Concert Review: 'Glee'

So I've been a huge fan of television show Glee for quite sometime now....you can call me a "Gleek", so it was only natural that I would be bouncing off walls in excitement that they were bringing their "Glee Live!" tour across North America. I say North America lightly as the tour went everywhere across the United States, and then brought one stop in Canada, which happened to be Toronto. Word. This was very good news as last tour, they only did a few dates, and none of them included Canada. It was about time they came to Canada and they definitely did it right; in the span of two days, they performed four sold out shows at the Air Canada Centre! That's pretty impressive for a television show tour that has been around a little less than two years!



The show itself proved to be really good and well worth the wait. The cast, including all the members of the New Directions as well as The Warblers, performed a set comprised of songs from season 1 and season 2. Although the set list wasn't very long and could've included more songs, it was still a great show filled with high energy. You can read all about it on MuchMusic by clicking HURR.



Some highlights of the show included Heather Morris' solo to I'm A Slave 4 U originally by Britney Spears. Between the steamy choreography, the outfit, and the breathy vocals, it was probably one of my favourite moments in the show. Other highlights included Darren Criss' performances with The Warblers performing songs including Teenage Dream, Raise Your Glass, and Silly Love Songs. His voice is amazing and probably one of the greatest additions to the show. The show as a whole was amazing, and the cast had such amazing chemistry together. They all had solos as well as ensembles so each cast member was able to showcase their talent. I thought that was pretty neat and a great way of organizing the show. Another nice touch added to the show was Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch being the host's of the show through pre-recorded footage. As essential cast members to the show, it was comical seeing them introduce various performances.

A few things that I was surprised / disappointed in included the fact that I thought Lea Michele should have had either more solos, or a solo other than Firework by Katy Perry. With such a powerhouse voice, I feel a different song that would showcase her voice more would've been a better choice...for example my personal favourite, Jar Of Hearts. What's odd was that she did perform Don't Rain On My Parade for a few shows before they cut it out due to it straining her voice. That wasn't the only cut out...during the first two or three Toronto shows, the cast performed a cover of YouTube sensation, Rebecca Black's Friday acoustically during the encore, but for the last Toronto show and going forward, the song was removed from the setlist. Odd. Also, in addition to her duet of Lucky with Chord Overstreet, it would have been nice to hear another solo from Dianna Agron. Either that, or her and Lea could have performed I Feel Pretty / Unpretty together. There. Hitting two birds with one stone.

Speaking of Dianna Agron, Toronto was the city that witnessed a bit of a "scandal" when she wore a shirt saying "Likes Girls". Originally, in the show , during the performance of Born This Way by Lady GaGa, each cast member wore a shirt displaying their insecurities, imperfections, etc. that included "Likes Boys" for Chris Colfer, "Can't Dance" for Cory Monteith, "Can't Sing" for Harry Shum Jr. etc. etc...Dianna Agron's shirt in the show was "Lucy Caboosey" which stood for a nickname she was called in grade school that she despised. However, instead of wearing that shirt, which she wore at all her other shows, for 2 of the 4 Toronto dates, she wore a shirt saying "Likes Girls". This caused a huge stir up in both the online world and news outlets alike debating why she wore the shirt. After much controversy and scandal, Agron wrote a blog stating she wore the shirt in support of the LGBT. Regardless of why she wore it, I think people need to focus more on the show itself than to read into things.

In addition to attending the show, I was also able to meet some of the cast members backstage. Firstly I saw Heather Morris and Ashley Fink who play Brittany and Lauren respectively. Both of them were very nice and down to earth. After sharing hugs, and talking about my name, I told Heather how she was an incredible dancer and Ashley agreed with that statement. I also told Ashley that she was the best new addition to the show. I welcomed them both to Toronto. Both had visited the city before but Ashley told me how she learnt, only that day, that people from Toronto are called "Torontorians". Wrong. They are called "Torontonians" and they were shocked that they were misinformed. I would be too. After clearing the air, we posed for a picture at which point, Heather Morris told me I smell "lovely". OMGWTFBBQ. I'm not sure if I said thank you or not because I was very flattered hearing that from her. The last thing I remember saying to her was "you too" after she told me it was nice to meet me. I also met Darren Criss backstage after the show, though this was only for a few minutes. Although all the guys were watching the basketball game after the show, Darren came into the party room and came to say hello. Our meeting was very short, but he was very nice.

Overall, the show was amazing. The cast is very talented and I would definitely go see them again if I had the chance. Anyone who is a fan of the show should check it out, and for those who aren't, its a great way to see some classic songs covered by some very talented individuals. For those who did miss it, either because they couldn't acquire tickets, or because the show didn't come to their city, there will be a 3D movie of the tour that will be released in theatres this August. I know I will definitely be checking it out!

Glee: The Music, Best of Season Two

Glee recently wrapped up its second season but many of the songs are still lingering around in my head. It is only appropriate to make a collective list of the best songs featured in the second season. Season two followed the same blueprint of the first covering current hits, old gems, show tunes, as well as more indie music. They did learn from the first season though and didn't do much of a single type to keep it varied and fresh. This year, there were a lot more indie songs covered that, normally, probably wouldn't get as much exposure if they weren't covered on Glee, so it was nice to see the producers add such songs.

It was a little bit of a challenge choosing my favourites when there were 129 songs covered in the show this season, but nonetheless I was able to narrow it down to 30 of my favourites. Check it out below (in order of appearance).

1. I'm A Slave 4U
2. Toxic
3. I Want To Hold Your Hand
4. Losing My Religion
5. One Of Us
6. Sing!
7. Lucky
8. Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me
9. Teenage Dream
10. Stop! In The Name Of Love / Free Your Mind
11. Forget You
12. Singing In The Rain / Umbrella
13. Marry You
14. Bills, Bills, Bills
15. Silly Love Songs
16. Baby
17. Sing
18. Don't You Want Me
19. Loser Like Me
20. I Follow Rivers
21. I Feel Pretty / Unpretty
22. Never Going Back Again
23. Go Your Own Way
24. Rolling In The Deep
25. Friday
26. Jar Of Hearts
27. Pure Imagination
28. I Love New York / New York, New York
29. Pretending
30. Light Up The World

Some of these songs are available on the 6 soundtrack release for season 2 which you can purchase via iTunes, Amazon or a retailer near you! (yes, yes, shameless plug)

Here's hoping season 3 brings out even better covers!

Summer Movie Watch

Summer is fast approaching and I could not be more excited because that means the drag season for movies will be over and we'll finally get some watch worthy movies.

This past winter and early spring, movies weren't really giving us its best to offer. I don't know if its just a winter thing or if lately movies have just been really bad. I saw The Roommate, which was a hot mess featuring one cast member from almost every CW show out there right now (Leighton Meester, Aly Michalka, Nina Dobrev, and the list goes on). I was then put through some misery courtesy of Vanessa Hudgens through Beastly and Sucker Punch. The first, I was actually excited to see as some of these modern day fairy tales, though not amazing, are super cute (A Cinderella Story, Sydney White) latter wasn't horrible but it was also a bit of a hot mess that was lost in translation...not in a good way. The misery doesn't end there; Just Go With It starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston wasn't easy on the eyes either. Granted, it was probably the best of the list so far, but with its strong cast, it could've been so much better.

The only movies that offered some redemption at the box office were Scream 4 and Lincoln Lawyer. The former wasn't a great movie, but being a Scream sequel almost 10 years after the last release, it wasn't horrible either and was actually entertaining. That being said, I probably wouldn't have liked it as much if the original cast didn't reprise their role. The latter was an amazing movie with a great balance of mystery, suspense, and thrills. It probably makes up for all the horrible movies I sat through this winter... almost. For anyone who hasn't seen it, I would definitely recommend watching it when you get a chance.

Its funny how it works right? In the summer, when you should be out enjoying the good weather is when all the good movies are out in theatres. The next few weeks have me quite excited for what's to open up at the box office. Here's my list of movies I'm looking forward to see this summer:

The Hangover 2

As a sequel, I doubt it will be nearly as good as the first but I'm still itching to watch it.

Release Date: May 26, 2011

X-Men: First Class

Probably one of the movies I'm most looking forward to this summer. As a huge fan of X-Men, this movie seems to be very promising. Did you know the actor who plays young Charles Xavier in the movie played the faun Tumnus in Disney's The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe? Useless information? I know.

Release Date: June 3, 2011

Super 8

Steven Speilberg...J.J. Abrams. Those are two reasons alone as to why I'd see this movie. This trailer gets my heart going every time I see it and it looks like its going to be amazing. Definitely cannot wait to see it.

Release Date: June 10, 2011

The Green Lantern

I'm divided on whether this movie will be cheesy, very good, or somewhere in between. I do have some hopes and the fact that Blake Lively in it makes everything better... so much better.

Release Date: June 17, 2011

Mr. Popper's Penguins

When I first saw the poster for this up at a local movie theatre, i thought to myself, "Where have I heard of this before?" Two seconds later it all came back to me... I read the book when I was in grade school and absolutely loved it! It will definitely be cool seeing a big screen adaption, especially with Jim Carrey playing the lead as Mr. Popper.

Release Date: June 17, 2011

Bad Teacher

The trailer for this movie looks hilarious and with a cast featuring Cameron Diaz (There's Something About Mary) , Justin Timberlake (SNL) , and Jason Segal (I Love You, Man) I'm sure it will provide a good set of laughs.

Release Date: June 24, 2011

Monte Carlo

I'm not going to lie, the only reason I'm excited to see this movie is for Leighton Meester, Selena Gomez, Katie Cassidy, and Cory Monteith. Its like a Glee meets Gossip Girl goes to Waverly Place combination. Granted, I doubt its going to be anything good, but it does seem like it could be a fun watch...even if its just for the faces.

Release Date: July 1, 2011

Winnie The Pooh

A blast from the past, Winnie The Pooh is a classic, and it was in definite need of a revitalization with a new movie. Definitely stoked to see Eeyore, Rabbit, Tigger, Piglet and of course Pooh, back on the big screen.

Release Date: July 15, 2011

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Being pushed back several times is never really a good sign for a movie and with its multiple delays its finally set to release at the end of August. I love watching horror movies, even when they are ridiculously bad (minus The Roommate because it wasn't even horror), so even if this isn't amazing, I'm a little bit of a sucker when it comes to watching horrors.

Release Date: August 26, 2011

And then there's...

Transformers: Dark of The Moon

Am I the only one that has never been a fan of Transformers? Neiher when I was a kid, nor when I watched the first two in attempts to get into it. And now the third one just seems...eh. I might go check it out when its out but not extremely excited for it...actually, not excited at all.

Release Date: July 1, 2011

Cowboys and Aliens

Could be really good, or could be really bad. I don't see this being anywhere in the middle. Not holding any expectations from the movie. If I'm really bored and there's nothing else playing, I might go check it out.

Release Date: July 29, 2011

Final Destination 5

After the 3rd Final Destination, which was probably my favourite, the franchise started becoming redundant and pointless. Same story, different movie, predictable ending. All that being said, I still might sucker out and go see it.

Release Date: August 12, 2011

So those are my picks for movies of the summer. What's on your list of movies to watch?

What Went Wrong in the Glee Season Two Finale?

Season two of Glee just finished last night and I have to say, I wasn't really too pleased. There was so much hype leading up to the finale, New York, through the last few episodes, and I feel like it was just lacklustre. To start with, one of the things that bugged me the most was that in the episode before the finale Quinn told Finn she had a really big plan for nationals that would come in the way of them winning. I was excited to see what she would do, only to be disappointed when all it consisted of was getting Rachel and Kurt sent home so that the school loses. Although somewhat of a good plan, the disappointment came in when the plan was easily diminished through Santana and Brittany encouraging Quinn against it and taking her for a haircut.... yes, I know, I'm appalled as well.

Another disappointing moment in the episode was when the New Directions didn't win or yet, even place in the top 10 at nationals. I feel like the Glee creators followed the same formula that they did in the finale of season one, and this time it just didn't work. It irritates me because when Glee started it promised to be such an amazing and well scripted show and it did start off as such. However, as its popularity grew, its quality didn't. There were so many repeated and redundant plots with some being started and finished too quickly, some being started and not finished at all (Quinn and Beth), and some that were started and were dragged on for too long throughout the season. One critic reviewed the finale of the show and wrote a statement that I really like and agreed with:

Part of me would have liked tonight better if it had just stuck to its guns. You want to tease us? Fine. Let Will go to Broadway. Let Rachel disown her love for Finn, and keep it that way. Let Quinn actually try to destroy the Glee club because of her anger towards her sudden ex-boyfriend. But the fact that none of this happened - and the fact that we know none of it would ever happen - is just another issue I have with the show. I hope that next season, it actually grows a pair.

-Terron R. Moore, Ology.com

As much as I'm ragging on the episode, there were still some positive moments to the finale. Being shot in New York, the show had a really epic and big screen feel, which makes me ponder whether or not the producers of Glee would ever create a movie to either end the show, or the first chapter of it with the current members of New Directions. Additionally, the musical numbers of the show were well done as well. Following the original song trend they used in regionals, the original songs performed in the finale were refreshing and quite good. Brittany's My Cup was no exception.

I'm looking forward to season three, but I hope the creators make some changes in the show. More character and plot development would be a big start. Episodes in season two could easily stand alone without depending on others for continuity. Another interesting about season three will really be how the execute and terminate it. Many of the members of the New Directions will be graduating so I'm looking forward to see how they play all of that out. Depending on what materializes, season three might just be the last one I watch.

Look out for a post on my top 30 songs featured in the second season Glee coming up very soon.

Interview with Ashley Tisdale and the cast of Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure

A lot of you may know (and if you don't than now you do) that I have this huge thing for Ashley Tisdale. From her roles as Sharpay in the High School Musical franchise, Maddie on The Suite Life of Zach and Cody and Savannah on Hellcats to her infectious singles like He Said, She Said, Crank It Up and Be Good To Me, I can never get myself enough Tis. Alas, when I heard Ashley was going to be in Toronto shooting a new movie last year, I was overjoyed. On top of that, when my boss at my internship at Vervegirl Magazine told me she booked me an interview with the one and only Tisdale, I was ecstatic and 'OMGWTFBBQ'ing!

Because the film was to be kept top secret in terms of content, costumes, and overall secrecy, Disney had put an embargo on the interview and thus I had to keep my excitement contained within me...until now. So once again, OMGWTFBBQ! I'm super grateful for my boss at Vervegirl for being able to facilitate the interview, and it was a pretty awesome experience getting to be on set of the film, seeing the cast members shoot scenes, and then getting to interview them after.

After waiting nearly a year to be able to publish and speak about the interview, I almost forgot how exciting it was. All the cast members were super sweet and so open and honest in the interview. They were so open and honest, that I would be able to do a separate article on each cast member if needed be. However, I had to keep it small and thus, I present the cream of the crop in the interview. Here's a link to check it out:

http://tinyurl.com/vgsharpay

Last night, I checked Ashley out at NML (previously known as Much On Demand on MuchMusic) and then at the exclusive Toronto premiere of the movie, where she and a few other cast members attended. It was very nice to see Sharpay again, especially in a lead role. It was also cool seeing familiar locations in the movie, as it was shot in Toronto. The movie was ok; it had its cute and funny moments, but I can see why its being released directly to DVD and wasn't a big screen adaption like High School Musical 3. Regardless, it was fun attending the premiere, and I might shamelessly purchase the movie when its out on Blu Ray...just because Ashley is in it.

Don't tell anyone.

Concert Review: Shawn Desman

He's electric. He makes the girls shiver. And he's fresh. (Yes, that line was filled with more than one shameless pun.)

He is the one and only, Shawn Desman and I was able to check him out live at an intimate performance at Pure Nightclub in Montreal this past weekend. The show was incredible and he's definitely a great performer. It was a little sad that I had to see him perform at a small nightclub, because his talent far exceeds small club shows...especially for someone who's been in the business as long as he has. Regardless the show was amazing and you can read all about it on my guest blog for MuchMusic here:

http://www.newmusiclive.ca/shawn-desman-electrifies-montreal/

If you haven't heard already and you're into upbeat pop and dance music, make sure you check out his album 'Fresh' in stores and on iTunes. It's definitely worth a listen!

Britney Goes Urban?

Britney's back and has been snatching quite a few wigs in the last few weeks. Her latest album, Femme Fatale, debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts making her one of the only females with 6 #1 debuts on the chart. Not only that, but her videos for Hold It Against Me and Till The World Ends have shown Britney being...well Britney...something we haven't seen in a while. On top of all that, she just announced the dates and opening acts for her upcoming tour, named after her album!  Although it was previously announced that Enrique Iglesias was going to open, he dropped out for some unknown reasons. After a little searching, Britney has finally announced her new opener for whom I could not be more excited:

NICKI MINAJ! 

Nicki Minaj is pretty much one of the hottest up and coming thing right now and she's pretty much the perfect opener for her. She's not big enough to overshadow Britney but at the same time she's not small either where even if audiences aren't familiar with her music, they'll still know of her. Its a perfect way for Nicki to expand her audience to a next level. On top of touring with Nicki, Britney and Nicki also 'tweeted' some little hints at a potential collaboration or something. Some are speculating a remix featuring Nicki for Till The World Ends and others are hoping for a brand new track! For me, either way it'll be a smash. I mean, look how well Britney's remix for Rihanna's S&M is doing?  

This isn't the first time Britney has gone urban. Throughout her career, she's always brought a little bit of urban flavour in her music whether it was her collaborations with The Neptunes on songs like I'm A Slave 4U or her most recent remix with Rihanna on S&M. No pun intended, I like it, like it when Britney goes urban. Its an interesting twist to her music because she always does it in her own unique and unexpected ways. I mean, did anyone ever suspect she'd be doing a collab with RiRi or tour with Nicki?