Adele's GRAMMY Performance That DIDN'T HAPPEN

Over the last 24 hours, a clip has gone viral of GRAMMY winner Adele allegedly singing 'Someone Like You' to the crowd gathered at the Staples Center, during a commercial break.  During the song, the words have been changed to be called 'Someone Like Newt', seemingly slamming the Republican presidential candidate.

Personally, I have seen the video featured on more than a half dozen political blogs this morning, as well as dozens of status updates on my Facebook page.

It's fake.  100% bogus.  As much as I wish it wasn't, I hate to say that this is a hoax.

Here is the video that is being passed around today.  So far, it has nearly 50,000 views.



The video was released by Venga Productions, a YouTube user that has been posting politically based musical parody videos for the last four years.  The video itself is edited from the 2011 Brit Awards performance of 'Someone Like You'.  Watch it here.



If you saw Sunday night's GRAMMY telecast, it would be easy to spot the differences in Adele's makeup, hair, and facial structure.  It would be even easier to spot the fact that the stage featured in the "Newt" video didn't exist.

While I can understand the average person forwarding the video, if nothing else, for entertainment value alone, I cannot comprehend why bloggers and journalists with millions of readers would pass this along as "truth".

I despise the Republican party as much as anyone else.  I also believe in integrity.

It took a matter of 20 seconds and one YouTube search to determine that this video was a hoax.  Check for yourself.  Go to YouTube, and search "Adele GRAMMY performance 2011".  The first result will be the video from the Brit Awards.  Search "Adele grammy performance 2012".  It's the second one down.  This is her ACTUAL performance from Sunday night's ceremony.  You'll see that it's an entirely different woman singing.



Writers:  If you're going to call yourself "journalists", do some fucking research before posting every salacious video on your website.  It's about informing people, not page hits.

Mashup Monday GRAMMY Edition

As most of you are aware, the GRAMMY awards were last night.  If you're Catholic, I'm sure you have already called your Congressman to call for the death of Nicki Minaj.  Seriously, the head of the Catholic League made a statement today claiming she was possessed by the Devil.

In any event, Adele was the star of the night, taking six awards.  Another surprise winner was Skrillex.  Surprise, in the fact that an electronic artist was nominated for Best New Artist.

I'll be honest, when I first heard about Dubstep six months ago, my initial reaction was, "What the fuck is Dubstep?".  A month or so later, I heard Skrillex for the first time.  My response was very similar to Hitler's below:



Last night, I was hoping to see Deadmau5 win.  I must say however, that it's a nice change of pace to see a DJ come away taking three statues for the evening.  Other than Adele, the only other artist to win more than Skrillex was Kanye West (with five), and they were for multiple projects - some with other artists.

That being said, today's mashup is brought to you by Ca7.  It's a mix of Adele's 'Set Fire to the Rain', with Skrillex's 'Kill Everybody'.  The re-imagined title is 'Set Fire to Everybody'.  Maybe it's the medication talking, but I like it.

A Mashup Monday Double Feature

It has been a few weeks since I have had a Mashup Monday post.  Honestly, it's probably the article that I look forward to writing the most each week.  Unfortunately, depending on what is going on with my life, or around the world, Mashup Monday gets forgotten.

In scouring the web for a song to post today, I found two that were each so amazing, I couldn't decide between them.  So, I'm sharing them both.

First up is a track that I first heard back in March.  It's a mashup of Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy', with Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep'.  From Dark Ninja comes 'Crazy in the Deep':



Now, from two songs which have been beat to death, to a couple of tracks that never make their way through the mashup circles.

The next track is a mix of Don McLean's classic, 'American Pie', with 'Dog Days Are Over' by Florence and the Machine.  Not only do these tunes sound amazing together, but Reborn Identity has created a particularly moving video to accompany the mashup.  It's phenomenal.

Official Video: Adele's 'Someone Like You'

This was released within the last hour.  Thought I would share.

Video: Bruno Mars Performs 'Valerie' (Amy Winehouse Tribute)

I have avoided MTV's Video Music Awards for the last few years.  Between Bieber, Lil' Wayne and the cast of 'The Jersey Shore', I thought it would be best if I just watched something else.  Based upon the clips I've seen this morning, however, I think I may tune in next year.

Bruno Mars did a wonderful rendition of Amy Winehouse's 'Valerie'.  I've never thought about it before, but he is perfectly suited to sing her music.  It would have been nice to hear the two of them sing a duet.

There were some in the crowd singing right along.  You could tell that most had never heard the song before.  What a shame.  Adele appeared visibly moved by the performance.

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Bruno Mars

Video: Adele Performs 'Someone Like You' At Last Night's VMAs

A rare moment of class from last night's MTV Video Music Awards:

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Adele

Video: Very Early Adele Performance Released

Earlier this week, Billboard Magazine released a video of Adele singing 'Chasing Pavements' early on in her career.  The performance was recorded on June 16, 2008.  It shows a ragamuffin-esque Adele, as a natural curly haired brunette without make-up.  She's not even recognizable until her voice starts to fill the room.



She has come a long way in three short years.  Even in regards to her abilities, you can see noticeable improvement.  If you have been paying attention to my site in recent months, it's no secret that I am head over heels in love with Adele.  And, it looks like I'm not the only one.  So far in 2011, she has the top two selling albums of the year, with '21', and her debut effort, '19'.  She also has the number one single of the year with 'Someone Like You'.  It's refreshing to see someone from humble beginnings and legitimate talent atop the music charts.  If this video proves anything, it's that Adele is the real deal.

Ellen Knows Talent When She Sees It

Since Ellen Degeneres stepped down from the judge's booth at 'American Idol', she has really made a point to try to showcase new and undiscovered talent on her show.  She even started her own record label, ElevenEleven, to sign artists that she feels need to be seen and heard.  Her latest discovery is no exception.

Karmin is a band from Boston, comprised of Amy (who sings and plays guitar), and Nick (who sometimes sings and plays piano).  They've had a Youtube channel since August of last year, and do some amazing covers.  They've recently ventured out and started to record some originals, too.  Here is the video that got Ellen's attention.  It's a cover of Chris Brown's 'Look At Me Now', featuring Lil' Wayne and Busta Rhymes.  I have never seen anyone cover Busta Rhymes, and do it justice.  This white girl from Boston kicks it's ass...



Of all of the songs on Karmin's channel, my favorite is their cover of Adele's 'Someone Like You'.  They have a really original take on it.  First, they added a backing string track on the song, which adds a nice layer of depth to it.  Then, they turned it into a duet.  Amy has a great voice, but she can't compare to Adele.  At the moment, this song is the shoe in for Best Female Pop Album Vocal Grammy, if not Song of the Year or Record of the Year.  Amy has to strain on some of the notes, while Adele doesn't break a sweat.  She's a natural.

Nick, on the other hand, is impressive.  He has a natural gift and finds the harmony on the chorus effortlessly.  The result is beautiful, and hands down the best cover of the song I've heard yet.  The combination of the two voices really make it an emotional piece.  It really tugs at the heart strings.



If you haven't heard the original from Adele, here she is singing the song inside her home a couple of months ago.



You can find out more about Karmin by checking out their official website.  They even have an ITunes store, which carries all of their originals, as well as a number of their covers.  Unfortunately, neither of the two songs in this post are available for download....yet.

Mash Up Monday - Belated Tuesday Posting Edition ***MUST SEE***

I wasn't able to get around to posting this last night.  Under normal circumstances, I would have just waited until next week to post again.  These aren't normal circumstances.

Last week, I did a "Mashup Monday" post from a new artist named SpareElbowSkin.  He has only been on the scene for a few weeks, but his first mashup, a mix of Goldfrapp's 'A&E' and Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars', was quite impressive.  Last week, he released another mashup.

I have been chomping at the bit to post it.  It is easily...EASILY, one of the best mashups I have ever heard.  In my opinion, it is the best mashup since Norwegian Recycling's September track, 'Miracles'.  In many ways, though, it's better.

Mashups today have become a conglomeration of tracks that come together to a point that you almost have to pick them apart with a microscope and a pair of tweezers.  "I think I hear such and such's beat."  Or, "Wait.  Did you just hear Jay-Z?  I think I heard Jay-Z just then.  Rewind it."  When a DJ is mixing as many as 16 tracks together in a matter of three and a half minutes, it shows both the apex of talent and lunacy.

S.E.S. is different.  He sticks to two tracks.  He doesn't try to make his mashup "dance-able".  In fact, he sticks to tracks that you normally wouldn't think of mixing together.  This week's mix is a mashup of Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep' with Snow Patrol's 'Set The Fire To The Third Bar'.

Since Adele released her latest album, '21', about a month ago, I have heard literally dozens of mashups involving 'Rolling In The Deep'.  Some good.  Some...well....um..yeah, no.  Some of the better ones have been mixed with The Rolling Stones, Britney Spears, and even Gnarls Barkley.  When I saw the song that S.E.S. had selected to pair up with Adele on this mix, my first thought was, "You've got to be kidding me.  There's no way in a million years that this will work.  For the beats to even match up he's going to have to slow her voice down considerably.  It's going to sound horrible."

Boy, was I wrong.  When Adele's voice comes in, it gave me goosebumps.  The mix is one of the most haunting songs I have ever heard.  And that is what I quickly learned about SpareElbowSkin.  He has an appreciation for the music that other DJs don't.  That's what sets him apart from other artists.  He creates his mashups while still keeping the emotion, the heart, of the music in tact.  That is something that has been lost over the years with everyone else.  Their goal is to make something that sounds cool, or to make something with a cool beat.  SpareElbowSkin does it for the love of the song.  He's a fan.  He's not putting these two songs together simply because he thinks they would sound good together, but because he's a fan of Snow Patrol and of Adele.  He's showing his respect for the artists and their music.

If you need further proof, he even re-edited the video so that it was in 2.39:1 format, just so it would look nicer on screen.  Enjoy 'Rolling In The Third Bar'.