Can American Idol save Disney?

If you’re even a little bit aware of the current culture surrounding Disney (and Florida, too, I suppose), you know they’ve sort of plopped themselves in hot water with conservatives. It was especially noticeable when they announced they’d pay for any employee who wants an abortion to travel to a state where it’s legal. Talk about entering a conversation uninvited!

It’s safe to say Disney was the Budweiser of 2022 (also… sayonara, Bud Light!). While Disney hasn’t been cancelled completely, a lot of people have cancelled their streaming services, which is kind of a big deal.

Enter American Idol. Tonight’s episode will feature Disney songs. It’s not a huge surprise since ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company. I’ve also read we’ll hear from stars singing from the Disney catalog along with a performance promoting the new Little Mermaid movie.

This isn’t Idol’s first connection to Disney and/or Disney parks. Once the final two dozen singers were solidified, they performed from the Aulani Disney resort in Hawaii. There were some great performances from the tropical setting (see: Idol in Hawaii: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). OK, I’m just going to say it so it’s out there…

If any contestant can save Disney, it’s Iam Tongi.

It seems as though American Idol is his to lose, as the saying goes. He always gets a standing ovation and big cheers and chants from the live audience. His Instagram and Twitter posts get thousands and thousands of views and likes. Youtube videos of his performances are in the hundreds of thousands while the other singers are in the tens of thousands. If voting mirrors any of that, he can’t lose. Of course, Idol is known for not following their own rules so who knows what might happen in these last few episodes…

Unfortunately, two great singers will go home in tonight’s episode from the five remaining: Iam Tongi, Zachariah Smith, Colin Stough, Wé Ani, and Megan Danielle. It’s impossible to predict the bottom two from this extremely talented group but I’ll say the ones going home tonight are… Zachariah and Wé Ani. Gosh, it hurts to even type that but Iam and Megan are so unique with recognizable voices. Colin has been a dark horse and keeps getting better each week. Zachariah hasn’t picked the best songs lately and last week having to sing an Alanis Morissette song did him no favors. Wé Ani is just a guess. Her voice is so powerful but can she get more votes than two country singers and Iam? I don’t think so.

-Out of the Wilderness

Mother’s Day Commercials and Music

We’d be nothing without our mothers. They love, nurture, teach, comfort, discipline, guard. On this Mother’s Day, here’s a celebration of moms as seen in sweet and/or funny TV commercials. Click on the title for more info on each ad. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Publix Red Velvet Mother’s Surprise. A husband sweetly prepares a meal for his wife with the help of his mother-in-law. Side note, if you want the recipe click here.

1-800-FLOWERS Has Jokes on Mother’s Day. Nothing like a “yo mama” joke to celebrate all the moms out here. Clever!

Mom or Mama in Song Titles. Often sung about, the love of a mother!

A Special Cake for Mom. This one was for Valentine’s Day but it deserves a spot in today’s post because it might be Publix’s best ever commercial.

One-Eyed Deer. This isn’t a commercial but I can’t NOT include this Louisiana doe. She and her fawns were crossing a narrow road in a park where I had been camping. I was on my bike, stopping to snap a few pictures of the little family. The fawns continued on but their mom turned back towards me, a guardian between me and them. It was a just a random moment on a random day when I got the final picture but her stern gaze will always be with me.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the loving moms out there who work hard as protector, guardian, parent… especially mine.

-Out of the Wilderness

Kimberly Perry Celebrates New Life in Music and More!

When I worked at CMT there was a new trio that came into country music with a few strong showings in the form of hit songs. The biggest was “If I Die Young.” You can read all about the bizarre-to-outsiders journey of The Band Perry going from country to pop to EDM and now, in 2023, they’re on a hiatus as a band. You know what that means… the lead singer is going solo! Kimberly Perry has returned to what made the group popular, country music. Is it a stroke of genius that her first single as a solo artist is simply called, “If I Die Young Pt. 2”? Well, as the old saying goes… if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Here’s part 1 and part 2 of “If I Die Young,” recorded 13 years apart.

Fans commenting online are excited about her return to country music. It’s also a sweet moment to have this new sequel song as she’s expecting a baby of her own with husband Johnny Costello. New life in more ways than one! I might actually like part 2 more than part 1. To use a sports analogy, I’ve often wondered why football teams don’t run the same exact play twice or three times in a row. If it works, do it again! The defense is always changing their setup because they’re expecting the offense to have a different play for every down. Surprise them with the same play back-to-back. This is sort of what Kimberly’s done by piggy-backing on the success of “If I Die Young,” and I think it’s a clever (and hopefully successful) decision.

What do you think of the new song? Chime in below!

-Out of the Wilderness

Is there anyone cooler than Dolly Parton?

Is there anyone cooler than Dolly Parton? She’s without a doubt one of a kind in country music and now in rock music. She performed a new song at the recent ACM Awards Show and the 3 fans who weren’t staring at their phones (grrrrrr!!!) seemed to have enjoyed every second of it. Take a look at the icon doing her new song…

Some would say part of what’s making the “world on fire” is our obsession with smartphones. It’s not just the kids, either. I’m 44-years-old and feel the tether of my phone every day. It takes a lot of focus and discipline to leave the phone behind when I go anywhere! In an interesting connection to the awards show hosted by Dolly and Garth Brooks, I recently heard that the Garth Brooks show in Vegas is going to be strictly phone-free, requiring ticket holders to leave their phone at the door before they go into the venue. I actually love that idea. This isn’t the only connection to Garth. A song of his came to mind as I was listening to Dolly’s for the first time. “Standing Outside the Fire” (from 1993) is a call to action in the same way Dolly’s is.

Fire starters. Politics, as Dolly mentions. Denying God, also written in the lyrics. It’s a great song especially when it gets to the bright, hopeful lyrics towards the end.

As I listened to the song, I kept coming back to a song by Michael Jackson called “Earth Song.” The song is pretty epic but along with the video it’s taken on another level. It was released in 1995.

Dolly is a beloved part of American music history and I hope I can be like her one day. Are there other songs that reach this level of introspection? Perhaps “If I Can Dream” by Elvis? Chime in below with more titles and I’ll see you tomorrow!

-Out of the Wilderness

Taylor Swift’s Nuisance Nashville Fan

Taylor Swift recently played three shows in Nashville, one even went on in the pouring rain! What a rockstar she is, whether you like her music or not. A lot of fans were able to get tickets after waiting hours and hours and hours and…. hours. Some people weren’t able to get tickets, obviously. There are only so many seats in Nissan Stadium, after all. So the shows came and went and then this story came out in the local Nashville news. An assisstant principal wrote Taylor a letter weaving in a lot of her song titles.

The gist of the letter, which goes on for a couple more paragraphs, was asking Taylor to come visit Hendersonville High School, where Taylor attended at some point in her high school career. Sounds innocent enough, right? But the writer made a major error. In the very first paragraph she said that she had tickets to Taylor’s show but sold them. I’m actually ticked off at this woman because she could’ve seen Taylor but didn’t. She made a conscious choice to make some money off the fame of Taylor Swift. That’s fine, but next she has the audacity to turn around and, after cashing in on the tickets, beg Taylor to do something for her. Now she just sounds like a selfish leech. I’m not at all surprised that Taylor didn’t show up to the school like a princess on a white horse. I wouldn’t have either… except maybe to ask the woman in-person how much she made from the tickets she would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, used. I’d ask her quietly, of course. Then I’d go hug all the students and be the highlight of their high school year while that woman knows that I know that she knows that I know.

Speaking of knowing things… Did you know Taylor was in a music video WAY before she was famous? Make a guess on which video it was then click here for the answer!

This assistant principal woman took advantage of Taylor and then wanted to double down by taking advantage again! Asking Taylor to change her schedule was a selfish idea. Having her show up at the school wasn’t for the kids, you know. It was so the woman would feel happy about herself and be liked by the students at the school. Nice try, Teach! Better luck next time and a piece of advice, don’t mention the way you used someone then ask the person you used to go way out of their way to be used by you again. That’s what a toxic relationship looks like, right? You should be embarrassed but soon you’ll get better if you can just shake it off.

-Out of the Wilderness