Yeah, that's how stoked Seattlest is today. more ›

• Torontoist featured video of an absolutely insane series of explosions at a propane facility in the north end of the city last weekend.
• Despite an eventful week at the Olympics, Phillyist focused on local, Philadelphia teams.
• Seattlest, freshly aware of their "Junior High Readability Level," implemented a new weekly feature spotlighting a local they’re totes crushing on. First up, a guy they met at the Seattle Tattoo Expo.

Rolling Stone is reporting that Bothell-born beatboxer B-Shorty (aka Blake Lewis) was dropped from his deal with Arista Records—the folks who brought you Whitney Houston and other stars. These developments just go to prove that no damn American Idol contestant has the skill or staying power of Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood. The show clearly peaked with Underwood's win, and has been hard pressed to find an actual star since. Oh well, we guess it's back to slumming in Seattle clubs for Blake Lewis. It's a shame, since he actually has some formidable talent to speak of. Here's hoping he'll do better as an indie artist. more ›

Love it or hate it, there's no denying the commercial success of Kidz Bop. A big hit with the kids, as well as their parents, the family-friendly Kidz Bop series has sold 10.5 million CDs in the past seven years, no small feat in the dying music industry. And to think, all they're doing is taking pop songs (sometimes current, sometimes retro) and adding incredibly chipper kids' vocals to the mix. more ›

We know even Kristy Lee Cook was kind of a stretch each week when it came to locals on American Idol. But, we figured since we've fallen in such deep love with every single note that's escaped Carly Smithson's lips this year—and she's from San Diego, which makes her the second most local contestant on the show—it sort of bears mention. Anyway, we won't bore you with a recap. We'll just say we no longer have a reason to watch this season of Idol, and we may not even bother with tickets to Idols Live when it comes through Tacoma on July 12. All because, before the Top 5, they had to eliminate the most gifted artist the show has ever seen...well, the third most gifted. There's still a Carrie and a Kelly in the world. more ›

There's been a lot of hype about this disc--Clarkson fired her management and pissed off Clive Davis in the process of making it--and you can bet pretty much every reviewer will mention that somewhere in their assessment. We're sheep, so we thought we'd open with that and get it out of the way. We'll be honest. Nobody's going to be giving Kelly Clarkson an award for being a great lyricist, so just get it out... more ›

By now, it's probably not news to you. If you've so much as walked past any place that is selling newspapers, you're unlikely to have missed the giant front-page-sized announcement that Jordin Sparks is the new American Idol. more ›

?) Secondly, what about the gal everyone else in the free world knows is going to win? And finally, why is Kelly Clarkson the only person associated with the show who has the nuts to make such a prediction? Okay, there's probably a contract stipulation that requires people to not predict, but still. more ›

We don't know why we agreed to this. Seattlest has given us another reason to be hopelessly addicted to the weirdness that is American Idol, and we've agreed to keep you updated on all things Fanjaya from here on out. Honestly, the only good thing to ever come from that show was Kelly Clarkson, and it's all been down hill from there. Until now. more ›

Now that it officially feels like spring, it's time to start thinking about summer, and more specifically, the summer concert season. While the Bumbershoot lineup has been partially announced, and Sasquatch is right around the corner, there's a whole bunch of big shows going on sale this weekend. Cast your eyes upon their collective majesty: more ›

Over at the mass-market music stores like Sam Goody and FYE, the “Best-Seller” lists are occupied by those finger-puppets artists you’d expect to hear on KISS 106.1 or KUBE 93 (i.e. Black-Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Jamie Foxx). more ›

All right, look. Seattlest is just going to come out and say it. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a wee drink. Or two. And if they’re cheap, even better. Not to mention free drinks – offer us free drinks and we'll ask you to marry us. more ›