Tonight, The Top 15 girls appear before the American Idol judges. Only 10 will sing for your votes and a spot in the Top 13. Also, we find out which guy–Ben Briley or Neco Starr earned the most votes for a spot as the 30th semi-finalists. The Top 15 guys get their turn tomorrow night. 8/7c pm FOX
‘American Idol’ sings for its supper this week – American Idol has a lot to accomplish this week. Not only will it reduce a field of 31 singers to 13 during a three-episode run that starts Tuesday (Fox, 8 p.m. ET/PT), it also needs to make a strong case to keep viewers when NBC’s The Voice begins its spring season next week. – Read more at USA Today
‘Idol’ winner Candice Glover to be given ‘Inspiration Award’ at educational foundation fundraiser – “American Idol” winner and St. Helena Island native Candice Glover will be given the Inspiration Award at an upcoming fundraising gala. The Foundation for Educational Excellence, which gives grants to Beaufort County teachers for classroom projects, will give Glover the award at their annual Jewels and Jeans fundraiser March 1. “Candice’s story is rooted in the belief that one should never give up on one’s dreams,” the foundation said in a news release. “Last year’s show was her third attempt at (‘American Idol’). Candice is an inspiration for all and especially the students of our Beaufort County schools.” – Read more at Island Packet.com
CRS Starts Today – Ready. Set. GO!!! Country Radio Seminar opens today (Tues., Feb. 18) with a bang. (Schedule includes appearances from Carrie Underwood (who will receive a Humanitarian Award on Wednesday), Scotty McCreery and Cassadee Pope – See the schedule HERE.
Late father continues to inspire ‘American Idol’ singer – Whether on national TV, at church or in school, Marrialle Sellars makes music for the same reason. The Indianapolis 18-year-old and Top 30 “American Idol” competitor sings to honor her late father, Frederic Sellars. On “Idol,” one of the biggest platforms for unknown singers trying to become known, Marrialle told Fox network cameras, “I’m auditioning for ‘American Idol’ because I’ve got something to prove to myself and to make my dad proud.” Frederic launched Marrialle’s journey to “Idol” when she and sister Zena, now 17, were preteens singing at area nursing homes and homeless shelters. – Read more at Indystar.com
‘Idol’ contestant puts emotion from brother’s death into music – A figure in two stories that have received national attention – as a musician getting recognition on American Idol and as a grieving brother trying to find answers in his older brother’s mysterious death – Savion Wright, 21, is a tall young man with a luminous smile, a friendly manner and unmistakable star quality. When he sings and plays, the music seems to flow from him effortlessly, and there’s a sense of inevitability –this is what he was put on earth to do. Just as his career was gaining momentum, the news of his brother’s disappearance and death rocked his equilibrium. – Read more at Beaumont Enterprise
13 ‘American Idol’ Season 13 Contestants Who Inexplicably Disappeared – “American Idol” actually won an Emmy for Best Editing in Season 7, but don’t expect even a nomination in that category for Season 13, a season that so far has been packed with continuity fails. Since the season debuted last month, we’ve witnessed one awesome audition after another — only to never see or hear from those contestants ever again, or at least not get any definitive answers as to why those contestants were cut in Hollywood Week. – Read more at Yahoo.com
‘American Idol’ Winner Candice Glover Drops ‘Music Speaks’ – “I think everyone is going to compare that one to [The Cure’s] ‘Lovesong’ a little bit because it’s that slow, dark thing at the beginning,” she told The Hollywood Reporter of her memorable cover while competing last season. “And then the beat comes in. I really like that one.” “The recording process with people who have been in the business for a really long time was kind of intimidating at first,” she said of recording her debut. “I didn’t know how to act or what to do, and I was in the studio messing up and singing off-key because I was nervous…After a while, I kind of warmed up to it and I thought it was a lot of fun.” – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
In The Digital Era, Hit Songs Aren’t Everything – Last year, American Idol winner Phillip Phillips released the song “Gone, Gone, Gone” from his debut album The World from the Side of the Moon. The song went to #1 on the Adult Alternative and Adult Contemporary charts and peaked at #24 on Billboard’s pop song chart, the Hot 100. For Gregg Wattenberg, one of three credited co-writers of “Gone, Gone, Gone,” the song’s chart performance was of particular interest because it translated indirectly into cash. “U.S.-only hit songs — when I say ‘hit’ I mean like top five, not like No. 20 — can generate anywhere from one to two million dollars in ASCAP monies,” Wattenberg says. – Listen to the Report at NPR
Crisco, Aiken take questions at meeting in Asheboro – Aiken said he is running because he is frustrated with politicians who seem to court voters only to abandon them when they get to Washington. He said he has always been interested in politics and he believes he can engage more people to get involved in the 2014 general election. Crisco joked, as a long-time member of the community, he needed to try hard to come up with something new to tell the audience about himself. He reminded the audience of his rural upbringing that took him from Aquadale to Harvard and eventually the nation’s capital as a Washington Fellow. He said, as a moderate, he is best qualified to serve. – Read more at Courier Tribune.com
Jill Scott Talks ‘The Voice,’ James Brown Biopic and New Album – Given her background as a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and spoken word artist plus various theater credits (including a Canadian tour of Broadway musical “Rent”), Scott felt she could truly “be of service” during her “Voice” stint. “It’s a show I watch and enjoy because singers are really being given an opportunity to sing,” she explains. “It’s not all about the look or the visual. It’s really about the tone of the voice, the passion that lives inside of it.” – Read more at Billboard
EXCLUSIVE: Hangin with Fifth Harmony
