Ryan Seacrest: And now, at last, it's time to reveal the winner.
*Adam Lambert and a 17-year-old girl named Chloe Wang are standing on the American Idol stage.*
Seacrest: America... have you chosen Adam, the glam rock superstar who brought down the house with his raw emotion and vocal power? Or have you chosen Chloe, whose incredible pop ballads and stage ferocity got all of us moving our feet? America voted...
*Adam and Chloe hold each other's hands tightly, both of them trembling as they await the announcement of the winner.*
Chloe: Good luck, man.
Adam: You're amazing, girl. You're so amazing.
Seacrest: And the winner of the eighth season of American Idol is... Chloe Wang!!!
Chloe: OH MY GOD! *her mouth is wide open in shock and she nearly collapses before Adam pulls her in for a crushingly tight hug* I can't believe it.... I can't believe it....! *to Adam* You deserved to win. You deserved to win.
Adam: No way, no way girl, you kick ass. You rocked it.
Chloe: Oh my god! *still shell shocked as Adam kisses her on the cheek and Ryan walks over with a microphone* No freaking way.
Seacrest: Chloe... Chloe, you're the American Idol!
Chloe: Oh my god.... oh my god...
Adam: *releases Chloe from the hug and is just clapping for her over and over again*
Chloe: Oh my god. *takes her trophy and holds it tightly, still in disbelief*
-from the eighth season finale of American Idol, which aired live on May 27, 2009
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When Chloe Wang won the eighth season of American Idol, it was seen at the time as perhaps the biggest upset in the history of the show. She had beaten Adam Lambert, who was seen by some as the reincarnation of Freddie Mercury with his massive vocal range and powerful rock ballads, which included a performance of Bohemian Rhapsody on the final two special that had Simon Cowell giving a one minute standing ovation. Lambert had repeatedly given some of the best performances in Idol history, while Chloe Wang was, at first, seen as just an ordinary pop singer with a decent voice that wasn't anything special and a very pretty face. However, Wang had two things going for her. The first was a stage presence that presented a much deeper personality than that of a pop princess. She was outspoken and somewhat rebellious, and even her pop songs had a bit of a harder edge to them, taking influence from power pop, punk, and even riot grrl. She presented herself as a take no prisoners, "I will kick your ass" kind of girl, and though she was one of the youngest in the final 12, she seemed to have a wit and wisdom beyond her years. She made a major name for herself during the Top 9 performance week, after singing a rendition of Britney Spears' "Toxic" that wowed the crowd but didn't move Simon Cowell, who gave Wang some of the harshest criticism he'd given any contestant all year. When Wang sniped back at him with a veiled insult, the crowd roared, and even Cowell seemed momentarily taken aback. That moment had seen Wang go from someone who'd been in the bottom three the past two weeks to someone who wouldn't finish in the bottom three until the Top 4. The second thing Wang had going for her was that she was riding the crest of the Asian pop wave. The daughter of a Chinese-American man and a Caucasian woman, Wang embraced her Asian roots (she briefly pondered changing her stage name to Chloe Bennet before applying for Idol, but decided against it at the encouragement of her parents), and not only performed American pop songs, but J-Pop and K-Pop songs as well, infusing them with her own punk style. She didn't know it at the time, but her stint on American Idol was the beginning of a fusion between American pop and Asian pop styles, something that arguably began with the Outkast/Hikaru Utada collaborations but didn't truly take off until Wang's unlikely Idol run, in which she covered songs that Asian pop bands had performed in English, mixing their styles with her own. Here was an American pop artist fully embracing the latest wave of Asian pop, and doing it in a way that was transformative rather than simply an imitation. She was embraced by the Asian-American community, who voted for her like no other Idol contestant before. She also won a vast majority of male votes, especially during the final two. Though her win over Adam Lambert was condemned by critics, it was celebrated by nearly everyone else, as the biggest symbol to date that the Asian pop boom had truly arrived. Wang would soon become one of the top pop stars of the day, quickly surpassing even Carrie Underwood in popularity amongst Idol alums, and elevating herself to a level matched only by rising stars such as Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.
-from "Reflections On American Idol: Season 8", posted on an American Idol blog on September 3, 2015
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Hikaru Utada, Andre 3000 Call It Quits
Japanese pop star Hikaru Utada and hip-hop superstar Andre "3000" Benjamin, one half of the duo Outkast, have broken up after nearly three years. The two not only enjoyed a personal relationship, but a celebrated professional relationship as well, collaborating on a number of projects that fused Japanese pop with Southern rap and helped popularize Asian music in the West. The two even enjoyed a pair of #1 hits, most notably "Kuruma", which featured Utada singing the chorus and backing up Outkast's rap lyrics. Though the two had dated very publicly, with appearances at the Grammys and the MTV Video Music Awards, they never announced any type of engagement, leading to rumors that their relationship wasn't quite as warm in private as it was out in the open. Utada was the one to announce the breakup in an interview with MTV, stating that "we decided to go our separate ways, it wasn't working and neither of us were feeling that connection like we used to, so I made the decision to break it off". While Andre 3000 hasn't publicly commented on the break-up yet, a song on the latest Outkast album is rumored to be about Utada. Called "Fallen Angel", the song talks about "bad decisions" related to a woman with whom the singer was once very close to, and the song also references "Ms. Jackson", Outkast's 2000 hit about Benjamin's failed relationship with Erykah Badu.
As for Utada, she is embarking on a massive tour of North America, Latin America, and Europe, following a successful concert in late 2008 where the singer performed in Tokyo alongside both Asian and American pop artists. The concert, called "Pan-Pacific Popmania", reached over 100 million viewers combined between MTV and online web streaming, while over 150,000 fans attended live across both locations, making it the most viewed concert since 2005's "Live 8". Utada's new English album is expected to release next month, and is expected to take a run at half a million sales in its first week in North America.
-from a May 21, 2009 article on Yahoo! News
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Jay-Z: And I gotta tell you, these girls, they got it. They're gonna be the biggest group since Destiny's Child.
Nick Cannon: Whoa. When we first heard you had signed a Korean pop band, we thought, you know, maybe this is just Jay-Z branching out, trying out something new. You're saying this band is the biggest band you've ever signed.
Jay-Z: Absolutely. Look at what's going on right now. It's the new sound. Look at who just won on American Idol.
Cannon: Okay, so this band is called-
Jay-Z: 2NE1.
Cannon: To Anyone?
Jay-Z: No no, 2, as in the number two, and then N, and E, and 1. The "NE" stands for "New Evolution", and this is the new evolution of pop right here.
Cannon: Did you come up with that, or-
Jay-Z: No, no, their original label did. Then, you know, I did some wheelin', and some dealin', because I knew that I could produce these girls' next album in such a way that their talent would shine through. These girls, they're incredible.
Cannon: So when's their first American album gonna drop?
Jay-Z: Hopefully by the end of this year, but you know how the creative process is, could be next year. Hopefully this year though, we'll see.
Cannon: So is Jay-Z getting out of the hip hop biz or-
Jay-Z: *laughing* No, no, man. Fuck no. *laughing harder* No, I've still got a ton of rap acts and my own new album coming out this year. No, this is, this is me knowing talent when I see it.
Cannon: And if there's anyone in this business who knows talent, it's Jay-Z.
Jay-Z: But there's gonna be, I think, you'll see hip hop evolve. You remember how rock and roll started, with guys like Chuck Berry jammin' away. And then you get the Beatles, and you get Hendrix, and you get the Rolling Stones, and it just blows up and goes off in all these different directions. That's what's going on with hip hop right now. It's the kind of thing where you can take all this great music and just tell your story and let the music put those emotions in the mind of the listener, and any act, whether it's rap, or pop, or what have you, that can tell a great story is gonna sell. 2NE1 has a great story and I wanna help them tell it. You'll hear it soon, I promise you.
-from the June 8, 2009 episode of Nick Cannon's "Wild Beats" program on Northstar Satellite Radio
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"The Great Gatsby won big at the Tony Awards last night, taking home the award for Best Musical, Best Performance By A Leading Actor In A Musical, and Best Performance By A Featured Actor In A Musical, among several others. It took home 11 awards in all, making it one of the biggest winners in Tony Awards history. The second biggest story of the night was the upset in a crowded field for Best Leading Actress In A Musical, in which legends like Bette Midler, Patti LuPone, and Stockard Channing were competing for the top prize. Midler was expected to take home the award for her performance in Suddenly Summertime, but it was instead 23-year-old Stefani Germanotta who took home the prize for her heartrending performance in Homecoming Queen. Germanotta's starring role in the hit musical about a teenage social outcast who forms an unlikely and ultimately tragic relationship with the most popular girl in school, won accolades for its uncompromising portrayal of the struggles of LGBT youth, but despite the praise heaped on her performance, most critics believed she wouldn't have the name recognition to take home a Tony. It was the only Tony won by Homecoming Queen, which was beaten out by The Great Gatsby in seven other categories, but it did make for one of the most memorable moments in the award show's history."
-from NBC's Today on June 8, 2009
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Scott Pelley: But it's not exactly a dog-eat-dog world in the pop business, even as stars continue to rise overnight. Taylor Swift, who was nominated for Best New Artist at this year's Grammy Awards, said in a recent interview that she has a positive relationship with her fellow singers.
*A snippet is shown of Taylor Swift's recent interview with CBS This Morning.*
Swift: I just love it that so many young people are achieving fame in this industry. It's a tough industry to break into, but the doors are flying wide open. I have a really good relationship with everybody. I'm really close with BoA. We met last year in San Francisco at that concert we did together and she's such a fascinating person to get to know. We jammed on guitars together a bit, we sang some of our favorite songs together.
*Katy Perry is shown signing autographs outside of a theater in London, while Paramore is seen with the band Wishes (a Japanese band comprised of both male and female members in their late teens/early 20s) in Tokyo.*
Pelley: And now with stars from Japan, South Korea, and even China making their music heard on American radio, this new wave of pop singers has an international element not seen since the "British invasion" of the 1960s, when bands like the Beatles came to America and became household names.
*Archival footage is shown of the Beatles performing on the Ed Sullivan show, and then footage from a 1960s Rolling Stones concert is shown.*
Pelley: While it's much too early to declare acts like Koda Kumi and Taylor Swift comparable to John Lennon and Paul McCartney, young fans are going just as wild for the new wave of pop stars as today's Baby Boomers went for those iconic British bands that changed rock and roll forever. Latin music superstar Selena, who has embarked on a production career, compares the current rise in popularity of Asian pop acts in the States to the Latin music boom of the late 90s and early 2000s, a music boom that many say she was instrumental in starting.
*Selena is shown at her production studio, giving some vocal coaching to young Selena Gomez as she records a modern-sounding pop song.*
Selena: It is just amazing to see how cyclical it is. When you have these ultra-talented performers that previously were only being heard by one group of people, and now suddenly the whole world knows about them, it changes everything.
*Scott Pelley is shown sitting across from Selena, interviewing her.*
Pelley: Do you think it's possible for any kind of music to catch on if the performer is talented enough?
Selena: Music is music, and I think it takes a lot of factors for a song to become popular. The singer's got to have charisma, the music has to sound good. Doesn't matter where the singer comes from. I've heard so much of the new pop music, and it sounds really catchy. I love Katy Perry, I think she's amazing. I think BoA has a really good sound. It's not any kind of music that's ever been heard before, but now that people are listening to it, yeah, they're really feeling it.
Pelley: Do you think there's still a place for your style of music in today's scene?
Selena: Oh, absolutely. I think you've got to adapt, of course, but the soul of that music is still there. I've experimented with some fusion sounds, Chris on the guitar, kind of a Latin guitar sound with some of the new music that's coming around. Carlos Santana and I did a lot of collaborations in the early 2000s with his old guitar and a modern pop sound that did really well. So yeah, there's a place for it. In the end, the listener will decide. You can't make somebody like something, you've got to appeal to their ear. This new music, it's really appealing. My daughter loves Taylor Swift, I think I do too.
-from a story on the June 24, 2009 episode of the CBS Evening News
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Controversial Young Singer M.S. Promises A "Badass" New Album For Later This Year
14-year-old pop singer and friend to Pharell Williams, M.S., who is perhaps best known for "trolling" Taylor Swift at the 2008 Grammy Awards, is set to release a new album by the end of the year. While a title for the album has not yet been announced, M.S., whose real name is Martina Sanders, announced the new album on Twitter and promised that it would be "totally badass", while showing a picture of herself lighting a copy of her previous album on fire. That album went #3 in South Korea, and while it failed to chart in the United States, her songs from that album have garnered over a billion hits collectively on Videocean, raising anticipation for her upcoming album to a fever pitch. M.S., who turns 15 in August, hopes to launch herself into the American pop mainstream, but her recent behavior, which includes passionately arguing about her favorite anime shows on Twitter and posting pictures of herself in inappropriately revealing attire, have garnered a massive amount of controversy, and have somewhat called the reputation of Pharrell Williams into question, with some analysts urging him to "exercise more control" over his protege. Williams has mostly shied away from commenting about M.S.'s behavior, but when he has responded, most of his comments have been to the effect of "I'm just letting her be her". M.S. has been embraced by many young fans both male and female alike, and while her album is likely still a few months away, it's emerged as one of the most anticipated of the year, along with the new album for Hikaru Utada and the surprise Nirvana reunion album set for release this fall.
-from an article on Sonicwave.com, posted on June 26, 2009
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Casey Kasem: And now, friends, this is it, the #1 song of the week and my final #1 reveal on this program before I hand over the reins to my good friend Ryan Seacrest, who I know will continue bringing you America's top hits with the same joy and excitement that I've experienced bringing them to all of you these past 38 years. It's been a wonderful journey and a privilege to come into your homes every week on the radio to count down the hits. We've had some great times, haven't we? I'm truly going to miss all of you very much. This week's #1 is a new #1 song, rising from #3 last week. It's from a singer who's a legend in her country of origin, but who is topping the American pop charts from the very first time. She hails from Japan, and her name is Ayumi Hamasaki. She's been performing since 1995, back when the top songs here in the US were songs from acts like Bryan Adams and Madonna. Only recently has she experienced success in the West, and her new album "Fantasy/Reality" features a mix of songs with English and Japanese lyrics. The biggest hit from that album is a song performed entirely in Japanese, "My Forever". It's the first ever song with all Japanese lyrics to top the American pop charts, and it's done so amidst a surging wave of successful young Asian performers bringing their hits to the West. In fact, it's the third Billboard #1 pop song this year by an Asian artist. Hamasaki has credited her success to her honesty and determination, and seeks to convey those qualities in her songs. She has said on numerous occasions that the greatest gift one can give themselves is to believe in themselves, a sentiment she expresses in many of her songs. Now, that determination has carried her song to the number one position on the American pop charts.
*drum roll*
Casey Kasem: With the #1 song of the week, and my final #1 as host of American Top 40, here's Ayumi Hamasaki with "My Forever".
-from the June 28, 2009 broadcast of American Top 40, Casey Kasem's final broadcast before retiring
