American Idol is on a roll! Last year, Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl, and the year before the young Jordin Sparks wowed everyone with her incredible version of the national anthem. This year, Carrie Underwood will be singing her version at the Super Bowl — but the country singer won’t be alone, Queen Latifah will also be performing America the Beautiful.
Queen Latifah, Raekwon, The Roots! We are in for some good quality hip-hop music this week. Queen Latifah goes back to her roots after trying jazz music (which was surprisingly good) for her last album. The Roots, Hip-Hop’s band famed for still using live instrumentals in performances, say their 9th studio album has a positive attitude which focuses on the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama presidency.
It seems we have run out of good titles for albums. Just a few weeks after Ginuwine released an album titled The Bachelor we have Patrick Wolf using the same name for his new one. At least the English singer-songwriter sounds completely different from the R&B crooner, with his romantic folk/techno-pop sound.
Here are the albums coming out August 11th:
The We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial pulled crowds with big names performing for the celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama. Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Herbie Hancock, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, Bono and Garth Brooks took to the stage to sing classics like “This Land Is Your Land”, and “America the Beautiful”.
The Obamas held the seats of honor as the diverse lineup of talent played for the throng of people gathered. Historical passages were read by Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington, and Steve Carell and Jamie Foxx also got onstage for comic relief. Foxx even did an impersonation of Barack’s monotone, staccato voice, which the future president heartily enjoyed.
More photos after the jump:
