I’ve just about forgiven Linda Perry for that "Hey, hey, heeeyyyyy, what’s goin’ on?" song. (Uh-oh, there it is again.) After all, the woman has produced Christina Aguilera, Pink, and, um, James Blunt to some pretty interesting compositional conclusions: "Beautiful," "Get the Party Started," and, um, "You’re Beautiful," respectively. And she’s got guts: According to MTV, the next item on her to-do list is to oversee a comeback album for Courtney Love, whom she calls the queen of rock & roll. "That woman is brilliant," she says, "and I can’t allow myself as a music lover and someone who really respects that artist to go down with America’s Sweetheart. That record sucked. She knows it. The world knows it. It was a horrible, crap-ass record." Good on you, Linda.
In the meantime, her latest discovery, Sierra Swan (pictured), will drop her debut album, Ladyland, on May 23. Until then, you can preview a few tracks on her website. So is Sierra the next great pop diva? Not to my ears (the phrase "poor man’s Fiona Apple" comes to mind), though Slezak has dubbed her "catchy" – which means she’ll either be the next Xtina, or she’ll take her (cough, rightful) place on his Failed Diva altar, right next to Jody Watley’s hoop earrings and a tube-top from Anastacia’s Kmart collection. Listen for yourself, and let us know which of us is right — remembering, of course, who your blogfather is.
Americas Sweetheart was an awesome album !! Hell, even EW gave it an A for a rating. An A !!!
Brad you beat me to it.. I was about to call out the good review I remember it getting.
Don’t excite me with Jody Watley’s name! I thought Linda Perry was helping back on her feet when I glanced at it. Now I’m sad!
dude…I went to high school with Sierra Swan. She was awesome then and is awesome now.
I am always down to support a working artist over a manufactured sh-t bag…
dude…I went to high school with Sierra Swan. She was awesome then and is awesome now.
I am always down to support a working artist over a manufactured sh-t bag…
I love “America’s Sweetheart”! Linda Perry has made suckier records than that! (however, I will say she’s made some good ones, too.)
I wouldn’t exactly call Anastacia a failed diva just because she didn’t make it in the states. After all, she’s huge over here in Europe.
Poor man’s ‘Pink.’ I did not feel these tracks on her site. Maybe they should call her ‘Red’
Linda Perry is responsible for “You’re Beautiful”?!? she’s dead to me…
I am now officially in love with Linda Perry for her comments on Courtney Love and America’s Sweetheart. I love how honest she was. Courtney Love IS an amazing talent and that album DID suck. I have always thought it would be disappointing to burn out on such a low note. If she can pull off a Courtney comeback, I will forgive her for You’re Beautiful.
By the way, I don’t really think Jody Watley and Anastacia are failed divas. The former has many classic hits and the latter is huge in Europe (there IS a world outside the US).
I love “What’s Goin On?”… no, seriously.
anastacia’s failure to crack the US has more to do with her label than her. her records are released much earlier in europe, where she’s a bigger star, and her impatient american fanbase ends up buying the record from overseas sellers because the US label can’t make up their minds whether or not they even want to release the albums here. she’s very talented. the same cannot be said for miss swan.
she looks strangely like that girl they had to dress up on the first season of project runway.
Sierra Swan: No good, I don’t care who’s producing her. But, you’re right, a poor man’s Fiona Apple. Poor, poor man!
Who the heck is Sierra Swan? And why should I care when I’m still listening to the brilliant “Extraordinary Machine”? No comparison.
As for Courtney Love, if anyone can save what’s left of her career, Linda Perry is the one for the job.