Featured Video: Boogie Shoes

Today’s blog post is going to be short and sweet. I had a super fun four-day weekend visiting friends and I still have to claw my way out from under everything that I put off while I was in Maryland. I’ll tell you all about my trip on Friday!

As for the video…no introductions, just watch:

 
Okay, did you catch what was going on there? Her stage name is Unique. Her real name is…Wade. She’s a character from Glee and is played by Alex Newell. He was one of the winners of The Glee Project (season 1).

I keep away from spoilers as much as I can, so even though I knew that Alex was going to be on the show, I had no idea what his storyline would be. When I saw this performance, I was floored. I was in shock – not because he was dressed up as a woman, but because he was absolutely incredible in this role. His talent is off the charts and I just can’t stop listening to this song – even though this episode came and went several months ago. I feel like this was such a great thing for Glee to do, and I hope it opens the eyes of some people about this sort of thing.

So, here are some questions for you: Have you ever encountered someone who cross-dresses? Have you ever been completely shocked by something that you saw – but in a good way? Did this video, or something you experienced in your life, make you reevaluate your opinion or perspective about something? I want to hear about some cool stories of acceptance in the comments!

Rising Stars: Dia Frampton

I know I have trouble sitting still long enough to read a huge blog post, so I apologize for my previous entry. I promise to keep this one a bit shorter!

This is a new series I’d like to call “Rising Stars.” I’m not a huge music nerd, and I mostly listen to mainstream pop and hip-hop, but there are some artists that are unknown to the world at large that I like to keep tabs on. These posts are for them – for the people that I think are so incredibly talented, but have yet to make a huge impression in the industry. Word of mouth (both spoken and typed out in this day and age) is still the best way for them to become better known, and this is my way of helping them to do that.

I first saw Dia Frampton on The Voice – a show that is, basically, a better version of American Idol. I instantly liked her. She was soft spoken, intelligent, and unique. She also had this wonderful voice that really stuck with me. I became a solid fan when she covered Kanye West’s “Heartless.” Her cover is nothing like the original, but it was haunting and beautiful and I couldn’t get it out of my head. (Watch it below. It doesn’t have the best sound quality, but it’s the only one where you can see her performing it on the show.)

 

The change in style of the song was entirely Dia’s idea. She just knows what works and what doesn’t when it comes to giving a performance. Oh, and she plays the guitar. And she’s been in a band since 2005. And she’s a novelist. How can you not love this girl?

Dia just came out with her first single called “The Broken Ones,” which is off her album Red (it drops December 6^th). I love this song – not only because it speaks to me personally, but because of her voice, the music, the story, everything. Oh, and something else that’s really important to me? When singers write their own songs. Yep, she does that, too.

Watch the video for “The Broken Ones” below. It’s beautiful!