American Idol hosts a disliked Bachelor, Olivia Rodrigo’s Influence, and More!

The judges had me baffled on the most recent episode of American Idol. I’ll submit to their expertise as top-tier talent but I was very, very surprised when they almost kept these two talented sisters from going to Hollywood! Are y’all nuts!? Check out the auditions from Jacy and Mia Matthews then scroll down for a quick recap of the whole episode…

I would’ve bet money they’d score resounding approval from the judges but both Jacy and Mia had a ‘no’ from one judge and a ‘yes’ from the two others. And what’s even more shocking is that these same judges agreed unanimously that Camila Galavis should go to Hollywood. How can there be such disparity between contestants that have massive talent and one that will never be remembered? Camila’s 14 years old and one of the bottom level auditions yet Katy, Lionel, and Bryan praised her talent. 🤪 We MUST be living in the upside down. And I have no idea what Luke meant when he said a producer could make her a hit song this very moment. Huh? Why would a producer skip over artists with huge talent and pluck out an average singer just because she can sing in Spanish?

She’s a fine singer but adios and via con Dios, as the Zac Brown Band would say. I miss Simon Cowell on days like this. He wouldn’t sugar coat the fact that we can hear singers like her in any given restaurant on an open mic night. Nexxxxt!

The Others. There were a few fantastic singers in this episode. Isaiah Case is an easy yes for Hollywood and he’s likable enough (so far) to easily make the top 10. Australian Jordan Anthony was also impressive but he won’t make the top 10. Something about a contestant from another country seems to limit their chances, typically. San Antonio local Liliana was OK at first but I found myself liking her less and less as her audition progressed. I think her facial expressions and her talky-style singing will get old very quick. Plus, there’s already one Olivia Rodrigo… I’m not sure we need another one.

Julia Gagnon’s story is sweet. Apart from that, I didn’t get any goosebumps from her singing. With a lot of the contestant sob stories on this show I find myself asking this question: If we didn’t know anything about a contestant’s upbringing or personal struggles, would their singing be good enough? Sometimes it’s a yes, sometimes it’s a no. But when they have this traumatic story, it makes us (and the judges) want to root for them, which is sort of misleading when their life story is more interesting than their voice.

One of the last few contestants was Cate Gartner. She has a decent voice but if I heard her on the radio, I’d have no idea who it is. Another one of those Simon reactions where it’s quite possible to hear a talent like hers at the local fair in town. But her backstory softened us all up.

I still haven’t seen the level of talent equal to the contestants from the first episode and now that all the auditions are done we’ll get to see some of our favorites again in Hollywood. I’ve got my eye on Jennifer Jeffries and Jack Blocker. Do you have any favorites?

-Out of the Wilderness

Benson Boone “Slow It Down” – The Music Video, Moon Puns, and More…

To the Boone and back! Benson Boone’s popularity is on a rocket ship to outer space. His music video for the song “Beautiful Things” is averaging 1,061,000 views per day since it was posted in mid-January. His second video is for the song “Slow It Down,” and it’s nearing a million views at the time of this posting, just a couple of days after it posted on YouTube. Take a look at the video then scroll down for more…

Boone, Clap. I have so much admiration (and maybe jealousy!?) of such talented musicians. In the video Benson is singing as well as playing the bass guitar, the piano, and the drums. It ticks me right off that all I can do is clap during a song… and sometimes I even have trouble with that AND THEY’RE MY HANDS. They’ve been mine for 45 years and I still can’t seem to keep them on beat. 🥴

Boone Landing. Benson Boone is part of a group of young artists that are carving a spot for themselves in popular music. Singers, songwriters, entertainers like Olivia Rodrigo, Connor Price, Oliver Anthony, and heck I’ll even throw in James Charles (yes, the makeup guy) in there, too. In fact, this uprising might be perfect timing for American Idol contestants (Benson Boone was a contestant, once upon a time) like Jennifer Jeffries and Jack Blocker. Should be an interesting season if these talented people can make it to the live voting rounds!

Benson Boone has 2 solid song releases under his belt and it’ll be great to watch his career develop along with his talent and popularity. I’m sure he and his family and friends are over the Boone about all his success so far.

-Out of the Wilderness

The GEICO March Madness Ad – The Crying Bandmate, the Country Singer, and More!

GEICO is known for their funny insurance commercials. I know, how can funny and insurance be in the same sentence but from the reemergence of the Caveman to the Billy Blanks workout ad, they are swishing three-pointers with every commercial and since it’s March, of course GEICO had to get in on the madness. Here’s their latest sports-related ad, then scroll down for more…

It’s a full court press of laughter but the buzzer beater was when the band member played her clarinet through sobbing tears. The whimpering sound that proceeded was hilarious. Plus the innocent use of the word “geek” was perfect. One of my pet peeves is when movie or TV show scripts write dialogue for kids but not in any type of way a real child would talk. Having this young actress attack the point guard as a geek is very refreshing in that regard.

Then a music celebrity appears donning an LSU sweatshirt. I can’t find any ties between country/soul singer Breland and LSU but he may have a future in acting because his scene was great. I especially love the way he turns his head at the very end of the ad, as if to tell his friend he better shape up.

Breland performed the national anthem at the Big 12 championship a few weeks back so I’ll end with his well-done rendition…

-Out of the Wilderness

The iPhone Don’t Let Me Go Commercial – The Music and More!

Goodness, what has happened to Kentucky basketball? They’re about as relevant to the NCAA tournament as the color green is to gender reveals. Last night they got beat in an upset by the non-Cinderella team from Oakland University (a college in California Michigan). During that entertaining game I caught a new iPhone commercial and I gotta say that it’s one of Apple’s best ads. Clever, creative, funny, and a fantastic union of visuals with an unusual song. Take a look then scroll down for more info…

The Music. I hardly noticed the subtle variation of the song used in the commercial. In fact, I was halfway done writing this post when it dawned on me that the original song is called “Don’t Let Go,” an uplifting almost Gospel-sounding track. But in the ad the lyrics are “Don’t Let Me Go,” notice the addition of the word me, which really syncs the music with the scrolling photos in the ad. This was a great move as adding “me” gives a different meaning to the chorus. I mean, how many of us have photos in our phone galleries that should be deleted? But some of them, especially the millions of dog photos are begging to not be deleted! I have a handful of photos from a year or two ago that are basically all the same pics of my beagle beagling in a river… but guess where they still are? On my phone.

Back to the music, though. Sharing the spotlight with the iPhone is the funky song called “Don’t Let Go” by Terrace Martin, Mr. Talkbox, and PJ Morton. Here’s the full track from 2019.

And then there’s a less synthesized version by PJ Morton, too. Here’s that one…

Mr. Talkbox shares his cool talents and skills with a version of the song, too. One day in Heaven I hope God allows me to have even half the singing talent that these guys have but for now, I’ll just keep being jealous!

These creative guys are understandably pumped up about Apple using their track. Here are a few posts sharing the excitement.

You can find each of them on Twitter here– @PJMORTON / @mrtalkbox / @terracemartin

Ruff. I laughed the most when the dachshund dog carried the final note. Storage capacity is almost always a factor when people look for new phones. Running out of space is ruff, we all know that. Another important factor is battery life– addressed by Apple in their iPhone karate kid commercial.

What do you think about the ad? Did it make you laugh and most importantly, does it make you want to switch from Android to iPhone… or just go pet your dog?

-Out of the Wilderness