Playlist

One more thought about last night's Nashville Star episode: Coffey, from Bangs, Texas, did Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's "It's Your Love." Well, almost. Apparently he gets all emotional every time he hears that song. During rehearsals he couldn't get through it once without crying, he said on the show. You should have given it the old college try, Coffey. Onstage his already unwieldy vibrato sounded out of control as he fought to finish the tune. It was painful to hear. Emotions during a song are great. They prove the artist is human, like they are living the lyrics. But when you keep telling us you're going to break down and then you do, you come off contrived. Like you planned this all along.

But hey, the judges loved him for it. So go figure!

Photo: Coffey (Courtesy of nbc.com).

Is soul losing its color or just letting in some light? Check out Mario's look at the phenomenon of white soul-singing women — Amy, Joss, even older acts like Dusty Springfield and Annie Lennox — and our slideshow of some the women from his story.

(AP photo: Amy Winehouse at the Rock in Rio music fest near Madrid on July 4)

For those of us who came of age listening to Jackson Browne, word of a new album is pretty exciting. And this time, it won't be a solo acoustic live album, like the last two. Mr. Browne's 17th album will be released Sept. 23, but it marks the first time his own label (Inside Recordings) has featured a Jackson Browne studio album, presumably with his full and very able band backing him up. His last album for long-time label Elektra was The Very Best of Jackson Browne, a compilation released in 2004. His last album of new material for Elektra was The Naked Ride Home, released in 2002. Since then, he has recorded Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1 and Solo Acoustic, Vol. 2 for Inside Recordings, the label he founded. He was, of course, part of the original stable of artists on Asylum Records, which was co-founded by the legendary David Geffen in 1971. Mr. Browne then moved on to Elektra, which merged the Asylum artists into its own portfolio. In its heyday, the Asylum lineup was nothing short of amazing. In addition to Mr. Browne, other name acts included the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits and Warren Zevon, and these were all young performers when Asylum began recording them. Mr. Browne's new record is titled Time the Conqueror. So, does the title have anything to do with the fact that he turns 60 later this year?

Photo: Cover art of Jackson Browne's new album, due out Sept. 23

The first thing I noticed was the crowd. Not the one in the seats, mind you, the one on the stage. Lil Wayne brought a cast of, well, about a hundred, to play Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie on Saturday night and cement his status as newly minted hip-hop king.

You can do this, as we were constantly reminded by DJs introducing the various acts, when you've sold a million-plus CDs in the first week of release of Tha Carter III. You can do this, as we were reminded again, when you've proclaimed yourself as the "greatest rapper alive," and no one (except a silent majority) is arguing.

Welcome to the rock-star world, Lil Wayne. Ready for your close-up?

(Lil Wayne at the BET Awards on June 24. Photo by Hector Mata/The Associated Press)