El Debarge Relapses; Enters into Drug Rehab

It has been reported that R&B legend El Debarge has had a relapse involving his addiction to drugs and has consequently entered into a drug rehabilitation center. All of the facts are not out about this situation but it has been confirmed that all of his future appearances has been canceled, including a tour that he was embarking on with Kem and Ledisi (which was to start in a couple of days).

This unfortunate event has temporarily halted Debarge's triumphant comeback. After a long absence from the music scene due to a drug addiction, El made a well received return in 2010. He and his camp did a great job of getting his name back out in the public with numerous television appearances, radio interviews, autograph signings and live shows. The centerpiece of his comeback was his new album "Second Chance" and the title track was used as the theme of his reappearance. Debarge did not hold back in interviews, as he candidly spoke of his addiction and what it has done to him and his family. He has been sincere and remorseful about his actions and genuinely seemed to be humbled about his "second chance" at life and his career.  I was fortunate to see him at a promo stop the same day his new album was released. He thanked the crowd at the event for coming to see him and was very emotional as he reflected about the fact that he was unsure if he would ever have another album release. It was a very poignant moment. Little did we all know, at that moment, that El would be back in drug rehab just a little over two months later.

El Debarge has received a lot love during his comeback effort from fans, media and the industry. I have not heard or seen one bad thing said or written about him since he has been back on the scene. Most share the sentiment that they were happy to see him back and hear his awesome falsetto voice again. As I mentioned earlier, he has made frequent television, radio and in-person appearances. The "Second Chance" album garnered him two Grammy nominations as well (he didn't win either). I wonder if maybe it was a case of "too much, too soon". But I will end my speculation there because it really makes no sense for me to try to figure out what happened. The bottom line is unfortunately he has had a misstep and I hope that one day he can permanently defeat this demon. Life is hard, especially the life that famous artist lead. It would be great if in the future we could see not only these addictions stop in our communities, but also in that industry; where the demands and expectations are at times unrealistic, and the lifestyles at times are self destructive. I wish the best for Eldra Debarge; I truly hope he ultimately overcomes his drug problem. And if it is still in the cards for him to make it back to music, I'll be waiting with a bunch of others ready to pick up right where he left his comeback off.

Super Bowl XLV Black Eyed Aguilera - Where Is The Love???

"Boooooo!" "You suck!!" "What the hell are you doing out there??" "You don't deserve to even be at this game!" "Have you ever heard that practice makes perfect?" "My grandmother could have done that better than you!" Comments like these being made this past Sunday at Super Bowl XLV wouldn't surprise most; words much worse have been hurled at the players of the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers all season long. But when these words usually reserved for the athletes are aimed at the Super Bowl entertainment, it should make even the toughest of players shutter. Two Super Bowl performing artist in particular, Christina Aguilera and the Black Eyed Peas, have been the main targets of the verbal blitzes. They have been taking some "hits" since Sunday that would even make Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis proud.

I must admit I am stunned to hear all of the criticism about Christina Aguilera's performance of the Star Spangled Banner. Ms. Aguilera accidentally rearranged some of the lyrics to the song. I've heard things ranging from she's unpatriotic to she's unprofessional. "How could she mess up a short song like that?" "How can she not know the words to our national anthem??" "She got paid lots of money to do that performance and her blowing it is inexcusable"; these are some more words I've heard regarding her flub. Well folks, all of the money and fame in the world does not make a person perfect. Ms. Aguilera is human; she made a mistake at the worst possible time. With 100,000 plus people in the house and millions more watching around the world, Aguilera skipped a part of the national anthem but was "professional" enough to catch herself and keep the song moving (a la the show must go on). I'm glad she sang the song live and I hope this incident will not cause future Super Bowl anthem perfomances to be lip synced. The bottom line is many people have forgotten the words to our national anthem in pressure spots before Christina, and many people will do it after. She's only human folks.......

Then there was the Black Eyed Peas halftime performance -wow I heard some crazy stuff about them too! The most egregious thing I heard was that they are "studio artist"  and that they have "no live show". What?????? And exactly what halftime show was these people watching??? The Black Eyed Peas performance was very good. The group did suffer some audio technical difficulties that was out of their control. So when you heard Fergie one second and not the next as she was belting out a note, it was the equipment that dropped out not her voice. I heard at least two television personalities bang the 'Peas about their lack of live performance abilities. I found it very odd that they took this stance since they both work on live television and I'm sure there were times that their mic didn't work properly or something else failed in the control room while they were speaking live. These technical difficulties did not speak to their credibility as television analyst; it was something that was out of their control. These things happen sometimes unfortunately during live sessions, they should know better!  I've heard some say the 'Peas are not "A List" enough to do a Super Bowl halftime show. PLEASE!!! Many folks were begging  for the NFL to book a current act for the Super Bowl halftime show. And not many artist are more "A list" than the 'Peas are today. After the Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson fiasco at the half of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, the NFL decided to play it "safe" and book much older, established acts to ensure minimum controversy (though they did book Mr. Controversy himself, Prince at Super Bowl XLI in 2007). Please stop trying to compare the 'Peas to Paul McCartney, Prince, The Who etc.; maybe one day, the group will have a catalog as long and as impressive as them. And the 'Peas may never reach the heights of those other acts but that doesn't make them "too small" to play the big stage at the Super Bowl. Kudos to the NFL for finally trusting a more "hip" act to perform at their showcase game. The younger generation, who you are trying to capture, appreciates it. And this crazy talk about Slash saving them and giving them more credibility........I'm sure Slash would say himself that is nonsense. Let's not forget there is a whole new younger generation who doesn't even know anything about Guns & Roses; now some of these kids may go look them up after seeing Slash with the 'Peas. Will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo & Fergie represented the BEP very well!!!

Music is a very subjective art form, but because we may not like a particular artist, genre, style or song that doesn't mean we cannot try to be objective about it.  Of course we are all entitled to our opinions, and honest, poignant ones usually make for great debate. If you didn't like the national anthem or halftime show at Cowboys Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday that is fine, but be clear and honest about your analysis. Christina Aguilera and the Black Eyed Peas did not deserve the abundance of criticism they received after Super Bowl XLV.  I think both acts did very well considering the obstacles each had to face.