The one with the Betty and Veronica campaign of Kamiseta

I'll replace this with a photo of the actual billboard. Give me time, folks.

Kamiseta, a popular Philippine boutique, seems to have lined up another ace up its fashionable sleeve. A huge Kamiseta billboard on EDSA (near Guadalupe, alongside the Pasig River) features Betty and Veronica of the hugely popular Archie Comics with the tagline "Are you a Betty or a Veronica?" Coming May 6, 2006 (?).

Kamiseta has shown that it has a knack for coming up with ad campaigns unlike the other Philippine clothing brands don't. Kamiseta were the first boutique in recent to go with an international model when Kamiseta launched with Alicia Silverstone (Penshoppe followed a few weeks later with Mandy Moore). A few years later, they replaced Silverstone with the beautifully gorgeous Natalie Portman! Now, taking a cue perhaps from Giordano's Disney line, Kamiseta appears to have inked some kind of deal with Archie Comics to brand a Betty and Veronica line. How unique!

Archie Comics' Betty and Veronica have always had a fashion page in their comics, and it appeals obviously to the upper and middle-class markets. If you're talking about "It's fun being a girl," Kamiseta can't go wrong with Betty and Veronica, two timeless emblems of girly-girl fashion.

Cathy says she was not particularly inclined to buy Kamiseta clothes, and this Betty and Veronica campaign doesn't change her mind (because the clothes are just too young for her), but she agrees with me that it's a brilliant idea that will at least generate a new round of buzz. Good luck, Kamiseta!

The one with Rascal Flatts and Bellefire

Being in a country frame of mind (no connection at all to Kellie Pickler's getting kicked off American Idol on April 26), I recently purchased Me and My Gang by Rascal Flatts, the #1 album in the United States right now and perpetrators of some of the sappiest country-pop tracks out on the airwaves today (i.e., music Ganns is guaranteed to love).

It's a pretty good album, even by country standards, although the carrier single, What Hurts the Most struck me as sounding strangely familiar. I did some research on the Internet and found that Mark Wills did What Hurts the Most before Rascal Flatts, but I'd never heard of Mark Wills, so it couldn't have been him.

Then it hit me: Bellefire! I remember the syrupy harmonies and the earnest delivery, and Spin the Wheel, for all its manufactured pop tendencies, was a pretty fluffy album (i.e., music Ganns is guaranteed to love).

Did Jeffrey Steele of Rascal Flatts really write What Hurts the Most? No matter – it's a durn good song.

Along with Rascal Flatts, I got myself Alan Jackson's Christian album Precious Memories and Tim McGraw's Greatest Hits Vol. 2: Reflecting. Couple that with a purchase of Shania Twain's Greatest Hits last week, I'm a little bit country and a lotta bit Contemporary Christian Music. Yessir, I've got mahself the twang and ever'thang. I like country music, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

The one with lyrics of Happy by Ayiesha Woods

Looking for lyrics to Happy by Ayiesha Woods? Look no further. :)
[Click on the Happy link to listen to the song on the Ayiesha Woods MySpace page.]

HAPPY
Ayiesha Woods
From the album Introducing Ayiesha Woods

No record deal
No dream fulfilled
No three minute video
No catchy jingle
No big hit single playing on the radio

Chorus:
You make me happy (No)
You make me feel the way You do
You make me happy (Oh)
I wanna make You happy too
You make me happy (2x)

No flashy cars, no movie stars
No man, woman, boy, or girl
No fancy things, no diamond ring
Nothing in the whole wide world

Chorus:
Can make me happy (No)
Can make me feel the way You do
You make me happy (Oh)
I wanna make You happy too
You make me happy
You make me feel the way I do
You make me happy (Oh)
I wish the whole world knew You too

Singing la la la la la la
Singing la la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la

Bridge:
No I cannot count the ways you have made my life so blessed
All I know is that you came and made beauty of my mess
Said I cannot count the ways that you have made my life so blessed
All I know is that You came and made beauty of my mess

Chorus:
And You make me happy
You make me feel the way I do
You make me happy (Oh)
I wanna make You happy too

You make me happy
You make me feel the way I do
You make me happy (Oh)
I wanna make You happy too

There you go, lyrics to Happy by Ayisha Woods. Enjoy!

American Idol Recap: Love Songs

SPOILER at the end of this entry.

Today on American Idol, the American Idol finalists tackled Love Songs with Andrea Bocelli as celebrity guest. Here is my take on this particular week:

Katharine McPhee. I Have Nothing.
I Have Nothing is one of those songs that should be retired from the American Idol songbook. With Vonzell Solomon, Jennifer Hudson, and Trenyce already creating their definitive versions of Houston's overused Bodyguard chestnut, Katharine McPhee was setting herself up for a fall, and it was very beauty pageant-ish. Singing by numbers simply cannot save McPhee, and she falls short of breath too many times in her performance to make it a complete winner. Save for a relatively energetic ending, there's no way McPhee could match the style and emotion of all Afro-American Idols who have performed this before her. On the bright side, her gown was spectacular - if for that alone, I could watch it, on mute.
Song Choice: D
Vocal: C+
Overall Performance: C

Elliot Yamin. Song For You.
Magical, simply magical. Once again, Elliot Yamin shows himself to be probably the most flawless male singer in the history of American Idol. This time, he takes on A Song For You, made popular most recently by the incarnation of Christina Aguilera on Herbie Hancock's latest album, and he makes this song his own. Without sounding lounge-y, Yamin sings the butt off this song with style and class, and teaches Taylor Hicks a thing or two about soul, sans the twitching. This gives Yamin the top two performances of the season, the other being his flawless Moody's Mood for Love.
Song Choice: A
Vocal: A
Overall Performance: A

Kellie Pickler. Unchained Melody.
The British love Unchained Melody, and I'm not surprised Simon took to her version with as much enthusiasm as Melanie Brown at a concert honoring Geri Halliwell (the reason for the motivation, of course, remains a mystery). Uninspired, languid, and pitchy throughout the entire performance, especially with that goshawful high note two-thirds through the song, Kellie turns in yet another horrific performance. LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood have nothing to worry about.
Song Choice: C
Vocal: F
Overall Performance: D

Paris Bennett. The Way We Were.
Paris Bennett's song choices since she made the Top 12 have been rather stellar, showing off her versatility and range, as well as her fearlessness in song choices. With her selection of the Streisand signature tune, The Way We Were, Paris takes another chance and pleases, but barely. America's voting pattern has shown Paris is safer with the more contemporary songs, and she has found herself bottom-three'd with the songs of earlier generations, and I fear for her safety, despite her earnest, vocally superior, controlled performance. Shame.
Song Choice: C+
Vocal: A
Overall Performance: B

Taylor Hicks. Just Once.
I love James Ingram, and Just Once is one of the most amazing tracks in the history of love songs for its heartfelt lyric and memorable melody. Taylor Hicks, unfortunately, did not pull this track off with his usual flair. Pitchy throughout the song, Taylor was uninspired and ordinary. It was a very karaoke performance, and not the best karaoke performance. A dull performance from an otherwise reliable finalist, but still cuts above most of the other competition.
Song Choice: B
Vocal: C+
Overall Performance: B-

Chris Daughtry. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman.
I still don't understand the mystique of Chris Daughtry, and I'm still not on his bandwagon, despite a rather stellar performance of What a Wonderful World last week that landed Daughtry his first bottom three appearance. Tsk. With the Bryan Adams smushfest Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman, Daughtry straddles the fine line between rock and pop, and delivers a performance that rises only barely above the ordinary. If I were to hear this version on the radio, I wouldn't think Daughtry, and that doesn't bode well for Daughtry's long-term future.
Song Choice: C
Vocal: B
Overall Performance: C+

Ganns' Rankings: Elliot, Paris, Taylor, Chris, Katharine, Kellie, with Kellie getting the boot
Ganns' Prediction: Elliot, Katharine, Paris, with Paris getting the boot

SPOILER UPDATE: Kellie Pickler eliminated! Kellie Pickler is voted off! Who was voted off American Idol? Kellie Pickler! I'm sorry, but... WOOHOO!

The one with the Superblessed American Idol Contest Week 1

With only five weeks to go before the 2006 American Idol is crowned, the tension is starting to build and the pressure starting to mount. Who will win the 2006 American Idol competition: American Idol Taylor Hicks, American Idol Paris Bennett, American Idol Chris Daughtry, American Idol Elliot Yamin, American Idol Katherine McPhee, or American Idol Kellie Pickler?

Here's a little way for us to make things even more interesting. I have a little competition for you: every week, we will give away an American Idol-themed prize to a lucky Superblessed visitor. This week, the prize is a copy of Clay Aiken's debut CD, "Measure of a Man," as well as a a copy of LIVEtheLIFE Magazine (signed with a "Thank you" note by me, bwahaha).

What do you have to do? Simply identify who you think will be voted out in the Comments box. Enter your name, your email address, your mobile number, and the name of the American Idol finalist you think will be voted out.

This contest is valid until 11AM of April 27, 2006. At 12NN, we will separate the names of the entrants who correctly identified the Idol finalist voted off, then we will conduct an electronic ballot to determine who wins the Clay Aiken CD and the LIVEtheLIFE Magazine.

Only residents of the Philippines may enter. Metro Manila residents must be willing to meet up in Makati City to claim their prize; provincial residents must be willing to shoulder the shipping costs of the CD and magazine. One entry per person, please. Good luck!