Honestly, this was the best halftime show in…I dunno, ever?!

Besides the sweet notion of dedicating her performance to her father, a man of Midwestern values who she says is the reason behind her work ethic, my favorite quote from Madonna’s Super Bowl Press Conference was when a young man asked M if she had any advice for artists young in their career.

This was her response:

Press conference + halftime extravaganza below!

This is seriously beautiful.

That is all.

Suck it, Taylor Swift haters!

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To keep it brief, after the show I updated my personal Facebook with this:

“On a high from Kelly Clarkson’s show. She was bloody amazing! I especially loved her cover of Florence + The Machine’s ‘Heavy In Your Arms’ — goosebumps! Vocally the best show I’ve seen in quite some time. Oh yeah, and Fancy herself (Reba McEntire) was in the audience. I will definitely be seeing her again. Unf*ckingbelievable!”

That pretty much sums up the show, except I did leave out the fact that besides her huge pop records, she also performed a cover of Etta James’ hit I’d Rather Go Blind (as a tribute to the iconic singer’s recent passing), and a wonderful rendition of My Man, taken from the huge Broadway favorite Funny Girl.

But since Kelly’s ballads have always hit home runs in my eyes, those particular numbers stole the show in my opinion. Below you will find an acoustic, stripped-down version of the angst-ridden Never Again, the beautiful rendition of Florence + The Machine’s Heavy In Your Arms, and a lovely ballad that Kelly wrote to help the children of Africa entitled You Still Won’t Know What It’s Like.

Get ready to feel your heart skip a beat.

Happy 2012; I hope you all had a magic New Year’s Eve, filled with champagne wishes and caviar dreams. I am never one to look back, but sometimes we need to reflect on the positive things in life; things like music. Way back when in 2011, some fortunate Chicago music buffs got to spend the night with one of my favorite groups, Cage the Elephant (the band also spent their New Year’s in the same town, only this time playing with friends at Aragon Ballroom). Now, if you have never seen this band live, please do yourself a favor and stop what you are doing to look up some tour dates; it is worth every penny. Then, please proceed so I can give you what you need.

I have heard time after time from several friends that Cage tore down The Vic in Chicago with one of their best performances to date. As I sat in utter jealousy crying the blues wishing I had taken some vacation time and been on site, it then took me by pleasant surprise that the band released the entire show, not only on DVD, but on iTunes as well. Happy New Year to me? I think so!

The energy of Cage the Elephant is like nothing out in the modern concert scene. Song by song on the DVD takes you closer and closer, making you feel not only as if you are front and center, but like you are surfing along the waves of the crowd. Nineteen tracks of pure adrenaline and head bobbing is a great way to start off the new year if you ask me. They were even nice enough to release their performance of Aberdeen (one of the many numbers from their Live From The Vic In Chicago DVD) to help convince us even more to own it.

Do yourself a favor in 2012; make it out to a live Cage the Elephant show. But in the meantime, purchase the band’s Live From The Vic In Chicago on iTunes for your ears, and the live DVD set for your eyes. In fact, do all three. Enjoy!

On that note, this past weekend I saw the New Jersey success story live. I have seen the guys a few times, and they’re never dull, always rocking out so hard — but this show was something special. Compacted with a two-and-a-half-hour set of various tunes from The ‘59 Sound and American Slang, not only did they bring it, but they brought a legendary guest as well. After wishing the crowd a happy holiday, lead singer Brian Fallon brought out every Jersey girl’s hero, Bruce Springsteen. The crowd went bananas, and the two forces sang the hit single American Slang. Now, if that isn’t a Christmas gift, I don’t know what is.

Do yourself (and your loved ones) a favor and pick up the new Gaslight iTunes session now.

Can’t wait to see Kelly kick it live in January, here in the Big Apple!

In the meantime…

Love Song, taken from her 2003 album Try This, is probably one of the most beautiful and understated songs of her career. Real talk though, I still blame the album cover for this album not doing as well as her other efforts. Nonetheless, this track is flawless and I’m in reminiscent mode lately.

Watch. Tear up. Repeat.

It’s a cleansing process!

If you follow this blog, you will see Florence + the Machine (and Drake) on a consistent basis. They’re just that damn good. Once again, they’ve gone and outdone themselves. At BBC Radio One’s Live Lounge, the band broke out with a cover of Take Care by Drake featuring Rihanna. I was a fan of this track before, but now, it’s an absolute love affair.

Check it out for yourself.

I was lucky enough to be in the audience while this was being shot. Yup, I was there! Get it? I was there! Anyways, I totally cried. The song is Beyonce’s most moving, in my opinion — so feeling that, while being there in the moment was emotional overload. I’m not even kidding.

Beyonce’s Live At Roseland: Elements of 4 DVD is out now!

See the beautiful moment transpire below.

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