At last count, there are already 25 perfs from Pepsi Smash Exclusive: Cover Art including those from Daughtry, Rihanna, Colbie Caillat, Bo Bice, Mandy Moore, New Found Glory, and Natasha Bedingfield. The following are my top 10 favorites.
NUMBER TEN
Jesse McCartney with T-Pain's 'Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')'
NUMBER NINE
Daughtry with U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'
NUMBER EIGHT
Solange with Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida'
NUMBER SEVEN
Mandy Moore with Rihanna's 'Umbrella'
NUMBER SIX
The Veronicas with Jonas Brothers's 'Burnin' Up'
NUMBER FIVE
Bowling for Soup with Fergie's 'London Bridge'
NUMBER FOUR
T-Pain with Gavin DeGraw's 'I Don't Want To Be'
NUMBER THREE
Colbie Caillat with Pussycat Doll's 'Don't Cha'
NUMBER TWO
Natasha Bedingfield with Maroon 5's 'This Love'
NUMBER ONE
The All-American Rejects with Britney Spear's 'Womanizer'
"We need to try to do the right thing every time, to perform at our best, because we never know which moment in our lives we'll be judged on." - CAPT. CHESLEY SULLENBERGER on his to-be-released memoir. He was the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 which safely landed on the Hudson River last January after both engines lost power minutes after takeoff.
NOTE: VERBATIM, as inspired by Time Magazine's Quotes of the Day, is a collection of quotable quotes by anyone, seen (or often times heard) anywhere.
I know hundreds, if not thousands, of Filipinos have already expressed how Cory and Ninoy changed their lives. But aside from what they did as statespersons, Cory and Ninoy did influence my life in more personal way.
Right before I entered UP, my mom pushed me to apply for the Benigno S. Aquino Jr. Foundation scholarships. I was super hesistant (more of stubborn, actually) not to apply for it. I remember having a big fight with my mom because I really don't want to apply for it because I know my parents could still pay for my tuition and that other students deserve it more than I do. But, my mom did fill out the whole form and I signed it without even an ounce of care.
Months later, a highschool friend told me that someone from the Student Union Building wants to talk to me. I thought it was because I was not attending any of my bloc meetings. What I received was a letter with a check both personally signed by Tita Cory herself. Though not enough to pay for my whole tuition, I'd consider the P3,000 stipend I'd receive every semester as my bonus for the continuous strife to excel in both academic and co-curricular activities. The signed letter I received is now a personal treasure.
But Cory and Ninoy's influence doesn't stop there. My mom once told me that if not for the Aquino couple, I wouldn't exist.
My parents got married on February 22, 1986, the height of the EDSA revolt. My father, a young police officer back then, was too afraid he'd die during the fiasco so he decided to marry my mom. My mom recalls that right after their wedding, my dad immediately left for EDSA. There was no wedding reception, not even a simple meal. If not for the peaceful 1986 revolt led by Cory, my parents would have not remarry in church a year after and have me as their firstborn nine months later.
And because of these, I'll forever be indebted to Ninoy and Cory.
Tha Leik Gyi village tract, Pyapon Township, Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar
FIVE MONTHS AGO, EVERYTHING WAS IN total blur. I was totally at lost and it was like being overwhelmed with the awaiting possibilities (Some call this the ‘fresh-grad jitters’). I didn’t know if I was to ‘go with the flow’ or ‘make my own flow and go’. Interestingly, it was the very same feeling I had when I was about to join DevComSoc four years ago. What Soc taught me that time is to brace up and expect the unexpected. I surely did. And this still remains to be one of the greatest lessons I learned from the organization.
Expecting the unexpected
I was about to enter the “corporate world” (public affairs, that is) when the unexpected happened. Little did I know, another fate awaits me.
Exactly ten hours before I signed my very first contract, I received an e-mail asking if I’m still interested to work in Myanmar for the next five months. It all sounded like a joke. It’s a spam mail, I thought. I was actually about to delete it when it hit me. I did apply for a work in Myanmar a few months before, but it was all in haste and just out of curiosity (As a matter of fact, my resume was so amateur it even included awards for spelling bees and singing contests during my primary school days). I continued reading the message saying that I’m shortlisted for a recovery and rehabilitation project in the Irrawaddy Delta. The very next day, I withdrew my application for the public affairs post and accepted the volunteer work.
Two weeks after receiving that e-mail, I flew in to Yangon still expecting the unexpected. Upon arrival, we were immediately introduced to the specifics of the work and to our co-volunteers. My co-volunteers (three Burmese, a Cambodian, and a Filipina) are experienced NGO workers and project managers for different advocacy issues such as migration and HIV/AIDS. As for me, I am only armed with my UP-brand of education [insert a wink here] and my experiences with DevComSoc [insert another wink here]. And this, I thought, is where DevComSoc is great with – enhancing its members’ skills through various activities making their experiences at par with those who are already in the field.
Grace under pressure
The project we’re in is spearheaded by the Tripartite Core Group, an umbrella organization for United Nation agencies, ASEAN, and the Government of Myanmar. It was established as a response mechanism for the humanitarian efforts for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, the deadliest cyclone in Myanmar’s history. And because this project involves international organizations, one could just imagine the extreme amount of pressure to ensure its success.
As with DevComSoc, we’re constantly bombarded with so much pressure but still manage to stand above others. We’ve managed to develop each other’s coping mechanisms, that most of us can easily juggle academic loads with the organization’s activities and still doing well with both. And that doesn’t stop there – other members are also actively involved in other organizations and in the student council, and some even in their part-time work.
I could vividly remember the first visit of senior officials from UN, ASEAN, and Myanmar government to our project sites. As we were walking through all the villages, they were asking us random questions in bullet-speed range. The questions thrown to us ranged from the project information (e.g. what the project is all about, where did the budget come from) to topics not related to our project (e.g. the global economic crisis and even about Obama’s election). My co-volunteers were amazed with how I answered a wide array of questions and still managing to make jokes and make the VIPs laughed. If not for Soc’s training, I could’ve succumbed to the pressure and crumbled and mumbled and blabbered (and so on).
Redefining “real life”
With the help of International Development Enterprises – Myanmar (IDE|M), an international NGO working in Myanmar since 2004, we have already planned and organized several distribution activities for different agricultural inputs (such as vegetable seeds, fertilizers, and hand power tillers). Moreover, we have also actively consulted and mobilized the villagers for the construction of community-managed infrastructure projects.
Organizing these activities is not so different with how we organize our activities in the organization. At Soc, we make sure that everybody’s readily involved in the process – from brainstorming up until evaluation. What we do in the organization is what others do in the ‘working world’. What we have in our college days is as real as it can get. That’s why, I don’t believe in the notion that the ‘working world’ is the so-called ‘real world’. DevComSoc never fails to open doors of opportunities for its members to enrich their experiences and enhance their talents in a ‘real world’ setting. And I honestly couldn’t imagine how I would have fared here in Myanmar if not for the Society. So, to all resident members, grab every bit of opportunity that Soc gives (and will continue to give) you. We should be humbled by the privileges that we continue to enjoy because of our beloved organization. And it is only through wholeheartedly serving the Society and embodying its ideals that we can truly repay what the organization has given (and will continue to give) to every member.
"Believe nothing I say. Simply live it. Experience it. Then live whatever other paradigm you want to construct. Afterward, look to your experience to find your truth." - GOD in the book Conversations with God An Uncommon Dialogue (Book 1) by Neale Donald Walsch.
NOTE: VERBATIM, as inspired by Time Magazine's Quotes of the Day, is a collection of quotable quotes by anyone, seen (or often times heard) anywhere.
With one hundred thirty three live perfs reviewed, the following are my top 20 perfs for AI Season 8. (Click photos to see the videos. Credits to americanidol.com.)
NUMBER TWENTY. Mishavonna Henson's Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) (Billboard Hot 100 Hits Week) NUMBER NINETEEN. Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta's Slow Ride (Rock Week) NUMBER EIGHTEEN. Matt Giraud's Let's Get In On (50 Years of Motown Week) NUMBER SEVENTEEN. Anoop Desai's (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (Songs of the Cinema Week) NUMBER SIXTEEN. Allison Iraheta's If I Can't Make You Love Me (Birth Year Songs Week) NUMBER FIFTEEN. Danny Gokey's Hero (Billboard Hot 100 Hits Week) NUMBER FOURTEEN. Ricky Braddy's A Song for You (Billboard Hot 100 Hits Week) NUMBER THIRTEEN. Allison Iraheta's Alone (Billboard Hot 100 Hits Week) NUMBER TWELVE. Kris Allen's Falling Slowly (Songs of the Cinema Week) NUMBER ELEVEN. Adam Lambert's Mad World (Top 2 Finale Week - Finalist's Favorite) NUMBER TEN. Lil Rounds's Be Without You (Billboard Hot 100 Hits Week) NUMBER NINE. Adam Lambert's A Change Is Gonna Come (Top 2 Finale Week - Simon Fuller's Choice) NUMBER EIGHT. Allison Iraheta's Someone to Watch Over Me (Rat Pack Standards Week) NUMBER SEVEN. Adam Lambert's (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Billboard Hot 100 Hits Week) NUMBER SIX. Adam Lambert's The Tracks of My Tears (50 Years of Motown Week) NUMBER FIVE. Kris Allen's Heartless (Top 3 Week - Finalist's Choice) NUMBER FOUR. Adam Lambert's One (Top 3 Week - Judge's Choice) NUMBER THREE. Kris Allen's Ain't No Sunshine (Top 2 Finale Week - Finalist's Favorite) NUMBER TWO. Adam Lambert's Mad World (Birth Year Songs Week) NUMBER ONE. Allison Iraheta's Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (50 Years of Motown Week)
Another season's over with Kris Allen grabbing the top spot.
I refuse to OVERanalyze the reason behind Allen's win (unlike how other people try their hardest to). It has nothing to do with the any backlash on the judges' overpimping of Lambert or his controversial sexuality or the Gokey votes going to Allen and the AT&T 'power texting' controversy. It's plain simple - after the final perfs, many people preferred Allen over Lambert. Although I was a bit disappointed with results, I think Kris Allen equally deserves the win. I'd rather buy Allen's album than Lambert's, BUT I'd want to have a ticket at Lambert's concert. They're just totally different artists.
And up for next season, I do hope that they'll switch the semi-final rounds similar to that of Seasons 4 to 7. Imagine if Matt Giraud nailed 'Viva la Vida' on the Top 36 Group 2 perfs, then Kris Allen might have been eliminated that time. If they hadn't changed the format, then we should've seen Ricky Braddy, Mishavonna Henson, Ju'not Joyner, Felicia Barton, Kendall Beard, Jesse Langseth, Jackie Tohn, and even Brent Keith slipping into the Top 12.
Anyway, here are some notable special perfs this season.
TOP AUDITION/HOLLYWOOD ROUND PERFORMANCE. Adam Lambert's "Believe"
TOP GROUP PERFORMANCE. Top 36 Group B "Closer"
TOP PERFORMANCE WITH A KNOWN ARTIST. Allison Iraheta with Cyndi Lauper "Time After Time"
Theme: Contestant’s Favorite, Simon Fuller’s Choice, Winner’s Single
Top Pick: Kris Allen's "Ain't No Sunshine" Worst Pick: Kris Allen's “No Boundaries"
Why should ADAM LAMBERT win? A front-runner since the start of this season, Adam Lambert never fails to surprise everyone with his strong performances. Week by week, I always look forward on what he'll do next and he's been consistent since Day One. During the course of the competition, he took us to the upbeat tunes (Top 36's (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and Top 9's Play That Funky Music) to classic rock (Top 4's Whole Lotta Love and Top 3's Cryin') and to some sincere ballads (Top 10's The Tracks of My Tears and Top 8's Mad World). The only problem, I don't know what specific type of record he'll have. And I think it's better seeing him perform than just listening to his songs. Best performances:"One" (Top 3 - Judge's Choice) and "Mad World" (Top 8 - Birth year Songs)
Worst performance: "Feeling Good" (Top 5 - Rat Pack Standards)
Why should KRIS ALLEN win? The great thing with Kris Allen is that you just know what kind of record he'll have after Idol. He is not the strongest vocalist among the Top 13, but what separates him from the others (even with contestants from previous seasons) is that he masterfully reinvented the songs and "Allen-izing" them. Some of his best were Top 9's Ain't No Sunshine, Top 7's She Works Hard for the Money, and Top 3's Heartless. He now appears to be the torchbearer of the fallen singer-songwriters of past Idols (e.g. Michael Johns, Brooke White, Jason Castro).
Best performances:"Heartless" (Top 3 - Finalist's Choice) and "Ain't No Sunshine" (Top 2 - Finalist's Favorite)
Worst performance:"Remember the Time" (Top 13 - Michael Jackson Songs)
WHO SHOULD WIN:More of Adam Lambert. But, I actually couldn't care less if it's Kris Allen. They're both great.
Top Picks: Kris Allen's "Heartless" and Adam Lambert’s “One” Worst Pick: Danny Gokey's “Dance Little Sister"
THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD ALL END UP. An Adam - Kris finale.
Who should go: Danny Gokey
Possible shocker: (But of course) Kris Allen and Adam Lambert
TOP SIMON COMMENT MOMENT:
(On Kris's second perf) "After what I thought was a lame song choice for you, I had written you out of this competition. That, however, has all changed after that performance."
Top Pick: Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta’s “Slow Ride” Worst Pick: Danny Gokey's “Dream On"
Adam Lambert - Effortless.
Allison Iraheta - Half-cooked.
Kris Allen - Fierce.
Danny Gokey - Excruciating.
Allen/Gokey duet - Unbalanced. (And Kris was way better than Danny.)
Lambert/Iraheta duet - Great finale scenario!
As a last note, it feels so annoying seeing the judges justifying Gokey's horrible perf, saying that this week's theme is not his niche. Well, IT'S ALL PART OF THE CHALLENGE! A great AI finalist is someone who can still deliver amazing perfs despite the limited song choices in a certain theme. Case in point, Kris Allen's disco night perf of "She Works Hard for the Money" or David Cook's "Always Be My Baby" on last season's Mariah Carey week.
The judges were very careful not to FULLY throw him under the bus after his perf last episode (which is totally unfair for Anoop, Matt, and even Michael Sarver). It's so obvious that really they want him on the finale. Hahay.
Who should go: Danny Gokey (Fingers crossed!)
Possible shocker: Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta
TOP SIMON COMMENT MOMENT:
(On Danny's perf) "But, you know, that last note, I mean, it was like watching a horror movie. It's like the scene in Friday the 13th, it was just like the scream. And I think it was actually a little bit off."
I'd rather support this than the self-indulgent Ako Mismo campaign.
I thought the Stand by Me perf vid shown in Anderson Cooper's show this morning was super moving.
Anchored on the idea of "Peace through Music", Playing for Change is "a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music." Their official website furthers, "No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race." With these, they launched their Song Around the World series featuring (undiscovered) musicians from different parts of the globe. Below are two of their best perf vids.
1. Stand by Me - "Our first Song Around the World that bridges the physical distance between the many musicians and cultures of this planet."
2. Chanda Mama - "A Song Around the World that has a joyous feeling of perseverance created by the vocalists from four continents."
Top Pick: Allison Iraheta’s “Someone to Watch Over Me” Worst Pick: Danny Gokey's “Come Rain or Come Shine"
First off, Jamie Foxx as mentor? Really? ROFL.
Sleek perf from Kris. He may not be the strongest vocalist in the Top 5 pool, but his perfs continue to outshine Adam's. Allison was also great last night. Her chat with Ryan before her perf was cute and she's now getting some personality (and more airtime and, ergo, more votes).
With no vocal overkill this episode, Giraud's perf was also strong (NOTE: The perf was strong. But it was not that brilliant, Simon.). Danny's perf, however, was a bit manic. And (finally), a bummer perf from Adam. Wow. This was one of Adam's weakest.
And something's definitely wrong with Simon tonight. His 'wet'-comment to Kris's perf was totally weird (and super hilarious) and he totally threw Allison under the bus, albeit the great perf.
Who should go: Matt Giraud
Possible shocker: Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta
TOP SIMON COMMENT MOMENT:
(On Kris's perf) "Look, I thought it was good. (But) I'm not quite as enthusiastic as these three. Only because, I thought it was a little wet."
and
(When asked by Ryan what he meant by 'wet') "Wet? Not dry."
Top Pick: Kris Allen’s “Falling Slowly” Worst Pick: Matt Giraud’s “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?”
Almost midway in to the competition, we could now clearly see which contestants still have the fighting chance to be in the finals next month. Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, and Danny Gokey are all slowly making their mark for the Kodak trip. Albeit some obvious cons of these contestants (racy pictures for Adam and 'dead-wife' issue with Gokey), they have been pretty much consistent with their good perfs.
Also 'dancing in the path of greatness' are Allison Iraheta, Matt Giraud, and Anoop Desai. Sure, they have great perfs (Iraheta's 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone' is the best perf this season so far). But they also have their own share of flops (big ones, at that).
These now leaves us with Lil Rounds. She was honestly one of my favorites entering the Top 13, but her perfs have (continuously) spiraled down in to the drain. And her back talk with Simon last episode wouldn't help her either. But, I'm afraid she will not be eliminated tomorrow (Thanks to the Vote for the Worst support). So, it's now a toss up between Matt Giraud or Anoop Desai. That's why I strongly feel that the 'Judges' Save' will be used tomorrow. Hopefully they would.
Who should go: Lil Rounds
Possible shocker: Anoop Desai or Matt Giraud
TOP SIMON COMMENT MOMENT:
(To Adam, Sarcastic) "Adam, I think, you gotta learn how to express yourself a bit more."
Top Picks: Adam Lambert's "Play That Funky Music" and Kris Allen's "Ain't No Sunshine"
Worst Pick: Megan Joy's "Turn Your Lights Down"
Just a quick review. Since this is iTunes week, I was sort of expecting more current covers by the Top 9 (I actually don’t know most of the songs they sang this episode!). As it is, I think Megan Joy, Anoop Desai, and Scott MacIntyre are all in the danger zone.
