Music Blogs

Luke Edgemon gets knocked outThis Tuesday, "The Voice's" controversial Knockout Rounds continued, as did my ongoing frustration with the coaches' puzzling decisions. After Adam Levine and Shakira let go of some truly promising contestants on Monday night, I was hoping Tuesday's Blake Shelton and Usher would make wiser choices…but seriously, some of their choices were even worse.

All around me, my Season 4 favorites were being cast aside like Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green's old wigs. Savannah Berry! Jess Kellner! Luke Edgemon! Grace Askew! All gone, gone, gone--as the winner of a certain other singing competition might say. It was enough to make me curl up in a fetal position in one of those big, comfy red chairs and despondently suck my thumb, wishing all this "Voice" insanity and inanity would just go away--or at least wishing that these Knockout Rounds had Steals. Or Saves. Or Wild Cards. Or something!

By Laura Ferreiro

photo: Yiannimize's InstagramRuh-roh! It looks like the guys in One Direction will be cruising around Scooby-style in some tricked out new wheels very soon.

Band members Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik posted a photo of their new Mystery Machine, which is designed to look like the colorful van that Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and the gang would travel around in while solving mysteries in the popular Hanna-Barbera animated series.

FRIDAY APRIL 26:

Henry Gray’s keyboards are first thing I hear upon arriving at my 27th (or is it 28th?) straight Jazz Fest. It reminds me of a time a few years back, at an early Ponderosa Stomp, when I leaned on Gray’s piano while listening to him reunite with other blues legends from Muddy Waters’ and Howlin’ Wolf’s groups. It was spectacular. “This is the sh*t that inspired the Yardbirds and Stones to pick up guitars,” I thought, “and I’m hearing it like they did.” Recalling that revelation reminds me that even as the number of big touring acts included in the Fest lineup grows and grows, I still make the annual pilgrimage for the Henry Grays among the 500-plus acts performing at the New Orleans Jazz Fest over seven days divided between two weekends, acts that provoke my annual mad darting from stage to stage around the Fair Grounds Race Course where the festival is held. And it’s time to Start The Dart.

I catch some of the Friendly Travelers, who are in the Gospel Tent churning out

Chris Brown, Rihanna (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)Sometimes you can almost feel bad for Chris Brown. It seems that Breezy is telegraphing his relationship status with Rihanna these days. A day after photos of RiRi getting close-and-personal with a fan in New York City popped up on Twitter and Instagram, Breezy dropped a new breakup ballad called "I Can't Win." He also revealed that his new album, X, will drop on July 16, but that song's not on it.

Photo: Kevin WinterGrammy-nominated artist Hunter Hayes knows about "crazy"--the 21-year-old keeps nothing short of a crazy schedule all year long. When he's not out on the road, he's writing music--when he's not writing music, he's in the studio! "To go from one creative world to another, it's relaxing for me," he told us in December. "The cycle is weird and awesome, and I love it."

One other "crazy" thing in his life is the debut of his new video for the single "I Want Crazy." Hayes fans have been waiting for this one, and it's well worth the patience. In this fun clip, Hayes gets rowdy with a girlfriend--jumping into a deserted indoor pool fully clothed, riling up the cops by throwing things off rooftops, rolling around in shopping carts. Ultimately, however, Hayes and his lady love realize the craziest thing of all is simply the wonder of being in love.

By Laura Ferreiro

On Tuesday, Bon Jovi premiered the video for "What About Now," the title track from their 12th studio album, which debuted at the top of the Billboard charts when it was released in March. It's an epic concert video featuring tons of Jon Bon Jovi closeups, fist-pumping fans, and sweeping arena shots. Longtime fans can rest easy, because guitarist Richie Sambora is featured in the video numerous times, despite rumors that he's no longer a part of the band.