Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette is a classic textbook example of a celebrity everyone loves, but no one like to admit it. It's not like people think she isn't talented or hasn't made good songs, but it's the fact they keep this to themselves that's disturbingly odd. Think about it, have you ever met someone who has told you they were an Alanis Morissette fan? Has someone ever told you before that they were going to see Alanis Morissette in concert? Have you ever seen anyone walk around in an Alanis Morissette t-shirt? The answer to these questions are obviously no. Yet everyone and their grandma knows the words to her biggest hit song, "Ironic." If you own an mp3 player, you and I both know you have at least five Alanis Morissette songs on there, and that's an underestimate as far as I am concerned. It's almost like everyone just accepts Alanis, but no one really praises her for how awesome she really is. Alanis Morissette does not deserve to be so underappreciated because she's much more than a guilty pleasure. She happens to be an awesome singer and song writer, a hunk magnet, a role model for women, an inspiration to the world, and the best musician to come from Canada since Bryan Adams.

Everyone knows that Alanis' big break came from her album Jagged Little Pill. When I think of 1996 albums, it's usually that album, Sublime's self-titled CD, and Antichrist Superstar by Marilyn Manson. Those three albums we listened to over and over again on the last day of sixth grade. Even though it's remembered as her most successful and popular album, I don't think people know how big of a hit this album was in terms of its staying power. To this day, Jagged Little Pill is not only the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the U.S., but the highest selling debut album worldwide. This album has been sold over 30 million times. This fact is almost unfathomable. Think about it....Madonna, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Shakira, Whitney Houston....none of them hold a candle Alanis Morissette. That's not just surprising, it's impressive and extremely mad awesome as well. Clearly there was a reason she wound up becoming the youngest person to win a Grammy for Album of the Year, with Jagged Little Pill. This album also won Grammys for Best Rock Album, Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Female, and Best Rock Song. It wound up winning Billboard Magazine's "Album Of The Decade. Morissette's popularity grew significantly in Canada, where Jagged Little Pill was certified twelve times platinum. The album was also a best-seller in Australia and the United Kingdom. Interestingly enough, Jagged Little Pill was not made with the intention of being a hit record. According to this interview with Alanis' publisher, "Prior to the album’s release, our thought was that Jagged Little Pill would hopefully sell 250,000 units, which would give the label and everyone incentive to have Alanis make the next record. But when (L.A. radio station) KROQ started playing ‘You Oughta Know,’ it was a breakthrough that no one had anticipated." Wow, when you make an album with the intention of it being basically a start-up album and it becomes one of the most successful records of all time, that is unreal. This is why when you look up awesome in a thesaurus, Alanis Morissette comes up as a synonym.

None of Alanis' records ever came close to matching the success of Jagged Little Pill. After all, how could they? Her next album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, had such high expectations, that the record label hoped to sell a million copies of the album during its initial release. Success like that is almost unheard of the music industry. The album did not reach a million copies right away, and had to settle for debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 469,000 copies. Keep in mind that those 469,000 albums sold was a record at the time, for the highest first-week sales of an album by a female artist. Therefore, for those keeping track at home, the record company expected Alanis to more than double the sales of a record in its opening week. It doesn't get much higher expectations than that. Even though the album was considered a disappointment, partly because it didn't match the success of her previous album, it was still certified four times platinum. In Canada, it won the Juno Award for Best Album and "Thank U", the album's only major international hit single, was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Therefore, it wasn't really as bad as it is remembered to be either. Needless to say, even though the rest of her albums weren't as successful as Jagged Little Pill, it doesn't matter much. Has Springsteen made an album that is as good or successful since he released Born In The U.S.A.? Have The Who came out with a good album in the past twenty five years? This is what artists do. They come out with a hit record and fail to live up to it. It's not to say that there other stuff isn't as good, it's just that one mega successful and awesome album is hard to match, and at the same time it gives you a lifetime of fame in the music world.


Don't be afraid to admit it, Alanis is awesome!

While Alanis Morissette is pretty, she's not that hot compared to other female celebrities. Almost every pretty female celebrity is a 8, 9 or a 10, so the scale that is used to rate everyday women can't be used on celebrity women; there has to be a different scale for celebrities. On the celebrity hottie scale, where Sarah Jessica Parker is around a 1 and Shakira is a 10, Alanis Morissette is probably around a 6.5, maybe a 7. Which is obviously good, but not great. However, you know she has a great sense of humor because in 1993 she dated Dave Coulier aka Joey Gladstone from Full House. Say what you want about how you hate his famous "Cut it out" line or how annoying his Popeye impersonation is, but the man is a professional stand-up comic, so he has to be funny sometimes. Also keep in mind that in 1993, Full House was one of the most popular shows on television. While Coulier was probably not getting any girl he wanted, he probably had a lot of options. However, it's telling that he decided to settle down with Alanis when he was at the peak of his fame. It truly takes an awesome individual to make a guy settle down at the point in his life, and that's what Alanis did. Eventually, though they broke up and Coulier's career has gone nowhere since. Alanis on the other hand, not only became a mega hit singer, but she also clearly upgraded her choice of boyfriends as well.

From 2002 to 2007, Alanis dated Ryan Reynolds who is consistently listed by several media outlets as one of the best looking male celebrities. (Side Note: Obviously she had other boyfriends in between Coulier and Reynolds, but none worth mentioning, unless you count actor Dash Mihok....Yeah, I didn't think so either.) I remember during this five year period whenever a girl told me how hot they found Reynolds, I always mentioned he was dating Alanis. Her reaction? "Really? Hmmm...interesting." Never "Really? He can do a lot better," or "Really? Her?" or even "Really? What does he see in her?" Even when they were engaged at one point, not a lot of people seemed to know it. I think this speaks volumes about how awesome Alanis is. On looks alone, you would assume Reynolds was way out of her league. Therefore, you have to assume that Alanis has something about her, that is just captivating for a man; kind of like what Mandy Moore has. It could be her charm, her personality, sense of humor, or just general awesomeness. It might not be as strong as Mandy's, but it is definitely there in order to hold Ryan down for five years. Despite that logic, even if you think he is still out of her league, what does that say about Alanis, that he would be with her even when he could do a lot better? Again, it speaks volumes. Five months after they ended their engagement, she started dating an environmental lawyer named Tom Ballanco. The girl rebounds better than Dwight Howard. Wait, you don't think this is an upgrade? Maybe not in the looks or money department, but isn't every girl's dream to date a doctor or a lawyer? And a lawyer who cares about the environment? Now I don't know anything about Tom Ballanco, but I would assume that just based on those two things, he can definitely get more girls than Dave Coulier could. However, he chooses to settle down and be with Alanis and we all know why. He appreciates her awesomeness, so why can't we?


Is Alanis the lucky one in this picture? Or is Ryan?

I think one of Alanis' most underappreciated qualities is the effect she has on others. Alanis is credited with influencing such female singers like Shakira, Tracy Bonham, Meredith Brooks, Patti Rothberg, Pink, and fellow Canadian Avril Lavigne. In 2009, Alanis sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 5 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Little did she know that when she was singing, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley was so inspired by her awesomeness that in this game he hit two home runs to reach a total of five home runs in the series. By accomplishing this feat, Utley tied a record held by Reggie Jackson. Alanis also performed at the 11th Annual Power to the Peaceful Festival in San Francisco on September 12, 2009 headlined and produced by activist and artist, Michael Franti of Spearhead. Over 60,000 people attended this concert, and over 60,000 people were also reported to have been emotionally, physically, and spiritually moved that day. Alanis inspires not only as an activist, but as world class athlete as well. In the fall of 2009, Morissette ran the Bizz Johnson Trail Marathon in a blazing speed of 4:17:03. By running this race, she helped raise over $3,000 for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). Three weeks later, she ran the New York City Marathon (November 1, 2009) in 4:28:45. Her time was reported as being slower because so many racers stopped to take pictures with her. Coincidentally enough, most of the people who took pictures with Alanis were wearing an "I'm With Awesome" t-shirt, which had an arrow pointing towards Alanis. I can't make this stuff up, it happens, but it's nowhere close to giving her the appreciation she rightfully deserves.

Maybe, Alanis gets the props she deserves in her native Canada. (Side Note: I'm not sure, since I haven't been to Canada in almost ten years.) As an American, I can't appreciate Alanis the way fellow Canadians do, even if Alanis is a naturalized citizen of the United States and she maintains her Canadian citizenship. After all, there is a reason why in 2005, Morissette was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, and not just because almost all of her albums sold better there than they did in any other country. How highly do they think of Alanis in Canada you ask? Well let me put it this way to you.....in Canada we all know hockey is more important than breathing. Therefore, when the Ottawa Senators were in the Stanely Cup Finals, for their first home game they asked Alanis to perform the American and Canadian national anthems in "The Star Spangled Banner" and "O Canada." This had to have been the honor of a lifetime for Alanis. For those of you who don't watch hockey and don't understand how highly Canada thinks of hockey, let me put it to you another way. This is the equivalent of Mike "The Situation" winning a hot body contest at the Jersey Shore, taking the hottest guidette home to his jacuzzi, and having her spend the night, except only 10 billion times bigger. It truly doesn't get any better or bigger than this if you're Canadian. If there was ever a moment in her life were Alanis Morissette felt appreciated for her awesomeness, this was that moment.

Ironically, I haven't mentioned the one thing about Alanis Morissete that displays her awesomeness to perfection. In case you forgot, or never saw the movie, Alanis portrayed God in Dogma, which when you think about it, may be blasphemous, but is incredibly awesome. I mean, how do you cast God? How do you choose someone who whether you're religious or not, or believe in God or not, represents the creator of life? How do you even decide if it should be a man or a woman? Despite all this, Kevin Smith confidently casted Alanis to play God. If that's not a testament to Alanis' awesomeness, I don't know what is. So the next time you hear an Alanis Morissette song being played off your mp3 player, don't skip the song or claim you don't know how that song got on there; sing it loud, sing it proud, and recognize her for her awesomeness whether you are in Canada or not. She certainly deserves it.

Chris Cornell

With all due respect to religious fanatics, Chris Cornell is a God among men in the music industry. Seriously, the man performs miracles every time he performs in concert or makes a new album. When he came out with "Cochise" with Audioslave, that was his equivalent of parting the Red Sea. When he recorded "Call Me a Dog" with Temple of the Dog it could be compared to God's "Let There Be Light" moment. I'd like to think that "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgardgen, is one of God's most played song's on his iPod. On the seventh day, God didn't rest, he created Chris Cornell's voice. I'm not trying to commit blasphemy here, but I'm just trying to make the point about how awesomely talented Cornell is. Yes, Chris Cornell is a music icon, very popular, and well-known, but is he appreciated for his talent, success, and awesomeness in a way that he deserves? I think not because for some reason the only people who really appreciate him that much are either his die-hard fans or those in the music industry. It's about time we change that and make Chris Cornell appreciated world wide, and not just by his hardcore fans, for what he truly is; the greatest male singer and the man responsible for some of the best bands and music in rock of our generation.


I will repeat for emphasis, Chris Cornell is the greatest male singer of our generation. You can have your Michael Bubles or John Legends, and every American Idol winner, I will take Cornell. Every time I hear Chris Cornell sing I always say to myself, "Damn, I wish I had his voice." Whenever I'm listening to "Shadow of the Sun" alone and I try to scream like he does, I know I sound like a nasally dork, because I, and frankly no one, has the awesome raw vocal power that Cornell has. His voice is everything you can want and need in a Hard Rock singer. It's original, intense, loud, and in your face. His voice is what you should hear when you think of a rock vocalist. He belts out screams and yells that are so perfect, they are they equivalent to Shakira's belly dancing moves. Both blow your mind on how insanely awesome they are. It is a scientifically proven fact that every song that Cornell has sang is automatically better just because he was singing on it, and you can't argue with science. It's pretty much impossible to sing a Chris Cornell song for karaoke because you are only going to severely embarrass yourself and butcher the song in the process. The rage in his voice can't be matched with the way it fits in with the power chords of the song. Also, I bet you didn't know his voice is so awesome that he and Mariah Carey are the only two people in the history of life to ever reach the fifth octave. I'm sorry, but when you accomplish something that only one other person in the history of the world has, that's extremely impressive and you deserve mad props for it. Again though, unless you count his die-hard fans or those within the music industry, this recognition escapes Cornell for some unknown reason. Maybe it's cause society can't accept someone so awesome or because he isn't a pop artist. Either way it's a travesty because Cornell's voice is literally one of a kind. However, Cornell is not just all vocal ability. Did you know that Cornell is also a male model? Sure, he's no Jesse Palmer (Side Note: No one is), but he has great hair, surprisingly ripped abs, and apparently a mysterious side to him that the camera just loves. This is why John Varvatos tapped Cornell to be the face of his 2006 ad campaign. It was nice to see Cornell be recognized on something outside of his musical talent, even if it was his musical talent that got him the gig in the first place.


How many singers, or artists in general can say that they were in three highly successful bands, two of which were the top bands of their respective genre in the era in which they played? Not many I'm sure, but Chris Cornell can. Keep in mind, this doesn't include the success Cornell had during his solo career either. Soundgarden, Cornell's first band, is considered one of the four founding fathers of grunge along with Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Pearl Jam. In fact, Soundgarden was actually the first grunge band to ever sign with a major label, when they signed with A&M Records in 1990. This was right after they were nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Soundgarden's first big album Badmotorfinger was among the top 100 selling albums of 1992 and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. After this album came out, they were personally selected by Guns N' Roses themselves to open for them on their Use Your Illusion Tour. For the biggest band in the world to ask you open for them on the tour of their second best album has to be one of the best feelings ever. They had to know that this was going to help them blow up, and blow up they did. Their next album, Superunknown debuted as the number one album on the Billboard 200 and went on to go quintuple platinum in the US, triple platinum in Canada, and gold status in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands. It was nominated for the Best Rock Album Grammy and two singles off Superunknown, "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman" went on to win Grammys. Rolling Stone also ranked Superunknown as the 336th greatest album of all time. .Soundgarden released one more album before they broke up, Down On The Upside. It was nominated for Grammys, but didn't win any. It wasn't as successful as Superunknown, but still produced the hits "Pretty Noose", "Burden in My Hand", and "Blow Up the Outside World." Either way, their impact on music in the 1990s was tremendous. They were not only ground breaking, but helped influence almost every rock band you hear on the radio today. While none of the other members of the band found the same success they found in Soundgarden in their other bands, their frontman and most talented member, managed to stay in the limelight with other bands. I don't think this is a knock on the other members of Soundgarden, as much as it is due to the awesomeness of Cornell.






I don't know what song he is singing, but I'm sure he sounds awesome.


Temple of the Dog was a side band Cornell was in while he was also in Soundgarden. Besides Cornell, the other members of the band were Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Matt Cameron, and Eddie Vedder. If these names seem familiar to you they should, because they are the five members of Pearl Jam. Yes, Chris Cornell and Pearl Jam were in a band together, and unfortunately they only released one album together. As you can probably guess, this album was awesome. While you would think Temple of the Dog's songs would be the blueprint of grunge and rock, it actually wasn't. If you listen to their songs, you notice they are actually slower and softer because they are singing about Cornell's former roommate who died of a heroin overdose. You can tell that this clearly had a profound effect on Cornell, because besides starting a band to honor him, his voice sounds better on this album than it does at any point of his career. His vocals sound powerful, yet soft and fit the melody perfectly. I like to think it shows Cornell's awesomeness that he can use his voice in a dynamic way, yet in a softer tone, and not just in a hard rock setting. David Fricke of Rolling Stone praised Temple of the Dog's only album when he wrote the album "deserves immortality." It was among the 100 top selling albums of 1992 and wound up going platinum by selling more than a million copies. Even more impressive was the fact that when Temple of the Dog was released it was critically acclaimed, but didn't sell too well. It wasn't until after Soundgarden and Pearl Jam got popular that A&M Records really started to market the album. Working with Pearl Jam helped Cornell's career after Soundgarden was over too. According to Cornell, Temple of the Dog's success was the reason why he joined Audioslave. Cornell stated in an interview that the experience made him "keep an open mind" about collaborations with musicians from other bands.


I will never forget the day I found out about Audioslave. I probably said awesome more that day than I have in this entire blog so far. Just the idea of the Cornell forming a band with the guitarist, bassist, and drummer of Rage Against The Machine almost made me pass out. With one of the best guitarists of our era, Tom Morello, teaming up with the best vocalist of our era, Cornell, I knew they were going to make hard rock magic together because they were a perfect match. The power chords Morello plays would go perfectly with Cornell's famous raw wailing. I think a lot of people myself included, figured they would be a mix of Soundgarden and RATM, however it turns out they kind of created a sound of their own. If you listen to their songs, you can hear a combination of 1970s hard rock with 1990s alternative rock. Audioslave's first album, Audioslave debuted number seven on the Billboard 200 and sold 162,000 copies in its first week. Within a month, it was certified gold and wound up becoming triple platinum. Their second album, Out of Exile, debuted at number one on the U.S. charts and has achieved platinum status. The crazy thing about this album, was how awesome and fresh Cornell's voice sounded, due to the fact he became sober and quit smoking, which is kind of crazy. Could you imagine how much better Cornell's voice would sound if he wasn't smoking, drinking, and partying for a good part of his life? I can't even comprehend how awesome it would be. Audioslave was also so awesome that they became the first American rock group to perform a concert in Cuba, playing in front of an audience of 70,000. They wound up producing a DVD on this concert and it was certified platinum in less than two months. Their third album Revelations was its least successful, and only reached gold status. While Audioslave was a great band, they were clearly not as good as Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine. Part of it was due to the fact they just had a lot to live up to and had very high expectations. However, you can make the argument that Audioslave's songs put Cornell's voice to better use. That's not to say that Audioslave's songs were better than Soundgarden's, (Side Note: They weren't) but Cornell's voice fits Audioslave's songs better than they do Soundgarden's. If you don't think so, I implore you to please listen to my favorite Audioslave song, "Shadow on the Sun." I defy you to find a Soundgarden song that utilizes Cornell's vocal ability better than it does here. I wish you luck. Cornell wound up leaving the band in 2007 to work on his solo album and when RATM got back together.






Chris Cornell doesn't have to drive to be awesome - but he drives anyway. (Copyright: Ross Halfin)


Cornell has also released three solo albums. The first Euphoria Morning had its single, "Can't Change Me" nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Cornell received the honor of producing the song in the James Bond film Casino Royale. James Bond films are famous for having an original song played during its opening credits by one of the best artists in music, and its obvious why they would choose Cornell. "You Know My Name" won a Satellite Award for Best Original Song, and a 2007 World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film. The song was also nominated for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the 2008 Grammy Awards. Even my dad loved it. "You Know My Name" was the first single off his second album Carry On. What makes this album awesome, is that a bunch of songs on the album are played acoustically, giving Cornell a different medium to make his voice stand out. Cornell worked with all-world mega producer Timbaland on his most recent album, Scream, which was released in 2009. This is Cornell's most interesting album because it gets away from the hard rock sound Cornell is known for and focuses on the electronic hip-hop sound Timbaland is famous for. Everyone I know either loves this album, or hates it. Regardless of what you think of the album, you have to give Cornell credit for trying something new, whether it worked or didn't. It truly takes someone awesome to try something that is exactly the opposite of what they are known for and attempt to be successful at it.


The thing that I find most awesome about Cornell is the talent who wanted to work with him because I believe this shows not only how talented other musicians find him, but how much they respect him as well. As previously mentioned, he was in bands with members of Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine. Guns N' Roses and Metallica, the two biggest rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s demanded that his bands tour with them. He contributed vocals on the Alice in Chains song "Right Turn" and Alice Cooper's "Stolen Prayer" and "Unholy War," which he also wrote. He also has performed in concert with Linkin Park and Aerosmith. Timbaland referred to his recording sessions with Cornell as "The best work I've done in my career." I also think it says a lot about an artist when an artist decides to release a cover song about an other artist. That's why it is awfully impressive that such big name singers like Johnny Cash, Peter Frampton, and Paul Anka have all covered songs that Cornell made. Even though he isn't as big as a name as those artists, when David Cook decided to cover Cornell's version of "Billie Jean," and not Michael Jackson's to help him score some votes on American Idol, it put Cornell's awesomeness on display. However it's possible that we haven't even seen the best of Cornell yet. On January 1, 2010 Chris Cornell's official Facebook and Twitter page confirmed a Soundgarden reunion after a 12 year hiatus. Lord only knows what their new sound will be like, but I know that the expectations will be high and I will be listening to whatever they come out with. Hopefully, more people can appreciate the awesomeness of Chris Cornell, and not just those in the music business and his die-hard fans. The best way to do that would be to do what he does best; sing, wail, and belt out words with raw power and emotion. Once Soundgarden steps into the studio, that's exactly what's going to happen.

The Neptunes

The following two true stories say everything about how underappreciated the Neptunes are for their awesomeness. The first story involves my brother, who if you don't know, is the king of pop culture trivia. No joke he can list the twelfth actor in a movie or a one hit wonder from 1982 like people recite there names. Yet, when I told him that this week's entry was on the Neptunes, he asked me who they were. Shocking? Absolutely. Poignant? Without question. The second story involves my friend and the girl he is currently dating. When we were talking about my blog one night, they asked who the next post was being written about. Their response about the Neptunes? "Wow, great choice. They are awesome and no one ever talks about them!" I could rest my case solely based on those two situations, but I'm not going to. For some reason when one thinks of the most successful hip-hop and rap producers of all time the same two people come to mind; Dr. Dre and Timbaland, and rightfully so. They definitely deserve the props, fame and recognition they get because they have consistently churned out extremely successful,popular songs and albums over the years, while helping several artists achieve mainstream status. However, the Neptunes fail to get their due for some unknown reason. What's especially surprising is the number of hits they have produced that you didn't know they were behind. It's about time that the Neptunes start getting appreciated for being awesome and are recognized as the most successful producers in hip-hop and rap today.


I think a lot of the problem when it comes to the Neptunes is that people seem to get them and N.E.R.D. confused, which is somewhat understandable. The difference between the two? N.E.R.D. (No one Ever Really Dies) is the hip-hop group that consists of  Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley. The Neptunes is the name of the production group of Williams and Hugo. So to sum up, N.E.R.D. is the music group and the Neptunes are the producers and Haley only performs. Got it? In a move that might not surprise you, the Neptunes have produced every song and album that N.E.R.D. has ever made. Since they choose to have two different groups and that are associated with each other and involve almost the same people, a lot of the world usually assumes that they are the same thing.  Due to the fact that N.E.R.D. is more well-known because of such hits as "Lapdance" and "She Wants To Move" usually the credit is only given to N.E.R.D. However, it takes two different kinds of musical talent to make music and to produce music and while N.E.R.D. is appreciated for the awesome skills making music, the Neptunes are not given such credit for producing music, when they should be.


One of the things I love and totally respect the Neptunes for is that they don't just limit themselves to one genre. They could easily produce for just hip-hop and rap, which is clearly where they excel. However, they often tend to step out of their element producing pop hits like Nsync's "Girlfriend" (reached fifth in the U.S. charts), rock songs for Papa Roach, and they even took a swing at the indie scene producing songs for The Hives. I think the reason why they cross over genres so successfully is due to their unique sound. The Neptunes' sound involves a heavy use of synthesizer riffs, loud drum beats, and falsetto hooks that make up a funk-like hip-hop. It's so different than anything else out there that so many artists want it on their tracks. They also do more then produce and make music. Williams and Hugo are credited as the writers for the song "Hella Good" by No Doubt which reached 13 on the pop charts. The Neptunes also are so awesomely versatile that they even produced the "I'm Loving It" theme song that you hear during McDonald's commercials...and why wouldn't they? Obviously McDonald's was trying to make themselves look hip and cool after the whole Supersize Me scandal, so they decided to hire the awesomest, hippest, coolest, most popular producers around to fit this image. And when I mean the awesomest, hippest, coolest, and most popular producers around, I mean it. A survey in August 2003 found the Neptunes produced almost 43% of songs played on U.S. radio. That is just absurdiculously awesome as far as I am concerned. You can also make the argument that the Neptunes helped launch several careers. The were responsible for Mystikal's biggest hits in "Danger" and "Shake Ya ***" and making Kelis a household name with her breakout hit "Milkshake." They also have produced every album by the Clipse and have introduced them to a national audience as well. However, they are so awesome, that their awesomeness doesn't stop there.






The Neptunes are not N.E.R.D., but they are just as awesome.


Most of the time in the music industry, people like to let their body of work speak for themselves in terms of how talented they are. If you are to take this literally, the Neptunes would have a conversation that would last 40 days and 40 nights. Seriously, the amount of hits that are behind might make your head explode, and I am putting the over-under at two for the amount of songs you knew they produced. If someone was to tell me they knew more than four, they better be Pharrell or Hugo themselves or the world's biggest liar. They got their first break in 1997 producing Mase's hit "Lookin' At Me", which peaked as the number eight rap song in the United States. However, they really didn't hit it big until 1999 when they produced the crowd pleasing hit by Ol' Dirty Bastard, "Got Your Money," which at one point was the 26th most popular song in the country. This lead to collaborating with Jay-Z for "I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It 2 Me)", which at one point was the #1 hip-hop song in the country, and Busta Rhymes on "Pass The Courvoisier pt. 2." Once those were released, it was official; the Neptunes owned the world, musically producing speaking. The helped Ludacris with "Southern Hospitality,"  then tore up the charts with Fabolous' hit Young'n (Holla Back), and produced one of the most highly anticipated (and awesome) albums of all-time, Justin Timberlake's debut solo album, Justified. This album just went on to win two Grammy awards for the Neptunes and sell more than seven million copies worldwide. This helped lead them to a success they never could have imagined.


The Neptunes have produced several number one hits in the United States. These hits include, Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," Jay-Z's "Excuse Me Miss," LL Cool J's "Luv U Better," Nelly's "Hot In Herre," Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot," and Usher's "U Don't Have To Call." (Side note: I guarantee you that you just read that list and said either "Wow" or "I didn't know they produced that") However, their most awesome, biggest hit, Britney Spear's "I'm A Slave 4 U" went number one in the world. Now I know what you're thinking, they produced a song for Britney Spears during her peak popularity, of course it was going to go number one worldwide. Well let me respond by posing the following question; do you think Brit-Brit would let anyone produce a song of hers when she was on top of the world? Of course not! If anything was going to bring Britney down, it was going to be her social life, and certainly not her music. She was going to hire awesome producers to produce her tracks, which is why she chose the Neptunes. She knew they were awesome and respected their talent and skill to produce a hit, and produce a hit they did.


When I was writing this article, I kept wondering if producers should stay behind the scenes and not step in the lime light. However, then I realized how much producers are involved in music and should be appreciated and recognized for all the hard work they do. The Neptunes deserve to be appreciated for their awesomeness by people as much as they get it within the music industry. In 2008 and 2009 the Neptunes got the biggest compliments they could get when they went out of this world mainstream. They spent time producing their specific sound for all-time musical legends like Madonna on her Hard Candy album, the first lady of the Underappreciated Awesome Celebrity Blog, Shakira on her She Wolf album, and the late great Michael Jackson on The Remix Suite album. Clearly, this is a sign that the Neptunes should be recognized for being on the list of all-time best musical producers ever. And why not? Besides being name as Producers of the Year at The Source and Billboard Music Awards in 2001, and the aforementioned Grammy wins, they won another for producing the Best Rap Song of the Year for Ludacris' "Money Maker" and were at least nominated for Best Producers every year from 2004 to 2007. I could only think what if there was a Grammy award for most Underappreciated Awesome Producers? I have no doubt that they would win the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shakira

Quick, name the most talented current female pop singer? I expect a lot of people to say the usual suspects; Beyonce, Rihanna, Britney Spears, or even Kelly Clarkson. Who are you forgetting? Shakira. Now name who you think the hottest woman in the world is. Who did you say? Megan Fox? Adriana Lima? Olivia Wilde? Jessica Biel? Again, I'm sure almost no one said Shakira. Why is that? How can this be? No one combines the awesome raw talent of singing, dancing and overall hotness better than Shakira. Yet she constantly fails to achieve the credit for her awesomeness she deserves. In fact, Shakira is so awesome, that even though I always thought she didn't get the respect she deserves for being awesome, it wasn't until I started doing research on her for this article that I realized I was underappreciating her awesomeness, when I thought I was praising her. I mean I just didn't realize how highly she rated on the awesomeness scale, and I'm sure nobody does either. It's time we change that.

Shakira is out of this world gorgeous. There's just no other way to put it. She is so hot that there are three different levels of her beauty. She is exotic hot, sexy hot, and beautiful hot, and yes there is a difference between all three. Dictionary.com defines exotic as of foreign origin or character; not native; introduced from abroad, but not fully naturalized or acclimatized. Based on this definition, Shakira is as exotic as it gets. Born in Colombia, Shakira is of Lebanese, Spanish, and Italian descent. It's not just that, its her tan skin, blonde hair, and brown eyes that makes your heart skip a beat every time you look at her. It's the type of knockout beauty that you rarely see in anyone that truly makes her stand out from the pack of other celebrity hotties. She's sexy hot in the sense that she personifies sex appeal. From her dancing, to her body, to the vibe she gives off, let's just say that she is the type of woman a man dreams about from the age of 15-105 to make his wildest fantasies and dreams come true. Finally, she's beautiful hot in regards to her overall hotness. I mean, look at her! Do I even need to get into detail here? She has that classic feminine beauty look to her. There's not a man on the planet who wouldn't sell his soul to walk around with Shakira arm in arm and have the biggest smile on his face for an hour. When you think of the requirements of what it takes to be beautiful, Shakira meets all of them. She is as perfectly awesome as one can possibly be in terms of looks.

Therefore, it totally makes no sense that in its annual Hot 100 List, Maxim Magazine didn't even rank Shakira in 2009. Again, I repeat for emphasis, not even ranked! That's blasphemous as far as I'm concerned. I mean, how can the Red Sox win the World Series twice in a decade, and Shakira goes unranked in Maxim's Hot 100? This is even more mind-boggling especially when you consider they ranked several "hotties" like Michelle Obama (93), Chelsea Handler (91), Milla Jovovich (63), and Cameron Diaz (37). Now don't get me wrong, these are all very beautiful women. However, none of them compare to Shakira in the looks level. I mean can you really say any of them is as hot as Shakira?As my fellow New Jerseyite Tony Soprano would say, faghedaboutit! Now, I'm not saying Shakira should be number one on this list and that she's the hottest woman in the world, but I definitely think she deserves to be listed. In my personal opinion, I would say that she definitely belongs in the top 25. Which begs me to ask the question, is Shakira the perfect combination of looks and talent in the music field today? I think so, if not she's definitely in the top three with Beyonce (52) and Christina Aguilera (14). Beyonce and Aguilera frequently get the praise they deserve for their awesome combination of talent, beauty, and success, yet not Shakira. It pretty much seems that people don't realize how talented and successful Shakira really is, just like they overlook her hotness.

This is what love at first sight feels like!

Some of the records that Shakira has broken in the music industry are as insane as her dancing movies. However, it almost make one's head explode when you read these facts and realize that Shakira isn't considered one of the most successful artists of the past two decades by the general public. I bet you didn't know that according to, Shakira was the fourth highest-earning woman in music for 2008 behind Madonna, Barbara Streisand and Celine Dion. You should also know that Shakira recorded her first album, Magia, when she was only thirteen years old. Now most artists that age have someone write their songs for them, but not someone as awesome as Shakira. The songs on the album were written by Shakira when she was eight years old. Eight! Most eight year olds can barely write complete sentences, and Shakira was writing songs. Shakira's second album Pies Descalzos, was just as awesome since it debuted at #1 in eight different countries. She also received a World Music Award as the best selling Latin artist for this record. Then, her fourth album ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?, sold 300,000 in one day in Miami alone. It wound up selling over 1,500,000 copies in the United States, making it one of the best selling Spanish albums in U.S. history. Around this time, Shakira performed her hit song "Ojos Así" at the inaugural ceremony of Latin Grammy Awards. Shakira did such an awesome job that he was named the Greatest Latin Grammy performance of all time. In 2002, Shakira released her first ever English album, Laundry Service, which became the best selling album of 2002, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide, and was certified three time multi platinum by the RIAA. Still not impressed? Well, you're about to be.

In 2005, Shakira released Oral Fixation Vol. 1 and 2. Volume 1 spent a record 25 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart and sold 157,000 copies in its first week of release in the U.S., becoming the highest debut ever for a Spanish language album in America. It also was certified eleven times multi-Platinum. But now, here's the ridiculous statistics. On the day of its official release in Venezuela, it went Platinum, in Colombia it went triple Platinum and in Mexico, it was sold-out. Think about that for a second. I just suffered an aneurysm at the thought of a record selling out in an entire country...in one day! The album wound up selling over one million copies in three days. The most successful song of the album "Hips Don't Lie", was rated the number one song in at least 55 countries. It was also the most-played pop song in a single week in American radio history, getting played 9,637 times in one week, and according to was the best selling single of the last ten years.The tour she went on for this album was just as awesome. The tour had 125 shows, on five different continents: Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Africa. Over 2.5 million people came to these shows. During this tour, Shakira performed a free concert in Mexico City and over 210,000 people were in attendance. Ok, now tell me you aren't impressed? I dare you.

She's hot! She's talented! She's charitable!

Over the course of her career, Shakira has received 103 awards from 224 nominations from various globally recognized music organizations such as the American Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the Grammys, the Latin Grammys, the People's Choice Awards, the World Music Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards, among others. Her two biggest wins were when she won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album in 2001 for Shakira MTV Unplugged and for best Latin Rock/Alternative Album in 2006 for Fijación Oral Vol. 1 Besides her two Grammy Awards and seven Latin Grammy Awards, Shakira has sold 50 million albums. She also happens to be the highest selling Colombian artist of all time, and the second most successful female Latin singer. If that's not enough to impress you, take an objective look at the talent she posses. Besides having a world class voice and dancing ability, Shakira loves all genres of music since she has covered Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Elvis Presely. Oh, and did I mention she plays the harmonica? Is this not one of the most awesome women in the world? Before you answer that, you have to understand, it gets better, you see she's even more perfect than you think.

Do you think this Colombian beauty is all looks? Wrong! Shakira has brains as well, and it is evident in her business ventures and charity work. I mean there is a reason why that it is reported that Shakira has an IQ of 140. In 1995, she founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation, a Colombian charity that builds special schools for poor children all around Colombia. Over the course of her career, Shakira has been known for performing at a large number of charity benefit concerts like Live 8, Live Earth, and the Clinton Global Initiative, Shakira is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is one of their global representatives. She also served as the Honorary Chairperson for "Action Week" 2008, which was sponsored by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), to generate awareness about the Education for All Act. She spoke with the U.S. Congress, the British Prime Minister, and the World Bank President to promote a move towards Global Education. She's spent days in Bangladesh visiting families effected by cyclones, open $6 million schools in her hometown, and has been named "Humanitarian of the Year" by People En Espanol.Shakira was also ranked the 48th most charitable celebrity by OK! magazine, which reported she donates around $55,000 a year to charity. The Spanish government has committed over $45 million to her cause of helping people who are victims of natural disasters, and help education in Latin American countries. She clearly has a face, voice, and heart of gold.

It is very hard for a woman, especially a celebrity, to be considered underappreciated. They are often frequently discussed in the press, tabloids, are guests on talk shows and are pretty much always recognized for their talents and beauty. However, just like Shakira's hips, the facts don't lie; Shakira is unbelievably awesome, and doesn't get the credit she deserves for it. I mean who ever really knew that she could dance like that? And she really does make a man wants to speak Spanish. If you could do those two things, and don't get the praise you deserve, you definitely deserve a spot in The Underappreciated Celebrity Blog. Having an awesome name usually helps too. After all, Shakira means thankful in Arabic. I like to think the meaning of her name shows not only a twist of irony, but it also displays the humble side of Shakira as well. You see, in actuality we are the ones who are thankful for her hotness, talent, charity work, and most importantly, her awesomeness.