Rock the Cradle

[Cindy]

As some of you who came to this site as Rock Star:INXS fans probably know, there is a new show that started on MTV this week in which Our Producer: Dave (David Goffin) is the Exec Producer and features many of the members of the Rock Star House Band as the house band. The show is Rock the Cradle where the offsping of rock/pop music icons compete for a music contract and other prizes.

www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/rock_the_cradle/series.jhtml

the contestants include folks like the daughters of MC Hammer, Joe Walsh of the Eagles, Olivia Newton John, Eddie Money, and Doobie Brothers' singer Tom Johnston; and the sons of Bobby Brown, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Kenny Loggins, and Al B Sure.

If anyone here watched it and want to post your favs or non-favs, feel free. Here were my top picks in order from week one.

1) Jesse Blaze Snider He is just the coolest thing! Rocked his ass off, gave an exciting performance, did Led Zeppelin and ended his song with an amazing back flip. LOVED this boy this week.

2) Lucy Welsh She sounded good and expressed her song really well. She seems to have the best sounding voice in the show this week.

3) Crosby Loggins. Good voice. Good expression. Seemed to have confidence and is very likable.


The not so hot this week for me was Chloe Lattanzi, Jesse Money and Logan Brown. None of these three sounded so good and seemed to be offkey at times in their song.

[Amy]

MTV is doing a rerun this morning that I'm catching.

Jesse Money - Her vocal tone was pretty flat. I believe her voice is better than her ear. She may have potential if she has enough natural ability with music tone.
Landon Brown - terrible, very pitchy. He uses trills to cover up his lack of vocal abilities.
Chloe Lattanzi - (Olivia Newton John's daughter) Horrible. She needs to find another way to make a living. I don't think she's meant to be a singer. One of the judges said she sounded like she was in a high school talent show. Pretty bad.
Lucy Walsh - Beautiful voice, strong voice, good timing, great presentation. She chose a good song to showcase her voice. She's probably spent some time with voice lessons and a vocal coach...and she was paying attention.
Jesse Blaze Snider - He's definitely a charismatic rock 'n roll kid. Fantastic presentation and stage presence, and a good lookin' guy. It was hard to tell with the "yelling" in the song whether or not he has a talented voice, but he didn't have a bad tone and wasn't pitchy or off-key.
Little B. Sure (son of Al B Sure) - Just "meh" for me. I don't care for his style of music with so many trills, but he seems to have a nice voice albeit a bit pitchy.
Lara Johnston - (daughter of Tom Johnston of the Doobie Bros), Good strong voice, but she has pitch problems.
A'keiba Burrell Hammer - Another one that was just "meh" for me.....and another one who has a stronger voice than musical ear. She tried some low notes that were out of her range. She did well, but not great.
Crosby Loggins - Very talented and the song he chose showcased it! More genuine & humble and less "showy" than Jesse Blaze Snider and comes across in a very positive, confidant manner. He seems pretty solid.


The show is reusing some of the tunes from Rock Star. It was great to see the house band again! The layout of the show is very similar. I really don't like the host (he's a bit cheesy and goofy) but the judges are very good.

[dawn]

hmmm, I wonder if this will hit the UK? I'll have to keep an eye out!

[Amy]

Here's my take on this week's episode:

Theme is "parent's choice" - the parents selected the song they wanted their kids to sing.

Jesse Blaze Snider - Rebel Yell by Billy Idol. Very charismatic on stage, but vocals were a little lacking. He did well but didn't knock it out of the ballpark. I know the Mohawk was supposed to be edgy, but I didn't think it looked good on him. The judges liked him better this week than I did.

Lara Johnston - Respect/Aretha Franklin. Just "meh" for me. She yelled a lot of the song.....she over sang it. I think she should have tried to make it her own rather than attempting to copy Aretha. Aretha is a legend and can't be duplicated.

A"keiba Hammer - Killing Me Softly. Very pitchy. An uninspired performance.

Crosby Loggins - I Don't Wanna Be. Very, very good vocals. He rocked out a little more this week, but he needs to show a bit more stage personality. I think Belinda gave him an unfairly low score - she said he was boring. The other judges gave higher scores but gave him some input to be a bit more dazzling with stage charisma.

Landon Brown - Superstition by Stevie Wonder. I think he's giving this contest a good try, but he just doesn't have any natural vocal ability. The crotch grabbing was annoying. The judges liked him more than I did, but also told him he was pitchy. They thought he was "sexy."

Lil B. Sure - Women's Work? (I don't know the song) Awful, awful, awful.....and even more awful! Whew, it was bad. The entire song was sung in falsetto. The judges also thought he was terrible. Their input was about being pitchy, telling him to stop the crotch grabbing, bad song choice, and the whole falsetto thing.

Lucy Walsh - True Colors by Cindy Lauper. Not as good as last week. She was a little pitchy. I'm not sure she liked the song choice. She has a fantastic, strong voice, but it wasn't showcased in this performance. She's still one of my favorites though. The judges didn't like her as well this week either - they didn't like the song choice and want her to do something other than a ballad next week.

Jessie Money - eliminated. I thought Chloe should've gone....Jessie deserved one more chance IMHO.

Chloe Lattanzi -- I Hate Everything About You. In the rehearsal segment the House Band looked pretty exasperated with her. Her performance was tragic. This girl does NOT need to be near a stage and microphone ever again. Horrible. She sounded like a cross between a screaming cat and Yoko Ono. She was even worse than Lil B. Sure. I think she's tone deaf. Judge June just loved her.

[Cindy]

Ok and now I will comment.

I think Jesse Money being eliminated over Chloe or Lil B Sure was a travesty. Jesse Money actually has potential. Based on last week, the other two, not so much.


Jesse Snider this week: I agree with Amy about the look...but he did rock out again and put on a good performance. He is correct---he is the only one who really rocks on this show so far. Hence, I agree with the judges giving him the high score this week. I do think I preferred last week's performance over this weeks...but still he has landed two really good performances so far, which is better than most anyone else has done.

Lara: She gave a really good effort taking on Respect, it was solid, but not particularly great. Because she is so young, I am cutting her a bit more slack than the others. I think she deserves to stay around a bit longer.


A'keiba: I have to say that I agree with June... who is dressing this girl?? and her style choice do make her look old. And unfortunately her voice doesn't help make up for it. She took a beautiful song and was flat and offkey through most of it. Second worst performance of the night.

Crosby Loggins: Nice job...and he did get to rock out some near the end. This one and Jesse Snider are my two favs this week.

Landon Brown: Not so hot on Stevie Wonder. And the way he tried to sex up the song was just wrong (and nauseating) in so many ways. I guess he is trying to flaunt his sex appeal to make up for his lack of vocal ability. The judges scored him higher than I would have. They had him second behind Jesse Snider...and that ain't right.

Lil B Sure: Painful. worst of the night!

Lucy Walsh: Pretty good, just uninspired. I agree with the judges on this call. She does need to bring something that rocks next week.


Chloe: I will disagree a bit here with Amy. Yeah, I agree she doesn't sing really well...but in her performance this week she did step up a lot, and I actually was entertained by it. She does have an unusual tone to her voice....and she definately can bring passion and commit to brave performance choices.. Now if she could just get vocal lessons, then she might be able to outlast some of the more boring singers.

Based on this week, I think Lil B sure and A'keiba Hammer are the two that are in the most danger.

I still am not digging the host of this show. And I want to see and hear more of the House Band.

I will continue to watch this in the hopes that 1) the few singers on here who do entertain me stick around and 2) maybe next week we can have more house band time.

[feather]

Thanks for reminding us about this show Cindy and Amy. I had totally forgotten but then I don't have cable or satillite TV!!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D (o.k., not so funny)

[cfbj01]

I just saw yesterday this show was going to start on one of the music channels, in our area, Sunday night

[Cindy]

This week when my TiVo was set up to record it, MTV ran something else in the time slot I was taping it in, so I could not watch it. But I did go to MTV's web site and caught the whole episode online.

This week the songs were to be the biggest hits of their parents' careers. The two best were the two guys again, Crosby Loggins and Jesse Snider. Crosby did "I'm Allright" and Jesse did "We're Not Gonna Take It." Jesse got the highest votes from the judges, so he is safe again.

Eliminated was A'keiba which I actually think she did a better job than Lil B sure last week...and I would have LOVED to watch her take on her dad's song "Can't Touch This" so her being eliminated was a disappointment.

Anyway Lil B Sure and Landon Brown sounded not so good. And to me both Lara and Lucy hit a few flat notes too. Chloe is just so odd. I don't think I really like her voice and it seems possible that she can't sing, but she seems to be able to emote and put on a show. So for that reason, she may stick around a bit.

This week I don't think any of them except the two boys I mentioned first were worth watching.

What do you think Amy?

[Amy]

I haven't yet recorded it. I'll check the TiVo schedule.

[Cindy]

Ok this week (week4).

Bye bye to two rockers--no surprise here. They got this right. Adios Lil B Sure and Landon Brown.

This week the singer was to pick the definitive song for themselves. The singers in the order they performed:

Lara Johnston This sweet young thing did Lady Marmalade and this was a mistake for her. She hits a few bad notes but worst of all could not pull off the style necessary to sing this song about a prostitute. The judges gave her middle of the road marks.. but since this is double elimination week again and only four that can be voted on, I predict she is a goner.

Crosby Loggins: he did the Foo Fighters' "Long Road to Ruin" and the judges just loved this...he got really high marks. But for me, it was a good performance but nothing spectacular. I would have scored him good solid marks but not the highest this week.

Next up Jesse Blaze Snider who does his rockin' take on Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." The song is just fine but the problem he has is in his mom's absolute insistence that she will always style him. I agree with June, the mom needs to butt out and let Jesse be Jesse and find himself. So since I now know his stage persona is so contrived by his mom, it lowers him a bit in my estimation. I would have given him the week's third highest score I think.

The singer who I think deserved the highest scores this week is next and its Lucy Walsh. She is playing the piano and singing a song by Secondhand Serenade, Fall for You. I have never heard this band or this song before. But Lucy sounds so great and makes the song amazing. I know it isn't rock as we know rock, but it is in the mode of the female piano rocker ballad style... so sounds good to me.

Last is Chloe Latanzi and she has picked "Freak on a Leash" by Korn. She sits on the floor and writhes around and just sounds really really bad. I agree with Belinda on this one--it is "shockingly bad." I have cut Chloe a ton of slack in the past because I think she is plenty emotive and unusual. But now she has proved to me she really cannot sing.

Crosby Loggins was judged the untouchable one this week and since two will be eliminated next week, in my opinion those two need to be Lara and Chloe.

That will leave the three best still around: Lucy Walsh, Jesse Blaze Snider and Crosby Loggins. These are definately the three that need to be standing next week.

[BBE]

I've been watching this on and off, and I agree--Chloe really cannot sing! I think I'm glad I missed it this week--her performance must have been painful to watch.

[cfbj01]

Lucy Walsh and Crosby Loggins are my 2 favourites.

I agree - we need to see more of the House Band

[Cindy]

I was home sick the past few days and was laid up in bed. But happened to catch this weeks show...and it was really exciting. This is the week that two more were to be eliminated and with only 5 left, that means after tonight only the top three will be left. We also found out next week is the finale where the winner will be announced.

This week they changed the format a bit and each singer still left did one song first that they got comments from one judge on but not scored. Then if they weren't one of the ones eliminated, they got to do a second song that was scored. The songs this week were selected by the judges..so there were some interesting choices here that tossed a couple of folks out of their comfort zones.

Being untouchable this week was a sweet plus for Crosby Loggins because it meant he coasted into the final round without fear of elimination. He is tasked with "Beverly Hills" by Weezer and does a commendable job. The judges have tried to pull him into a lighter, more fun song to see if he can engage the audience more and this time he does a really good job. Judge Jamie tells him he did amazing.

Next up is Jesse Blaze Snider and he is assigned Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". He does just dandy and because in the video package before his performance he remarks on how mad he is about Judge Belinda's prior week comments, they ask Belinda to comment on his performance. Belinda challenges him head on about how he can dish it out but not take it and he agrees with her and tells her he should have kept his mouth shut. She tells him he has charisma, looks and the moves...and his performance was really good.

Next we have little Lara Johnston doing "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie. She sings this really well and June applauds her and tells her that really worked well and how she has improved so much.

Next comes the most emotional moment of this week's show, Lucy Walsh doing Evanescence's "My Immortal". Her father is there for the first time during the prep and Lucy admits this song will be really hard for her to sing without crying because it reminds her of her relationship with her dad. She sings and plays it very well. Judge Larry tells her it was amazing and it he was scoring it he would have given her an eleven.

Last we have Chloe Latanzi and by watching her video package, her dad comes across as rather an odd bird. He lives in a teepee out in the middle of nowhere and seems to be into some kind of Indian like spirtualism. None of that is fully explained. But Chloe is very upset that she is assigned "Toxic" by Britney Spears and she cries and carries on about it cause she thinks it is too light and poppy for her taste and that one of the judges worked with Britney Spears so she thinks she will be judged more harshly because of it. This is some kind of weird performance... I don't think she sounded so bad but I was so distracted by the fact that she danced around some super hot looking guy tied up in a chair with duct tape over his mouth... wtf?? Judge Larry seems ok with it though and tells her she did fine and made the song her own. Whatever.

So now they bring Crosby Loggins back to perform his second song since he is obviously one of the final three and he does The Fray's "Over My Head". He starts out at the piano singing rather quietly but by mid song he is up and into the crowd. That scores big brownie points with the judges and he gets good high marks, with two perfect 10's thrown in there.

So now they bring Chloe and Lara out and inform then that only one of them is going home and that is Lara. That means Chloe has made the top three. Go figure! Seems a travesty that that means either Jesse Blaze or Lucy are going home.

Chloe now perfroms "The First Cut Is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crow and she does this the whole time sitting on a throne. She doesn't sound good to me... and one of the judges calls her on it telling her she was pitchy in places. She gets about slightly above average scores... certainly nothing really great.

Then it is down to either Jesse or Lucy and it is Lucy going home. It seems that the two of them have gotten to be really close friends because as Lucy is giving her farewell statement she tells her fans to please vote for Jesse. Then Jesse takes the stage and he does The Living End's "Prisoner of Society" I had never heard this before, but he totally rocks. And gives one of the hottest performances I have ever seen. Boy, he has saved the best for last. This boy just rocks! He is rewarded with 3 10's and a 9.5, netting him the highest score awarded the entire series.

So it is now down to Crosby, Jesse and Chloe. It would be a total travesty if one of the two boys does not win. And for my money, I am picking Jesse. He made a believer out of me.

Oh, btw we do see a bit more of the House Band this episode... and Jesse goes out of his way to give a huge shotout to them at the end of this first song saying they are a truly great band who can play anything. Smart boy.

I am upset that Lucy was eliminated.. she was by far the best of the females. What does the voting public see in Chloe, I just can't fathom!

[sjjo1973]

Cheryl at RBL has pics up from backstage....they are gorgeous!

rockbandlounge.com/news/2008-05-rock-the-cradle-backstage.asp

[bubbles2301]

thanks for posting that link, heidi!

those pictures are great!


i'm torn between jesse and crosby, but crosby has my vote!

[jillywilly65]

I don't have cable so I haven't seen the show but I like reading about it here. Those are some Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them with us Cheryl.

[Cindy]

I loved Cheryl's photos. Just juicy nice stuff.

I am curious about how close the singers are. In the articles and interviews you read, some seem to be really really close while other comes across as more aloof. The video packages they run on the show make everyone seem tense and competitive and I wonder how accurate that is. I was wondering what she experienced backstage as far as comradarie and support of each other among the singers. I need to go over to RBL and ask Cheryl a couple of questions about the backstage experinece and the photos. Maybe I will do that after this weeks finale.