Meeting HGTV’s John Gidding at the Atlanta Home Show

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Sunny McMann

John Gidding, Sunny McMann and her Mom in Atlanta

The 29^thAnnual Fall Atlanta Home Show is taking place this weekend at the Cobb Galleria in Marietta, Georgia and I went down for the first day of festivities. The show is huge and always brings us the most current and exciting ideas in home improvement, remodeling, home design, outdoor living, solar energy and landscape design. And although the hundreds of exhibitors would be enough reason to attend, there’s the added bonus of world class speakers. Today I got to see a wonderful presentation by HGTV’s John Gidding, of “Designed to Sell” and “Curb Appeal: The Block.” Later, Tonya Williams of HGTV’s “Designed to Sell” and “Bang for your Buck” spoke about the current real estate market.

HGTV’s Vern Yip

Saturday’s lineup includes the hugely popular host of HGTV’s “Design Star” and “Design Star All Stars,” you may also remember him from TLC’s “Trading Spaces” or NBC’s “Home Intervention.”

When John Giddings spoke today he gave us tips on how to increase your home’s curb appeal and noted that many of the most effective changes are not that expensive but can make all the difference in the appearance and impression your home makes to others.

HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block’s John Gidding

Among some of the tips were:

Play up the pathway to your front door
Update your garage doors for a big difference (with relatively low cost)
Re-do your landscape with interesting xeriscapes, as opposed to a traditional lawn, which is “out” of fashion with the emphasis now on easier to maintain landscapes, which also have the extra benefit of being better for the environment.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Giddings after his presentation and he’s warm and engaging…and extremely attractive, I might add. I did a little research and discovered that he graduated from Yale and Harvard, where he received his Master’s degree in Architecture. While a graduate student he modeled for Armani, Gucci and Hugo Boss. In addition to his onscreen work for HGTV, he operates a successful design firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. All in all, I had a thoroughly enjoyable time at the show and look forward to seeing Vern Yip tomorrow. If you’re in Atlanta, I encourage you to do the same, the show runs Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 12pm-6pm with tickets a very reasonable $10 a day or $15 for both days. Children 12 & under, and Seniors are free, as is the parking!

HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block’s John Gidding

John Gidding autographs my copy of Atlanta Home Improvement magazine w/him on cover

John Gidding autographs my copy of Atlanta Home Improvement magazine w/himself on cover – thanks John!!

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

Manila Mania for American Idols DeAndre Brackensick & Jessica Sanchez

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Sunny McMann

Well folks, the very last Season 11 American Idol show ever is just a few hours away. The Idols have been busy in the Philippines with multiple meet & greets, interviews, and photo opportunities.

DeAndre Brackensick via Instagram thanks to @DreDreamer4Yuu for reposting this picture from Manila.

Photo of DeAndre Brackensick & Jessica Sanchez from one of the live Ustream broadcasts.

Excitement about Jessica Sanchez and DeAndre Brackensick has been at MANIC level from the moment they arrived. Thanks to numerous loyal, devoted and tech savvy Jessica fans (aka Blujays) we have been treated to several live Ustream broadcasts, recorded sessions and YouTube videos documenting the craziness! I really enjoyed a live broadcast of Jessica Sanchez’s aiport arrival and video of her getting onto the Idol tour bus…the screams, squeals and general fangirliness of the Ustreamers was AWESOME! One fan said “this is the most amazing day in my entire life” and another blurted out “I touched the Jessica Sanchez hand.” It was almost like being there and brought back memories of the summer tour shows that I attended.

I am interspersing a few of the pics from Manila for those DeAndre Brackensick and Jessica Sanchez fans who have been suffering a bit of withdrawal since the last U.S. show back on September 11th. Warning, be prepared for extreme cuteness factor! The Idols appeared at Eastwood Mall and at Alabang Town Center and both of these sessions yielded numerous fun pictures. DeAndre and the Idol family at the meet & greet Special thanks to a sweet Twitterpeep of mine @Rose_Villano for keeping me updated with links to photos and Ustreams of the various functions in the Philippines, couldn’t have kept up without her tips! Also, OrangeMagazineTv.com and Ovation Productionsprovided many beautiful pictures included here for your enjoyment! Well, this post is all about the pictures & I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. I’ll post a tour update about the show tomorrow with a link to any Ustreams that I find available…by the way, if you know of any random Philippine youtube videos, Ustreams or pictures, kindly share with us by commenting below or if you prefer me to do it, email me the links and I’ll post them! You know my motto “By a Fan, for Fans” and that’s one thing I have discovered…fans are very generous with one another…sharing information freely…another reason I love being a fan! So thanks again to all the DreDreamers and BluJays that constantly tweet me info and updates as well as retweeting my posts, thus helping to spread the fan love across the Twitterverse!

DeAndre Brackensick & Jessica Sanchez w/a fan courtesy of @naidzbunny on Instagram!

This is DeAndre Brackensick in a cowboy hat on a mechanical bull! Photo from Twitter via @Tiffany_M_Reed

DeAndre Brackensick & Jessica Sanchez holding hands, photo courtesy @adorejaysanchez

DeAndre Brackensick & Jessica Sanchez, original photo courtesy @xteljoy (Kristelle)

DeAndre Brackensick courtesy of Ovation Productions, oh my!!

Are you wondering what he’s doing? The mall was several stories tall and fans were on upper levels…he’s looking up at them!! Another handholding shot that was retweeted and retweeted and Instagrammed by multiple users:

Photo from Sunny’s Instagram with photo credits to @BluJayNadine

Jessica Sanchez & DeAndre Brackensick courtesy of @adorejaysanchez on Twitter.

5 pics from Instagram courtesy JaySanchezCrew:

More Jessica Sanchez & DeAndre Brackensick holding hands. Photo Credit: Shie Reyes

More handholding, photo credit: @NelsonCanlas

Hahaha, couldn’t resist using this as the last photo of this post, saying goodbye as they walk away from us! This has to be the cutest couple ever, don’t ya think?

Instagram courtesy @JaySanchezCrew

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

Jessica Sanchez Wows Democratic Convention

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Sunny McMann

American Idol’s Jessica Sanchez performed at the Democratic Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sep. 5, 2012 and it was a sight to behold. Backed up by the God’s Appointed People Choir, she put her own spin on Marvin Gaye’s classic You’re All I Need. To say she is versatile is a bit too obvious, but I can’t help remarking on how effortlessly she seems to move between different genres. The one constant is the emotion she puts into every song, you can just see how much she feels the music.

And she’s not the only one! Watch the video and you will see the entire crowd clapping, smiling, dancing, swaying to the music and just enthralled with Ms. Sanchez’ performance. She’s got a way of getting to you. She’s brought a tear to my eye on more than one occasion. And I like that in a singer:)

More pics from that performance (click for full-size):

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

7 Day American Idol Tour Countdown, Recap & Summary

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Sunny McMann

The 2012 American Idol Tour has been so much fun and has occupied so many months of my life that I felt the last week deserved to be celebrated.

This summer I was fortunate to attend two American Idol Live performances (Nashville and Atlanta), two post-show meet & greets where I was able to meet and talk with all the Idols in an informal setting, and I even went outside after both shows and observed the Idols signing autographs at the “barricades” which was an event in itself! If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ve already seen my postings and videos of the “barricade” events, which I posted as Part 1 & 2….and Part 3 & 4.

However, I have not written yet about my concert experience or what happened when I met the Idols themselves. To be quite honest, the entire experience was so surreal and so special that I really wasn’t quite sure how to adequately put the whole thing into words! But now, as the tour winds down and enters its last week of existence, I feel compelled to recap, summarize and put this beautiful baby to bed, so to speak.

I look at life as a series of memories, some are small day to day pleasures, that while not much to look at individually, when taken as a whole make up the fabric of our individual journeys. Punctuating our life story, we also have “big” memories and those are the things we look back on and think about when we go over our life story during sentimental moments.

Well, this summer has been one of my “big” memories, in great deal due to American Idol, and specifically the kindness and generosity of DeAndre Brackensick. What started out as my being a fan, ultimately ended up with the birth of this blog, which I had been dreaming about for some time. I’ve had so many fun moments this summer, almost too many to count, here’s just a few of my crazy summer facts:

I both followed on Twitter and had the LUCK to be followed back by Eric Benet, DeAndre Brackensick, Jennifer Holliday, Jessica Sanchez, and Joshua Ledet…all of these are singers I ADORE so to me this is very special.
I met in person (thanks to DeAndre Brackensick putting my name on the meet & greet list twice) DeAndre Brackensick, Jessica Sanchez, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Hollie Cavanagh, Elise Testone, Colton Dixon, Heejun Han and Erika Van Pelt…all of whom I watched and enjoyed this season on American Idol.
I have met fans of this season’s Idols both in person and online and consider many, many of them to be friends, and they come from everywhere….Florida, California, New York, New Jersey, Tennesee, Missouri, Texas, El Salvador, Brazil, Phillipines, Dubai, Lebanon, Jamaica, Suriname, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia just to name a few. And these are people I converse with regularly…we wish each other Happy Birthdays, we share what’s going on in our lives, our ups and downs, our happiness and our pain so these are not only acquaintances, I consider them to be friends…and that is the real treasure in life…so you can see that this summer has been very good to me:) And for that I am grateful.

Day 7: Summary of my countdown project

Day 6: Part 1 of 2 of me talking about meeting DeAndre Brackensick the first time in Atlanta. (sorry I was long-winded)

Day 5: Part 2 of my Atlanta meet & greet, talking about meeting DeAndre Brackensick, Jessica Sanchez, Josh Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Elise Testone and Hollie Cavanagh.

Day 4: coming soon, working on this right now! Don’t worry, in case you’re getting tired of hearing me talk, this one is clips of the Idols from my favorite performances!!!
Day 3: coming soon
Day 2: coming soon
Day 1:coming soon

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

DeAndre Kamele Brackensick 1st solo concert Dec. 15

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Sunny McMann

BREAKING NEWS:

Late night Twitter was abuzz around 3 a.m. Eastern time this morning when word got out that DeAndre Kamele Brackensick will be having his first solo concert on Dec.15 at the Cowell Theatre in San Francisco.

A website has been setup for ticket information and sales at www.kameleconcert.com and here’s what they are saying about the event “Enjoy an evening with DeAndre as he comes home from his summer tour to share his musical talent with the Bay Area at his very own Kamele Concert. DeAndre will be serenading us with a variety of his favorite songs from R&B, Jazz, Hawaiian, and Tahitian music. Come celebrate his homecoming concert on December 15 at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco, CA.”

Additionally, I discovered that

Pre-sale tickets prior to Sep. 23 are $45
Starting Sep. 24 tickets will be $55
Special limited amount of VIP tickets will be sold for $125
Purchase tickets through PayPal on the website

VIP perks include:

intimate pre-show with DeAndre as he shares a few special songs and talks with VIP ticket holders
VIP seating
Autographed concert t-shirt & poster
Sponsor tote w/gifts from sponsor

DeAndre is well-known for having a strong and loyal fanbase and my Twitter went CRAZY last night with DreDreamers purchasing tickets, planning their trips to California, and in general celebrating DeAndre’s first solo gig! Stay tuned and bookmark this page, as I will be updating as new details come forward.

Permalink: www.sunnymcmann.com/kamele-concert

P.S. If you’re a fan and buy tickets please comment below, I’d love to have a running commentary of where fans are coming from and who they are. (hint hint: I may be planning some special fan surprises of my own so be sure and give me your email address or twitter name so I can reach you!)

SEP. 5 UPDATE: Well, DeAndre communicated to me that there was a conflict of interest and that the concert was being put on hold until further notice. Anyone who purchased tickets already will receive refunds (I’ve already received mine so they are doing this very quickly) and that is all the information we have at this time. Since this posting already had several comments from fans I don’t want to delete the post, so I am going to leave it here and hopefully in the near future, will be able to update it with a new date and time for the concert. I am encouraged at the enthusiastic response the mere mention of a concert created in DeAndre’s fanbase, with fans from Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and other east coast states planning on travelling the 3000 miles to San Francisco to see him. Surely this says a lot about his popularity and his marketability. - Sunny

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

Joshua Ledet’s New Song – Stunningly Beautiful 8/29/12

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Sunny McMann

Joshua Ledet premiered his new song on a live broadcast of iheartradio yesterday and I am almost embarassed to admit how many times I have listened to it already! Seriously folks, at first I replayed it just to hear it some more. Then I told myself that I needed to listen some more to make sure the recording was acceptable. After that, I decided that I needed to type out the lyrics…and of course, to do that, guess what you have to do? Yes, listen to it some more!

You know how you feel when you hear a song so good you want to go out in the street and scream out its name? Or call people you know and say, listen, you gotta listen to this? Well, this is one of those songs. It’s bluesy, sensual, and the perfect fit for Josh’s voice. Mark down the date, this is going to be a classic heartbreak song, for sure.

The lyrics are ones that everyone who has ever had a broken heart can connect with, I swear, I’ve said some of these words before! The verse that goes ”couldn’t believe when she said I don’t need you no more” and “can’t hardly breathe, on my knees in the way of the door” fits the history of about a hundred people I know, myself included. Oh and my favorite: “this is the sound of a heart breaking every time I see your face, I’m falling down, ain’t gonna make it, nobody else can take your place”….well, if you’ve ever been in love, you’ve probably felt like this when you lost that love, right?

I was almost at a loss for words, and for me that’s really saying something! My problem is usually the opposite, too much to say:) Musically, I really love the way the song builds in intensity, ebbs and flows just like you want your heartbreak songs to do…and then throw in that signature Josh scream/growl (hard to describe but listen and you’ll see what I’m talking about) and you’ve got yourself one classic tune.

In the American Idol tour this summer, Josh made headlines with his stunning rendition of “This is a Man’s World” receiving long standing ovations every time he sang it. I saw him perform it in Atlanta and Nashville and have wracked my brain trying to figure out how to see him sing it again! Well, this is another one of those songs…Josh, you can’t see me but I’m here in Atlanta, on my feet for you! Great job on your first post-Idol release. I feel honored and proud to have watched you this season and cannot wait to see what your future holds.

See more of my Josh Obsession on his “Pinterest board“ or his “Josh Ledet” page! And I have a Josh playlist started at www.youtube.com/sunnymcmann

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

Eric Benet’s Harriett Jones Video w/Karina Smirnoff Is Here!

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Sunny McMann

Okay, here’s the backstory…Eric Benet fans have been seeing bits and pieces about him making a music video with Dancing With The Stars phenom Karina Smirnoff. Just the thought of these two in the same video gets your heart racing just a little, doesn’t it? Couple that with the subject matter, which is the beautiful and special song Harriett Jones and you can see why Benet fans have been anxious. To tease us further, there was even a “making of Harriett Jones” video released via EricBenetTV on YouTube. Watch it here and tell me if it doesn’t make you want to see it:

Well, today I saw this tweet from the man himself and I was very happy…

Saw this tweet from @ebenet this morning and got happy!

So without further adieu, here it is, exclusively on the CentricTV website! Watch the video, and tell me what you think, I have a feeling you are going to love it as much as I do…

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

DeAndre Brackensick Meeting Fans in Nashville w/JoshLedet Pt. 3 & 4

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Sunny McMann

Well fellow fans of American Idol, here are the last two videos I have of DeAndre Brackensick, Joshua Ledet and a little glimpse of Hollie Cavanagh meeting fans outside at the barricades in Nashville. If you read my post from a few days earlier, you will recall that after the concert, some of us attended an indoor meet & greet where we were able to meet the Idols, take pictures, get autographs and mingle with them. (Posted about that too, lol) I have to say that it was completely amazing and DeAndre has my undying gratitude for arranging for me to have passes to this really super fun event!! I met several other diehard DreDreamer fans (hey CJ, Jazz and Tiffany) and we had the best time hanging out with DeAndre, his mother Dawn, Jessica Sanchez and her mom, as well as with Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips, Erika Van Pelt, & HeeJun Han. We were even treated to DeAndre & former Idol contestant Sarina-Joi Crowe doing a little spur of the moment jamming,

It was afterwards that I really started taking video. First, I have to say how truly devoted to the fans DeAndre is….he had just attended a pre-concert meet & greet for VIP ticket holders, then performed in a concert, did the after show event (and all with great energy and cheerfulness I might add) and as we walked down to the front of the venue and he was shuffled over to the doors to the barricades, he was smiling and energetic. As he stepped out into the hot summer night to thunderous screams by a HUGE waiting crowd, he didn’t walk to them, he ran (and skipped). His body language could not hide his intentions, he wasn’t being forced to do a chore…he was enjoying meeting the fans, posing for pics, and signing their tickets and programs. Again, as I’ve said before, his incredible voice is matched by an incredible spirit and personality and I find that extremely rare and wonDreful. Note, don’t miss his infectious laugh in the Part 3 video right around 1:40!!

Part 4 The End

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

DeAndre Brackensick has a “Minor” reunion w/Sarina-Joi after the Nashville American Idol Concert

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Sunny McMann

DeAndre Brackensick w/Jessica Sanchez & Sarina-Joi Crowe in Nashville

Fans of American Idol will recall last season’s singing group The Minors, of which DeAndre and Sarina-Joi Crowe were part of, along with Jalen and Felix. Well, at the Nashville after show meet and greet, Sarina-Joi was there after having attended the concert.

Being singers, they couldn’t help bursting into song several times, and I got a little bit of it on video, very blurry and shaky, sorry about that but thought some of DeAndre’s DreDreamer fans would still enjoy watching a few candid moments with DeAndre and Sarina-Joi.

By the way, I just saw on Twitter and Facebook an update from the Minors manager, who is @Justkais on Twitter, that the Minors are “still together while working individually on their educations and careers, but they all keep in touch.” She went on to further say in a Facebook posting “DeAndre is on the Idol tour, Felix will be going back to San Diego to pay tribute to the Late, Great Marvin Hamlisch with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Sarina-Joi is performing all over Columbia, Jalen just received a huge honor and his CD will release soon….Stay tuned for more updates”

So we may have not heard the last out of this popular grouping of wonderful singers. I know we have only just begun to hear about them as individual singers…world, get ready:)

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny

What do DeAndre Brackensick, Adam Lambert & Bob Marley have in common?

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Sunny McMann

One of the things I love most about music is its enduring quality. Songs I listened to and loved twenty years ago still appeal to me when I hear them by chance, and feel like old friends I am reconnecting with. Some artists are so timeless that their music lives on for generations, covered by new singers from every genre. And while each cover is usually completely different than the original, the spirit of the one who first sang it lives on in each new rebirth. Therein lies the true genius of those one of a kind icons such as Bob Marley.

His songs have been re-interpreted countless times, and I am constantly dazzled by what each new performer brings to the table. A few months ago, I heard DeAndre Brackensick’s cover of Marley’s Turn Your Lights Down Low performed in what looked like a backyard patio with Mr. Brackensick playing the ukulele. It was enchanting and memorable, and I am not ashamed to say that I’ve almost worn it out on my iPod! With a laid back ease, his voice brings a beauty to this song that is for lack of a better word, joyful. And he seems to simply know just when to bring out his flawless and wonderful falsetto, which completely makes this song his…I know that somewhere, Bob Marley is smiling. Here it is, what do you think?

Then yesterday, I heard someone quite different than DeAndre sing Marley’s Is This Love and for me it kind of was! Adam Lambert sang this at the Take 40 Lounge in Sydney, Australia while promoting his current album, Trespassing. Adam, while highly skilled technically, also brings a soulful quality to the song that draws you in and leaves you wanting more. I love this version…

So what do DeAndre, Adam and Marley have in common…these three men at completely different stages of their music life, one at the very beginning of his journey, one smack dab in his heyday, and one long gone but enduringly iconic? They all have those kinds of voices that make you feel happy…and that make you want to hear more. The musicians that have impacted me the most seem to be the ones who allow their heart to show through in their music…and these three certainly do that in my book.

p.s. And on a lighter note, they all three have fabulous hair!

If you liked this please share it,thx! Sunny