Pop America

Come To Church, Win A Free iPhone

CORAL SPRINGS, FL (POP America)  --  In yet another sign that our culture has gone iCrazy, churches are now hopping on the iBandwagon. 

Church By The Glades in Coral Springs, Florida has launched a series of iThemed services designed to get people in the door.  Pastor David Hughes came up with the iDea, which runs over the next few weekends. 

First-time visitors to the Baptist church will be eligible to win a $15 iTunes gift card simply by filling out a "connection card."  One lucky visitor today even took home a brand new iPhone.

Hughes admits that his gadget gimmick is a way to bribe people to attend church.  He says he can't tell people about the message of Jesus Christ without getting them in the door first.

It's not the first time Hughes has used gimmicks to boost attendance.  In January, the church bought a billboard on the highway with the head-turning message..."The Bare Naked Truth on Sex." 

In the past 8 years, the church has grown from 500 members to more than 2500 members.

Clay Aiken...Bringing Sexy Back

(POP America) -- Fair warning.  If you refer to yourself as a "ClayMate," you probably shouldn't read this story.  And whatever you do, don't watch the video clips!

In a recent interview with the "Houston Chronicle," former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken paid a compliment to Justin Timberlake.  Aiken called JT "extremely talented." 

While Clay, who is finishing a summer symphony tour, is “not a huge fan of” Timberlake’s latest album FutureSex/LoveSounds, he says, “I’m actually going to do — God help me for saying this — with [the orchestra], a little bit of SexyBack. We’re going to do a little medley of songs that people wouldn’t expect to hear with an orchestra. I know that it’s not going to be cool. I have no problem making fun of myself. I could never pull songs like that off without knowing where my place is, and it’s not as Justin Timberlake. Thank God we have him. I’m happy to be the person who gets the old ladies covered.”

So if Clay can laugh at himself, why can't we join in?  These videos were captured by "ClayMates" during a recent concert in New Jersey. 

Don't Get All Shook Up. Elvis Is Still Alive!

(POP America)  --  Some people are gonna get all shook up over this.  Including the thousands who have been passing by the grave of Elvis Presley at Graceland over the past few days.  But they, and everybody else who thought The King died 30 years ago, have been duped! 

It seems the 72-year-old entertainer never checked into the great Heartbreak Hotel in the sky.  Instead, he's shopping at Costco and eating at a lot of fast food restaurants. 

Plenty of suspicious minds have been posting sightings of Big E on the Internet.  The Elvis Sighting Bulletin Board is the authority on the subject and has hundreds of pages devoted to the topic.  Here's one of the latest from Cherry Fereday in Doris, California.  She writes that she was in the Klamath Falls Costco waiting in line to purchase a Nathan's hot dog.  All of a sudden, she heard a customer behind her singing "Love Me Tender."  She turned around, and lo and behold, there he was.  She writes: "I turned around to compliment him on his singing voice and that's when I realized it was The King. I was too nervous to say anything so I waited for him by the condiment table. As Elvis was adding mustard and relish to his dog, I asked him for his autograph. He gladly obliged and even gave me his cell phone number."

Postings range from funny and bizarre to downright sincere.  Thousands of people around the world really believe they've had a personal encounter with The King.  And there's even data to back that up.  According to a recent CBS poll, seven-percent of people living in the U.S. believe that Elvis is still alive.  Many theorize he was working undercover with drug patrol agents in the 70's and was given a new identity so he could live anonymously. 

Those who run the Elvis Sighting Bulletin Board say they're performing a public service by posting the messages.  On their home page, they explain the postings are important so the public won't be "alarmed" when they spot The King at their local supermarket or "skinny dipping in the neighbor's pool."  For that, we have to say, thank you...thank you very much.

Maya Azucena: Genuine, Spirited Music

(POP America)  --  Genuine, spirited music.  That's what you get from the first chord played on Maya Azucena's latest CD "Junkyard Jewel." .  Her free-flowing songs fuse together elements of folk, spoken word and gospel music to produce a truly unique sound.  There's not a bad, synthesized note on the whole album and it deserves a listen by anyone who loves good, unhyped music.

Here's a live performance of her song "Warriors."

Preview Maya's latest album "Junkyard Jewel" at CD Baby.com