The End Of The Road For Tumblr…

Okay guys, well I have been frustrated with Tumblr as a platform for a text-based blogging for some time. When they changed the ‘new post’ function completely that was the final straw. I spent two entire days last week transporting my domain, all my posts and pages and basically entire blog over to Wordpress, re-designed it and re-formatted all the posts.

While I would love to continue updating both Tumblr and Wordpress, that is just not feasible so the time has come to say goodbye to Tumblr. I will still keep the account and everything will be able to be viewed as it was, but no more updates will be made.

If you liked anything about this blog, you can view my improved one at forthecountryrecord.com. I’d really appreciate if you could come on by even if it’s just once, maybe drop me a comment or something :) you can also still follow me on Twitter, in addition to following the official FTCR Twitter.

I’m really grateful for your support, your comments, likes, reblogs, messages, or even just a quick read scrolling through your Tumblr feed. It’s made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :)

HAVE FUN and stuff, don’t be a stranger etc!

Vickye x

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February Blog Rodeo - IT’S BACK!

Hi guys! Did you enjoy the Blog Rodeo last week? Well, we’re set to do it all over again for February!

As you know from previously, all the participating blogs will each post their own take on a particular topic. For February, this will happen on Monday 25th February. That’s in just under 4 weeks, so mark it on your calendars (or follow me @planmymistake or @FTCountryRecord for updates nearer the time). Then, the corresponding Twitter chat, where everything that’s been discussed in the articles, plus more (and chances for giveaways!) will go down on Wednesday 27th February.

Got that?

Are you excited? :D

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[GUEST POST] Keith Urban: A Country Boy Caught in a Diva World

Over the weekend, I had the chance to watch the first two episodes of the new season of American Idol.  I was looking forward to this season in particular because of all the switch-ups in the panel of judges, and particularly because Keith Urban has now joined.  I was looking forward to things being more balanced, as they usually are heavily skewed toward pop and R&B, and frankly, I think the show is long overdue for a country judge.  Keith Urban is certainly an interesting choice, and seeing as he’s just come off a season as a judge for the Australian version of The Voice, he’s already got a little judging experience under his belt.

However, with the Idol situation, the poor guy has to sit between what are arguably the two most bickering, catty people in the music industry: Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey.  In fact, I think the only thing that keeps those two from killing each other is the fact that Keith is a physical blockade between the two of them.  Unfortunately, that means he gets the constant stream of snark in both ears, as neither Carey nor Minaj seem to know when to let it go.

It’s only been two episodes, and Keith’s already saying things like, “I feel like a scratching post,” which I think is a pretty accurate way to describe the situation.

Keith Urban has a history of drinking, and not to make light of alcoholism, but I think if I had to sit and play referee between Carey and Minaj, it might be tempting to go home and have a drink or ten after that.  It’ll be interesting to see how he manages to cope through the season, especially if they keep the same seating arrangement throughout.  Honestly, I feel bad for him, and I hope the constant headaches don’t interfere with his ability to do his job.

Of course, Keith isn’t the first to be the token country guy, stuck on one of these TV talent shows with pop divas.  As previously mentioned, Keith was also on the Australian version of The Voice last year, and Blake Shelton has been on the American version of The Voice for three seasons now, heading into the fourth.  In the case of The Voice, though, it has always seemed more like they were trying to create a well-rounded panel of mentors to be prepared for any kind of artist that came through the doors.  In the US, for example, there’s Christina Aguilera on the pop front, Cee Lo Green to cover the R&B angle, Adam Levine as the rock guy, and then Blake to cover the more country/folk artists.  Even though there’s a huge amount of sexual tension going on between Christina and Adam that manifests in arguments, it’s all good-natured, and in the end they don’t seem to have any real problem with each other.

With Idol, in recent seasons it just seems like they’ll take whoever they think can get the highest ratings for the show, and given the target demographic, that means the bitchy pop divas will always be high up there on the priority list.  It makes you miss the days when it was just Simon, Paula, and Randy.  Although Simon and Paula did more than their share of bickering, it had a comic element to it, and you got the feeling that there was some love and respect underneath it all.  With Carey and Minaj, there’s no hint of mutual affection, and poor Keith Urban… well, he seems to be Stuck in the Middle (sorry, couldn’t resist that one!).

The teaser for the next auditions episode alluded to something about Minaj throwing a tantrum and walking out, so expect more drama this week.  It’s kind of already getting old, though, and I wish that less of the spotlight was on the two squeaky wheels, and more on finding the best contestants.  In any case, it’ll be interesting to see how Keith manages to deal with his co-judges, and whether they all make it out alive at the end.  Personally, I’m guessing that this lineup of judges won’t last for more than one season, but we’ll see if they find some way to gel with each other as the season wears on.

When she’s not busy seeking out new music and artists, BJ spreads her love for music across the web as a blogger and small business marketer.

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