Hit Me Baby One More Time!

[RGMike]

Crowd goes NUTS for Billy Vera.

I say WHO? Never heard of him.

Jeez!  I guess you never watched family ties!

Really! That song was HUGE. He also had a minor career in the late '60s doing duets with Judy Clay.

But Ali's right about Mr Kihn -- guess he doesn't get much exercise sitting behind the K-FOX mic.  I was glad he did "Breakup Song" but I think his voice was not quite up to the Green Day cover. My money was on Club Nouveau, especially after their Dido cover, which I thought worked quite well (2nd week in a row that someone covered Dido, BTW). But I was perfectly fine with Thelma winning.

Did they say who's on next week? If so, I missed it.

[Alicat]

Thelma was awesome. I'd like to see/hear her and Teddy together now. Well, that'll never happen.
Details on coming weeks and to vote, go to nbc.com.

[Alicat]

Crowd goes NUTS for Billy Vera.

I say WHO? Never heard of him.

Jeez!  I guess you never watched family ties!

Really! That song was HUGE. He also had a minor career in the late '60s doing duets with Judy Clay.

I did watch Family Ties but where did Billy Vera fit in? Honestly have no recognition of the song. Never heard of Judy Clay.

[ggould]

Crowd goes NUTS for Billy Vera.

I say WHO? Never heard of him.

Jeez!  I guess you never watched family ties!

Really! That song was HUGE. He also had a minor career in the late '60s doing duets with Judy Clay.

I did watch Family Ties but where did Billy Vera fit in? Honestly have no recognition of the song. Never heard of Judy Clay.

Well, if you don't know what a sap I am by now, I don't know what to say!  Here's a brief descripition from the songfacts.com site:

it was used in three episodes of Family Ties in 1985 and 1986, as a backdrop for romantic interludes between Alex P. Keaton (played by Michael J. Fox) and Ellen Reed (played by Tracy Pollan, who became Fox's wife in real life).

The couple were at a dance, and getting very tender, when Ellen freaked out and split.  I believe it was at the end of a season, and the intersection of Billy Vera's tender voice (I think he still has a great voice) and the plot were quite potent, which shot the song to #1.  This is all from my memory, so the facts may be slightly skewed by time!

[RGMike]

Details on coming weeks and to vote, go to nbc.com.

looks like next week features Animotion, Juice Newton, Missing Persons, Shannon (the black woman who did "Let the Music Play", not the British guy who did "Abergavenny"), and a player to be named later.

BTW Ali, word on the street is that the Bewitched movie blows huge chunks (as of this afternoon it was averaging 21 points on metacritic.com [out of 100]).

[mshray]

looks like next week features Animotion, Juice Newton, Missing Persons, Shannon (the black woman who did "Let the Music Play", not the British guy who did "Abergavenny"), and a player to be named later.

Missing Persons, wow I sure hope Dale has kept in good shape.  If she is anything near as hot today as she was then they'll win hands down.

I too thought Greg's voice was not up to snuff, but his son Ry was smokin' on his mini guitar solo.  One caller to Greg's show this morning said Greg was 'horrible', but most callers were supportive.  Everyone agreed that Thelma showed some awesome vocal talent, and Greg said, "She won fair & square".  He went on to say that she should win the finals hands down.

I didn't realize there were going to be finals.

Who is the Seacrest wannabe host?  Why can't he maintain the same accent throughout the show?  And don't you think they should let the audience vote him a new haircut?

[RGMike]

I didn't realize there were going to be finals.

Me either... I don't think the producers knew at first either -- NBC ordered 3 eps and extended the run when it became popular. (But not as popular as Dancing with the Stars -- yikes, is America insane? Oh, right, it is.)

Who is the Seacrest wannabe host?  Why can't he maintain the same accent throughout the show?  And don't you think they should let the audience vote him a new haircut?

He was the host of the Brit version, and presumably the accent is real. And yeah, he's WAY annoying. But Seacrest was unavailable, Ed Mc Mahon's too old and Dick Clark is -- sadly -- still in poor health.

[mshray]

BTW Ali, word on the street is that the Bewitched movie blows huge chunks (as of this afternoon it was averaging 21 points on metacritic.com [out of 100]).

I saw the review in Newsweek, which was a bit more kind, but did you know what the plot is?  Instead of remaking the TV show, this is a movie about the hypothetical remaking of the TV show.

Will Farrell's character is the actor hired to play Darren, Shirley MacLaine's character is the actor hired to play Endora, but guess what, Nicole Kidman's character, the actor hired to play Samantha, really IS a witch.  Fun & love ensue.

This has to be one of the lamest premises I have ever heard, and if it were anyone other than Nora Ephron I seriously doubt the pitch would have been picked up.  Looking forward to seeing this on an airplane ride sometime next year.

[Alicat]

Details on coming weeks and to vote, go to nbc.com.

looks like next week features Animotion, Juice Newton, Missing Persons, Shannon (the black woman who did "Let the Music Play", not the British guy who did "Abergavenny"), and a player to be named later.

BTW Ali, word on the street is that the Bewitched movie blows huge chunks (as of this afternoon it was averaging 21 points on metacritic.com [out of 100]).

Damn! I guess I won't join the crush this weekend for the opening. Wait a week or two. I think I still feel the need to see it.

[Alicat]

looks like next week features Animotion, Juice Newton, Missing Persons, Shannon (the black woman who did "Let the Music Play", not the British guy who did "Abergavenny"), and a player to be named later.

Missing Persons, wow I sure hope Dale has kept in good shape.  If she is anything near as hot today as she was then they'll win hands down.

I too thought Greg's voice was not up to snuff, but his son Ry was smokin' on his mini guitar solo.  One caller to Greg's show this morning said Greg was 'horrible', but most callers were supportive.  Everyone agreed that Thelma showed some awesome vocal talent, and Greg said, "She won fair & square".  He went on to say that she should win the finals hands down.

I didn't realize there were going to be finals.

Who is the Seacrest wannabe host?  Why can't he maintain the same accent throughout the show?  And don't you think they should let the audience vote him a new haircut?

HAH! I thought the same thing about him. The way he pronounced "but" was interesting.

[mshray]

HAH! I thought the same thing about him. The way he pronounced "but" was interesting.

It's like he's English but wants to have a Scots accent, or something.

[RGMike]

HAH! I thought the same thing about him. The way he pronounced "but" was interesting.

It's like he's English but wants to have a Scots accent, or something.

from nbc.com:

"Popular UK personality Vernon Kay "hops the pond" to host the new U.S. version of the UK smash hit, "Hit Me Baby One More Time." Originally from Bolton, England, Vernon created quite a stir within the television industry. His spontaneous wit and charming accent make him a huge hit with both male and female viewers of all ages.  Vernon has a vast amount of hosting experience both live and pre-recorded. His first taste of fame was a few years ago when he was spotted by a model scout from Select at the BBC'sClothes Show Live. He began a successful modeling career but it was not long before he was picked out for stardom by Channel 4 when he won Model of the Week on "The Big Breakfast". Since then his personality and cheeky boyish charm have been noticed and put him in demand for numerous presenting roles.

He hosted the quiz show "Head Jam" on BBC2 and BBC 3 and now presents Celebrities under Pressure on ITV, along with "Hit MeÖ". He hosted "Wife For William" and "The Grill". Prior to this, Vernon hosted the Saturday night show "Boys and Girls". Vernon was the co-presenter for BBC2's "Top of the Pops Plus", in addition to fronting the spin-off series "Top of the Pops@ Play" for Play UK. The shows were music-based formats with live band performances and interviews with entertaining viewer interaction.

Not only is Vernon an accomplished and popular TV personality, but having been given the opportunity to stand in for [former "Madness" frontman and current radio host] Suggs on XFM's mid-morning show he has proved to be a natural broadcaster."

[urth]

Missing Persons, wow I sure hope Dale has kept in good shape.  If she is anything near as hot today as she was then they'll win hands down.

I'll be curious if Dale's ex, Terry, (who is one of the most amazing drummers I've ever seen, not to mention an SF native) will be taking part. I'm told their split was, ummm, rather ugly. I'm thinking it will be Dale and a cast of hired guns.

I too thought Greg's voice was not up to snuff, but his son Ry was smokin' on his mini guitar solo.  One caller to Greg's show this morning said Greg was 'horrible', but most callers were supportive.  Everyone agreed that Thelma showed some awesome vocal talent, and Greg said, "She won fair & square".  He went on to say that she should win the finals hands down.

Count me among those who thought Mr. Kihn sounded lousy. Had it not been for the other guys in the band singing backup, he would have sounded really bad. And my wife made the comment that he looks like he's a regular patron of the morning doughnut cart at K-FOX.

[ggould]

Is the guy real tall, or are all the stars just real short?  It's kind of the reverse of the Daily Show, when it takes someone like Robert Reich to not call attention to Jon Stewart's height, or lack of.

[ggould]

I too thought Greg's voice was not up to snuff, but his son Ry was smokin' on his mini guitar solo.  One caller to Greg's show this morning said Greg was 'horrible', but most callers were supportive.  Everyone agreed that Thelma showed some awesome vocal talent, and Greg said, "She won fair & square".  He went on to say that she should win the finals hands down.

Count me among those who thought Mr. Kihn sounded lousy. Had it not been for the other guys in the band singing backup, he would have sounded really bad. And my wife made the comment that he looks like he's a regular patron of the morning doughnut cart at K-FOX.

I always thought Greg Kihn succeeded more on cleverness than actual musical talent, at least as far as his voice was concerned.  Remember, he came out of the whole 'Berserkely' scene.  If you listen to his old hits, which I like, you can hear a pretty stiff style.