One thing I would suggest before drawing a conclusion on Orianthi is to listen to her first CD "Violet Journey". It's nothing at all like the stuff from her second and "third" CDs, "Believe" and "Believe II". The "Believe II" CD is actually a re-release of "Believe" with a few more songs and by what my ear is telling me a couple of the original songs were re-recorded or re-engineered.
Most everything you see on YouTube, the radio and TV appearances are stuff from the "Believe" CDs.
Even though I'm sort of an old fart my tastes in music is pretty open, liking stuff from the Big Band era and maybe earlier all the way up to today's new young talent. No matter where my current tastes are going I always have a favorite musician or band. Since the first time I heard "Surfing With The Alien" over 20 years ago, Joe Satriani has held that fav spot without waiver. That was until the very first time I threw Orianthi's first CD "Violet Journey" in the deck. She instantly bumped Joe into my #2 fav spot.
I was really looking forward to the release of "Believe" but was actually sort of disappointed. It's like they took a real new a fresh talent and tried to capitalize on the Micheal Jackson tie-in. The first time I heard the new CD, it just sounded over produced with all the songs having an obvious commercial air play sound to them. Mostly fast paced and sort of frantic sounding at times.
Her first one "Violet Journey" is a completely different animal. Without grabbing the CD off the shelf behind me so that I'm 101% accurate, it boils down to the first CD is all hers. She wrote all the songs, plays all of the instruments and does all the vocals and recorded it herself in her studio. There are as I recall only two backup musicians on the entire CD. Her sister does backup vocals on one or two songs and there is a backup drummer on one or two songs.
The musics on "VJ" is great non-commercial sounding blues, rock, sort of jazzy and I can hear bits and pieces of several of my old time favorite guitarist in her style on different songs. "VJ" without a doubt in my own mind and taste is the best new CD I've heard in years and its already 3 years old. It's one of those that I can leave in the player and forget that I need to change it. Her newer "Believe/BelieveII" CD is one that I like but after it plays through once or twice, I'll pull it and put something else in.
Although I do like Avril Lavigne enough that I wouldn't mind seeing her in concert, I would never think about putting the two ladies in the same class of talent.
I'm really interested to see how they manipulate Orianthi's career and whether or not she gets to really show her talent as a muscian like she did on "VJ".
I was sort of irritated at the last "American Idol" ( Mamasox fan here
) season ending show. They had all the old rockers doing numbers with the Idols and making a big deal of introducing them as they came out. The opening number was Alice Cooper doing "Schools Out". The young lady standing between the judges and the audience, kicking the living daylights out of the guitar on that number was Orianthi and they never mentioned her name.
Orianthi is coming to town here in a couple of months. The only problem I'm having with the concert is that she's the opening act for Adam Lambert. "Aaaahhhhhhh!"
FAC
the whole time watching her play. 
