Dammit! What is it with today's teen stars? Just when I think I can prove I'm all grown up and write them off as bubble-gum pop kiddie-fare, they go and do something that makes me realize they're not as lame as I thought. Jennette McCurdy started a side career as a Country & Western singer, and though I like her music, I tend to avoid C&W like the plague. Selena Gomez performed a live cover of The Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way," that sounded pretty good. Yet I'm not into the Backstreet Boys, or any other boy bands for that matter. Phineas & Ferb's Olivia Olson, who we all remember from "Love, Actually," made a decent cover of The Jonas Brothers' "Give Love a Try," on her YouTube channel, and I'm not a fan of the Jonas Brothers either. In the same vein, besides having fascinating supporting female cast members, the main cast of "Big Time Rush" have a known appreciation for some decent music.
And then we have less than a minute of one song for an episode of Austin & Ally performed by Laura Marano, and suddenly I'm craving more. More lyrics in the song, more singing from Miss Marano, more knowledge about who wrote it, and more appreciation for the series.
But enough of my rantings and ravings about the music and entertainment industry. This is about the episode itself. Austin gets an interview on a local non-existent radio station, and Dez makes Ally feel self-conscious about not being given credit for his songs. After the opening theme, we hear Ally finishing off a song called "You Don't See Me," and you can't help but think heaven sent us an angel. That's when he decides he's going to sneak a copy of Ally's song onto the show for his radio interview, and add a few elements of his own, like backing guitar and backup singers(where did he get those girls?). Anyway, when the DJ finally announces Austin's single "A Billion Hits" we end up hearing Ally's opus instead, and he's as blown away as Austin was. So much that he insists that she join Austin in another interview later on in the week! Uh-oh! The brilliant songwriter with chronic stage fright join Miami's teen-pop singing sensation? Good luck with that! After a couple of attempts by her friends to curtail her stage fright fail, Austin decides that because nobody knows what she looks like (or simply forgot from her disastrous appearance on "The Helen Show" from the first episode), Trish can pretend to be her. I'll admit the outcome of their efforts to trick the Miami-Dade Metro Area into thinking Trish is Ally is kind of embarrassing, but as Marlo Thomas once said, they call it situation comedy for a reason.
Not too much can be said about the fact that Miss Marano's character has actually been recognized that hasn't been said before. Sitcoms and other television shows far better than this one have been plagued with inconsistencies in early seasons that have tested audiences and programming directors. Yet it's still Ally's song that makes the episode stand out more than anything else, and it will be remembered long after Season two.
And then we have less than a minute of one song for an episode of Austin & Ally performed by Laura Marano, and suddenly I'm craving more. More lyrics in the song, more singing from Miss Marano, more knowledge about who wrote it, and more appreciation for the series.
But enough of my rantings and ravings about the music and entertainment industry. This is about the episode itself. Austin gets an interview on a local non-existent radio station, and Dez makes Ally feel self-conscious about not being given credit for his songs. After the opening theme, we hear Ally finishing off a song called "You Don't See Me," and you can't help but think heaven sent us an angel. That's when he decides he's going to sneak a copy of Ally's song onto the show for his radio interview, and add a few elements of his own, like backing guitar and backup singers(where did he get those girls?). Anyway, when the DJ finally announces Austin's single "A Billion Hits" we end up hearing Ally's opus instead, and he's as blown away as Austin was. So much that he insists that she join Austin in another interview later on in the week! Uh-oh! The brilliant songwriter with chronic stage fright join Miami's teen-pop singing sensation? Good luck with that! After a couple of attempts by her friends to curtail her stage fright fail, Austin decides that because nobody knows what she looks like (or simply forgot from her disastrous appearance on "The Helen Show" from the first episode), Trish can pretend to be her. I'll admit the outcome of their efforts to trick the Miami-Dade Metro Area into thinking Trish is Ally is kind of embarrassing, but as Marlo Thomas once said, they call it situation comedy for a reason.
Not too much can be said about the fact that Miss Marano's character has actually been recognized that hasn't been said before. Sitcoms and other television shows far better than this one have been plagued with inconsistencies in early seasons that have tested audiences and programming directors. Yet it's still Ally's song that makes the episode stand out more than anything else, and it will be remembered long after Season two.
