Hot Music Beat

American Idol judge Simon Cowell has stunned contestants by telling them: “Don’t listen to me.”

The acid-tongued judge was lost for words after two hopefuls he backed as potential winners finished bottom in US viewers’ voting.

He had lavished praise on the performances of Matt Giraud and Adam Lambert, but they were left facing elimination after votes from American viewers were added up.

And teenager Allison Iraheta, who Cowell had warned could be “in trouble” on Tuesday night’s show, sailed through to the final four.

So when host Ryan Seacrest asked if Cowell had any advice for the contestants for next week, the Brit shrugged: “I’m probably the last person to give advice at the moment.

“Don’t listen to me.”

Cowell had told Giraud his performance of My Funny Valentine was “brilliant”. But Giraud was the unlucky singer eliminated after failing to get enough support from US fans.

Singer Lily Allen has revealed she met actress Joan Collins and was rejected for a friendly kiss.

The 23-year-old singer went to give a friendly greeting to the former Dynasty star but she pulled away.

Lily said on her Twitter page: “Omg, was just introduced to joan collins, shook her hand and went to kiss her on the cheek. ‘I don’t kiss people I don’t know’. AMAZING!”

Lily is currently on the European leg of her It’s Not Me, It’s You tour.

She recently revealed she will be playing a free gig on May 11 in fancy dress.

Source: Splash News

Check out Ashley Tisdale’s latest video blog to find out more about how she chose her album title. She shares that she considered calling the album “Acting Out” before ultimately landing on Guilty Pleasure. In the end, Ashley admits that she fell in love with Guilty Pleasure because it was a much stronger title.
Head over to AshleyTisdale.com to stay up-to-date on all things Ashley Tisdale leading up to the June 16th release!

Direct link to video blog:
Ashley Tisdale

A mere two years ago, Esmée Denters was just a pancake house waitress with a webcam and a dream. An aspiring singer who fell in love with her father’s Stevie Wonder albums as a child, Esmée was 17 when she began posting videos of herself on YouTube singing her favorite hits by Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, P!ink, and Natasha Bedingfield.”I had seen all these videos of amateur singers, which gave me the idea,” she says. “I was just interested in what other people thought of my voice.” Within nine months, Esmée’s videos had racked up 21 million views, and she became the number one most-subscribed musician in the history of the popular video-sharing website.

Esmée’s clips soon caught the attention of Justin Timberlake – one of her musical idols – who was drawn to her silky, soulful voice, natural charisma and songwriting talent. He then signed her to his label Tenman Records, an imprint of Interscope, and began executive producing and co-producing the majority of her debut album. They lined up an impressive list of noted songwriters and producers to collaborate on the project including Polow Da Don (Usher, Ciara), Stargate (Rihanna, Ne-Yo), OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder (Leona Lewis, Natasha Bedingfield), and Toby Gad (Beyoncé, Fergie). The result is an edgy, soulful pop-R&B set that Esmée says truly reflects who she is as a person.

Relatability was something that was important to Esmée on her debut outing, which is why she was thrilled for the opportunity to co-write the majority of the songs. Her first single, “Outta Here,” sends a message of female empowerment through a hybrid of urban beats, pop lyrics and rock attitude. Sneak a peek into the studio to learn more about the Dutch beauty when she recorded the track with Justin Timberlake and Polow Da Don.

Video:

SafetySuit is back with a new video for their single “Stay.” The Nashville-based, pop/rock outfit teamed up with director Zach Merck (Hinder, Blue October) for an intense video following a story of love, action and betrayal. The clip was just added in rotation on VH1 where the band has been selected as a “You Oughta Know” artist.

SafetySuit’s debut album, Life Left to Go, is available now.

“Stay” Video:

Multi-platinum hard-rockers SALIVA have just released the official video for their new single, “How Could You.” The clip was directed by Scott Culver who has also helmed videos by Ludo and Hellogoodbye among others. The track comes off their latest album, Cinco Diablo which hit stores in late 2008. The Bob Marlette (Ozzy Osbourne) produced set also yielded the radio hit, “Family Reunion” and “My Own Worst Enemy” which finds Saliva’s Josey Scott being joined by Shinedown vocalist Brent Smith. The band was scheduled to co-headline this year’s SnoCore tour but Scott had to be operated for an ulcer so Saliva had to bow out of the trek.

Saliva are also working on a reality show that they began filming footage for during the making of Cinco Diablo. The candid look into their rock-n-roll lifestyle, the show will follow them out on the touring circuit and show viewers another side of the band. A pilot has been shot but here are no further details at this time. Expect Saliva to make an announcement in the next few months.

New Video “How Could You: