LeAnn Rimes Comes To N.C.

LeAnn Rimes performing "Blue" at Meymandi Concert Hall Thursday | Photo: Chris White

After having some bad experiences with personnel at the DPAC - in fact I may never go back to a show there but that's a story for another day - it's nice to go to Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh to see a superstar perform. Better yet? How about with the amazing N.C. Symphony?!?

This was the same setup as the Boyz II Men concert I went to a couple months ago and it was just as awesome.

LeAnn has now been in the music industry for 20 years and is releasing a new album this Tuesday entitled Spitfire. An album in which she wrote the majority of its tracks.

She performed new songs off the forthcoming album but also some of those classics that got her to where she's at today.

Songs like "How Do I Live," "Can't Fight The Moonlight," "Nothin' Better to Do" and - of course - "Blue." She also did covers of Sir Elton John's hit "Rocket Man," the Leonard Cohen classic "Hallelujah" and finished off with an acapella version of "Amazing Grace."

She talked a lot about her new album - which sounded like it'll be incredible - as most if not all the songs are extremely deep and heartfelt, tapping into events that happened in her own life.

Two Grammys, multiple accolades and acting credits to her name. She's definitely a star and I was so glad to see her live. If you've never seen her live, find a way to! You won't regret it!

P.S. It was nice to take my grandma along with me. For one, she's always loved LeAnn Rimes and remembers when she first started out in the industry. Plus, it was her husband - my grandpa's - birthday. He would've been 90 years old. It was good for her to go so she could get out of the house and her mind off that. I know my grandpa would loved to have gone as well.

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Why Get Rid Of It?

Photo: Garnier

I have seborrhoeic dermatitis.

I'm not contagious nor am I terminal. However, I do have a condition that really annoys me. This condition is dermatological in which the skin is inflamed and can be red, itchy and flaky.

Luckily for me, this only affects my scalp and not my face, etc. It's especially bad in the winter months when it's - obviously - a lot colder.

Why am I telling you this?

Over the past several years I've had to deal with this nuisance. I've tried and tried a fair share of shampoos to curb the itching and flakiness while, at the same time, making my hair smell good.

I've tried just about everything from T-Gel, to Head & Shoulders; even professional salon-grade tea tree shampoo from Great Clips. Both T-Gel and Head & Shoulders did an okay job but neither smelled all that great. The tea tree smelled good but didn't work well - plus it was really expensive.

Then, Garnier came out with its own anti-dandruff shampoo that also served as a conditioner, which was just what I needed.

I bought some, tried it and instantly loved it. It didn't smell like tar and pickles and it actually helped my hair better than anything I'd tried previously. In fact, after a couple uses, there was no sign of itching or flakiness! It was a big relief to go around and not have to worry about trying to hide the flakes in my hair - which is seriously what I had to do in public.

A few weeks ago, I learned that Garnier decided to discontinue this remarkable shampoo. I was pissed to say the least. I immediately called, emailed and Facebooked them to voice my concerns, telling them about my skin condition and everything as well.

Of course, it was to no avail as I received BS, copy-and-paste responses. I was told my comments would be passed along and that they were "sorry" but there was "not enough demand" to keep producing the product.

Let me tell you, there was enough demand in this household to keep it going. As I'm typing this, I have about six or seven bottles in my bathroom cabinet.

Now, I know what you're saying: why not check out Amazon or find a new shampoo? Amazon has many bottles for sale but most are double or even triple the regular selling price. Some are even going for $20 or more each. I shouldn't have to shell out that kind of money for something like this. It's ridiculous!

As I've said before, I've tried just about every shampoo out there. None of them have worked like this shampoo. I even tried to find what ingredient was different in the Garnier shampoo compared to others and search for a shampoo with that ingredient. No luck with that yet.

I found some bottles for $3.50 each at Big Lots which was great. Unfortunately, as with all its products, once Big Lots is out that's all it'll have.

So what can you do?

Well, the best thing is to just boycott Garnier altogether. I know that sounds silly but that's what I'm doing.  Just simply don't buy anymore Garnier products. For me, that'll be easy because the company mainly markets to women anyway. If you want you can also do like I did and write about this on Garnier's Facebook page and Twitter account.

One thing's for sure: Garnier has lost this customer.

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NMM: Dakota Bradley

Photo:  AristoMedia

Country newcomer Dakota Bradley released his debut single, “Somethin’ Like Somethin’,” to radio on April 29. The track is the lead single from his upcoming debut album, produced by Tim McGraw and Byron Gallimore. 

The Brentwood, TN native is currently on a nationwide radio tour promoting his single and made a stop at 94.7 QDR in Raleigh on Tuesday.

"Somethin' Like Somethin'" is one of those feel good songs that you'll definitely tap your toes and clap your hands to. I'm really looking forward to hearing more from Dakota in the future!

Below is a video from Cody Clark of 94.7 QDR of Dakota's performance at the station.

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Undisputed Champs

The ACC Champion Tar Heels! | Photo: TheACC.com

I always had a feeling North Carolina was going to win the ACC Baseball Tournament. I just didn't know how crazy the journey would be.

The Heels started off with a convincing 10-0 win in eight innings over Miami on Thursday. But the craziness would all begin Friday when the Heels played Clemson.

The Tigers held a three run lead heading into the ninth. It looked like Carolina was going to lose. But UNC's Brian Holberton became a hero and hit a game tying homer to send it into extra innings. The two teams went back and forth for an additional five innings before the Heels came out on top 12-7 in the 14th. 

Then it all came down to Saturday night. A "Tobacco Road Rivalry" to boot as Carolina played N.C. State for a trip to the title game.

After outstanding pitching throughout by both teams the game - only naturally - went into extra innings. Try  nine extra innings to be exact. In the end, the Heels outplayed the Pack and won 2-1 in 18.

With virtually no rest - playing 40 innings in just three days - Carolina had one last game to win in order to clinch the ACC Title. The opponent? Virginia Tech who hadn't played an inning in two days. 

The Heels never showed fatigue as the Hokies were put away, 4-1.

And I was proud to say I was there to watch the team's triumph in person!

To all the sore losers, haters and naysayers...

BAZINGA!!!!

Colin Moran | Photo: Chris White

After the game, I was able to go out to the team bus to congratulate the players and coaches. 

I was right at the bus door and was able to shake hands and fist bump ACC Player of the Year, Colin Moran, star freshman, Skye Bolt, and Head Coach Mike Fox, among others!

Great seats, great food, great weather and amazing games. You couldn't have asked for a better weekend! I always have a blast going to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park to see a game anyway, but being able to see this UNC team show incredible determination and heart to win the title was something I'll remember for the rest of my life!

Way to go Tar Heels! Such a well deserved championship!

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'DWTS' Recap: Was Zendaya Robbed?

Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy dancing their Instant Jive during the Finals | Photo: ABC

Last night Kellie Pickler and her partner, Derek Hough, were crowned champions of Dancing With the Stars while Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy came in second. This was the lowest rated Dancing finale show ever, down 21 percent according to Entertainment Weekly.

Even if no other media outlet reports on this Reflections will: there have been some strange happenings on the show this season.

First off, I found it odd how the producers decided to throw in that immunity scenario, where the couple who earned the highest cumulative score couldn't be voted off the show that week.

Surprisingly, it was Kellie and Derek who got immunity. The show had never done that before and it was only available for that one week, giving no chance to the other couples.

The very next week, head judge Len Goodman went berserk after Kellie and Derek performed a Paso Doble in the trio round on May 6, sparking outrage on social media and causing many to sympathize with the couple.

The final weird happening was just this week when voting on ABC.com conveniently went down and was caught by show producers, who decided not to count online votes in the final tally.

That left viewers with only three methods of voting - two if you weren't an AT&T customer. Plus, the show put a five-vote limit on the phone and Facebook methods instead of it being unlimited as I believe the show had done in finales past.

The stars later took to Twitter saying that online voting was back up. Fans normally have until 11am EST the next day to vote via this method. However, I tried periodically up to the 11am deadline and was redirected to Facebook each time, where I'd already hit my voting limit.

No disrespect to Kellie or Derek but something is fishy here. It reminds me of the time Roshon Fegan, who I thought was going to win two seasons ago, was eliminated midway through after finishing near the top of the leaderboard that week.

Zendaya and Val were amazing from week one. The couple never received a score below eight all season and won each of the additional challenges which gave them extra points. They also received a perfect 95 points, getting three sets of 30s and winning the Cha-Cha Relay during the Finals. Yet they came in second place?

Well, I did my part and voted for them -albeit only 10 times given the snafu and voting limits - but I smell BS.

I don't know if I'll be watching next season.

P.S. There have been many people questioning why Zendaya was on the show to begin with. If you don't already know, she's a trained dancer and stars in Disney's Shake It Up, which focuses on a lot of choreographed routines. 

However, what the naysayers fail to mention is the style of dancing on that show is very different than the ballroom style on Dancing With the Stars. Let's get that fact straight people!

How this isn't a championship-caliber dance I'll never know!

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Microsoft Debuts New Console

The new Xbox One console | Photo: Nick Adams / Reuters

Microsoft unveiled a new Xbox console Tuesday which it thinks is "the one."

The new system, named "Xbox One," will not only be a gaming console, according to its developers. The system will use advanced technologies to offer consumers unique ways to play games while providing services to compete with tablets and smartphones.

The system has many new capabilities and is touted to even replace household cable set-top boxes, having its own guide and ability for users to change channels with voice command. A "new and improved" Kinect sensor was also introduced and will be necessary for proper use of the One system.  

I've always been an Xbox fan since buying my first one many moons ago (remember the original system?) I was forced into buying the new (white) Xbox 360 system because Microsoft stopped making games for the old system. Then I got the newest 360 system this past Christmas when my old system began to not work properly.

Now, just five months after the fact, it looks like I'm going to be in the same predicament as before. Microsoft developers said that games on the "old 360" - the current system - will not be compatible with the Xbox One. However, they did say that games will still be made for the old system. That begs the question: will those games even be worth buying?

I know that I won't be spending another $300+ on a new system after my "old" one still has that "fresh out of the box" smell.

Check out the full story here.

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'Dancing' To Crown 16th Champ

The final four couples | Photo: Dancing With the Stars

Tonight is the two hour grand finale of ABC's hit show Dancing With the Stars. But who will win the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy?

First off, I found it intriguing when the show announced that online voting on ABC.com was down, eliminating one of the four voting methods (the others being phone, text and Facebook). Given that voting by text is only open to AT&T customers I, along with many others, were limited to just two methods.

Throughout the night, I constantly checked back to see if online voting was working. Each time I clicked the link, it just sent me to the show's Facebook voting app, in which I'd already hit my voting limit for the night. All in all, I only got to vote 10 times for my favorite. 

How convenient.

Okay, that being said, let's move on to the actual performances. The four remaining couples had three dances each: Judges' Pick, Cha-Cha Relay and Freestyle. 

Disney star, Zendaya, and her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, were at the top of the leaderboard with a perfect 65 points. NFL player, Jacoby Jones, and his partner, Karina Smirnoff, were in fourth place with 56 points. Olympic gymnast, Aly Raisman, placed third while Country star and Idol alum, Kellie Pickler, came in second garnering 61 and 64 points respectively. 

Tonight, the couples will have an "instant" dance they must learn and perform in under an hour for additional points.

So who will be the champ?

I'd be shocked if either Jacoby or Aly won the top prize. Neither did themselves any favors in the Cha-Cha Relay and their other two performances were just okay to me.

It should come down to Zendaya and Kellie who've been the best dancers this entire season. I really like both of them but I think Zendaya should win the title. She's really been amazing from day one and has a lot of personality and charisma when she dances. She also seems to have connected more with the audience from day one, which took a bit longer for Kellie to do.

Honestly, I think she won the competition with her hip-hop routine to Chris Brown's "Fine China" last week (not to discredit her perfect dances this week). It was smooth, funny and just downright awesome. It would also be neat to see a younger person win (not saying Pickler isn't young) especially after Roshon Fegan got royally screwed over a couple seasons ago, being eliminated after placing second on the leaderboard that week.

I say #TeamValdaya for the win!

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