The vixen in me

Thank goodness for P!nk and Christina, is all I'm saying. I'm not properly sold on Christina's new song, but that's how you perform--finally, some choreographed group dancing action! And really, though I thought P!nk did a great job (she was the exception), there's just a certain energy that comes from actually being on that stage that's been lost by having so many people perform elsewhere.

(Her look is totally going to get compared to Lady GaGa, isn't it?)

Edit: I should say that's only in regards to performances, not in between stuff (and also note the time stamp on this--show's not over yet.)

This is my floor; you're just dancing on it

You know how iTunes gets celebrities to make up playlists of their favorite songs? Well, guess which Aussie singer they just got to make one...

Anthony Callea's Playlist--An Analysis

Bryan McKnight, "Back At One"--he sang this on Idol--no surprise that he likes it.

TV Rock, "Flaunt It"--I feel like I've heard of them before (maybe from Popalastic or I'm Always Right?), but I don't know if I've ever actually heard one of their songs before. The singer's (well, if he can be called a singer) voice sort of reminds me of the singer in Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy." It's completely unlike anything Anthony sings, but it was probably one of those songs that took over and everyone laughed about but loved.

Christina Aguilera, "Can't Hold Us Down"--is now not a good time for me to confess that I've never heard all of Stripped? I think I've heard this song before, though, and it's all right.

George Benson, "Give Me The Night"--I think I borrowed a George Benson CD from my parents once. That doesn't mean I know anything about him, though.

James Ingram, "How Do You Keep The Music Playing"--don't know this song either. This isn't too exciting so far.

Pussycat Dolls, "Buttons"--yes! I love this song, and I don't care what that says about me. Very pop--let's see if the list improves from here.

Nick Lachey, "What's Left Of Me"--Anthony says: "When I first heard this song, all I remember thinking is 'Why couldn't they write that song for me?'"
Gee, Anthony, if that's the sort of song you want to sing, why wasn't there anything like that on the album?!?

Robbie Williams, "Lovelight"--ooo, we're 3 for 3 for the last 3 songs--this is great as well. Plus, Anthony says "Robbie can just do no wrong lately," which a lot of people would probably disagree with, but it implies that he likes "Rudebox." I approve.

Kelly Clarkson, "Beautiful Disaster"--Anthony says: "Gee, this chick can sing."
No kidding. But he did choose a good non-single from her first album, which is a sort of promising sign in terms of his knowledge of pop.

Justin Timberlake, "SexyBack"--Anthony says: "Trust Justin to bring sexy back onto the scene. He just has too much talent. It's really not fair and should not be allowed."
Meh. "SexyBack" has grown on me, but FutureSex/LoveSounds never grabbed me as an album (though I might love the radio edit of "What Goes Around...Comes Back Around;" I haven't decided yet). So, if he has too much talent, he's an example of someone not channeling it properly (...).

Kylie Minogue, "Fever"--Anthony likes Kylie Minogue! "She is the ultimate female performer" (or it's just a token reference to a popular Australian artist, but I'm going to take it at face value). Anthony, you like "Buttons," Kylie Minogue--give us some sort of storming uptempo dance masterpiece! Or at least call up the folks who did Kate DeAraugo's "Faded" Reactor Mix or Stephanie McIntosh's "Mistake" Jewel & Stone Mix. Look, you even have pop-rocky singles now--that's what both of those songs originally were.

Scissor Sisters, "I Don't Feel Like Dancing"--see, Anthony, we know you really want to be doing fun uptempo poppy songs. I approve of this choice as well.

Augie March, "One Crowded Hour"--I don't know this song, I'm sorry. It sounds meandering (not necessarily a bad thing) and intimate from the preview.

Eskimoe Joe, "Black Fingernails, Red Wine"--OK, I know I've heard their name before, but I've never heard their songs. Sort of rocky--well, it's rock, but it doesn't seem rock-out.

Pink, "U + Ur Hand"--brilliant! I love this song, even if it does sound like the Veronicas' "4ever." Rocky pop that's still fun and poppy. Actually, now that I think of it, I'm sort of surprised there's no Veronicas on this list--I bet there would have been if he'd done it a year ago.

U2, "Beautiful Day"--I'm no U2 expert, but I do like this song of theirs.

James Morrison, "You Give Me Something"--this is the second time I've seen Anthony mention James Morrison; he compared the production on "Now You're Gone" to James Morrison's music. I like this song--not extremely exciting, but a solid ending.

In the end: it's no surprise to learn that Anthony likes sentimental ballad songs. However, though some of the songs he selected could be viewed as classics, there was a surprising lack of truly classical-esque songs. He also chose some rock songs, but the most rock-out of all of the songs was actually a pop song ("U + Ur Hand"), and it was the latter sound he was probably going for on many of the songs on his album. There were also a lot of songs that can't be viewed as anything other than complete pop, and were extremely catchy--I'd love to see some more like this on the next album; ballads, like "Rain," would be great--and we know he likes that style still, given his reaction to "What's Left Of Me"--but I'd also love to see some uptempo songs in the vein of "Into Your Heart" and "Wanna Be The One." Of course, my biases are well-known: from a selfish "what I like most" perspective, if Anthony wants to keep the pop-rock, that's fine, more than fine; I'd just like the other half of the album to be catchier and poppier--some ballads, and some not.

So, anyhow, today you all get the TV Rock song (it's definitely designed for clubs). If you don't like it, blame Anthony Callea.

Flaunt It

To buy TV Rock's album Sunshine City, go here (physical).

Next up: probably another day in Australia, but maybe some cute songs from Denmark.