Michael Jackson: RIP

June 25, 2009: Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at a rented home in Los Angeles. Paramedics got Jackson with no pulse and unable to get his pulse back. He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was quickly performed from a 911 call. Michael Jackson fell into a coma and died shortly, 2:26 PM, on a rush to UCLA Medical Center. The autopsy is scheduled for June 26, 2009 for the complete information on Jackson's death.

More of Michael Jackson memories: Soon...

If you like this post, you may want to subscribe to the Kebism - The Personal Blog of Kevin Michael C. Garcia RSS feed. You can also subscribe by e-mail and have new articles directly sent to your inbox. Thank you!

Black Eyed Peas: The E.N.D.

The International Pinoy artist apl.de.ap together with will.i.am, Fergie and Taboo has released their fifth studio album for their hip hop group Black Eyed Peas. The E.N.D. or Energy Never Dies was initially released on June 3, 2009 in Japan and June 9, 2009, worldwide. The album title was thought about since 2006, when Fergie released her very own album, The Dutchess. Other tentative album names include Evolution, From Roots to Fruits, and then The Energy Never Dies.

The new album features more anthemic, inspirational songs in a bid to appeal to new generation of music listeners. From hip hop music, here comes the electro hop (a fusion of elecrofunk with hip hop rap).

The album's single: "Boom Boom Pow", has already topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 weeks. The album has acquired the number 1 position for Australian Albums Chart, Canadian Albums Chart, and U.S. Billboard 100. It sold 31,000 copies in the UK in its first week. The album's second single, "I Gotta Feeling", was premiered in May 21.

"The E.N.D. or The Energy Never Dies, is a diary of music that at any given time, depending on the inspiration, you can add to it. I am trying to break away from the concept of an album. What is an album when you put 12 songs on iTunes and people can pick at it like scabs? That's not an album. There is no album anymore." - wil.i.am

If you like this post, you may want to subscribe to the Kebism - The Personal Blog of Kevin Michael C. Garcia RSS feed. You can also subscribe by e-mail and have new articles directly sent to your inbox. Thank you!

Adam Lambert is Proud to Be Gay

Finally! After all the months of rumours and speculation across the net and television about Adam Lambert's sexuality, he has finally come out. The Rolling Stone released the issue of the magazine on June 9. He said "I don't think its a surprise to anyone hear that I'm gay. I'm proud of my sexuality. I embrace it. It's just another part of me."

Well that's not really a surprise. Everybody says he's gay, and the fact was supported due to the photos that came out through the internet, that shows Adam kissing guys torridly. Despite of being gay, this 27 year old runner up for American Idol Season 8 is really awesome. A very great performer and singer, I liked his version of "If I Can't Have You" and "Mad World." He has a good quality of voice and a very promising talent. He is releasing a debut album from RCA Records and he signed with 19 Recordings, owned by Simon Fuller.

ksm =

If you like this post, you may want to subscribe to the Kebism - The Personal Blog of Kevin Michael C. Garcia RSS feed. You can also subscribe by e-mail and have new articles directly sent to your inbox. Thank you!

Greenday on 21st Century Breakdown

At last! It was Greenday's longest gap between studio albums in their career. Five years after American Idiot, Reprise Records released Greenday's 8th studio album. May 15, 2009, fans rejoiced for the much awaited rock opera. The band posted a teaser trailer for "21st Century Breakdown" on March 17 on their official website. The album's first single; "Know Your Enemy" was heard as an introductory music for the 2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament Championships. Alternative Press called the song a huge rocker which is a fierce call to arms against apathy. The music video for the song was directed by Mathew Cullen and it premiered on MTV on April 24. 

The song already hit number 1 in US Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Hot Modern Rock Tracks. It also gained peek positions with Austrian Singles Chart, Canadian Hot 100, Irish Singles Chart, Japan Hot 100 Singles and Swedish Single Charts.

The music video is really awesome. It was shot on Downtown LA.  The band is performing at night on a stage in a field surrounded by barbed wire fence. Some shots are also seen through night-vision cameras that surrounded the field and there are helicopters that patrol the area with some lights. Then before the video ends, the final chorus is heard and fire burns behind the band. The video is really hot! 

The second single is "21 Guns." It's an entry for the official sound track of Transformer's upcoming sequel: Revenge of the Fallen.  I'm really excited to watch the part of this film where Greenday rocks the scene. June 27, 2009, Philippines... Mark your calendars!

ksm@

If you like this post, you may want to subscribe to the Kebism - The Personal Blog of Kevin Michael C. Garcia RSS feed. You can also subscribe by e-mail and have new articles directly sent to your inbox. Thank you!

Careless Whisper: I'm Never Gonna Dance Again!

The song "Careless Whisper" is a single by singer George Michael in 1984, released by Epic Records and Columbia Records. For this year, it has been the most controversial song in the Philippines, and became the official musical score for the "Katrina Halili - Hayden Kho Sex Video Scandal." But let us not discuss the scandal on this topic, because I'm too exhausted from the words of mouth by the people here in PH. I just want to listen to the song. I really love the saxophone riff (*lol). 

There we go. Have you heard the other versions of Careless Whisper? It has been covered by a number of artists since its first release. Including the release of Sarah Washington's version, Tamia, Willy Mason, Bananarama, 

Brian McKnight, Kenny G., George Michael, Gloria Gaynor, Julio Iglesias, Jordan Knight, Richard Clayderman and Barry Manilow. And I really like Brian McKnight's RNB touch to the song.  There were also live performances of the song by Incubus, and American Idol finalists Jamar in Season 1 and Paul Kim in Season 6. The song was really controversial. It already reached number one in nearly 25 countries. In Ecuador, the song's sax riff is often used as a reference to homosexual people. In the Philippines, the song is always heard on bold films (Rated X Films in the PH) as a musical background while 2 people are doing sex. Now, the latest appearance of the song in media, a video scandal recorded by Dr. Hayden Kho, with actress Katrina Halili. Well, the song is really undying. I guess listeners really feel the passion and the obsessions of love from the song Careless Whisper. Well it's up to you, which video did you liked? Ahm! I mean, which cover, I guess.

ksm**

If you like this post, you may want to subscribe to the Kebism - The Personal Blog of Kevin Michael C. Garcia RSS feed.  You can also subscribe by e-mail and have new articles directly sent to your inbox. Thank you!

America Crowned It's New Idol for Season 8

Allen VS Lambert. That was a tough decision. The fight against less than 100 million fans between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen is finally over. Only a few text votes separated the Idol winner and the runner up. 

Wednesday, May 23, Seacrest opened the show welcoming back Adam and Kris on the stage. After that, the top 13 hit the stage with the song "So What" by Pink. Next, a thrilling performance by David Cook (Season 7 winner) with the song "Permanent," a song dedicated to his brother who recently died from cancer. The performance would be soon available for download on iTunes, and the profit will benefit to cancer research.

Then came the "Golden Awards" portion and as we all know, the award is annually given to auditioners who humiliated themselves on the show. Nick Mitchell won. He sang "And I'm Telling You" and the whole crowd was really amazed. After that, a duet from Lil Rounds and Queen Latifa for the song "Through the Rain" was performed. Then Jason Mraz sang "I'm Yours" with Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace, then some finalists join then at the end.

The Golden Awards was back for the female category, and Katrina Darell won the title.  Allison Iraheta performed "Time After Time" together with the original singer of the song, Cindy Lauper. Then, Danny Gokey sang "Hello" and Lionel Richie joined him for the song "Just Go" and "All Night Long."

Ryan introduced Santana for next performer and Matt Giraud joined him for the song "Black Magic Woman." Then all finalist came for a smooth dancing sensation. 

Finally! The top 2 finalists! Lambert versus Allen. Who's gonna win? First, they did a duet for the song "We Are the Champs" by Queen. Before the announcement, Ryan asked Simon Cowell what he wants to say to the two finalists. "I think they are both brilliant and they should be proud of themselves," Cowell said.

"And the winner of American Idol Season 8 is Kris Allen!" Kris said "It feels good but Adam deserved it." Kris was thunderstrucked. He was speechless  He said "I'm sorry." Then cried on his wife's shoulder.

Then the show ended. Season 8 was over! I was also amazed, because I expected Lambert to win, although I said to myself he should not. In my opinion, he's not the winner type. But I'm not saying Allen's a winner type! Actually my bet is Gokey (*lol)! But that's all right. America loves the one who is left behind. That's why Kris Allen won the text votes versus Adam Lambert. Well then, that's it! Hope to watch more more seasons of AI for the next years!

ksm&%

If you like this post, you may want to subscribe to the Kebism - The Personal Blog of Kevin Michael C. Garcia RSS feed.  You can also subscribe by e-mail and have new articles directly sent to your inbox. Thank you!

The All American Rejects: When the World Comes Down

Three years after "Move Along," the famous four-piece American rock band The All American Rejects released it's third studio album on December 16, 2008. "When the World Comes Down" was named one of the Alternative Press most anticipated albums of the year. The first single is "Gives You Hell, released on September 20, 2008" followed by "The Wind Blows"

The band started recording the album in the summer of 2007. They spend around six months in the studio recording their third album with their producer Eric Valentine. The band was honored as a "Rising Star" by the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame on October 8, 2008. It's like nothing you've ever heard." The band mentioned from the interview with Entertainment Weekly.  They also donated 10% of the new album's profits to the program called Feed the Children. 

The music is great. The singles are climbing up to Billboard tops and the songs are really really awesome. I started including my favorite song from the album "Another Heart Calls" featuring the New York based band "The Piece" to my playlist and I can't help but repeat the song simultaneously. 

The All American Rejects is known from their songs such as "Swing Swing," "Move Along," "It Ends Tonight," "My Paper Heart" and more. Now 6 months after the launch of their album, TAAR would definitely hit the charts and make it to the top spots.  

ksm#

If you like this post, you may want to subscribe to the Kebism - The Personal Blog of Kevin Michael C. Garcia RSS feed.  You can also subscribe by e-mail and have new articles directly sent to your inbox. Thank you!