American Idol iTunes Night Top 9

In a strategic partnership, Fox, American Idol and Apple/iTunes have banded together again this year to offer downloads of songs from each night of American Idol performances. This year, they've upped it by mentioning iTunes a ton during each broadcast. Tonight, they talked about it so much, I'm curious how much each partner is getting paid. Regardless, tonight's lame attempt at a theme night was iTunes night. As long as you could download the song on iTunes, you could sing it. Weird, but good excuse to have a night when the contestants could sing absolutely anything. Here's my review of the performances tonight.

Anoop - I liked his performance of "Caught Up". It wasn't the best of the night, but it was a good solid performance. I think he deserves another week to see what he can do. I was glad to see him do something upbeat this week too.
Megan - This was just bad. She did Bob Marley. Not good at all. I think she's going home this week.
Danny - This was his best performance yet. Heartfelt, emotional and real. I loved it. He did Rascal Flatts and I think I will buy that song on iTunes. Hey it's working Fox and Apple.
Allison - I thought she sounded good and I even liked her quirky outfit. She sang "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. It wasn't her best I don't think, but I thought she did good.
Scott - I hate to keep picking on Scott, but c'mon he doesn't sound contemporary. Taylor Hicks sounded more contemporary than he does. He did Billy Joel tonight. I thought it was a good performance, but I just can't help thinking that he's out of his depth. How did Alexis leave and Scott & Megan are still performing? He might make it another week, but just because Megan was sooo bad.
Matt G - I love this guy. But he may need help picking songs. Whenever he can pick whatever he wants, he picks the totally wrong song. Is there anything wrong with The Fray? No. He did good, but he didn't show us a heartfelt deep in my gut Matt G performance. I thought Apologize by One Republic, Cry Me A River by Timberlake or even an updated version of a soulful Careless Whisper or Father Figure would've been much better choices for Matt G. Email me Matt, I've got some ideas for you, because you are too good to go home yet.
Lil Rounds - She sounded great. Don't get me wrong. I love Lil. Here's my problem with Lil. She is trying too hard. She suffers from what Matt G suffers from. They are cracking under the pressure and picking songs that don't suit them. Celine Dion? She tried to sound like Celine. Not a good choice for me. Why isn't this girl doing Mary J Blige, Lauren Hill, Mariah Carey or at least early Janet Jackson? She can do it. I think Lil needs a producer and she'll do fine. She just might not last in the competition.
Adam - I don't like Adam. I'm not gonna lie. But I think for the 2nd consecutive week, he's pulled off fantastic performances. Last week was much better. But he still made Play that Funky Music sound current and that's pretty good.
Kris - Tonight he had a moment. Very shocked and surprised by his stunning heartfelt raw performance tonight. Ain't No Sunshine. Definitely downloading that track.

Finally, was Paula reading from a music dictionary tonight? I think she was trying hard to sound like she knows what she's talking about. I love Paula, but quit talking so much. I really like Kara too, but she is starting to talk way too much too. Simon should be the only judge that is allowed to go on and on, because I respect his opinions so much. Randy is good, but he's usually to the point mostly. These ladies are just talking way too much and not saying that much. I love you girls, but keep it a little shorter if you can. At least give it a try. What can it hurt?

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Apple's Let's Rock Event

Apple had their Let's Rock Event yesterday. While most of the late predictions came true, there were some surprises. I'm excited about the new Nanos since I was thinking of getting a new one soon anyway. My headphone jack is kind of worn out and now I don't hear clean music through my nano anymore. I'm also excited to use the new iTunes 8. I'm just starting to play with it now since I downloaded it last night. OK, well here's a ton more info if you're interested.

Article
Watch the whole event in quicktime
Check out the apple store

Free music this week on iTunes

Right now on iTunes, you can get free downloads of a new Paul McCartney song and a new Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band single. Get it while it's still free. Pretty big artists giving away free songs. I downloaded. The Springsteen tune is really good.

iPhone - I got 1!

I got an iPhone! Here's how it went down.

June 29th came and went. Apple released their iPhone to much fanfare. I have to admit that I was salivating at the idea of this new gadget. I love new gadgets and this one seemed to be one that did everything that I've been wishing for. A Video iPod, a cell phone, pda style functions, email, web surfing, etc. I was traveling around a lot in the end of June and beginning of July and missed waiting in line on day 1. To be honest though, I didn't think that I would get one right away. I mean $600 for a phone is pretty steep. But I knew I wanted one.

I went to the Apple store and watched as others took a look at these fancy new gadgets. The lines were so long, I didn't think it would ever be possible for me to get one. Plus, that price was holding me back.

My friend Mike got one and I took a look at his. It was utterly amazing. I held it in my hand and instantly knew that I had to have one. I went to the nearest AT&T store and they were taking forever to get to me, so I left. I ran some more errands and decided if I wanted to get one of these amazing machines I had to buy it from Apple. I went home and checked the website. It was a 1 - 2 week wait. I couldn't wait I told myself. I purposely hadn't upgraded my Sprint phone that I should've upgraded in January, because I was waiting to just look at the iPhone. I went to my nearest Apple store and thought let's just ask them if they have them. They did. I was shocked. What should I do now? I thought about it for like 1/4 second before I plunked down my credit card to charge $600 for the 8GB iPhone.

I haven't been disappointed. It's the coolest phone I've ever had and in my opinion, it's more like a mini computer than a phone. I use it to surf the web from anywhere. It looks great. I prefer to search the web from Wi-Fi but I can search over AT&T's EDGE network. I use it to easily check weather from the widget in the phone. The iPod functionality is killer. I just love it! I think it's one of the greatest gadgets I've ever owned. I think it even surpasses my euphoria that I had when I got my first iPod. Now, I'll be pissed if I drop it and it breaks, but this is such a cool space age kind of gadget, that I'm blown away. I can't believe that I have one. I think everyone should go and get one. Surprising since it's the first generation of this product, but it's that cool.

I'm so proud of it and excited by this gadget that I'm inspired. How often does that happen? I'm sure that you'll be hearing more about my iPhone in the future, but here's a little slideshow of me opening and activating my iPhone.

Also, if you're lucky enough to have one of these amazing gadgets, here's some video tips on CNET to check out.

iPod is the new cell phone

This is a good article about the iPod and its influence on our society.

iTunes Complete Album

Finally, iTunes announced today the launch of "Complete My Album". It allows you to buy an album at a reduced price when you purchase a single off that album. This should help spur more full album sales on iTunes. I definitely think I would take advantage of it. I have purchased single songs in the past and then went back to buy the full album because I ended up really liking the song. There is a time limit, but this is better than nothing. Thanks Apple and iTunes! Finally!