Tag Archives: Mary J. Blige

A Song for Orlando: ‘Hands’ by Britney Spears, Troye Sivan, Jennifer Lopez and More…

Hands SongBritney Spears, Mary J Blige, Jason Derulo, Tyler Glenn, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Ty Herndon, Imagine Dragons, Juanes, Adam Lambert, Mary Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, Kacey Musgraves, MNEK, Alex Newell, P!nk, Prince Royce, Nate Ruess, RuPaul, Troye Sivan, Jussie Smollett, Gwen Stefani, and Meghan Trainor – these two dozen pop stars have come together to record a tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting last month touted as the deadliest mass shooting in the history of America.

The song aptly titled “Hands” was written by Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels and produced by Tranter, BloodPop and Mark Ronson and will benefit the Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the LGBT Community Center of Central Florida and GLAAD.

Here’s the names of the 49 people who’ve fallen victims during that horrific shooting and may they forever be a reminder of what could happen  if we’d let hate rule our hearts.

#ForThe49
Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
Juan Chavez Martinez, 25 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old
Christopher “Drew” Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
KJ Morris, 37 years old
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Luis Daniel Lestat Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Jerald “Jerry” Arthur Wright, 31 years old

‘Hands’ Lyrics
[Verse 1: Britney Spears + Gwen Stefani]
Can hold a gun
And hold your heart
Can put out fires
And make ’em start
Skin and bones
And flesh and blood
With all this nerve
How did we get this numb

[Pre-Chorus: Meghan Trainor + Troye Sivan]
Cus they can hurt
Or they can heal
They can give back
Or they can steal
They can break the world
Or they can change it too
[Chorus: All Together]
Ooh hands
Hands
Woooo hands
Oh hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
They can change it too
Ooh hands

[Verse 2: Selena Gomez + Kacey Musgraves]
Doesn’t matter
Who you love
All that matters
Is your love
I’ve been watching news
And seeing all this hate
Tell me is it wrong
To want a little change

[Pre-Chorus: Mary J. Blige]
They can hurt
Or they can heal
They can give back
Or they can steal
They can break the world
Or they can change it too

[Chorus: All Together led by Jason Derulo]
Ooh hands
Hands
Woooo hands
Oh hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
They can change it too
Ooh hands

[Post-Chorus: Led by Imagine Dragons]
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
Ooooh

[Bridge: Jennifer Lopez]
Can hold a gun
And hold your heart
Can put out fires
And make ’em start
I’ve been watching news
And seeing all this hate
Tell me is it wrong
To want a little change

[Chorus: Adam Lambert & Tyler Glenn + P!NK & MNEK]
Ooh hands
Hands
Woooo hands
Oh hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
They can change it too
Ooh hands

[Post-Chorus: Led by Imagine Dragons]
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
Ooooh

[Outro: RuPaul + (Mary Lambert) + Nate Ruess + Together]
Just take my hand baby
Everybody’s in love
(All that matters is your love)
(Change it or break it)
(They can love or they can take it, take it all)
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
Ooooh

Buy “Hands” on iTunes.

Review: Rock Of Ages (2012)

via impawards

via impawards

Rock of Ages is a film adaptation of the 2006 Broadway musical by Chris D’Arienzo of the same name. Set in 1986 on Los Angeles, Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) travels from Oklahoma with head full of dreams. She meets Drew, a bus boy at the popular nightclub “The Bourbon Room” who gets her a job as a waitress and soon steals her heart. The club, though, is in danger of shutting down due to unpaid taxes and opposition from the Mayor (Bryan Cranston) and his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who wanted to clean the Sunset Strip. With Rock legend Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) final performance with his band, things picked-up between Drew and Sherrie’s relationship that led to many different things.

Watching the film feels like watching a big-budgeted adult “Glee” movie version. I find myself cringing and laughing at the same time whenever one of the casts burst into song, which happened in about 80% of the film. I love that Julianne Hough can actually sing and delivered outstanding performances. Also, Mary J. Blige playing the strip club owner killed it! In contrast, I thought Alec Baldwin playing the club owner, Russell Brand as his right-hand and Tom Cruise altogether failed miserably. They’re just off. It’s like SNL gone wrong.
The film actually started full of energy and full of promise. It was absorbing and the pacing was great but halfway through, all the elements just dropped off and it suddenly became too karaoke. The musical numbers were great alright but the plot suffered tremendously. Ultimately, the film became less charming and ended up as a”star-studded” karaoke film.
Rating: 7/10

Based on   Rock of Ages by Chris D’Arienzo

Director: Adam Shankman
Cast: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Catherine Zeta Jones, Alec Baldwin, Russel Brand, Paul Giamatti, Bryan Cranston, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige and Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx
Distributor: Warner Brothers Philippines