Hernandez & Cabello Fight For a Spot in “The X Factor” Top Four

They’re the last Latinas standing on The X Factor… And Ally Brooke Hernandez and Camila Cabello are fighting for their place in the Top Four.

During Wednesday’s live performances on Fox’s reality singing competition, Hernandez and Cabello’s all-girl group FifthHarmony performed two songs in their quest to garner enough of America’s votes to stay in the competition.

FifthHarmony

In the first round, the ladies performed Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” as selected by their mentor Simon Cowell. The performance didn’t seem to impress the judges.

“I still didn’t hear any harmony. You should be named Fifth Unison,” said L.A. Reid, referring to his claim that the group doesn’t harmonize. Britney Spears agreed, saying she’s still “trying to figure out what separates you from the other girl groups.”

Meanwhile, Demi Lovato, hating on Cowell all season-long, said, “I feel like there’s a couple of you that should just be solo artists.”

For their second performance, in what was dubbed the Pepsi Challenge, the contestants were instructed by their Twitter fans on everything from staging, to hair, to wardrobe and song choice.

So what did America pick for Hernandez, Cabello and the girls to sing? Lovato’s hit single “Give Your Heart a Break,” her first No. 1 single on the Billboard charts.

The selection, which included the perfect pair of nerd glasses for Hernandez, allowed FifthHarmony to finish their night with a bullet. Not only did they demonstrate their ability to harmonize, they also showcased their awesome voices.

Reid seemed to be in shock with their performance, as he finally heard harmonies, while Spears declared “That was your very, very best performance,” said Spears “A friend of mine sings this song good, and so do you.”

Lovato thoroughly enjoyed hearing her own song, and said, “I think this song should have been your song. You sing it better than the original. It was energetic, fun. Simon did a good job this week.”

Vázquez Sounds Releases Cover of The Beatles’ “Let It Be”

Following successful covers of music by Adele, Mariah Carey and more,  Vázquez Sounds is back with the band-of-siblings’ fifth cover…

This time 10-year-old lead singer Angie Vázquez and her teenage brothers Abelardo and Gustavo—who play the keyboard, guitar and drums—have just released the video of the band’s version of The Beatles’ “Let It Be.”

Vazquez Sounds

In the black and white video, the Mexican siblings—who became instant internet sensations with their cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”—offer a simple-but-impactful take on the popular Beatles tune.

In addition, the Mexicali siblings have been invited by John Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono to join former RBD singer Anahi as ambassadors of peace her The Non Violence Project. As part of their responsibilities, the trio will promote the message of peace at its concerts and presentations.

Meanwhile, Vázquez Sounds’ cover of “Let It Be” will be available on iTunes on Tuesday, June 19.

Third Time’s a Charm For Vázquez Sounds…

Vázquez Sounds continues its quest for global stardom with the release of the latest video by the Mexican band of siblings…

Following the success of the band’s videos for their cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep and re-do of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas,” 10-year-old lead singer Angie Vázquez and her teenage brothers Abelardo and Gustavo—who play the keyboard, guitar and drums—have just released their latest video.

Vazquez Sounds "Forget You"

The Baja California, Mexico siblings, who managed to land on Billboard’s Social 50 chart, tackled Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You” this time around.

And, the YouTube sensations have even managed to create a high-quality video that shows them in the studio, biking and skateboarding along Venice Beach, and playing games and more on the Santa Monica Pier.

The “Forget You” video has already managed to notch nearly 1.4 million views on YouTube in about 24 hours. So, it looks like Vázquez Sounds’ popularity hasn’t waned one bit!

Meantime, the group has signed a recording contract with Sony Music Mexico and has made their covers available for download on iTunes. And, they’ve even appear on Good Morning America, CNN and more.

Nava Named One of EW’s Top Music-Video Directors

He’s the man behind some of the most memorable music videos in recent years, including Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”… And, now Jake Nava is getting some due-recognition for helming some of this year’s greatest clips.

Jake Nava

The British-born music video and film director has been named to Entertainment Weekly’s list of this year’s Top 10 Music-Video Directors.

Nava directed two clips that were miles apart from each other in terms of content, but were both truly inspired: the bracing, surprising and bold clip for Kanye West’s “Monster” and the oh-so-somber video for Adele’s “Someone Like You.”

Nava has also been responsible for some of the greatest videos in recent years, only adding to a impressive resume that dates back to the early ’90s, and includes work for everyone from System of a Down to the Spice Girls. While you may not know his name, you most certainly know his work with the likes of Britney Spears, Shakira and more.

Vázquez Sounds Debuts on Billboard’s Social 50 Chart

Vázquez Sounds’ popularity seems to be growing in the United States…

The Mexican siblings—who’ve become YouTube sensations for their impressive covers of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas”—have landed on No. 17 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart.

Vazquez Sounds

It marks the second-highest debut ever on the chart since it launched a year ago. Only Rebecca Black, who rose to fame with the music video for her single “Friday,” bowed higher – at No. 9.

The chart’s rankings are determined by activity monitored on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and iLike, using a formula that blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays.

Vázquez Sounds, comprising of 10-year-old Angie, 13-year-old Gustavo and 15-year-old Abelardo, has already signed a recording contract with Sony Music Mexico and have made their covers already available for download on iTunes.

The trio’s “Rolling in the Deep” clip has racked up more than 18 million views since the siblings posted it online on November 10, while the group’s cover of Carey’s Christmas song has notched 7 million views. And, Vázquez Sounds currently has the top two selling songs in the iTunes Mexico Store

Vázquez Sounds Releases “All I Want For Christmas” Video…

They’ve been “Rolling in the Deep” after their oh-so-impressive cover of Adele’s hit song… And now Vázquez Sounds is getting into the holiday spirit by tackling a Mariah Carey classic…

Vazquez Sounds All I Want For Christmas Cover

The talented trio of siblings—consisting 10-year-old Angie Vázquez on lead vocals, 13-year-old Gustavo on drums and 15-year-old Abelardo on guitar—have released a brand-new video of the group’s cover of Mariah’s “All I Want For Christmas” on YouTube.

The Vazquez’, who shot the Christmas-themed video themselves over the weekend, edited the clip in two days to get it online right away! In just two days, the video—featuring all three of the Baja California, Mexico siblings—has already notched more than one million views.

And you can expect more from Vázquez Sounds in the very near future…

The trio, who recently announced they’d landed a recording deal with Sony Music, could be releasing an album this month.

“Sony is thinking about releasing an album this month with the Christmas song, the Adele cover and a remix of that song that has a more clubby vibe and possibly an instrumental version that people can sing,” says the children’s father Abelardo Vázquez, a music producer.

Right now, Vázquez Sounds has no plans to perform publically, but the band would think twice if Adele asked them to share the stage with her. After all, the children do hope to meet her one day.

But for now, Angie and her brothers plan to spend the holidays with their family and maintain a normal life as they begin to practice and prepare for their next chapter.

Rivera’s a “Survivor” on Glee…

It’s hard to believe Naya Rivera started her stint on Glee as a background actor/singer… She’s now one of the show’s brightest stars!

Naya Rivera Glee

The 24-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress has not only conquered Adele’s music and breathed new life into the role of West Side Story’s Anita, but now she’s taking on Beyonce and Gloria Gaynor in one fierce mash-up on Fox’s hit musical dramedy!

During next week’s episode, Rivera’s character Santana Lopez, who could soon be singing alongside Gloria Estefan, and her all-girl glee club The Troubletones perform a mix of two iconic anthems—Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”—as they gun for a big win at Sectionals.

There’s no denying Rivera, Amber Riley and the rest of the divalicious ladies give a rousing performance that could give them a win over their fellow McKinley High glee club, New Directions.

Don’t miss the Sectionals episode of Glee next Tuesday, December 6 at 8:00 pm ET/PT on Fox.

Miguel: This Year’s Best New Artist at the Soul Train Awards

Miguel only released his debut single, “All I Want Is You,” last November… But that’s all the time the critically acclaimed crooner has needed to take the music world by storm and start reaping the rewards.

During the 40th anniversary taping of the Soul Train Awards at Atlanta’s historic Fox Theater this Thursday, the 25-year-old half-Mexican R&B singer/songwriter was named the 2011 Best New Artist. He beat out some of the industry’s biggest rising stars, including part-Latino doo wop singer Bruno Mars and soulstress Marsha Ambrosius, to take home the coveted award.

miguel

Miguel, who received three nominations for this year’s Soul Train Awards, lost the Best Male R&B/Soul Artist award to Cee Lo Green. But he’s still in the running for the Song of the Year award for his insta-classic “Sure Thing.” The song is facing off against Kelly Rowland & Lil’ Wayne’s “Motivation,” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Chris Brown’s  “She Ain’t You,” Kayne West’s “All of the Lights” and Jill Scott and Anthony Hamilton’s “So In Love.”

Along with picking up the Best New Artist award, Miguel performed his latest single “Girls Like U.”

Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer at Atlanta’s historic Fox Theatre, the show included special tribute performances to Gladys Knight, Earth, Wind & Fire and the late Heavy D.

Here’s a look at the only four awards (from 11 categories) that were doled out during taping:

Best New Artist
Miguel

Best Male R&B/Soul Artist
Cee Lo Green

Best Female R&B/Soul Artist
Jill Scott

Record of the Year (The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award)
“Far Away” – Marsha Ambrosius

The 2011 Soul Train Awards will be broadcast on BET and CENTRIC on Sunday, November 27 at 9:00 pm Eastern.

Rolling in the Deep with Angie Vazquez & Her Brothers

Linkin Park, John Legend and Nicole Scherzinger may have covered “Rolling in the Deep” in the last year… But a band of Mexican siblings may have them beat when it comes to taking YouTube by storm with their version of Adele’s epic hit…

Rolling in the Deep with Vazquez Sounds, Rising YouTube Stars...

Angie Vázquez and her brothers call themselves Vázquez Sounds and they’re rolling in the deep when it comes to popularity on YouTube, notching 132,000-plus views of their cover of this year’s smash hit in less than a week.  Not bad for a 10-year-old singer and her instrument-playing brothers.

The amazing-voiced Angie is the lead vocalist; her 13-year-old brother Gustavo plays the drums; and her 15-year-old brother Abelardo plays the guitar.

Their father, Abelardo Vázquez, is a music producer who played a role in the development of the popular groups Reik and Nikki Clan. But he never imagined developing his own version of The Jets!

“They asked me for permission to use the studio. I recorded them and one of them edited the video. And they’re very surprised with the response they’ve gotten,” says Vázquez, who lives in Baja California, Mexico with the family. “It’s not a formal musical project, it was a spontaneous occurrence that has now become a reality.  First I’d like them to finish their studies and then they can think about something formal. With the response of this video they want to record another and they’ve asked to use the studio again. I support them.”

Here’s hoping Ellen Degeneres brings them on her show— just like she has other young YouTube sensations like Maria Aragon— to help launch their music careers!

Click here to visit the Vázquez Sounds Facebook page.