Glee Performs Kelly Clarkson's Stronger

This week's episode of Glee was a hot mess, to say the very least. As always, the musical numbers are Glee's saving grace. Performing "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)" by Kelly Clarkson, fierce ladies Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) and Brittany S. Pierce (Heather Morris) sing to give New Directions a first place finish during Regionals. The Troubletones performances have consistently been my favourites of Season 3. You've gotta love a girl group that sings about female empowerment!

Grammy Awards 2012: The Moments

Adele performing the Record and Song of the Year, "Rolling in the Deep" at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

As host LL Cool J said at the opening of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, the night was about something truly universal and healing - music. Devastated by the passing of Whitney Houston (to whom this year's ceremony is dedicated to), the music community paid their respects to the late, great vocalist by letting the beat go on. The music-makers celebrated this past year by recognizing the achievements of their fellow artists and by creating some of the finest and most memorable Grammy moments in the show's history. These were some of my favourite moments...

• Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt's cool cover of "Sunday Kind Of Love" by Etta James, in honour of the late Matriarch of R&B and Soul.
• The Regal Reba McEntire introducing Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson's "Don't You Wanna Stay", one of my favourite Country duets of 2012.
• The Beach Boys set by Maroon 5 and Foster the Kids, with a special appearance by the band itself! "Good Vibrations" was especially groovy and showed that the Beach Boys, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, are timeless entertainers.
• Stevie Wonder. Need I say more?
• Folk duo The Civil Wars singing a snippet of the entrancing "Barton Hollow," their Grammy award winning song from their Grammy Award winning album.
• Tony Bennett, who received his first Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album accolade of his career for Duets II (which contains his sensational, award-winning collaboration with the late Amy Winehouse, "Body and Soul"), sang his duet with Carrie Underwood, "It Had To Be You".
• Jennifer Hudson's emotionally-charged rendition of "I Will Always Love You" was a stunning tribute to Whitney Houston (and surely brought tears to the eyes of all those who adored her).
• QUEEN ADELE. The vocal powerhouse deliver a rousing rendition of "Rolling in the Deep" (the fact that she can go through vocal surgery and sound that stellar is amazing!) which was followed by a standing ovation from the audience. She also dominated the night with a clean sweep of Grammy Awards, earning a grand total of six trophies in the categories of Best Short Form Music Video (for "Rolling in the Deep"), Best Pop Vocal Album (for 21), Best Pop Solo Performance (for "Someone Like You"), Song of the Year and Record of the Year (for "Rolling in the Deep"), and the prestigious Album of the Year for 21! With her six awards, she matched Beyonce's record of most wins by a female artist in one night. Truly, there is no one more worthy of all the acclaim than the talented and sensational Adele.
• Sir Paul McCartney (along with Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl in the band) closing the show with Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End. That Beatles medley is perhaps one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever created, and it was such a pure joy to hear it performed on the Grammy stage. This powerful moment was a reminder of how good songs can be cherished for many years to come.

"In the end, the love you make is equal to the love you take."

The Search For A Superstar

During the final auditions episode of Season 11, American Idol aired this fantastic montage of Carrie Underwood's remarkable journey from small town dreams to large-scale superstardom. As they reflected back on Carrie's biggest moments, I began to wonder... After launching Carrie and Kelly Clarkson's careers, will Idol ever strike gold a third time? Since Carrie, no winner has ever become as big as she is. While many of the most recent Idol champions (Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Scotty McCreery) have been able to reach moderate levels of success, it has been a struggle to find someone who embodies that star quality that both Carrie and Kelly possess. It boggles my mind how Idol has failed to crown a female winner in the past few years, despite the fact that WOMEN are dominating the pop charts right now.

For the fourth consecutive year, my challenge to American Idol is this: Find a girl who will shine as bright as Carrie and Kelly do.

A Moment Like This... It Was Just A Dream

While confined to my sickbed due to a persistent case of the winter flu, I marathoned all of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood's music videos on VEVO. These two American Idol Queens are the most successful winners (in terms of financial earnings, popularity, and longevity) to emerge from the competition since the show started in 2002. What is their secret to maintaining that "IT" factor after all of those years? On top of possessing incredible voices, Ms. Clarkson and Ms. Underwood are able to connect with people through their music, which covers all facets of human emotion and experience. Kelly is known for her empowering anthems (Miss Independent, Since U Been Gone, Never Again, Mr. Know It All), but she can also show you the pain of being hurt by someone you care about (Because Of You, Behind These Hazel Eyes). Carrie tells heartbreaking and heartwarming stories (So Small, Just a Dream, Temporary Home, Mama's Song) through the medium of song, but she also shares her sassy side through mistakes made, acts of revenge, and warnings against getting involved with Mr. Wrong (Last Name, Before He Cheats, Cowboy Casanova).

The answer to the question of staying on top in today's rapidly-changing world of entertainment? Be relevant and be real. Luckily, both ladies have done a spectacular job of accomplishing these goals!