by 19th-century British writer Lewis Carroll (Alices Adventures in Wonderland, 1865), who makes an appearance in Act Two of the show by Gregory Boyd (book and direction), Frank Wildhorn (music) and Jack Murphy (book and lyrics).”
I have to say that despite its shortcoming, I found Wonderland to be entertaining. And given the tremendous financial and artistic tasks and risks associated with mounting a Broadway production, I hate to see any musical flop. However, I must admit, I am not surprised in its early closing.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Kylie Minogue ROCKS Hard Rock Live
In a sold-out smashing performance of her Les Folies Tour 2011, Kylie Minogue pulled into Orlando last night and blew the roof off the place. Although international stagings of the show include a production budget of $25 million (!), the American leg of the tour is using a slightly scaled back version of the show. You certainly wouldn’t have guessed it on Sunday. Minogue had 15 backup dancers and 2 background singers (both of whom were fantastic) and performed for a solid 2+ hours. She mixed the old with the new, performing about 50% of her new album Aphrodite while also performing her classic hits like “Locomotion” and “Can’t Get You Out of my Head.” Perhaps the highlight of Les Folies was her performance of “Looking for an Angel” stringed with “There Must Be an Angel (Playing with my Heart)” which was punctuated by her dancers circling the stage like a gospel choir. The show was absolutely incredible and it is obvious that Kylie truly has some extraordinary talent. If this show is coming to a town near you, DON’T MISS IT!!! See a highlight video of Les Folies Tour 2011 below:
Friday, May 6, 2011
Lady GaGa Updates: “Judas” Video and Oprah Performance
Lady GaGa released her video for”Judas,”the second single from her forthcoming new album Born This Way (releases on 5/23 from Interscope Records) today. Take a look at the very cool video below. Surely GaGa is going to ruffle some feathers on the religious wrong with some of the depictions within the video. Although it uses the relationship between Jesus and Judas (the man responsible for his death) as metaphors to convey the point, the song itself is actually about being in-love with the a person who is “bad” despite being loved by someone who is “good.” And also today, Lady GaGa appeared on Oprah and gave an absolutely stellar performance of a piano rendition of “Born This Way” and the song “Me and You” from her forthcoming album. Take a look at both below:
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Lady GaGa Gives Tour De Force Live Performance of “Judas”
Lady GaGa stopped by the Ellen Degeneres Show today to perform her latest smash hit single “Judas” from her forthcoming album Born This Way (releasing from Interscope Records nationwide on 5/23). The performance was incredible and GaGa was surrounded by her hott ensemble of dancers. Take a look:
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Dolphin Slaughtering Occurring in Brazil
An unfortunate set of events is coming to the surface in Igarpe Do Costa, Brazil. While the pink dolphin has been indigenous to the Amazon River basin for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, local folklore and mythology have painted them as magical and perhaps evil creatures. Now, they are being slaughtered in record numbers. Fisherman are using dolphin meat to attract a popular species of catfish which can earn them thousands of dollars. Their meat supposedly carries a strong scent that attracts the fish, which is then sold in Bogota, Columbia for a premium price. Below, the New York Times covers the the horrendous situation in Brazil.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Oakley Opens Massive O-Store in Times Square
Oakley opened a new Oakley Factory Store in the middle of Times Square in New York City on April 9th, 2011. The store is one of the largest in Oakley’s history and even includes a service bar that allows customers to completely customize their pair of Oakley sunglasses. Here’s the Press Release direct from Oakley:
Oakley celebrated the opening of its Oakley Store in New Yorks Times Square with a grand opening event on April 9th. The Times Square store features an Oakley Custom bar to give customers the opportunity to create their own renditions of Oakley eyewear and goggles. An onsite etching machine allows customers to personalize their designs with engraving. Oakley has earned worldwide acclaim for seamlessly blending form and function, and the store features the newest fashions and technologies from the Perform Beautifully collection made for active women. Golfers have access to the latest styles and the best innovations for performance and comfort because the outlet carries a full selection of Oakleys renowned golf apparel and footwear.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
UBC Lip Dub a MUST See!
Close to a thousand students of the University of British Columbia Vancouver put together an AWESOME lip dub performance of Pink’s latest hit “Raise Your Glass.” This video is a MUST see and reminds me how blessed I am to be a college professor. To have the opportunity to work with enthusiastic, talented, and spirited students is an honor! Take a look at this video. You won’t be disappointed!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
CNE Credential Earned
Great news! On Monday, April April 4th, 2011, I successfully passed the National League for Nursing’s Board Certification Examination in Nursing Education, earning the credential of Certified Nurse Educator. NLN’s Certification Program for Nurse Educators establishes nursing education as a specialty area of practice and creates a means for faculty to demonstrate their expertise in this role. It communicates to students, peers, and the academic and health care communities that the highest standards of excellence are being met. By becoming credentialed as a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE), the educator serves as a leader and role model. The credential is valid until April of 2016 and can be maintained by meeting NLN’s certification maintenance requirements.
Femme Fatale Debuts at #1, “Till The World Ends” Video Debuts
Britney Spears’ latest full album Femme Fatale debuted at #1 and has held that spot for two consecutive weeks. In addition, the second single from the album “Till The World Ends” peaked at #9 on the Billboard Chart last week and remains in the Top 15. Femme Fatale is excellent! It is definitely a step-up for Spears in-comparison to her previous Circus (2008) and Blackout (2006). But, that does depend on your taste in Britney’s music. Femme Fatale is not what I would call “classic Britney Spears.” It is much more dance oriented and is not as lyrical and popish as her more recent releases. In my opinion, it’s the best Britney Spears album to date. EVERY song on the album is incredible! Splurge for the Deluxe Version on iTunes; it’s definitely worth the couple of extra bucks. Also this week, Britney released her much-anticipated video for her second single from Femme Fatale “Till The World Ends.” With an apocalyptic feel, it very well could be one of the coolest videos Spears has ever made. Take a look: