"Ralphie Tonight" With Ralphie Aversa

A band is only going as far as its lead singer can take it. In the case of Train, that explains the seemingly non-stop run that the trio has been on since 2009. Front man Pat Monahan is one of the most durable singers in the business; known for performing two acoustic showcases and a full band live set in a day’s work. But as Monahan found out last week, he is still human. “I had to get on this steroid,” revealed Monahan of medical treatment he received after he essentially burned out during a stretch of holiday show performances. “I’ve never had to do before. I’ve heard about other singers doing it but, I just was incapable of singing.” Not wanting to cancel on Train’s fans, the physical ailment didn’t stop Monahan from trying. But once the singer lost his voice mid-show in Tennessee, he knew that it was time to seek help. “I’m in the league of, the more I use (my voice), the better it gets,” he explained. “It’s more like practice than it is singing incorrectly.” Monahan has used his voice quite a bit as of recent, and not just for performing in arenas. In addition to a hectic year-end schedule that included a guest spot during the Miss Universe Competition, a music video shoot for “Mermaid” and a collaboration with the “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition,” Train recently stopped by Sandy-ravaged Sea Bright, NJ. The band performed for storm victims at the local fire hall to raise awareness and funds for the recovery efforts. Footage of the show will be broadcasted Christmas Day on VH1. “Before what happened in Connecticut, (Sandy) was the one, profound heartbreaking event in my life,” Monahan said. “Sea Bright was closed down. You couldn’t even get in. There were places that were on the beach that are now behind buildings. There’s not one business that works currently. Many people don’t have homes. Everything is bad there.” It seems the benefit show affected Monahan positively, as he hinted at possibly lending a helping hand (or voice) to Newtown, Conn. in 2013. “My pursuit is not to make more and more money,” Monahan said. “It’s to make a difference in somebody’s life.” Monahan continued, citing the letters he received from people who were moved by “Hey, Soul Sister.” “I don’t know how to write about these events and make people feel better, but man I have to do something,” he said. “I certainly would like it to be better for people.”

In this week's edition of "Trend Hungry Tuesday" - Resident Fashionista Jessie Holeva talks about a weather-friendly trend for this time of year, faux fur accessories.Visit Trend Hungry to find the latest fashion 411 on a skinny budget, and catch Jessie every Tuesday evening on "The Ralphie Show."

Life & Style Weekly reports that Harry Styles sent Taylor Swift cake for her birthday! Senior Reporter Laura Lane also talked about the recent dates that Katy Perry and John Mayer went on in the tri-state area.

Despite selling tens of millions of singles and albums worldwide, the band Lifehouse wasn’t afraid to switch things up for its latest LP. “I think our biggest thing on this album was we just wanted to come up with some fresh sounds,” noted lead singer Jesse Wade during an in-studio visit to “The Ralphie Show” on 95.5 PLJ. “We were kind of tired of doing the same thing: two guitars, bass, drums, double vocal and the chorus.” So Lifehouse began experimenting, and ended up with Almeria. The current musical landscape finds all genres of music kind of blurring together. While Wade thinks that helps, he still felt it was difficult for the band to jump out of the sound that it is most known for. “I think humans are inherently resistant to change,” he said. “You have your super fans that want you to sound exactly like the first two records ‘cause it’s like, that moment in time that kind of reached them.” With tools like Facebook and Twitter, where bands and fans can interact on constant basis, it has been easier to hear feedback on the new material. Not all of the reviews are positive. “We have a couple haters for the first time,” Wade admitted, as the rest of the band laughed. “I guess it’s better that people either love it or hate it.” The album title is taken from a small town in Spain where a lot of old, Western, movies were filmed, including the Clint Eastwood classic, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” However, no empty chairs were involved in the recording process.

Ryan Follese and Nash Overstreet recently paid a visit to New York City, and the trip could yield what Hot Chelle Rae fans have been looking for since the fall. “We’re having some meetings, and going to the label, and making some rounds and actually really narrowing down what it is that we’re going to be putting out in the early part of next year,” Follese said in studio on “The Ralphie Show.” “(The fans) want it, and we want to give it to them.” Hot Chelle Rae spent the latter part of the year touring internationally. The band’s last U.S. trek was in support of Demi Lovato. How eager are fans to hear new music? Once HCR released the Verizon-sponsored cover of “Jingle Bell Rock,” some fans took to Twitter to request it on local radio stations. Others actually e-mailed the MP3 to DJs. “As far as Christmas songs go, we’re super picky, and that’s one of the only songs we felt worked as a band,” Follese noted. “It’s something we could do and Nash could really play guitar on.” The lead singer said Hot Chelle Rae is shooting to release the new single at the end of January on RCA Records.

In this week's edition of "Trend Hungry Tuesday" - Resident Fashionista Jessie Holeva talks about 2013's new trendy color, emerald green.Visit Trend Hungry to find the latest fashion 411 on a skinny budget, and catch Jessie every Tuesday evening on "The Ralphie Show."

My, oh my, the time has flown by. The Backstreet Boys are preparing an album to commemorate its twentieth anniversary next year. Before hitting the big 2-0 though, the guys thought it’d be a good idea to finally release a Christmas song – the first in its 19 year history. If the nostalgia hasn’t peaked yet, once-bad boy A.J. McLean is now a father. “She is an absolute dream,” McLean said of his daughter, born Ava Jaymes McLean on November 27. “She only cries here and there, she sleeps most of the time, and her poop is hardly even there as of now. I’ve probably changed 50 diapers, and I love it.” The new duties haven’t seemed to weigh McLean down, literally or figuratively, as the Backstreet Boys promote its new single, “It’s Christmas Time Again.” “We’ve tried to have Christmas albums, but never seemed to find the time,” explained McLean. “We were either on tour, or we were working on a brand new Backstreet record, or we were taking down time for the holidays usually.” A.J. said the single not only fills the holiday music void for the band, but also gives its fans something to have until the new BSB single drops next year, the first for an album that will commemorate the group’s 1993 formation. “As soon as I’m off with you guys, I will be heading off to the studio to meet up with the fellas,” said McLean. “We’re actually in the studio for the rest of this week, and then the first couple days of next week.” After a short break, it’s off to New York, where the Backstreet Boys will perform on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” It’s 19 years later, and the quintet is still doing media as if they’re from One Direction. “We’ve had a couple of chances to meet both One Direction and The Wanted,” recalled McLean. BSB performed on the same bill with the latter boy band at the Summer MixTape Festival in Hershey, PA earlier this year. “They’re awesome guys. We just tell them the same thing, like, ‘Listen, you guys stay on the path that you’re on. You’re all humble, humble guys. Just don’t ever forget that it’s because of your fans and because of the music that you have the success that you have.” McLean’s other piece of advice to the guys: enjoy it, because it could be gone tomorrow. If you’re wondering, that is how a pop act sticks around long enough in this day and age to celebrate a twentieth anniversary.

Life & Style Weekly reports that Prince William and his wife, Dutchess Kate Middleton, could be expecting twins! Senior News Editor Jordi Lippe also chatted about Gwen Stefani's marriage to Gavin Rossdale and the latest oni "Haylor" - One Direction's Harry Styles and Taylor Swift.

It has now reached the point where One Direction’s popularity is greater in the U.S. than in England. If the sold out concerts, number one album, and mobs of fans following the boys’ every move doesn’t point to this – perhaps the media’s coverage of Harry Styles’ relationship with Taylor Swift does. “It’s all good. We get it,” explained Liam Payne during a phone interview to “The Ralphie Show” regarding Harry’s sudden popularity in the press. “We know how it works.” Styles’ new-found attention is the cause of a little joking amongst the boys though.“Every so often,” Payne said. “He gets a little nudge and we try to rib at him for some things.” It’s easy for the band to joke about such things after the past year. In March, One Direction released Up All Night in the States. It debuted at number one. Last month, the boy band’s follow-up LP, Take Me Home also topped the charts in its first week. 1D played sold out amphitheaters all summer and will return to play sold out arenas in 2013.The result is an empire expected to grow to a $100 million business by the end of next year. Oh, and legions of fans who follow them everywhere. “It’s difficult to move around, because there’s already loads of people,” explained Payne of the band’s attempts, sometimes failed, to travel in Manhattan. “I got out of the car the other day from driving to the hotel. I was followed by two bikes, a guy with a video camera, fans… we were just going to the shops to buy myself something for the show. It’s so crazy to think, you know, you’re in New York, the place you dreamed about coming to since you were a little kid, and not only are you in New York but you’re being followed by loads of people.” The “loads of people” aren’t just for them exclusively. Even the band’s parents can cause a scene in public. “I think they were down at some point. That was probably them causing a bit of a riot,” noted Payne of an incident Monday at “1D World” – a pop-up shop outside of Madison Square Garden. NYPD were on the scene after a mob formed when Payne’s parents decided to visit the store. The Payne’s were not with their son. “My dad’s more famous than me,” he joked. Of course, there was already a lot of buzz outside of The World’s Most Famous Arena on Monday without Payne’s family there. One Direction would play a sold-out MSG that night, some what of a victory lap for the past year of success. “The show couldn’t have gone anymore perfect,” said Payne. “I mean, we were well-nervous before we went out but… we couldn’t ask for more really.” With two number one albums and two sold out tours in one year – what more could there be to ask for anyways?

It isn’t just you. Musicians are migrating away from New York City to Los Angeles, Nashville, and other areas populated by more like-minded artists and canvassed with sunnier skies. “New York has a lot of different industries. Even though the square-mileage is more concentrated, the industry is spread out as far as per capita goes here,” explained New York resident Gavin DeGraw. The “Not Over You” singer bought a spot in Nashville about a year and a half ago. “I still get my kicks here in New York.” That said, DeGraw seems to enjoy the community of peers he has found down south. “You can’t help but have anything you’re exposed to influence you,” DeGraw said of the move’s impact on his music. “I’m not sitting around consciously writing country songs. I think that a lot of times, that’s the perception with Nashville.” Certainly there isn’t a need for DeGraw to change his music or the process behind creating it. The singer’s latest album, Sweeter, cracked the top 10 on its release; his second LP to accomplish this. Its lead single, “Not Over You,” went platinum. The album and tour cycle spawned Sweeter Live, a LP and DVD of DeGraw’s performance in Lancaster, CA this summer while on the road with Colbie Caillat. “You get some of the banter that an artist has with the audience and some of that rapport that they develop,” notes DeGraw of the live album, which hit stores this week. “A lot of times those are my favorite elements of a show; those moments when you’re getting to relate with the audience, not just with the song, but in the stories between songs.” That gives you a window not just in to DeGraw the performer, but DeGraw the person. Joking about holiday parties while talking about an upcoming performance for 95.5 PLJ, the singer noted social media and electronics’ hindrance on human interaction. “We’re getting to the point where everybody is so consumed with documenting each moment that they’re in, that they’re failing to socialize properly,” he said. “We need to have sort of a forced socialization.”

In this week's edition of "Trend Hungry Tuesday" - Resident Fashionista Jessie Holeva talks about a seasonal trend, ugly holiday sweaters.Visit Trend Hungry to find the latest fashion 411 on a skinny budget, and catch Jessie every Tuesday evening on "The Ralphie Show."

It would be easy to mistake Carly Rae Jepsen as another innocent pop starlet, with infectious hits like “Call Me Maybe” and “Good Time.” But before you anoint her a “goodie two-shoes,” think about this: while she may look and sound much younger, she just turned 27 on November 21. Plus, have you listened to her next single from Kiss, called “This Kiss”? It is a far from guiltless. “It’s a little naughty, I’m not going to lie,” Jepsen said of the track when we sat down last week. “It’s a temptation, but I think everyone can relate to it in certain moments of their life and it was just sort of fun to write a song that was a little bit playful and a little bit bad.” The track basically take you through the thought process of a girl that has a boyfriend but doesn’t want to miss out on kissing another guy – despite the fact that he is also taken. What makes the whole scenario even more interesting, in my opinion, is the fact that Jepsen co-wrote the song with RedFoo of LMFAO and her current boyfriend, Matthew Koma. Scandalous premonitions aside, 2012 has treated Jepsen quite nicely. As the singer’s tour with Justin Bieber winds down, she continues to receive prestigious awards and invitations. The British Columbia-born artist performed at both the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup, and was honored with the 2012 Billboard Rising Star Award. Jepsen graces the January 2013 cover of Cosmopolitan. “I was sitting there looking at all of the clothes and being like, ‘Do I get to wear those pretty things?’” she recalled. “It’s sort of crazy to see yourself on (the cover).” But again, classifying the Canadian as a teen pop star is patently false and simply awkward when you look at the Cosmo cover. A tussle-haired Jepsen is placed in between bold type promising tips on both “epic sex” and “rebound sex.” Suddenly, the fact that we just met and you want me to call you maybe became even crazier.

Life & Style Weekly reports that Selena Gomez has issued a set of rules on her relationship with Justin Bieber. Senior News Editor Jordi Lippe also chatted about Madonna's apartment that is for sale and Lindsay Lohan's troubles.

Kelly Clarkson recently told The Associated Press that the only pop artist that has ever said "yes" to collaborating with her is Chris Daughtry. When asked about this on “The Ralphie Show,” the singer revealed two of her failed attempts. “Either Bruno Mars or Lil Wayne, I had different songs for both of them,” Clarkson said in an interview that aired Thursday night on 95.5 PLJ’s “The Ralphie Show.” “It was just kind of a cool, random thing.” Clarkson has no hard feelings for either artist as both were in the midst of touring at the time. The original “Idol” winner admitted that the road schedule for pop music stars is the biggest reason why she hasn’t been able to link up with any. “So I know a lot of people are busy,” she said. “But, everyone can’t be busy right?” The singer has better luck linking up with country artists; she duets with Vince Gill on her new Greatest Hits: Chapter 1 album. “When the (record) label brought (the idea of the compilation) up to me, I was like, ‘Seriously? I’m not over,’” Clarkson recalled. “Usually, like a ‘Greatest Hits’ would be like someone older that’s like, ‘And this is what we’re doing because we can’t do anything else.’” Clarkson’s perspective on the project is what prompted the “Chapter 1” in the album title. “The past decade is going to be so different from the next decade for me,” Clarkson also said. “Your 20’s are just so difficult, and like very much a roller coaster ride. There’s some awesome things in there, but there’s also some like, ‘Oh God, please let me get to my 30’s.’” The artist won “American Idol” when she was 20, and spent the next 10 years selling over 25 million albums across the world. The success came with its downfalls: a relatively public feud with RCA Records head Clive Davis and an empty search for love. As the 30 year-old Clarkson looks ahead, both seem to be in the rear-view mirror. The singer is currently dating Brandon Blackstock, her manager’s son and Reba McEntire's stepson. “We have a new house together, so it’s our first Christmas together, like in the new house, and we’re pretty excited,” said Clarkson. “We’re trying to do some first Christmas traditions.” As for a possible engagement, Clarkson told Ellen DeGeneres that she and Blackstock “were totally going to get married.” In hindsight, she admitted to me that the fleeting moment of gushing about her beau led to a bit of embarrassment. “I had such a girl moment!” Clarkson said, also noting that she didn’t think that she would be talking about her personal life on the show. “It’s awesome to be the youngest in my family and everyone’s married with children, and I’m like the black sheep that travels the world alone.”

Neon Trees lead singer Tyler Glenn enjoyed the “Glee” cover of “Everybody Talks,” but it wasn’t his favorite. “I liked the ‘Animal’ version better,” Glenn admitted in an interview on “The Ralphie Show.” “But its fun… we’re never going to stop someone from covering our music.” Guitarist Chris Allen disagreed – favoring the latest performance to the previous. Drummer Elaine Bradley is just happy that the band’s music is still featured on the hit TV show. “We want to be gracious,” she explained. “It’s flattering that they covered it.” Neon Trees will be able to play its own tracks live for fans next year, when the band supports Maroon 5 on tour. “Adam (Levine) and (James Valentine) saw us play a couple years ago… one of the Christmas shows, in Buffalo,” recalled Glenn. “Adam made a comment that we really reached for it and we just didn’t like play live and were boring so I think he liked that.” Owl City will also join the bands for 31 dates. The trek begins in mid-February and runs through early April.