Who is Rebecca Black?

I guess you can say that today, I'm going to contribute to the viral popularity of a widely criticized music video.  I can't help it.   When I came across the Video Ga-ga post on Yahoo today, I got curious and watched the video...adding myself to the more than 3 million views this aspiring singer named Rebecca Black has had on this video, a dramatic jump from the less than 4000 views it had last Friday!

A Look At Britney Spears

Okay, so I was surfing the web again tonight and I came across an article about Britney Spears supposedly claiming her Dad's control is like a prison. I don't really care. Britney Spears is going to try to get her way no matter what because even adults sometimes don't want to be helped.

Personally, I think Britney has some really cool, danceable music but as a singer, she really needs more vocal training to get that voice out. Kind of reminds me of Madonna when she first came out into the media spotlight. Madonna had this higher pitched, young girlie-sounding voice that didn't sound like she was using her diaphragm to bring out the fullness of her voice. But as she became more popular, her vocal abilities evolved as much as her music evolved (while of course, the media still played up her controversial music videos and performing style). Britney is just like that, putting more emphasis on her dancing, performances and music than on her actual singing ability.


Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Anyway, even if I think Britney's voice could use some improvement, her music is quite catchy. So catchy in fact, that other musicians have done covers of her songs. They've even done the covers in different music styles. Check them out:

The All-American Rejects doing a pirate rock version of "Womanizer"

Children of Bodom doing a heavy metal version of "Oops I Did It Again"

Marty Casey singing a dark, rock version of "(Hit Me) Baby One More Time"

Marty Casey - he was on Rockstar INXS, too!

So I've learned that JD Fortune has been working on a solo project after INXS stopped touring. As I await to learn more about it, I thought I'd take a quick look back at Rock Star: INXS, the show that basically catapulted him to stardom.


In that pic (taken from Rock Star: INXS) you can see (from left to right) Marty Casey, JD Fortune, and MiG Ayesa. All three were anticipating the decision from INXS on who would be INXS's new lead singer. Doesn't JD look so adorable there? I have to admit though...I was actually rooting for Marty Casey at the time.

I was very impressed by Marty's performances. To put it simply, his performances kicked @ss (I wasn't sure if blogger would allow me to publish the actual word I meant - but I think you know what I meant)! One I especially got a real kick out of watching was his dark rendition of Baby One More Time - yes, that Britney Spears hit song. Check out the video of Marty Casey's version on YouTube here.

While Marty didn't win the contest to become INXS's new lead singer, he and his band, The Lovehammers,were fortunate to be able to perform with INXS for a great part of the concert tour.

I purchased a CD of Marty Casey and the Lovehammers as soon as it became available. I was quite pleased with the album which included the song Trees that Marty co-wrote and performed on Rockstar INXS. It's one album I definitely feel was worth buying.


If you're interested in getting more news and information about Marty Casey, please visit his official website:

You can also check out Marty Casey on myspace:


To hear the demos of JD's solo music, you can check out his myspace site, too:


Oh yeah, I found JD Fortune's official website. Here's the link:


I didn't mean to leave MiG Ayesa out, but here's a link to his official website in case you're interested in learning more about him, too:



By the way, that's a collage I put together of Marty Casey shortly after Rockstar INXS ended its run. I just thought I'd share it here. (Wow, can you believe that was almost three years ago?!)