Backstage Pass

As Barack Obama completed his acceptance speech last night and awaited the fireworks (literally and figuratively), country duo Brooks and Dunn's "Only in America" provided the surprising soundtrack. It was a way to say, "Game on," since the duo played it live for President George W. Bush's at his 2004 convention in New York. But symbolically, it means more.

Obama has been using U2's "City of Blinding Lights" since the Iowa caucuses, which was actually an inspired choice. Adding "Only in America," the sound of Red State America, to his campaign is equally inspiring, a song that echoes both the U2 song's theme and the "Only in America, where we dream as big as we want to" theme of Obama's entire presidential bid. It was a Big Tent Moment that will be hard to dupicate. For John McCain to pull off something equivalent, he'd have to pick something from Jay-Z's catalog for his campaign and we know how likely that is.

Our pal and boss Kevin Amorim has a big bundle of stuff in the Newsday about Michael Jackson's 50th birthday tomorrow. So that seemed like a good reason to pull out the video for "Scream," which still often serves as my personal office anthem.

On a related note, the folks at PopEater.com have had some interesting results to their recent poll -- with 71 percent of those responding saying the King of Pop has "not a chance" of a comeback. Um, happy birthday!?

On an unrelated note, they also found that 93 percent of those responding to a separate poll say Madonna and her recent anti-McCain statement will have no impact on who they vote for in the presidential election, a number that seemed terrifying to me. In an election where the economy, health care, wars and future wars are the main issues, there are 7 percent of the people who will be swayed by Madonna's thoughts? Yikes.

Politics aside, the Republicans will have a tough time beating the soundtrack to the Democratic convention next week. Sen. Barack Obama's historic run for the presidency has already inspired much of music's A-list to create tributes to him, many of which are being unveiled this week. (That's not even counting will.i.am's primary boost "Yes We Can.")

Below are a few selections:

Dave Stewart, "American Prayer"

Continue reading "Obama ahead in music inspiration race" »

In the middle of convention-mania, there are sure to be some head-scratching combinations of musicians and politicians, but this one will be hard to beat. John McCain and Daddy Yankee? Huh? Obviously, Daddy Yankee was won over by McCain's "Gasolina" policy. (The best part of this video is when the bored crowd behind McCain gets all ZOMG! when Daddy Yankee arrives.)

The new charity single “Just Stand Up” is a great idea, a way to raise funds for cancer research and awareness for the “Stand Up to Cancer” special to be aired on ABC, CBS and NBC on Sept. 5.
In practice, though, the song, produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface, is a bit of a diva pile-up, with 15 singers crammed into a song that clocks in around three-and-a-half-minutes. And telling one from another, especially in the middle, gets a bit dicey.

So here’s a handy guide to tell who’s who:

Beyonce is clearly the opener, followed by a pop-sounding Carrie Underwood. Next is Rihanna, with her cute accent and distinctive phrasing that makes her lines sound a bit like “Umbrella,” and a line from Sheryl Crow. Crow and Beyonce team up for the first pass through the chorus.

The second verse starts with Fergie’s distinctly not-cute accent, before she starts trading lines with Leona Lewis and then Keyshia Cole. Rihanna returns for her bit, trading lines with Miley Cyrus, before handing off to LeAnn Rimes and Natasha Bedingfield. Underwood picks up the Sheryl Crow line and they all head into the chorus together, with some powerful vamping from Melissa Ethridge.

Mary J. Blige handles the first half of the bridge, with some support from Ciara, Rihanna and Underwood. Mariah Carey takes over for the second half, supported by Ashanti – leading to an All-Long Island oasis. Then Mary and Mariah head back into the chorus, ad libbing over the group, complete with Mariah’s trademark high-register notes.

Fergie comes back for the outro and we’re out.

"Just Stand Up" goes on sale on iTunes on Sept. 2 and will make its live debut during the Sept. 5 special.

   Life is a mystery. Madonna not so much.
   Everyone was expecting some sort of controversy as she launched her "Sticky and Sweet" tour in Wales last week. It was just a matter of finding out what it would be.
   This time, she chose politics -- including John McCain's picture in a montage of Adolf Hitler and Robert Mugabe, then including Barack Obama's picture in a montage with Gandhi and John Lennon.
   Sure, it got Madge some headlines, but that's not going to last until Oct. 4 when the tour hits America and the other current gripe with her is that the massive tour has a huge carbon footprint. Well, yeah.
   Madonna's gonna need some fresher controversies so we thought we'd help out – and not just because the new single "Beat Goes On" is too good to go unnoticed.
   She should try:
-- Gay marriage support: Whether her marriage to Guy Ritchie is on the rocks or not, they sound like they need a break. Maybe they could put things on hold as a "protest" for gay marriage, vowing not to retie the knot until all people who want to marry can.
-- Michael Phelps affair: That would give her the cover to have a quick, torrid, paparazzi-covered affair with the Olympic hero. Of course, she may have to wait in line. Maybe John Mayer can pencil her in.
-- Britney reunion: With the MTV Video Music Awards set for next week, isn't it time she and Britney Spears, um, buried the hatchet again?

PHOTO: Madonna and friends arrive on stage at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium Saturday night. Photo by Joel Ryan for Associated Press.

The Jonas Brothers land their first No. 1 album this week, selling 525,000 copies of "A Little Bit Longer" making it the third-highest debut of the year behind Lil Wayne and Coldplay. All the publicity from their rollout pushed their previous eponymous album back into the Top 10, meaning they now have three albums in the Top 10, as their soundtrack from "Camp Rock" holds at No. 8.

"Longer" pushes the soundtrack to "Mamma Mia!" down to No. 2, while Kid Rock's "Rock and Roll Jesus" moves to No. 3. Miley Cyrus' "Breakout" drops to No. 4 and Sugarland's "Love on the Inside" slips to No. 5.

On the singles charts, Rihanna holds on to No. 1 with "Disturbia," though she faces a tough challenge from David Archuleta, whose debut single "Crush" debuts all the way up at No. 2. Chris Brown's "Forever" slides down a notch to No. 3, as does Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" at No. 4. Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" rebounds to No. 5.

Look for the Jonases to hold on to the top spot next week. Whether they make it three in a row will depend on how strong Levittown's Donnie Klang and the reunited New Kids on the Block campaigns will be.

PHOTO: Joe, Nick and Kevin Jonas at "Jonas" Beach. Photo by Ari Mintz for Newsday.

   The season premiere of “Making the Band 4" last night pushed in one direction, while human nature pulled us all in another one. Diddy wants everyone to know that Donnie Klang’s debut “Just a Rolling Stone” arrives in stores on Sept. 2. The first single is “Take You There” featuring, well, Diddy, and it’s actually the theme song for the season apparently.
    “In case, this is your first time here, we make bands here,” Diddy explains. “They make albums and those albums go to No. 1... Donnie, his album hasn’t come out yet, but it comes out Sept. 2. Hopefully you guys will make it – what? – No. 1, my favorite number.”
    The push for Levittown’s Klang aside, the episode was really about the surprise return of choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson, who had a massive on-camera blowout with Puff, resulting in her leaving the show last season. But she’s back and fiery – in a Debbie Allen in “Fame” way – as she tries to whip Day 26 into shape.
    “How are you guys Brokedown Palace already?” she asks.
    Danity Kane is in rehearsals as well, but nothing as drama-filled as Laurie Ann’s sessions, though Aubrey does get kicked in the face at one point during an errant flip.
    In the end, it’s all a set up to Diddy vs. Laurie Ann, which comes at the end, and they agree to disagree – though in a way that’s meant to portend future drama this season between them.

PHOTO: Donnie Klang has a new album coming out. Photo from MTV.

 Jesse McCartney’s new tour leaves no doubt that he is set for a while new level of stardom.
    His album “Departure,” with its smash hit “Leavin’,” recast the former teen-pop star as an R&B-leaning pop singer, with a taste for ‘80s dance music. But his concert proves the transformation is far grander than that. McCartney has developed into a true triple threat, displaying his singing, dancing and even acting skills in his well-paced entertaining show.
    McCartney rolled out 10 new songs to the shrieking delight of the mostly teenaged crowd, backing up his new sound with slick choreographed routines with his two backing singers that turned “My Baby” into an extravaganza that looked like The Temptations and sounded like it was born in the mid-‘80s (like the 21-year-old McCartney himself). Even his previous hit “Beautiful Soul” has been updated to rock out a bit in the middle.
    His new single, the Timbaland/Timberlake-ish “It’s Over,” is even more impressive in concert, as McCartney gets to show off his vocals and phrasing as he dances. His vocal agility shows up in his remarkably cover of T-Pain’s “Buy You a Drank,” as well.
    Unlike his touring partner Jordin Sparks, though, McCartney leaves the crowd wanting much more, with a knockout one-two punch of “Relapse,” which sounds apocalyptic in concert with the massive synth sounds and the fiery guitar riffs, and the light-hearted “Leavin’,” which he plays up to its poppy potential as well.
    Thanks to his acting career and Disney-backing, McCartney has been a star for years, but with his latest great leap forward, he has now become an artistic force as well.

SETLIST: Freaky / Makeup / My Baby / Beautiful Soul / It’s Over / Rock You / Runnin’ / Not Your Enemy / She’s No You / Jessie’s Girl / Oxygen / How Do You Sleep? / Buy You a Drank / Told You So / Relapse / Leavin’

PHOTO: McCartney at Zootopia in May by Charles Eckert for Newsday