Faux fights and other à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ clichà ©s

Intentionally awful auditions

Talent competitions and bad auditions go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idol,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  bad just isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t bad enough anymore. Sure, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  viewers have seen loads of would-be singers overestimate their talent and warble their way through à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Unchained Melody,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  but the camera loves someone whoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s willing to take awful to the next level. Enter the intentionally bad hams of show. They know they canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t carry a tune, but thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not going to stop them from a shot at gruesome televised glory. And why should it? Season threeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s William Hung translated his ear-splitting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“She Bangsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  audition into a three-record deal.

MSNBC

More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…

Can Fox’s ‘American Idol’ do it again?

The question each January, as Fox readies the premiere of its mega-hit reality show à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idol,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is whether à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢sà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  hold on viewers will finally begin to soften.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been the No. 1 show among adults 18-49 a record five straight seasons, the most since demographic ratings were introduced 20 years ago, pushing Fox to first place in the demo the past four years.

Yet signs of softening are there.

For the second straight year, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  declined among adults 18-49, with its Tuesday edition slipping 9 percent, from an 11.7 rating to a 10.7, and its Wednesday edition falling 14 percent, from a 12.0 to a 10.3.

Media Life

5 Weirdest “Idol” Top 12ers

By now, you should be loose and limber for Tuesday’s big American Idol kickoff, which we’ll celebrate right here with our award-winning live Pop Life Idol Chat & Spring Cotillion. In recent days, we’ve tackled the 5 Worst Idol Top 12ers and the 5 Best. We’ve called each other names; we’ve bonded over misplaced aggression and Constantine Maroulis’ come-hither sneer.

And now, because I didn’t have anywhere else to put my incandescent favorite Idol contestant of all time, my surly scream-queen with Elsa Lanchester’s ‘do, I present to you the 5 Weirdest Idol Top 12ers:

Tampabay.com

It’s baaack! ‘American Idol’ kicks off Tuesday on Fox/Ch. 13

Didn’t “American Idol” just end? Didn’t we just ride a huge wave of David Archuleta-mania that crested when the Utah teen finished No. 2 on America’s No. 1 TV show?

Well, it has been almost eight months. And we’re getting set to do it all over again.

And, crazy as it sounds, the odds of having another Utahn make the finals are actually higher than they were a year ago because more Utahns auditioned. Which comes as no surprise given that “American Idol” brought its auditions to Salt Lake City last summer.

Deseret News

1/12: Kara DioGuardi song list, Fantasia gets house back

Kara DioGuardi has a vast array of hits under her belt as a songwriter. Hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a sampling of her work. I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t embed videos yet so I have to do the good olà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ link thing:

AJC.com

‘TELL ME TO MY FACE’

IT took a few weeks for Kara DioGuardi to find her rhythm as the new judge on “American Idol” – especially when it came to dealing with Simon Cowell.

“Simon would say, ‘Oh she’s talking too much, she’s this, she’s that,’ so I had to pull back a bit at first,” DioGuardi, 38, told The Post.

“I kept thinking, these people are very successful, and they’re a big part of making the show such a huge success. I didn’t want to upset them and I didn’t want to come in and upset the balance of the show to the point where it breaks up the magic, but at the same time, I had to figure out a way to be myself.

NY Post

American Idol Experience Attraction Tour

The American Idol Experience Attraction is currently in cast member previews at Disneyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Hollywood Studios and no photos are allowed. That means ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s very difficult to get pictures of the theater and set design. I hear the design looks just like the real thing from the popular TV version of American Idol.

But over the last few weeks, I have been able to walk around and get some great shots that give you a great idea of what youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re going to experience when you do get to see the show.

Up above you see the Marquee for the attraction. It features a giant screen that will be used to broadcast the shows when the theater fills up. It will probably do that frequently as the theater capacity is not that big for a show of this magnitude.

The Disney Blog

David Cook Talks About The American Idol Experience

WDWNewstoday

American Idol Finalist Sings Hawaii’s Praises

With “American Idol” about to launch a new season, the timing couldn’t be better for Season 3 finalist and “Maui girl” Camile Velasco to get on the bus — in this case, Marriott’s Spirit of Aloha tour bus. She will be their headliner promoting Hawaii on a 25-day West Coast tour, starting tomorrow (Jan. 12) in San Diego.

Velasco, whose debut album “Koy” is due out in March 2009, also has had island airplay of her single “Guava Jelly” with Stephen Marley, released in October (click on her MySpace page for samples.) Along with representatives of Marriott Resorts Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines and the Polynesian Cultural Center, she’ll be making a number of public and media appearances during the bus tour; check her MySpace page for the day-by-day locations and times. (And if you haven’t seen Velasco since her emotionally shaky exit on “AI,” you should know she’s calmed her nerves — and her curls — and finessed her urban contemporary sound.)

SFGate.com

Grease: The True High School Musical

Other reality show veterans pull up the hype-slack. Taylor Hicks, winner of “American Idol” season five plays the crooning Teen Angel complete with his trademark microphone and harmonica. Hicks injects exciting star power and unique vocal style into an otherwise conventional production. It would have been nice if Hicks could have performed without the microphone, as it sometimes made it hard to understand his words (assuming you don’t already have them memorized).

Broadway World

Kelly Clarkson Talks Radio One

Kelly Clarkson (in Nanette Lepore) signs some autographs for fans after being interviewed by UKà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Radio One in London on Sunday (January 11).

As the 26-year-old original American Idol champ said, sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s in town to do some promo work for her new album, All I Ever Wanted.

Just Jared

‘IDOL’ SETTLES

CHARLOTTE, NC – Attor neys for Fantasia Barrino agreed over the weekend to settle a debt with a Florida creditor to prevent the “American Idol” star’s $1.3 million home from being auctioned off today.

“Assuming the promised payments all get paid as indicated, we will be satisfied,” said Larry Goldman, the lawyer representing creditor Broward Energy Partners. “I didn’t want to take her house.”

The 24-year-old singer owes the Florida company $65,000 – money she borrowed in 2006 to pay back taxes she owed the IRS.

NY Post

Idol Chartwatch, January 12: Idols Drop on Billboard Charts

With nothing much new on the charts this week and slumping post-holiday sales, all the Idol albums took a dive on the Billboard charts this week. Read on for more.

Foxes On Idol

Life after à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  is back this week. With a new season comes new faces, voices and a few changes.

But fear not fans and thwarted contestants. Win or lose, thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s life after à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idol.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Just ask Season 2 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  veterans Ruben Studdard, Frenchie Davis and Trenyce Cobbins. Studdard won the second season of the super-popular reality show in 2003. Davis was disqualified the same season following a controversy, but has made a career in theater and performed in Broadwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Rent.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Cobbins, known on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  as Trenyce, was in the final five that season.

Now the trio have reunited on stage and are starring in Tuesdayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s production of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t Misbehavinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  at the Givens Performing Arts Center on the campus of UNC-Pembroke. They are part of a five-person cast with Studdard playing the ebullient Fats Waller.

Fay Observer

As Lythgoe Presents Superstars, He Admits, “I Miss Idol”

Nigel Lythgoe knows reality competition shows. As an executive producer of both American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, the U.K. native has helped spur dreams of stardom worldwide. The producer’s latest baby, Superstars of Dance, (Mondays, 8 pm/ET, NBC), has joined the performance show playing field with a global spin on the genre.

TVGuide.com

ETA:

American Idol 8 kicks off with new judge in lineup

Local TV channel Quality Television (Q-11) expects to score huge ratings numbers once more when it airs the much-anticipated eighth season of the popular talent show American Idol starting tomorrow (Jan. 14).

Simon Cowell

Q-11, a subsidiary of listed GMA Network, Inc., gained a strong audience following after it got the rights to broadcast American Idol in the Philippines last year. Before Q-11 took over, the former Associated Broadcasting Co. (ABC-5) had been airing the program on local free TV since 2004.

Q-11 will broadcast the show via satellite starting with a four-hour, two-part season premiere tomorrow night and the following night (Jan. 15) at 6 p.m. The channel will then broadcast American Idol every Wednesday and Thursday night at 6 p.m. with encore telecasts the same night at 8 p.m., and on Saturdays at 5 p.m., until a new singing champion is declared on May.

Bworldonline

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m a straight shooter,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ new à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ judge promises

When Kara DioGuardi’s dream of rock stardom didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t materialize, she switched gears and became a songwriter, rising to the top to become a go-to tunesmith for music superstars ranging from Celine Dion to Pink. DioGuardi believes her struggles and successes will earn her artistic empathy among contestants and critics alike as she joins the ranks of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  as the hit talent showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fourth judge.

DioGuardi, 38, joins the familiar trio of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson when the show begins its eighth season Tuesday night on the FOX network. Appearing live on TODAY Monday, the New Rochelle, N.Y., native told Matt Lauer she will only prick the balloon of an aspiring singerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s dreams if it is warranted.

MSNBC