NMM: R5

(L-R) Riker, Rocky, Ross, Rydel Lynch and Ratliff | Photo: Blogs.Disney.com

Put a letter and a number together and fans immediately recognize this rockin' band.

R5 is a pop/rock band consisting of the Lynch siblings: Riker, Rydel, Rocky and Ross as well as their good friend, (Ellington) Ratliff. Some of you may know Ross Lynch from the hit Disney Channel show Austin & Ally.

If you watch the show, you know Ross' character, Austin Moon, loves to rock out. It's no different for R5 as everyone in the band agrees there's only one way to play their music: loud.

That's no problem for R5's latest single, "Pass Me By." The single is a part of the band's upcoming album - appropriately called Louder - which is available for pre-order right now.

"Pass Me By" is a great song that's very addicting. The song lends itself to listeners rolling down their windows and blasting it as they cruise down the highway; which is exactly what R5 wants.

And don't think just because Ross is on a show geared toward teens that it's a teenybopper song. "Pass Me By" has relative lyrics that people of all ages can relate to.

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'AGT' Top 12 Recap

Photos: AGT / Google Images

The Top 12 on America's Got Talent took to the stage Tuesday night vying for a chance to compete in the grand finale next week. Here's a quick recap of what went down at Radio City Music Hall. This show did not disappoint.

Chicago Boyz

Known for their immense energy and ridiculous, acrobatic, gymnastic and jump rope(-tastic) tricks, the Chicago Boyz were amazing as always. A couple of the guys had some miscues but they were really small compared to the whole scope of the performance. I love the energy the Chicago Boyz bring each time they perform.

Branden James

I thought his performance was good. Definitely better than the last time he performed but I'm not sure if it will be enough. I personally didn't like the song choice of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" because it was too cliché. I think Branden is great but, with Forte powering through each week, it's an uphill battle for him.

Innovative Force

It's truly amazing what this group of young ladies can do. The group is not only a dance team but a team that can flip and somersault for days. The best part of the performance was a star formed by members of the group by holding other members, spinning and tossing them while doing so. It was pretty neat to watch.

KriStef Brothers

This comedic, strength and acrobatic duo has honestly just gotten on my nerves this entire competition. I don't know I just haven't been able to connect to them as I have with some of the other acts. That being said, tonight was the first night I actually liked their performance.

The theme to their act was a cross between a cheesy infomercial and a Richard Simmons video. Not sure if it'll be enough to make it through but it was pretty cool to watch.

D'Angelo and Amanda

You honestly wouldn't think this pair is as young as they are. D'Angelo and Amanda already dance like the pros. Their precision on each and every step is incredible to watch each time they perform. What more can I say?

Catapult Entertainment

Look, I think the group has a great act and I like watching one performance at a time. I still can't see myself paying a premium to sit for an hour or two and watch a bunch of shadows form shapes to tell stories. It just doesn't make sense as a headlining show in Las Vegas to me.

Forte

This group definitely gave Branden James a run for his money. The trio sung the (still) everso popular "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic...but completely in Spanish.

Forte should be careful, though, with singing songs in another language. Although beautiful, many people at home may not connect to the song if it's in a different language than his/her own. That being said, I still loved the group's performance.

Taylor Williamson

All this guy has to do is talk and he can put a smile on anyone's face. The comedian has awesome, well-prepared material along with a quirky and awkward stage presence that wins over the crowd every time. This guy is truly great.

Collins Key

If you've seen some of my other AGT-related posts, you know Collins has been my favorite since day one. He's just a nice, all around good person and it would be cool to see a magician win the competition - it would be the first time ever on the American version of the show. He did a trick involving host, Nick Cannon's, $250k watch.

At the beginning of the trick, Collins set Nick's watch to some unannounced time. He then told judge, Howie Mandel, to set his own personal watch to any time he wished. After smashing two cheap watches in brown paper bags and revealing Nick's watch was safe in the third bag, Collins revealed that - without knowing what time Howie was setting his watch for - he had set Nick's watch to the same exact time. It was exciting to see.

Kenichi Ebina

I honestly don't know what to call his act. It's a mix of dance, technology and a little bit of acrobatics. Like Catapult Entertainment, I like watching one of his performances at a time but can't imagine paying to see one or two hours of it. He's another act that I just haven't been able to connect to.

Jimmy Rose

The country crooner has a pretty big fan base. However, I'm not sure if it will carry him to the finals. To me, he picked a safe song with "God Gave Me You." It was good but something sounded a little off. Not to mention, it looked like he may have slipped up - albeit very slight - on the lyrics.

Cami Bradley

She closed the show with her rendition of "Livin' On A Prayer." Her version was amazing simply because it was something fresh and different. She decided to do a stripped down, slower version of the song with just her at a piano joined by a strings orchestra. It was, by far, one of the best performances of the night.

So who's in my TOP 6? In no particular order I have...

Cami Bradley - It would be a travesty if she didn't go through.

Taylor Williamson - Witty comedy and a lovable personality should propel this fan favorite to the finals.

Collins Key - Even though Howard called his act "rushed" his huge fan base of "Keypers" - the most of any AGT act with over 50k EACH on Twitter and Instagram plus being the No.1 WORLDWIDE trending topic on Twitter last night - should carry him through.

Forte - This group has consistently been one of the top acts in the competition. Don't see them leaving.

D'Angelo and Amanda - The precision they have for being so young has won the hearts of viewers. They deserve to go through to the finals.

Kenichi Ebina - Despite me not being able to connect with him personally, I think he'll be voted through to next week. 

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NMM: BΔSTILLE

Photo: BBC Radio / MixTapeLive.Wordpress.com

We're going across the pond to London where we find BΔSTILLE, a band that's making a mark here in the States.

It all began as a solo project for singer-songwriter Dan Smith but he decided to add members to form a band. Currently, the four-piece consists of Smith, Chris "Woody" Wood, Will Farquarson and Kyle Simmons.

So what's with the awesome name BΔSTILLE? It derives from Bastille Day - or French National Day - which is celebrated on Smith's birthday, July 14.

It's a fitting name in that Bastille Day represents the beginning of the French Revolution and the march toward freedom from a constitutional monarchy. It was a break away from traditional practice and way of life in France. Similarly, BΔSTILLE breaks away from the ordinary with its music.

The music of BΔSTILLE is indescribable - in a good way of course. It's unconventional yet very addicting. That's very true for the first track - "Pompeii" - off the band's new album - Bad Blood - which takes a while to set in with listeners but is truly amazing. 

Smith said in an interview with Australian radio station, NovaFM, that the song is a conversation between two inhabitants of Pompeii as the city was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. 

A commenter on SongMeanings.com had another interpretation that was genius, saying it talked about "the moment between something terrible happening and having to face the consequences. The moment at the top of an unpleasant roller coaster."

"Pompeii" leaves its listeners with the chance to interpret it however they see fit. And that's the sheer beauty of it.

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The Problem With Johnny Manziel

Johnny Manziel didn't learn anything this offseason which is putting himself, his family and his school in a negative light. | Photo: Eric Gay/Associated Press 

Texas A&M quarterback, Johnny Manziel, is often referred to as "Johnny Football" by fans and the media. But he is far from representing the game of football in a positive light.

In the wake of his scandal where he was paid to sign autographs, the NCAA slapped him with a half-game suspension - that's a story in itself - giving him a chance to do a little damage control in the second half of his team's game against Rice.

That didn't happen.

Manziel, obviously not learning a thing from this offseason, made gestures to Rice players referring to his autograph debacle. NCAA Football instituted rules regarding taunting but those gestures - although boneheaded and very annoying - didn't qualify for a penalty. 

Later on he decided to take it a step further and flat out taunt Rice players, resulting in a penalty and giving Sumlin no choice but to pull him from the game.

Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com wrote about this situation and noted some responses from well-respected coaches in NCAA Football whose names were not mentioned.

One in particular said that he would "kick [Manziel's] ass if he were Sumlin." Even former NFL star, Brian Urlacher, weighed in saying Manziel "acted like a punk" during the game.

Johnny Manziel doesn't care about the integrity of the game, his coaches, teammates or the fans. He's spiraling out of control. I mean, he blew off Coach Sumlin when he took him out of the game on Saturday like an annoying parent that wouldn't get out of his ear.

Wojciechowski wrote that his colleague, Mark Schlabach, said weeks ago that he found it interesting how Manziel's teammates didn't vote him into a leadership position on the team. Teams typically vote their quarterback into a leadership role, especially if the quarterback is the reigning Heisman winner. 

But that didn't happen at Texas A&M. And at a time when Sumlin needs leadership for this young team, he definitely won't find any in Manziel. 

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NMM: Dan + Shay

(L-R) Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney | Photos: Twitter

This duo from Nashville, TN is as new as it gets. Just joining Facebook in May 2013, creating a brand new website and releasing a debut single on iTunes through Warner Music Nashville a couple weeks ago.

Ginny McCabe wrote an article on the duo. She said the pair met in Nashville back in 2012 and began writing and performing together. Both have been involved with music since they were teens.

While performing together, they noticed they had a nice blend of country rock and pop which is what we get with their new single "19 You + Me" - a song co-written with Danny Orton - who has worked with the likes of Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Chicago and Reba McEntire just to name a few.

I happened to come across this song when I was sweeping through new music on iTunes. I didn't know what to expect but, let me tell you, I'm hooked! With more amazing songs like this, Dan + Shay are well on their way to doing big things!

P.S. Interesting tidbit about the lyric video below: McCabe also mentioned the video features Harmony Overstreet. If that last name sounds familiar she is the sister of Chord Overstreet from Glee as well as Nash Overstreet from the band Hot Chelle Rae. 

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'AGT' Semi-Final Week One Recap

This week's 12 semi-finalists | Photos: America's Got Talent

NBC's, arguably, most popular show is in its last month of competition.

America's Got Talent began its first of two semi-finals this week, pitting 12 of the best acts against each other with six moving on to the finals.

It was a - well - interesting night. There were many great performances and a few duds. Here's what I thought about each act.

Tone The Chiefrocca

I'm still shaking my head that judge, Mel B, brought these guys back as a wildcard. In case you haven't been keeping up, the duo sings one song - "B-DOUBLE O-TY" - which was hilarious the first time they auditioned but now it's just annoying. Have to give it to them, the guys are really funny and bring a lot of energy but this act is not good enough to move on.

Red Panda

One member of the acrobatic duo, The KriStef Brothers, experienced an injury that prevented him from performing so Howie brought in his wildcard pick, Red Panda. This is a balancing act of sorts where a woman is on a tall unicycle, balancing bowls on her foot and then flipping them up on her head. 

She flew into New York the morning of the show so she had little time to prepare. Despite that, she amped up her act and fared pretty well. She did drop a bowl while flipping them up to her head which could cost her. I still applaud her, though, because I know I couldn't even balance on the unicycle much less flip bowls onto my head.

Angela Hoover

The celebrity impressionist got some criticism that her material wasn't all that great during her quarterfinal performance. She definitely worked on it and was spot on in my opinion, with her impressions of Arianna Huffington and Sharon Osbourne - among others - being spot on.

Duo Resonance

Heidi's pick for a wildcard last week was this acrobatic/strength group. The act is great and I know I couldn't do the things they do but each performance is too lovey dovey for me. The two performers are a couple and each performance shows the beauty of the male/female relationship. 

Heidi preaches about having acts that she can take her children to. While this may be an "appropriate" act to do that I bet young children wouldn't really get the point of it. I'm 21 and I wouldn't pay a high price per ticket for a Vegas show to watch this for an hour or more.

Collins Key

I'm a little biased because Collins is my favorite on the show. The guy is only 17 yet pulls off magic tricks like a pro. His act this go 'round had the judges playing match maker, matching Collins up with the "perfect date."

Long story short, a young lady who had a special red card under her seat was pulled from the audience. Each judge had to choose a ball from separate bags naming a characteristic of his "date" - hair color, what she was wearing, shoes and a "wildcard."

Right before his act, America chose via Twitter hashtag where the newly formed couple would go on a date. Every single item selected matched the characteristics of the woman and Collins had the hashtag selection written on his arm. I'm still in shock every time I see one of his magic tricks.

Innovative Force

This dance team is pretty awesome. But tonight was interesting for the young girls. It seemed like everything on stage was a little too busy, taking the focus off the dance team itself. The judges echoed my opinion. Overall, they are still pretty amazing to watch.

Dave Fenley

I really liked how Dave decided to just be himself and sing with his guitar instead of some big getup.

That being said, I didn't like the fact that he went with a Spice Girls song. I guess it was an effort to impress Mel B - who was "Scary Spice." I liked the fact he threw in bits of beat boxing which was different for him but it was just okay for me.

Taylor Williamson

#Taylords unite! Taylor is a person who can turn pretty much anything into something funny. The comedian brought the house down with his simple, witty and awkward comedy. He's just a likable guy overall.

Jonathan Allen

This young opera singer has an amazing story of overcoming adversity in his life.

His family disowned him after he revealed he was gay. But that didn't stop him from pursuing his dream. He decided to cut down his performance to just himself and a piano. It was beautiful and showed a different side than just all power notes. Unfortunately, it was just okay for me.

Cami Bradley

She is already a star but I'm really glad she's on the show. Cami kept with the theme for singers tonight and did a stripped down performance of the Elvis Presley classic "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" on a platform right in the middle of the Radio City Music Hall audience. 

There's really nothing more to say than wow! The only thing is I wish she would do a more upbeat song and not get content with doing these slower songs.

Catapult

This dance group brought something the show had never seen before: telling stories through shadows and dance. Although what the group does is amazing, I can't see myself paying a lot of money to sit at a show and watch the same thing over and over for an hour or more. Like me, the judges seemed to have also been confused as to what story the group was trying to tell. I think America will agree. 

Forte

Although it was harsh, judge, Howie Mandel, was right when he said that Forte booted Jonathan Allen out of the competition. The trio's rendition of the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" received the only standing ovation of the night from the four judges.

So who will make it through? In no particular order, here are my top six:

Collins Key, Forte, Taylor Williamson, Cami Bradley, Angela Hoover and Dave Fenley

Watch to see who are the first six acts to move on TONIGHT at 9/8c on NBC. 

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NMM: 75 Years In The Making

Fred Stobaugh and his wife Lorraine | Photo: Alltop.com

Fred Stobaugh can't sing but that didn't stop him from penning a song that was in his heart. A tribute to the love of his life.

The 96-year-old from Illinois decided to write the song to put both his grief and memories on paper after his wife of over 70 years passed away.  He sent the song into Green Shoe Studio's singer-songwriter contest,catching the eye of producer, Jacob Colgan, as the only snail mail entry.

But it wasn't just that. Colgan was so moved by Stobaugh's song and story that he decided to put it to music. Now, "Oh Sweet Lorraine" is a viral hit on YouTube and is also available on iTunes.

When the song was finished, Stobaugh said in a MSN Now article that it was great but a sad kind of great.

"I really, really miss her," he said.

Watch this amazing video from Green Shoe Studios which includes the song...

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