Spin.com

Yes, Hanson are still around. And on Friday night at New York City’s Gramercy Theater, as they debuted their new album Shout It Out (out June 8) live, the Tulsa, OK, brothers showed what keeps them — and their fans — ticking 13 years after “MMMBop” stormed the world’s pop charts: Love. Lots of it.

The 130-minute show (the last in a sold-out five-night run, in which Hanson played each of their albums track-by-track) was a warm, fuzzy pop-rock bear hug — and it brought together a whole bunch of folks: live video was streamed in over 93 countries; the venue was packed with young girls and their boyfriends and/or parents (some of whom waved flags from their native countries, including Germany and Australia); the band’s extended family and even a group of nuns showed up, too. That’s right: Jesus’ right-hand gals, dressed in black tunics, singing and dancing along.

Indeed, Hanson are nice, nice boys. In fact, the most offensive part about the concert was when singer/pianist Taylor Hanson stopped to thank the band’s “badass” tour crew.

The show was all happy, happy, joy, joy — and the music was its embodiment.

When Taylor (the 27-year-old all-American dreamboat, in a red ranch-hand shirt, blue jeans, and black bandana), guitarist Isaac Hanson (the 29-year-old dapper one, in a suit, vest, and red tie), and Zac Hanson (the 24-year-old cute younger bro behind the drums) walked onstage, the crowd’s screams hit a I’ve-never-heard-anything-this-loud-at-any-show-in-my-entire-life level. But they quickly silenced as Taylor began pounding out the choogling piano of Shout It Out opener “Waiting for This,” flinging his boyish blonde hair, side-stepping, and flashing his wide smile to the ecstatic girls upfront, instructing them to “Shout it out, shout it out!!!”

Hanson was joined by a five-piece horn section, all dressed in black Blues Brothers suits, and a bass player and guitarist/percussionists in the shadows. Their addition helped flesh out Shout It Out highlights like the disco-inflected jam “And I Waited,” the big band blast “Make It Out a Live,” and “Thinkin’ ‘Bout Somethin’,” a hyper-upbeat Michael Jackson-esque groove with a slick guitar solo from Isaac.

As a whole Shout it Out’s sound can be linear and formulaic, but Hanson’s energy, charm, and pure joy onstage maintained the momentum. On “Carry You There” the 10-piece band built a gospel-style sing-along, with the nuns clapping in the rafters and crowd stomping the floor. The scene could have been mistaken for a wild Young Life rally.

Even the slow ballads were uplifting: On “Me Myself and I” the Hanson bros sang three-part melodies to tell a story of overcoming obstacles and holding their heads high.

The best track, though, was Shout It Out’s second single, “Give a Little” — and it sounded even better the second time.

“We didn’t do so good on a couple songs, so we’re going to redo them,” Zac explained, following a brief encore of non-Shout tracks like a cover of the Blues Brothers’ “Shake It” and Three Dog Night’s “Never Been to Spain.” “This is the first time we’ve played most of these songs from the new album.”

Like most the Shout tracks, “Give a Little” was instantly catchy, but it was the most accessible of the bunch. It opened with a snappy electric guitar riff before the band exploded into a rhythmic groove of tambourines and maracas, a slashing rhythms guitar, and lead saxophone. “Put your hand on my hips / Wrap your arms around her body / Let your body lose control,” sang Taylor.

“Oh my God! This is exactly how all their babies are made,” exclaimed one fan, referring to the seven children the Hanson brothers (who are all married) have between them. And if that was too risqué, Hanson then closed out the show with a family-friendly, PG moment: by singing their mom (who was sitting in the crowd with Pop Hanson) a spirited “Happy Birthday.”

nj.com

Here’s a mid-afternoon surprise on the Sony Bloggie stage. Once and future teen idols Hanson have drawn a gigantic crowd and are tearing it up, to genuine audience enthusiasm. They’ve brought along a full horn section, and the still charismatic and supple-voiced Taylor Hanson is rocking — and I mean really rocking — a white piano. The relaxed Maroon 5-like pop-soul is so completely different from anything else heard today that people can’t help but stop and take notice. Lesson in case we need a reminder: Never count out talent.

Cnet AU

Don’t worry, the strains of MmmBop haven’t come back to haunt you. Hanson has a new song and the band’s creative director, Paul Lawson, has done something clever that will interest photographers and film-makers alike.

The video has been shot on the Canon EOS 7D using Nikon AI (Automatic Indexing) lenses from the 1980’s. The older lenses were used to mimic the look of vintage film.

As uncool as you might think the band is, you have to admit that the video is pretty impressive — especially if you’re a digital SLR film-maker and noticed the lack of aliasing and other dSLR issues. Plus, it pays the ultimate homage to The Blues Brothers. Make sure you check out who makes a cameo on tambourine.

nytimes.com

HANSON (Friday) Although it once commanded a Jonas Brothers-esque power over wheezing teenage girls (the drummer Zac Hanson was only 12 when the group’s jingly “MmmBop” topped charts around the world), Hanson has evolved into a nuanced and largely respected musical outfit, embraced by members of the jam-band circuit. Hanson is wrapping up a string of shows in which the brothers have been playing past albums in their entirety and will close the week with a performance of their forthcoming record, “Shout It Out” (3CG). At 7 p.m., Gramercy Theater, 127 East 23rd Street, Manhattan , (800) 745-3000, livenation.com; sold out. (Petrusich)

Canada.com

Yes, America got it wrong. Again.

Yes, Siobhan Magnus deserved better than a Top 5 finish on a year most Idol followers admit has an It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing note to it.

And, yes, the Idol judges’ comments don’t mean spit when taking the Justin Bieber/Aaron Kelly factor into consideration.

Even so, it was disconcerting – pun intended – to see the Marston Mills, Mass., 20-year-old with mad vocal ability go the way of Tim Urban and Andrew Garcia, especially as Magnus’s punky cover Tuesday of Shania Twain’s Any Man of Mine drew begrudging praise from Idol’s resident curmudgeon (the one with the English accent, as if you have to guess).

Interestingly, Idol chat rooms and online fan forums were cooler to Magnus’s glory-note-fuelled take on Any Man of Mine, with many fans picking up on the inconsistency. “The last note was amazing,” one fan posted on Brian Mansfield’s Idol Chatter blog at USAtoday.com, “especially because the second- to-last note was a disaster.”

Magnus’s exit Wednesday was emotional but not mawkish, as Randy Jackson told her – straight up, dawg – not to be discouraged, to stay true to herself and that she has an amazing career ahead of her.

“Give Simon a hug,” Ryan Seacrest goaded Magnus. “He’s going to miss you. ”

This, after Cowell had said in recent weeks that he had more-or-less given up on her, for her wacky mannerisms, bizarre song choices and freaky stage presence.

“I AM going to miss you,” Cowell said.

When first introduced to Idol fans, Magnus hinted at things to come on her official Idol bio.

First music purchased: “When I was in the first grade, the first tape that was mine was the MMMBop single by Hanson. I still adore them wholeheartedly. I am the biggest Hanson fan. I’ve seen them four times. I cried every time.”

Theme night she thought she’d most enjoy: “Maybe a jazz theme or big-band.”

The theme she thought she’d be most anxious about: “Country. I’ve never really done that. I think I could do it if I had to, but it’s not my favourite. ”

Words of prophecy, as it turned out.

Ironically, the song she most wanted to perform, but couldn’t, because she didn’t think it would be a good fit: “I thought about doing My Way by Frank Sinatra, because it’s my grandfather’s favourite song. I just feel it’s a song Simon would say, `That was indulgent,’ because it’s a song you’re supposed to sing when you’re an accomplished performer.”

That’s ironic, because next week’s theme is . . . Frank Sinatra, with guest mentor, Harry Connick, Jr.

Yes, America got it wrong. Again.

astrachan@canwest.com

blog: www.canada.com/TV guy

NYMag.com

Brothers Isaac, Taylor, and Zac are dads now, still selling out shows in New York, and more or less comfortable with their massively successful juvenilia.

On a violently windy afternoon in Tribeca, the all-grown-up brothers Hanson—Isaac, 29; Taylor, 27; and Zac, 24—are inside the Odeon, debating how déclassé sliders are. “Tay, did you see these?” Zac asks with a laugh. “Sliiiders,” Taylor says, perplexed. “Don’t sliders just sound kind of … gross?” he ventures. “Like some sort of, like, white-trash barbecue thing, right? We kind of grew up around that, a little bit. We’ve got some redneck past … ” “Hicks!” Zac declares. “My wife’s from Alabama, and they have rednecks—we have hicks in Oklahoma. She explained this to me.”

It’s been thirteen years since the brothers from Tulsa MMMBopped their way to a fame they’re both grateful for and trying to live down. “We’ve definitely spent the last decade somewhat living a double life,” Taylor says between bites of croque monsieur. “And this is true of the absurdity of being lucky enough to succeed early: So many people know you almost more as a pop-culture reference, and it’s a blessing and a curse. When Will Ferrell is on Saturday Night Live mocking your song and it’s funny, it means people know what the reference is, which is a compliment … But there’s something about first impressions.”

They spent the last week playing five sold-out gigs at the Gramercy Theater, and have a new record, Shout It Out, out next month.

The band just released the video for the single “Thinking ’Bout Somethin’ ”; it’s a candy-colored, hip-shaking homage to fifties and sixties pop, complete with a dance routine in the streets of Tulsa based on a Blues Brothers scene, with a cameo from their friend Weird Al Yankovic. It required surmounting some old fears. “We never danced,” Taylor explains, because they didn’t want to be considered like the “boy bands.” “But the idea of the dancing here is, whether you can dance or not, you can do this,” Isaac adds. Zac pauses in a rare moment of reverie. “You can’t just sit there going, ‘This suuuucks, this suuucks,’ ” he muses. “The best way to motivate people to incredible feats is to excite and inspire them … ” To dance in the streets? “Exactly! What better way to help save someone’s life halfway around the world than to go dance in the streets with 500 of your friends?”

Chalk that up to maturity. Surprisingly, the brothers know the city: Back in 2004, when they were first starting their record label, they lived in a loft nearby on Church Street. “We feel like we earned our stripes surviving a New York winter,” Taylor recalls. “There was a 30- or 40-year blizzard or something!” Zac exclaims. “Literally, we had to stay inside for a week,” Taylor says. “We thought we’d make a fire, but then you’d have to walk five blocks carrying firewood, and by the time you got home your fingers were like the size of a sausage.”

Nonetheless, Taylor and his wife, Natalie, who’s at lunch with us, are considering moving back. (The brothers are all married with children: Taylor has four.) “I found a great school in Brooklyn!” she declares. “Our kids go to an immersion school. Right now one’s doing only Spanish, another’s doing only French. And the Brooklyn International School, they have the same program. Dan Zanes is on the board, so it can’t be bad!”

The boys discuss their precious little time away from each other. “I’m hard-core about video games, and I have another hard-core activity that I can’t talk about in public,” Zac says with a smirk. “He doesn’t want to lose his anonymity,” Taylor explains with an eye roll. “It’s this extreme sport, and it’s really growing but it has a really small community … ” “It’s curling, Zac! Just tell her!” Taylor says.

“Taylor’s the corrupting one,” Isaac says. “He’s the uncle we’ll have to worry about giving the kids, like, Heinekens.” “It’s good to lift your tolerance early,” Taylor jokes. “By the time they’re 18 they’ll be drinking us under the table.” “If I’m with my brothers, I’m drinking whiskey and smoking a pipe,” Isaac says. “It’s my wife’s fault, too.”

“Old Man Hanson,” Taylor says, sighing.

Los Angeles Times

It’s barely been 12 hours since her elimination, but Siobhan Magnus is already getting offers from her own idols! Taylor Hanson, one-third of the band Hanson (above), whom Siobhan cites as one of her all-time favorites — she has a lyric from Hanson’s “The Great Divide” tattooed on her left wrist — says he and his brothers Zac and Isaac would gladly welcome Siobhan to their stage. Like, tomorrow.

“We have two more nights of shows in New York,” he tells Siobhan via Idol Tracker. “It may be across the country, but there is a guest spot onstage for you if you want to get on a plane.” (Tonight they perform their 2007 album, “The Walk,” at the Gramercy Theatre; on Friday, they return with songs from their new album, “Shout It Out.”)

Siobhanhands

Like many of us Siobhan supporters, Taylor says he was “really bummed for her” when he heard about the elimination Wednesday night, but wanted to offer his words of encouragement to the girl who said that she saw Hanson at the Cape Cod Melody Tent at age 14 and that it was “one of the best experiences” of her life.
“First of all, she has already reached so many people — me, for instance — who were impressed by her presence and talent,” he says. “‘American Idol’ is an incredible opportunity for anyone, but for someone with style, conviction and passion for their craft, like Siobhan has, it’s just an impressive statistic on what will be a long resume. There are no stories of great artists that consist solely of the phrase ‘And then they won.’ Great artists will reach people.”

Taylor says that even Hanson, which sold more than 10 million albums in its 15-year career, was “turned down by every record label in the business before we got signed by the one that turned us down three times.”

And proving that passion and persistence can pay off, the band is enjoying a renaissance of sorts as their latest video, “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’,” an homage to “The Blues Brothers” featuring a cameo by Weird Al Yankovic, has racked up nearly a million views. Check it out below and we’ll keep you updated on any potential collaborations (hint, hint, “Idol” finale booker).