Carly Smithson–the 2008 American Idol contestant who was also the poster child for the record industry’s problems in a 2002 Wall Street Journal piece–is joining forces with all the dudes fired from Evanescence to form a new band called The Fallen, according to USA Today. (Any resemblance between the band’s name and the title of Evanescence’s 2003 breakthrough album is probably coincidental.) More »
Today is the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings. I was curious to see if there were any tribute-style YouTube clips about the event, since it did take place before the advent of widespread online video. Surprisingly, there are quite a few; more surprisingly, most are not altogether different from the graduation montages I looked at a little while back. Both are sort of sad, wistful, and nostalgic, and accompanied by very similar tunes–but instead of fun in the sun, you get pictures of horror and loss and death. But then they take an odd turn. Let’s take a look. More »
A band with a charismatic frontwoman attracts a passionate young following, briefly with Contemporary Christian fans and then with a mass audience bewitched by their alternative-but-accessible vibe. While the group attracts certain emo elements and the tattooed-and-pierced set, their straight-up-the-middle pop sensibilities win over radio programmers looking for some femme-friendly rock content. Finally, after a steady build, the attachment of a key single to a preordained hit movie brings them into the Top 40 in a big way.
I’m not the first person to make the connection between Evanescence and Paramore, but the No. 34 Billboard Hot 100 debut of “Decode” from the chart-topping Twilight soundtrack makes it a bit more obvious. It’s Paramore’s highest-ever pop debut, and it finds them embracing the teen-goth subculture.
Evanescence’s Amy Lee could tell Paramore about how lucrative the black-wearing-girl demographic can be. But she also has the 2003 Ben Affleck comic-schlock movie Daredevil to thank for Evanescence’s breakthrough. “Bring Me to Life” probably would’ve been a hit eventually no matter what, but the Hollywood-fueled promotional boost—at a time when modern rock and even top 40 radio were allergic to female-fronted rock songs—didn’t hurt.
The only difference is that Evanescence went the Hollywood route with its first major-label single. One wonders why Paramore didn’t go this way sooner.
Ed. note: Once again, Idolator intern Kate Richardson scours the video sites, looking for the best fan-made music videos. In this installment, she looks at two clips that venture into Jurassic Park, and come out alive–but with very different results:
Elapsed time between Evanescence drummer Rocky Gray announcing his departure from the band and his placing of gold and platinum plaques from the band’s tenure on eBay: 10 days. Jeez, Rocky: Even Ben Moody probably at least waited a month before hocking his RIAA booty. More »
News that two members of nu-goth outfit Evanescence–drummer Rocky Gray and guitarist John LeCompt–had left the band hit over the weekend, but the exact nature of their departure has been up in the air. While lead singer Amy Lee said in a MySpace post that the two left because they were “were ready to move on,” LeCompt took to his MySpace and refuted her claim, saying that he was fired. He’s since made his MySpace private, no doubt because of a management-imposed gag order that Gray blogged about yesterday. (Note Gray’s mood on that post: “Happy!”) LeCompt’s blog post, which even has a little self-promotion for his new band, has been reprinted elsewhere:
Version 2.0 of Evanescence, led by Amy Lee and her unbridled goth-girl impulses, grabbed the No. 1 spot on this week’s Billboard 200, selling 447,000 copies of their new album The Open Door. Coming in at No. More »
