Country superstar Kenny Chesney proves that the genre that he has come to represent for the past 20 years has just as much as a following in the North than it does in the South when he sold out his latest stop of “The Brothers of Summer” tour. It all happened this past Saturday when Chesney and co-headliner Tim McGraw showed up at the MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey. Sporting there signature white tank tops and torn jeans, the duo had the crowd going for an epic six hour show. Newcomers Jake Owen and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals opened the show, which began at 4:30 on a hot summer’s day in August. It’s clear that the country craze has spread to all different types of people from plaid wearing Pennsylvanians to gelled up Long Islanders. Either way, it seems that everyone is starting to enjoy both Chesney and McGraw’s vocal chops as much as the weather, women and beer they sing about. Even for non-die hard country fans, the experience of a Chesney concert is definitely one to have from the insane tailgating prior to the concert to the sing alongs during the show. Chesney’s latest record is titled “Welcome to the Fishbowl,” which was released on June 18, 2012 with his latest single “Come Over” currently sitting at the top of the country charts; Taylor Swift, eat your heart out.
With nearly half of its third season underway, musical dramedy “Glee” has finally revealed a glimpse of why viewers fell in love with the show in the first place with the latest episode “Mash Off.” After heavily relying much of senior year on the school production of “West Side Story,” the high school drama prevails by returning to its original formula of incorporating music that has to do with what’s happening to the show’s stars.
FOX’s “Glee” centers on a group of very different high school students who form a singing group with the help of their Spanish teacher, Will Schuester. With a variety of characters in the ensemble cast, many episodes reveal dramatic characteristics about each star including relationships, sexuality, and social issues that result in song. This was shown in last week’s episode, which saw cheerleader Santana Lopez being exposed as a lesbian on television, which prompted her to sing her heart out to Adele’s “Someone Like You.”
After creator Ryan Murphy was criticized for the second season of the hit show, which depended on big guest stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and heavily themed episodes, he vowed to return to a more character-driven storyline. But the season thus far has left much of the show’s best characters like Guidance Counselor Emma Pillsbury in the dark and has given ex-cheerleader Quinn Fabray an odd baby-stealing storyline.
Murphy even went as far as to write off fan-favorite Lauren Zizes and give Sam Evans the boot, but has thankfully welcomed back the ladder who will return in the season’s eleventh episode. But the third season hasn’t been all bad: some highlights include Kurt Hummel’s campaign for Class President; Mercedes Jones’ rival choir group “The Troubletones,” and who could forget Mike Chang’s heartbreaking dance episode.
But was there really anything wrong with “Glee’s” second season to begin with? Viewers don’t seem to think so with last season being its highest rated to date, including a superbowl episode watched by nearly thirty million people. While the second season normally saw upwards of ten million viewers per episode, viewership continues to decline for its third season averaging nearly nine million people.
The FOX show also has an amazing merchandise line that includes soundtracks, concerts, and last summer’s 3-D film. But with the departure set for show stars Rachel Barry, Finn Hudson, and Kurt Hummel, will “Glee” survive another plot change or will the introduction of new cast members drive viewers away? Maybe they won’t have to: “Rumour Has It” many departing characters will be featured in a spin-off.
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