Friday Favorites: Why Jena, Kate, and Clare are Epic

This Friday, it's all about music--TV Music. It was a big night for music Wednesday night, and all I want to say will easily fill up this week's Friday Favorites!

I knew when I saw Jena Irene audition on American Idol that she was special. When America first got to vote people through weeks ago, she didn't make it, but the judges picked her as one of the three saves--thank. goodness. (Hey, I voted!) And as the weeks have gone on and one of my three favorites has gone home and the other is still in it but isn't soaring like I thought they would (and think they could), Jena has taken the top for me.

It was already pretty clear she was awesome, and then she sang "Creep" last week and proved she is head and shoulders above the rest of the contestants, at least to me (and evidently also to Jennifer Lopez based on her comments). I do really like Jessica, you can't help liking CJ as a person, and Caleb is clearly extremely talented, as is Alex. And Sam does have a nice voice. But I really think Jena is in a league of her own.

She even said last week of herself and Caleb, "We practice too much." That means: they practice like they should. I feel like the rest of the contestants are just singers (sorry to those who love the others who are left...), while she is undoubtedly an artist. Yes, everyone who wants to sing needs coaching, and these are all young people competing, but you shouldn't have to tell them the same things to work on week after week and they just never catch on. You have to have that almost indefinable something that is simply sheer, unignorable, unhideable talent, and Jena has that.

Keith knows what I mean... [Source]

Unlike the judges, I was thrilled with her performance of "So Small" last night. It honestly made me tear up, and I don't just do that with this show. (Angie Miller from last season was probably the last AI contestant to make me do that, especially when she went home. I wasn't mad at all. Anyway.) I don't know why the judges didn't like it that much, and I get that she was redoing a Carrie Underwood song, but unlike Caleb's redo, which I found pretty rough, I thought this was pretty brilliant. And it's the first one of hers that I have thought, Man I have to buy this. Did you see it?

Moving on, if you're a fan of Nashville, you know that they keep stringing us along with weeks between episodes. I have no idea what's up with that. But this week they aired a Nashville On the Record concert with the actors, actresses, and songwriters performing some of the songs from the show. I gathered that the concert held a lot more performances than we got to see, but still, it was pretty epic. (I don't say that much. ;)

[Source]

I was so happy to see Kate York on there. I saw her in a special songwriter's performance back in 2009 at a music conference in Nashville and will always remember her song "Go."

My awesome pictures documenting the occasion... That's her in the middle! :)

See the guy on the left? (I do not remember who he is...) That's the stance of someone who doesn't write deep, sad songs hearing an awesome, deep, sad song. Her co-performers were as blown away as I was.

And oh. my. gosh I haven't been able to find a recording of it all this time, and just found it as I'm writing this!! My day is made. I can't believe I remember the chorus so well after only hearing it once. I can't find it on Grooveshark or YouTube to share it here, so just search for it on iTunes (I really don't know how I couldn't find it before)--you have got to hear it. :D :D And they have just got to use this song in Nashville, if it's back for season three.

But back to Nashville! Out of the cast, I think Clare Bowen will always be my favorite singer (and I'm dreading what's going to happen to her character, as I'm expecting she'll be killed off honestly...), and "Black Roses" has got to be one of the best songs from the show. It proves, contrary to what a "big wig" once told me, that there is still a place in the world today for deep songs. And that is so encouraging.

Do you watch Nashville? If you do, do you think there's hope for Scarlett to get the help she needs and get better? Do you think Nashville will be back for season 3? And who's the frontrunner for you on American Idol this season?

P.S. Linking up with Thinking Out Loud, Lovely Thursdays, Little Friday, and Fab Favorites.