Evans has appeared in Vegas as the opening act for such stars as
Jay Leno and Joan Rivers, belting out his own renditions of
standards like Ain't That A Kick In The Head and Singing In The
Rain. His latest album also includes a cover of Van Halen's 1984
hit Jump, set to a 65-piece big-band orchestra.
"It's not as if searching my name brought you to Britney
Spears," said the easy-listening Canadian. Instead, the site was
listing his direct competitors, he said. "If you don't want to
carry my titles, fine, but don't then use my name to bring people
to my competition."
If he had used Amazon.com's name to bring traffic to his own web
site, "they'd hang me," said the singer who, in his formative
years, sang commercials for McDonald's and Twix and appeared in the
pilot episode for the TV show Beverly Hills 90210.
Evans had reached a settlement with Amazon.com; but he
resurrected his case at a Nevada district court, claiming that the
company reneged on the deal. And according to Evans, the court has
granted the singer's motion for a finding of default without
hearing any opposition by Amazon.com after the company failed to
answer the lawsuit.
"This is about standing up for yourself, and not letting huge
companies with massive egos dictate the rules," said Evans, who
believes that his victory sends a message that even conglomerates
will be held accountable.
Evans said this week that he cannot discuss the settlement
agreement that was breached without breaching its terms himself.
But he also anticipates reprisals from Amazon.com.
"I fully expect their attack dogs to come after me, but that's
life and I'm not afraid of them," he said. "As soon as I sued them
they started threatening me. We'll do this, we'll do that. This
mentality that they'll crucify me if I dare stand up to them
doesn't mean squat to me. Bring it on."
In fact, at the time of writing, the retailer stocks his 1999
album, Las Vegas Special Edition ($17.99). It also stocks his
autobiography, Dreamer ($5.99).
