Hot Remix Alert: Michael Bublé - Haven't Met You Yet (Cutmore Video Remix)

I love me some Michael Bublé. I also love me some remixes...so when I heard that the ever amazing Richard Cutmore had done some remixes for Bublé's single "Haven't Met You Yet," I of course did 3 back flips and the splits. This isn't the first time Bublé has been remixed for the dance floors. Previous singles including "Sway," "Save The Last Dance For Me," "Spiderman Theme," and "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" have all been remixed for the dance floors. Even his Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings-assisted "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" received some club love. What can I say? Bublé just has a remix-friendly vocal and I'm thankful for that.

Now. What about these new mixes? Yes, "Haven't Met You Yet" was the first single off his last album, Crazy Love and YES it came out last summer but better late than never, right? The song peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, went all the way to #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart and peaked at #5 on the UK Singles Chart. So remixes almost a year later? Well, it has something to do with the big Twitter love fest I saw happen last Sunday when ITV aired An Audience With Michael Bublé. People were going crazy for Mr. Bublé and at the time I had no idea WHY NOW? Hasn't he been amazing for years? At any rate, this TV concert generated more interest in the singer AND in the single and apparently it's set to re-enter the UK Top 40 Chart this weekend. Enter Richard Cutmore, who's done some remixes. The label is giving UK DJs exclusive access to the Cutmore Remixes in the hope that it drums up some club-crossover success. I think this is a fabulous idea! Check out the official Cutmore video remix above and let me know what you think.

Dim The Lights, and Here We Go...

Download Lee DeWyze's New Single, "Beautiful Day" on iTunes

The 9th season of American Idol came to a close last night with the crowning of the newest singing sensation, Chicago's own Lee DeWyze. While Crystal Bowersox was originally my first choice to win, Lee may just have won me over in the end. Since the beginning of the competition Lee was definitely a front-runner for me, but a series of misses (i.e. - "Chasing Cars," "Lips of an Angel," "Fireflies") had me second guessing myself. It wasn't until his Top 12 performance of The Rolling Stones' "Beast Of Burden" that I really started to see what I saw during his audition round in Chicago.



Not only is he dreamy, but he's got this little-bit-rough, lotta-bit-soulful voice that exudes both sensuality and vulnerability at the same time and when he hits his stride...MAN can he sing. The boy's got pipes! While there were a few mis-steps along the way (i.e. - "A Little Less Conversation," "Kiss From A Rose,")...and a shockingly disappointing finale week performance (where his nerves got the best of him), he pulled it out in the end and won over America's vote. I was nervous last night. Well...nervous AND excited. I was still straddling the fence last night and when Lee faltered during...all of his performances...I thought that there was a shred of hope for Crystal to win, since she knocked it out of the park. After watching the finale though, I feel really good about the end result.

Watching Lee get choked up even before Ryan Seacrest announced him as the next American Idol got ME all emotional. This guy REALLY wanted to win and in the end, I think he deserved it. After being panned WEEK over WEEK for not showing how much he WANTED THIS title...after watching the last few minutes, how can you not see his passion? He was practically wearing it on his sleeve. Congratulations Lee DeWyze! Well done. Well deserved. Lee's single, a cover U2's "Beautiful Day" is available for download now.

Download Crystal Bowersox's New Single "Up To The Mountain" on iTunes

I generally dread the American Idol finale. Almost as much as I dread "Idol Gives Back" and 3/4 of every single Results Show. There's just SO MUCH FILLER! It drives me crazy! That being said...I was pleasantly surprised by this years finale (granted, due to a Comcast issue I missed the first 30 minutes or so). While I'm sure much of the spectacle of it all had to do with Simon Cowell's last appearance on the show...that didn't mean that it was any less spectacular. American Idol delivered quite an enjoyable finale.

Let's first talk Idol singles..."Beautiful Day" by U2 for Lee...and Patty Smith's "Up To The Mountain" for Crystal. OK...well...I need to brush up on my Patty Smith I quite enjoyed Crystal's performance last night. It's a song that fits her vocal style and her whole vibe. "Beautiful Day" is another good fit for Lee's voice and style. It's...as Kara would say...very commercial, which is good. Lee's got a commercial vibe about him that I think will do better on mainstream radio, and his cover of "Beautiful Day" may go on to prove that point. Gone are the days where American Idols release a cheesy, saccharine piece of pop-garbage (i.e. "A Moment Like This," "This Is My Now") and THANK GOD for that. I've always thought that the American Idols should release cover songs as singles. That's what the X-Factor contestants do! In my opinion, a good American Idol cover song has a much higher likelihood of actually being played on mainstream top 40 radio. Also...don't the contestants spend all season singing covers? Why derail the train just to give some college student the chance to get his or her songwriting break. Keep the momentum going with an updated COVER song. Well done American Idol. Well done.

Let's briefly talk about the finale spectacle itself...starting with Will Young's performance of "Leave Right Now" on Tuesday night's show. Loved seeing Will performing in America, although too bad he was singing over a Season 9 Montage and no one was paying attention. Last night's finale had several highlights for me. The first being an appearance from Ms. Paula Abul, who gave her buddy Simon a proper send off. To that end, the parade of Idol contestants, all singing "Together We Are One" really teared me up. I don't think it was the performance itself...because that was a cluster, I think it was more seeing everyone on stage in one place. Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Jordin Sparks, Taylor Hicks, Kris Allen...and a whole slew of past contestants all marched on stage and sang their hearts out. Very touching. Seeing Janet Jackson perform was also quite wonderful. She hasn't lost one bit of...anything over the years. Ms. Jackson (if I'm nasty) has still got it going on. Love her new hair by the way, don't you? Solid.

All in all a very entertaining Finale. Given what a shit show this past season was, I am surprised by how much I loved the last 3 hours of the season. The final 2 deserved to be at the top. Crystal, despite not winning is going to be JUST FINE. I look forward to watching the journey these two talented kids are about to embark on. It's going to be quite the ride, I'm sure.

Check out American Idol on the web:

Official Site

Versatile Dance Artist Lauren Hildebrandt Releases New Single and Remix EP, 'Underneath'

Have you checked out dance artist Lauren Hildebrandt's new single, "Underneath" yet? I don't know where I was when this was released on May 1st but I COMPLETELY dropped the ball. Normally I'm all up on my favorite dance artists. I remember Hildebrandt's first single, "Burnin' Out" back from 2005, when it peaked at #5 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Charts with remixes from Mike Cruz, Friscia & Lamboy, Liquid360 and more. The following year Hildebrandt dazzled us with "Dance With You" featuring mixes by Mr. Mig, Mike Rizzo, Escape & Dom Capello followed by "My Life Again" in 2007 with mixes by Jack D. Elliott, Lenny B, Perry Twins and more, both of which went Top 20 on the dance charts.


Lauren Hildebrandt "Burnin Out" (Liquid360 Mix - Dance Version)

Lauren Hildebrandt | MySpace Music Videos

October of 2008 saw the digital release of Hildebrandt's new single "Boyshorts," which was followed in June of 2009 with a remix EP featuring mixes from up & coming remixers like Aaron Paetsch and Bit Error."Boyshorts," it turned out, was the first official single off of Hildebrandt's debut album, Not Really A Waitress, which was released on January 19th. Now, nearly a year after the release of the "Boyshorts" Remixes, we are graced with Hildebrandt's presence yet again, this time, in the form of pop/dance number "Underneath," remixes provided by Josh Harris, Mike Bordes, Peter Parona and DJ JST. Josh Harris himself produced the track for radio release and the track has current mainstream adds at Sirius XM, AOL and other major market radio stations as well as dance radio - making "Underneath" one of "'Hildy's' biggest supported tracks to date."



In addition to promoting her album, Hildebrandt just wrapped a series of performances in the world premiere of a musical theater production called "Paris," which celebrated the famous French city with fabulous costumes, dance and music inspired by "Gay Paris." How cool is that!? Can you say triple threat? This isn't actually the first time Hildebrandt danced, having appeared as a top finalist on Debbie Allen's "Fame" Talent competition airing on NBC in the 2003. After "Fame," Hildy worked as a waitress, all the while, working on her burgeoning singing career. After a number of odd jobs (including singing back-up vocals for Sharon Stone and appearing in a Black Eyed Peas video) Hildebrandt hit the big time with her first dance hit, "Burnin' Out," which garnered her a 2006 "Best New Dance Artist" nod at the International Dance Music Awards. Now that's what I call a success story! Given how many struggling young artists are out there, you gotta give this girl props for sticking to her guns and achieving success in such a tough industry. Mad respect. Mad talent. Can't wait to hear what's next from this talented girl.

Check out Lauren Hildebrandt on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Twitter//YouTube//iTunes