Idols are going to be allowed to sing The Beatles: FINALLY!

Nigel Lythgoe finally had the permission to have the Idols sing the music of Lennon and McCartney. The lucky ones who will be singing these songs will the Top 12 contestants. Wow, that would be a priviledge!

Take a listen to this:

http://www.kost1035.com/cc-common/news/videos/player.html?loc=0&pimg=/cc-common/news/videos/listimages/beatles_GI.jpg&count=2"> Ryan Seacrest with Nigel Lythgoe

Colbie Caillat LIVE in Manila!

MCA Music Inc. and MTV Philippines will be bringing a one-of-a-kind music and shopping experience by offering Colbie Caillat “Bubbly” Tour- Live at the Ayala Malls this March.

Being one of the top-selling albums in the music industry, through this tour, Colbie will be celebrating the success of her album Coco with the carrier single Bubbly which has reached the no. 1 spot both in radio and TV with the fastest pace. Her new single, Realize, has also dominated the charts by being in the top 10 even before its official release which only proves the immense support given to her by the local audience.

To reciprocate and to give thanks for the warm support given by her Filipino fans, Colbie will be reaching out to them by roaming around the metro. On her first day, you can catch her perform live, together with OPM’s Soulchild Julianne as the front act, at the Glorietta Activity Center on March 11, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

On her second day on March 12, she will be raiding your favorite radio stations– Magic 89.9, Hit FM, Mellow 94.7, RX 93.1, Jam 88.3 and Max 103.5 FM respectively from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Then at 6p.m on that day, she will be having another live performance at TriNoma mall. On the said venues, you can grab a copy of Coco and have your new albums signed personally by Colbie Caillat!

Mark your calendars now to give way to Colbie Caillat “Bubbly” Tour- Live at the Ayala Malls!!

Taylor Hicks: The Wedding Singer

No, Taylor is not broke or have gotten desperate for a job that he has resorted to going back to singing at weddings. Contrary to reports that Taylor has disappeared and is unsuccessful, actually, he is highly successful and has been everywhere. If these reporters and bloggers would only do their homework first. It's not hard to find info on anyone, just Google them for crying out loud. Just an example of what Taylor Hicks had been doing since the start of 2008: He played golf at the Bob Hope Celebrity Golf Tourney side by side with stars like him. This March, he will play basketball at the McDonald's Celebtrity Basketball Tourney side by side with celebrities as well. While everyone awaits in great anticipation the release of his "Whomp at the Warfield" DVD, plans for a tour are also on the works. So there, and it's only February?

Oh yeah, the wedding singer. This is not your ordinary wedding. A couple named Kacy Hardenbrook and Jordan Edsall won this "Dream Wedding" on daytime TV show "Regis and Kelly" after the show went through countless of entries. This couple was supposed to get married last year but tragedy struck. Their house exploded, the family members suffered burns. Regis and Kelly made their tragedy a little bearable by making their dream come true and Taylor Hicks helped them realize it. It turned out that their favorite Idol is Taylor Hicks. The producers were encouraged when they were asked what their favorite song of Taylor's was. The rest is TV history. What a lucky couple, inspite of what they have gone through. And Taylor's performance was simply outstanding.

Videos of Taylor's performances are on the video section.

Taylor Hicks to play in the McDonald's All Star Celebrity Basketball Game!

McDonald's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on ESPN at 7 p.m. ETBrace for an All-Star Battle in the Bayou ... Where Celebrities Hitting the Hardwood HappensNEW YORK, JAN. 2, 2008 -- Tickets for the McDonald's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, showcasing the hardwood talents of some of the entertainment world's biggest names, will go on sale Thursday, Jan. 3, at 11 a.m. ET. The game will tip off on Friday, Feb. 15 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Center Court inside NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas and will feature a star-studded cast of players from film, TV, and music including, among many others, "American Idol" 2006 Winner Taylor Hicks, rapper Common, former NFL player Deion Sanders, "Friday Night Lights" hunk Zach Gilford, "Heroes" star James Kyson Lee, "The Wire" star Seth Gilliam, and New Orleans native Master P. Hip hop star Lupe Fiasco will perform during the exciting halftime show. The full roster for the game will be released in February. Tickets for the game are $25 and available at 800-4-NBA-TIX (622849), Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster Outlets or the New Orleans Arena Box Office. A limited number of tickets are available. Tickets include admission to Jam Session on Friday, Feb. 15 where fans of all ages can meet and collect FREE autographs from NBA Players and Legends, shoot, slam, dribble and drive all day, compete against friends in skills challenges and much more. For the fourth straight year, ESPN will televise the game, which also features NBA and WNBA players, beginning at 7 p.m. ET. It will also air on ESPN HD and will be simulcast on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobil TV. The game rosters are subject to change without notice. Visit NBA.com/jamsession or call 866-NBA-JAMS for more information.Last Feb. 17, the team of West celebrities defeated the East squad, 40-21, in Las Vegas behind an MVP effort from Tony Potts, co-anchor of Access Hollywood. Potts registered 14 points and eight rebounds. In perhaps the game's most stunning development, superstar running back Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints had his night end early after a slight ankle sprain. NOTE: A $20 TICKET (STANDARD PRICE OF ADMISSION) TO JAM SESSION ON FRIDAY, FEB. 15, DOES NOT INCLUDE ADMISSION TO THE CELEBRITY GAME. ****As of February 2, tickets are SOLD OUT!

An article on Arnel Pineda

Arnel Pineda: Rebirth with Journey at 40

DAISY C.L. MANDAP, GMANews.TV

HONG KONG - Hearing Arnel Pineda sing for the first time is always a riveting experience. Just ask any of those who might have chanced hearing his rousing rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody" at the Cavern in Lan Kwai Fong some two years ago.

His voice was so pure, so electrifying, that he would almost always get a standing ovation at the end of his performance.

It was almost a shame then that he was relegated to doing cover versions of songs by Freddie Mercury, Sting by The Police, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, and many others.

But as luck would have it, it was this special talent of sounding very much like “the original" that gave Pineda the ticket to attaining a feat he never even dared dream of---that of joining one of his favorite bands, Journey. And as its lead singer, no less.

It was Journey’s guitarist, Neal Schon, who was responsible for roping in Pineda, after seeing him on YouTube performing “Faithfully" with his Manila band, The Zoo.

“I was frustrated about not having a singer," Schon says in a blog on Journey’s website, “so I went on YouTube for a couple of days and just sat on it for hours. I was starting to think I was never going to find anybody. But then I found The Zoo and I watched a bunch of different video clips that they had posted. After watching the videos over and over again, I had to walk away from the computer and let what I heard sink in because it sounded too good to be true. I thought, ‘he can’t be that good.’ But he is that good, he’s the real deal and so tremendously talented."

Schon was of course, speaking about Pineda, who was himself so shocked when he first heard from Journey that he immediately dismissed it as a hoax. It was only after some prodding from a friend that he decided to reply to Schon’s email.

“Until now, I still can’t believe it. Hindi pa rin nag- si –sink in," says the diminutive singer during a recent phone interview with The Sun. “But I am so proud that it happened." It almost never did, however.

After a few talks, Schon invited Pineda to fly to San Francisco for a two-day audition in December last year. Pineda thought he blew it on the first day.

“Maraming palpak, (maybe because) I just had two hours of sleep during the 15-hour flight," he relates. “It was so nerve-wracking, the pressure was too much."

But during a recording session the next day with Schon and the other band members Jonathan Cain (keyboards), Ross Valery (bass) and Deen Castronovo (drums), Pineda managed to relax a bit. “That was the defining moment, I think."

After singing along with the group, Pineda was able to convince even Cain, their most skeptical member, that he was the man for them.

On Feb. 1, Pineda is set to leave for the U.S. again, this time to join the band in recording a new album that could be out as early as July. “After that, siguro pwede na kaming mag-tour," he said.

At the age of 40, when most musicians are bound to think fame has already slipped past, Pineda is experiencing a rebirth in his career.

It’s a big jump from his early days as a member of various bands that traveled across the Philippines and later, Hong Kong, for gigs. It was an even bigger leap from the days he was forced to sleep rough on the streets of Manila after poverty forced his family apart.

It was not always the case, though. Pineda still remembers the time when his parents, both tailors, would suit him up for amateur singing contests starting at age 5. “They knew even then that I could sing, but I was so shy," he reminisces.

At age 12, his mother died after a long illness that left his family heavily in debt. Eventually, he and his three siblings had to find ways to fend for themselves. “Naghiwa-hiwalay kami."

He became homeless, and spent much of his time sleeping at friends’ houses, and sometimes in Luneta Park.

The first opportunity to mend his shattered life came when a friend invited him to join a band. That was how, at age 15, Pineda became a professional musician.

He became a lead singer of Ijos (later renamed Hijos) band in 1982 and just five years later, first won international acclaim when he won the Best Vocalist award at the World Band Explosion in Tokyo.

He then joined a pop/rock band called Amo which played in clubs in Quezon City, Makati and Olangapo. In late 1990 Amo disbanded, and Pineda teamed up with four former bandmates to form “New Age." It was with this band that he first came to HK to sing at the now-defunct Igor’s and Grammy’s.

Nine years later, he was lured to return to the Philippines on his days off so he could record a solo album for Warner Bros. One of the songs in his self-titled album, “Iiyak Ka Rin" became a very popular karaoke tune while another, “Sayang," became a radio favorite.

Still, Pineda remained on the periphery of success, and largely made his mark singing covers of his favorite bands.

This became his trade mark even as he and three members of New Age split and joined forces with a female singer to form “Most W@nted." The band played for six days each week at The Cavern, and on Sundays, their only rest day in the week, they obliged requests to sing at Filipino community events. It was also during this time that Pineda recorded the theme song of the short-lived Filipino radio show, “Dayo."

In 2006, Pineda again decided to move back to Manila along with longtime friend and bandmate Monet Cajipe, and formed The Zoo.

That, as his newfound fame now shows, proved to be the most serendipitous move in his musical career.

Though he is soon to be a citizen of the world, Pineda says he intends to come back to HK every so often so he could retain his permanent residency, and ensure the same thing for his three sons, aged 18, 12 and 2.

That could also be his way of keeping grounded, even as he embarks on a journey that up until last month, he never thought was possible.

Taylor Hicks in the Philippines!

Taylor Hicks had a great time in the Philippines and I knew that he was going to find the Filipino people highly receptive of his visits there! A long time ago, I predicted that Taylor Hicks would have fans in that country because Filipinos love old school music and old school style singing! We love Karaokes and Videokes and we never have gatherings without singing and dancing in them. The funkiest the dance moves are, the better it is. The older the song is, we will find a way to revive it, and make it new. Hence, Taylor Hicks fits right in. As much as we also embrace the newer songs, we are always nostalgic, and long for older songs to get played. We have kids as young as 5 year olds who can belt out songs like Release Me and Cuando, Cuando from Engelbert Humperdinck. Haha! In other words, music is a way of life.

The success of Taylor Hicks' mini tour in the malls in the Philippines may not be reported in the U.S. entertainment sections of our media here, because I think Jamie Lynn Spears' teenage pregnancy is much more imporatnt, I guess. (rolls eyes) But this is a remarkable achievement for Taylor Hicks and his Soul Patrol in the U.S and in the Philippines. The Philippines felt priviledged to have been Taylor's first ever tour outside of the States. So, as a Filipino myself and a long time Taylor Hicks supporter, I would like to thank Taylor Hicks and his management for letting the Filipino people experience for themselves that magic that is Taylor Hicks. And for his SP here in the US, based on a lot of the comments I received about Taylor's reception from the Filipino people, they are happy and relieved that Taylor was well loved by Asians, and the Filipinos in particular. There seemed to be a little apprehension on the fans here in the US when Taylor announced his appearances in Asia. I'm glad those worries are no more.

We look forward to his next visit and this time, with a longer promotion and more radio airplay of his songs, you can bet that the Pinoy SPs will be mobilized and they will even be making more noise and the love for Taylor Hicks will even be shown more.

Soul Patrol, Mabuhay si Taylor Hicks!

Taylor Hicks appearing at Asian Idol and Manila, Philippines!

Well, we have been dreaming about this moment, and it is coming true. It was such a brilliant plan to have Taylor Hicks attend the Asian Idol and will also have a 3 day mini tour in Manila, Philippines. He is going to be in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 16 to attend the Asian Idol Finale. And the following dates are in Manila: December 18 Glorietta December 19 Greenbelt December 20 Trinoma There are Meets and Greets, and people are flooding the venue offices with phone calls inquiring about the tickets! That's a great sign! He will be backed up by an all Filipino band and his musical director is Mr. Louie Ocampo who is one of the Prime Musical Directors in the Philippines. I already know that this is going to rock the islands of the Philippines. Go Soul Patrol Asia.... mabuhay! For those who are going, get there early. He will do a soundcheck!!!! LOL!