purplegypsy said:

Thelma Houston
Greg Kihn
Glass Tiger
Club Nouveau
Billy Vera

and i thought the show came on thursday?
[Edited 6/22/05 13:01pm]

cameo was great

byronic said:

BILLY VERA????? I love that one song he had!

oops you are right...i keep thinking it's thursday...

btw, I could give a fuck less about who "wins" each night. It's nice to have this kind of entertainment show.

CinisterCee said:

i hope more performers realize what a boost to their careers this is...if howard's cd sales increase hopefully the industry will take note...

sosgemini said:

I hope Vanilla Ice goes platinum again.

purplegypsy said:

as i was saying, if howard's sales increase maybe other acts (more worthy then vanilla ice) will sign up and make an appearance...



whats stevie nicks up to these days? she can put down the bucket of chicken and give the show a go...

(just teasing...)

http://www.nj.com/columns...xml&coll=1


'Idol' worship
Thursday, June 23, 2005
By ALAN SEPINWALL
Star-Ledger Staff

The first half of each episode of "Hit Me Baby One More Time" (9 p.m., Ch. 4) is among the most depressing 30 minutes of television you'll find anywhere this summer. The second half, though, is among the most exciting.

The modestly rated "Hit Me" trots out singers and bands, most of them one-hit wonders from the '80s and early '90s, and first asks them to perform their big hit for the umpteenth time. Mostly, it's an opportunity to marvel at who got fat and/or bald, since the songs themselves tend to be performed on autopilot. Throw in the Jar-Jar Binks-ish presence of host Vernon Kay -- perhaps the one man on television who will make you long for the subtle nuances of Ryan Seacrest -- and you have a half-hour designed to make everyone watching feel unspeakably old.

But then comes the second half, and everything changes. Well, okay, everyone still looks the same, and the host doesn't change, but instead of sleepwalking through another old hit, each performer is asked to tackle a contemporary song (by an artist who no doubt will be appearing alongside the 2021 version of Vernon Kay). And that's when "Hit Me Baby" gets a lot more interesting.




On "American Idol" (without which "Hit Me Baby" wouldn't exist), the cover versions are inevitably as close to the original as each singer can muster. The contestants are judged not on their musical imagination, but simply their ability to hit the notes the way the original artist did. So even when someone nails a song, it's impossible not to compare them to the original -- and to find the Idols wanting.

Fortunately, the contestants on "Hit Me Baby" are all seasoned musicians and performers, so they're not limited to simply copying the original note for note. Some do, and do it well ( The Knack ripped off a faithful take on Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" a few weeks back), but others try to put their own stamp on it.

Sometimes, this doesn't work. Last week, Sophie B. Hawkins' rendition of Five for Fighting's "100 Years" made it sound indistinguishable from every other Sophie B. Hawkins song. And the balding, middle-aged members of Wang Chung doing Nelly's "Hot in Herre"? Either comic genius or the worst dirty old man song of all time.

Some of the "Hit Me Baby" highlights have included Cameo turning Bowling for Soup's "1985" into a slow jam, The Motels rocking out to Norah Jones' usually sleepy "Don't Know Why," and Vanilla Ice , of all people, turning Destiny's Child's "Survivor" into an Eminem-style rap about his fall from stardom after "Ice Ice Baby."

Numbers like those fit a long-standing pop music tradition of unconventional covers. The best cover versions re-create rather than duplicate, and are often better remembered than the originals. Think Jimi Hendrix's wailing guitar on "All Along the Watchtower" vs. Bob Dylan's somber original, Whitney Houston belting with all her might on "I Will Always Love You" compared to Dolly Parton's softer version, or Johnny Cash turning Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" into a powerful meditation on his own mortality.

I'm not saying any of the "Hit Me Baby" covers have been in that league, but it's just a pleasure to hear something other than the same-old, same-old on a TV variety show.

NBC has already announced plans for "I'm a Celebrity But I Want to Be a Pop Star" later this summer. As with ABC's popular "Dancing with the Stars," expect the "celebrities" to be people you've barely heard of. And expect these untrained singers to do their best to make each song sound exactly like the version you know by heart already. Zzzzzz...

--Alan Sepinwall

sosgemini said:

that's not very nice. i didn't even knock howard jones. i like him. and i actually would like see vanilla ice be successful again.

Somebody get a hold of Stacy Lattisaw!!!!

Next Week:

Animotion -"Obsession"

Shannon - "Let the Music Play"

Juice Newton- "Queen of Hearts"

Missing Persons- "Words"

TBA


Wow!!!

Thelma Houston was worthy of the win.
Everyone else except for Club Nouveau was horrible.

I Can't believe I watch this show!

PurpleJedi said:

Thelma sucked Club Nouvea sucked.....Glass Tiger rocked the house!

Mazerati said:

You're out of your mind due to your blind devotion to the 1980s! Thelma Houston's voice was in tip top shape. Glass Tiger was alright doing their own song and unforgivably awful during their cover. Thelma - as always - tore up Don't Leave Me This Way and did right by Falling, a song I don't even like. She's 59-years-old, and her voice is still better than folks who haven't even been singing as long as her (Mariah, Whitney, Celine and others).

RipHer2Shreds said:

could be i was messing around in my last post i think Thelma Houston's version of Falling was very good ..but my favorites have lost all 4 weeks eeesh i think my favorite song on next weeks show is Let The Music Play by Shannon so we'll see

Mazerati said:

I actually like all the songs on next week's show, but Shannon's is my favorite and a highly influential one at that.

newpower99 said:

co-Wow!!!

RipHer2Shreds said:

Thelma officially "OWNS" Falling....she gave that song...well, to paraphrase wendy and lisa; "she gave colors to that song....colors that alishia had never seen"...

sosgemini said:

Very true. The gospel edge she gave it worked wonders on it.

Next episode (June 30th)

Animotion-"Obsession"
Juice Newton-"Queen Of Hearts"
Missing Persons-"Words"
PM Dawn-"Set adrift on memory bliss"
Shannon-"Let the music play"

newpower99 said:

holy shit. SHANNON!!!!!

Nick715 said:

CinisterCee said:

WOW!!! This is the best list yet...I wonder if Wendy & Lisa would consider doing this....


i dont even know what Shannon looks like...is he black? white? latina? purple? and Juice Newton..where the hell did they find her at?

sosgemini said:

Shannon is a black woman.

Hotlegs said:

it was actually more of a question than a comment but i do appreciate your kind feedback

RipHer2Shreds said:

I'm just now watching this episode... Club Nouveau's Dido cover sounded cool with their arrangement. "Lean On Me" sounded like it was no longer in their range though.

I'm anticipating this Thelma's cover still...

Thelma is just mindblowing Both of her songs!

Nick715 said:

This is by FAR my favorite line-up yet, and I can't wait for this Thursday!

CinisterCee said:

Yeah, I was very disappointed by Club Nouveau. You know how I feel about Why You Treat Me So Bad

i predict PM Dawn will win.....and that there will be some haggard looking singers tonight....and who knew Juice Newton was still alive? why doesn't Milli get another Vanilli and call it Milli Vanilli and do this show?