Demi Lovato - Here We Go Again

Sophomore albums by Demi Lovato and Jordin Sparks are now in stores. Demi opened for the Jonas Brothers' Burning Up tour last summer, and Jordin opens JB's world tour this summer.

I voted for Jordin to win over Blake, but I am more of a Demi fan. If I were torn between which album to purchase, I would go with Demi. Here We Go Again was $2 cheaper than Battlefield at WalMart. We'll see who ranks higher on next week's Billboard 200.

When I first saw both artists for the first time, I was only vaguely familiar with their songs. Demi wins this round again, for her rocking set (7/12/08 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA) was filled with high energy and I loved the songs. But perhaps I was a bit biased as I did enjoy her performance in Camp Rock. I saw Jordin when she went on tour with Jesse McCartney (8/7/08 Orpheum, Los Angeles, CA). She used up all the songs of hers that I knew 3 songs into the set. From then on it felt like I was watching American Idol, with not much movement, just singing. Her voice is amazing and I really loved the way she waved and acknowledged her fans in the audience, but she could have added something more to the performance.

In a radio interview, Demi mentioned that she took somewhere around a month to write the album, and 2 weeks to record. That seemed like a very rushed time frame, and it probably was since there were a few track listing changes. I love her single "Here We Go Again." It would have been awesome if I had been one of the select to be in the music video, but what can you do xD? Don't think I didn't catch the Twilight reference in "Solo," Miss Lovato! Good Job :-)! In comparison to her last album, Here We Go Again is more edgy, which is expected as Demi has grown in the past year. There aren't any anthems like "La La Land" and "Party", unless you count the Sonny With a Chance theme song "So Far So Great."

Go check it out, people!

VF + The Tis

V Factory opened for Ashley Tisdale at the Grove. I arrived an saw a corner of V Factory fans. There, a band was giving out CDs of their song. I realized I recognized them. I went to high school with the singers. I couldn't have been more proud. I always thought they would be in a band. Electric Hearts -- look out for them, people!

The setlist:
1. Lights, Camera, Action

I love when they "show us what they got."
2. Fade !

3. These Are The Days
4. Love Struck

They didn't have a formal meet and greet after, they had to rush to the airport. They still tried to get in pictures with the fans. Michael Copon was there. I decided too late that I wanted a picture. He left before I could ask.

After they left, my dream of Wesley and Jared flashing back and dancing with Ashley perished. The new, brunette Ashley Tisdale performed a more rocking set. It was all new songs. That kind of bummed me because I never got the chance to see her perform the more pop songs from Headstrong. Still, I liked her new songs, especially "Masquerade." And, her bass player is hot!

Walmart Soundcheck

Team Jonas posted a contest for a special Jonas Brothers concert. The links in the email didn't work properly at first, but they eventually fixed the problem. I entered and was eager to go.

They said they'd announce the winners on Monday. I was on the TJ forum ALL DAY waiting. They didn't post the winners until Tuesday. Guess awhat! My name was on the winners list! My first win on Team Jonas!

We found out it was the taping for their Walmart Soundcheck. Grace and I got to the El Rey around 11. We read the Seventeen magazine (JB cover), while we waited in line. We got wristbands and were let in around 2:30.

It was a relatively small venue. The parents got to stay and hang out in the back and on the side with the smaller children. Grace and I were by the center camera man.

A fan introduced them. They opened with "SOS." Next, they sang a new song called "Poison Ivy." When it was the chorus, everyone was singing along. I felt like such a failure as a Jonas Brothers fan. I had no idea how they all knew this song, but by the end, we were able sing along, too. "Lovebug" was next.

The crew needed a little time to make technical adjustments. Nick started playing "Year 3000" while we waited. They resumed with "Paranoid," a new song I did know. Then, they sang a song called "Turn Right." Kevin was on the keyboard. I was really trying to listen, and it was such a beautiful song.I felt like crying. We used our ticket info print out and sharpies to create a sign that said "KEVIN!" He saw it and waved at us! Score!

Finally, they closed with "Burning Up."

After, people were ripping the posters off the wall. This was unnecessary because they were giving away the posters outside. We also got stickers. This justified my Team Jonas membership for the year!

Mysteries

Kyle XY is the latest entry to the list of mystery-ish TV shows that I watched and were cancelled.

It joins:
So Weird
Dark Angel
Reunion

If the secrets take too long to come out, the ratings die. The show gets cancelled, and I'm left wondering what the heck was supposed to happen. Maybe it's better that way, to remember it as it was. It might get weird like Lost, and you lose interest anyway.

Could Ghost Whisperer be next? Eep. I hope not.

ABDC Finale

When Quest Crew made the ABDC finals, I was so proud! I could not wait to go to the finale. Out of the blue, V Factory decides to have a show at SIR studios the same night as the finale! I was TORN, but I had stuck with Quest the entire season, and I couldn't miss the opportunity to see them WIN. Plus, I knew there would be other V Factory shows.

Our ABDC family decided to rock purple to support Quest. We didn't have to sign a confidentiality waiver since it was a live show, and they were lenient about cameras.  Layla greeted the audience before the show, and the boys got pictures with her.

I totally loved how the show went by QUICKLY. There were no long waits between acts, and there were no pick ups to be done after.

I was bummed Beat Freaks and Boxcuttahz got to dance in the same group-- I wanted Quest to dance with them too! But MAN! The Quest-Strikers-Dynamic routine was BOMB! It was definitely my favorite of the three group dances.

Finally, it was time to announce the winning crew.
Dim the lights,
cue the heart-pounding music,
and go Mario with the unhelpful summarizing dialog.
 I was nervous. I thought, "Okay fine. Beat Freaks won. Just SAY it already!"
But then, Mario said, "QUEST CREW."
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

We were all so happy! Go Quest! There was confetti, and they revealed the championship banner.

As we were clearing out of the studio, Joe got pictures with Matt and Cara of Fanny Pak (Season 2). The judges were doing post-interviews on stage, so there was no way I could meet JC. I did see Mario Lopez. I asked for a picture, and he said yes! He was a little under the weather--what a trooper.

America's Best Dance Crew: Season 3 = SUCCESS

And to top it off, we got camera time =] Boo-yah!

JoBros 3D

Like the Hannah Montana 3D Movie, the concert was cut short.

I thought "Love Is On Its Way" was cute!

Too bad we weren't chosen to go to the tapings for this film.

We sent this to be in the Jonas Mosaic:

ABDC

I went to the first taping on January 12th. I was really excited, but then I found out JC wasn't going to be there because he was filming a movie =[ but Kid Rainen was subbing, and the Jabbawockeez were all in attendance.

The taping was pretty straight through. There were 4 crews from the west, holla! 9 crews,3 hours of filming,plus another 3 hours of waiting in line.

The audience wave thing we did was so sick! Everyone was participating, and it looked so cool as it went around the room. The stage manager noticed and asked us to do it really fast. Then really slow. And then half and half. It's something you need to see.

I got tickets for last week, while neither my brother nor any other male friends were as fortunate. Yet, I declined them. It's okay. It was Britney night anyway. But I also got tickets for last night's taping. I figure if they give it every other week, I would get tickets for top 4 and then the finale. I can only hope.

Last night's taping took forever! Maybe I just wasn't as excited as the first show, even though now I got to see JC. They did more pick ups and took longer between acts. SoReal Cru was there and performed. I had my awesome neon green Quest<3 sign. I was so nervous when that guy climbed up the stage. It took the incident at the VMAs a while back to another level.