Idol Headlines for 02/19/09

Hollywood writers’ union pickets “American Idol”

Carrying signs reading, “‘Idol’ gives back … but not to its workers” and chanting, “Simon, Simon, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!” the writers and their supporters were trying to pressure FremantleMedia North America, “Idol’s” producer, to provide its writers and other workers with standard industry health care and pension benefits.

“We’ve got men and women writing reality and game shows for a lot of very successful companies and not getting the basic protections — pension, health insurance, credits and things — that writers in this town routinely get,” WGAW president Patric Verrone said. “We’re hoping we can achieve that with Fremantle.”By 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, at least 150 red-shirted guild members were marching and chanting in front of CBS Television’s offices on Beverly Boulevard to protest working conditions in the reality and game-show sectors.

Reuters.com

Review of “The Distance” New Album by Taylor Hicks“Woman Gotta Have it” track eleven is the final track on the album. First sung by Bobby Womack, but in my opinion, Taylor’s voice and delivery makes this much better than the original. Hicks does an amazing collaboration with Elliott Yamin. These two soulful sounding men are amazing together and this song will be loved by both Taylor and Elliott fans and will attract new fans.

Associated Content

More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…

Idol Geeks _Chat with MJ and Jim

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m telling, if you watch Rickey TV during the American Idol show, you should stay on for a few minutes and watch à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idol Geeksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  MJ Santilli from MJà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Big Blog, Jim Cantiello from MTVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s American Idol in 60 Minutes / Detox and myself get together and chat for a few minutes about the show we all love.

Rickey

“American Idol” Almost Makes Us Feel Bad For Tatiana

Last night, three people made it through to American Idol’s semifinal roundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ Alexis Grace, Michael Sarver, and Chosen One Of Season Eight Danny Gokey. (Anoop Desai was bested by Sarver by some 20,000 votes; yes, he was robbed, but I’m hoping that narrow margin results in him being a wild-card lock.) The way the show was set up, though, seemed especially cruel to Tatiana Del Toro, who was the last one standing with Gokey at show’s end, despite the worship leader’s path to the semifinals being divined, oh, as soon as Kara DioGuardi screamed about the awesomeness of his mawkish performance of Mariah Carey’s “Hero” on Tuesday night. I’m guessing the producers were hoping for a good old-fashioned Tatiana meltdown, and guess what? They didn’t get one. (Good for her.) Click through for video.

Idolator
‘American Idol’ Axes Nine Of The Top 36

We kick off season eight’s “Idol in 60 Seconds” recaps with Tatiana Del Toro, who’s still crazy … but good! (2.19.09)

MTV

‘American Idol’ recap: Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy

It’s official, everyone! Season 8 of American Idol is going to be nothing short of miraculous. Sick folks will be healed at the end of each and every results show. The economy will get rescued during a special Wall Street-themed edition of ”Idol Gives Back.” Randy Jackson will become articulate and concise before the beginning of April. And we’ll have one person to thank: The Robert Downey Jr. look-alike who, based on a single live performance, has been labeled ”the redeemer” and ”the hero” (of season 8 or the planet, it remains to be seen), has been envisioned playing ”sold-out arenas,” and has been charged by no less a social commentator than Kara DioGuardi with the tall order of ”giving us all hope.”

Entertainment Weekly

Michael Johns and Carly Smithson Return to the Idoldome

On Wednesday night’s elimination show, Season 8 contestants got their first glimpse of the glory that awaits those who make it through these brutal semifinal rounds as they were visited by the two greatest performers in “American Idol” history, Michael Johns and Carly Smithson. One year after they sat among the 24 nervously awaiting their fate, wondering whether ignominy or stardom awaited each night, Michael and Carly returned for the first time to the room where their careers as we know them were born — utterly transformed in that brief whirlwind year since.

We spoke by phone with the pair minutes after they stepped off the Idoldome stage.

LA Times

Phil Stacey blog: Danny, Alexis and Michael sail through

No big surprises tonight. I expected Danny Gokey And Alexis Grace to make it through. I think Anoop Desai outperformed Michael Sarver, but Michael does have the likability factor going on. My wife was rooting for him to make it through. I expect to see Anoop as a wild-card pick. But who knows, maybe Tatiana Del Toro will be brought back. I guess it all depends on what they are looking for this season. But I think it will be Anoop that ends up the wild card this week.

I would also like to say that Ricky Braddy did a fantastic job with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Song for Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  last night. He is a fine example of how this show works. If you donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t get face time, it is hard to win over someoneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s vote. I think most voters already have their minds made up before the performances start.

LA Times

First three singers advance to the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ finals

The first three of the 12 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  season eight finalists were named Wednesday, and for once the judges had nothing to complain about. Their two favorites from Tuesday night made it through, and the third had a feel-good story and was someone Simon Cowell had said deserved a second chance. Of course, that also meant saying goodbye to the drama queen and Anoop Dog, at least for another three weeks until the wild-card round.

MSNBC

‘American Idol’: Seacrest’s couch ‘joke’ among his most awkward moments?

Last night, after Ann Marie Boskovich failed to wow the judges with “Natural Woman” on American Idol, she joined Ryan Seacrest in the Red Room and sat on a particularly uncomfortable portion of the Coke Couch. “Oh, I just sat right on the hard part,” she said. Seacrest giggled. “We can hear everybody’s joke,” he responded, before tossing it to commercial.

Popwatch

‘American Idol’ First-Round Semifinals, Twitter-Style

But who hit it out of the park? Who will be sent packing on Wednesday night’s (February 18) results show? It’s important to know these things. And since we realize you’re busy, we’ve decided once again to sum up all the “Idol” action, Twitter-style. It’s everything you may have missed, all in 140 characters or less. Feel free to Tweet these with your closest pals, because there’s really no better way to sum up the magic of dreams realized à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  or crushed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  than in delicious, micro-bloggy bits.

MTV.com

Idol Worship: Jon Peter Lewis On Jackie Tohn

“Ehhhhhhh… I obviously don’t own the song ‘A Little Less Conversation,’ nor am I even the one who made it famous, but singing it was one of the highlights of my Idol Journey and watching Jackie Tohn perform it brought back a few memories. I don’t think she was terrible, but of course I’m partial to the way I did it. Plus, I’m glad it was her wearing the spandex and not me.”

You can hear more of JPL’s take on season 8 on his new Idol web show, American Nobody. Check it out this weekend at americannobody.com. And who knows, maybe we’ll make a special guest appearance on a future episode.

blogs.com

American Idol Viewers Rate Randy Jackson Number One Among Judges

FLEMINGTON, N.J., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ — A new study conducted among 1,522 American Idol viewers revealed that Randy Jackson ranked number one among the judges based on the judges’ critiques on last night’s show.

After viewing clips of each performance and the judges’ critiques, study participants were asked to evaluate the judges based on scales of likeability, believability, sincerity and fairness.

While Simon Cowell scored low on likeability, he scored significantly higher on believability. Conversely, Paula Abdul scored high on likeability and low on believability. Randy Jackson’s scores were consistently high on all scales, and Kara DioGuardi’s scores were consistently mediocre on all scales.

Yahoo

As ‘Idol’ softens, CBS fights Fox for prime-time dominion

The Tuesday “Idol” was the week’s most-watched program for the week ending Feb. 15, with 24.9 million total viewers, according to figures published today by Nielsen Media Research. The Wednesday edition was just a shade behind, with 24.8 million. However, season to date, “Idol” is down 8% in viewers compared with last year.

CBS’ “The Mentalist,” meanwhile, was the week’s most-watched scripted show and No. 3 overall (19.7 million). CBS had half of the top 10 programs, including “NCIS” (18 million) and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (17.9 million).

LA Times

American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Brent Keith Still Looking for a Road

As Brent Keith made his way out to judges Simon, Paula, Kara and Randy, to try his shot at becoming the next American Idol, I thought he looked rather familiar. As I sat there watching his audition, I tried to figure out where I had seen his face and heard his voice. Then it hit me. This handsome young man had performed on Unplugged at Studio 330 a couple of years ago around the same time CMT released Dale, its movie about legendary racecar driver Dale Earnhardt. Keith sang the theme song, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Looking for a Road.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  But I hadnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t heard anything more from Keith until now.

CMT

Eden Prairie’s own gets Simonized on ‘Idol.’ Ouch

Patty Peterson shifted to the edge of the couch, turned up the volume on the television and blurted: “This is going to be a long two minutes.”

Her eyes were fixed on Casey Carlson, 20, the “American Idol” competitor from Eden Prairie whom Peterson, one of the Twin Cities’ better known pop/jazz singers, has coached for the past four months.

“C’mon girl,” Peterson urged in her Edina living room as Carlson stepped into the spotlight in “Idol’s” Hollywood TV studio Tuesday. But two nerve-wracking nights of watching her student on television would not have a happy ending when audience voting was announced Wednesday.

Star Tribune

Cook goes intimate

Reigning à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  champ David Cook sees himself as someone who really, really lucked out. Cook plays in Green Bay Friday to sold-out crowd.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I get to do what I love to do for a living,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  he said by telephone from Tallahassee, Fla., on the first leg of a 53-city tour. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just a Midwestern kid who got lucky is the best way to describe it. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve always been a kind of hope for the best, expect the worst person, so I always wanted this but the odds as a do-it-yourself musician certainly are against you that youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll ever get to this point. I feel like Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m representing myself but (also) musician buddies who may not have had the opportunity.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

The Northwestern.com

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ worship

David Archuleta is extremely tired. And who can blame him?

After an early-morning flight from his home in Utah to Los Angeles — where he’s calling from Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., West Coast time — the second-place winner from last season’s “American Idol” isn’t initially quite coherent enough to recall why he’s there.

“Something about ‘Hannah Montana,’ I think,” he murmurs. Are you acting on the show, as you recently did on Nickelodeon’s “iCarly”? “I dunno. It’s just another guest appearance thing, I think.”

As the conversation progresses, Archuleta shakes off his sleepiness (he said he had to wake up at 4:30 a.m.), though he’s a little unfocused, breaking midthought to comment on a workers strike taking place outside his hotel window and frequently yawning during his answers.

But even when he isn’t 100 percent centered, Archuleta is sweeter than the majority of 18-year-old boys you’ll encounter, and he frequently punctuates his answers with a disarming giggle.

Times Dispatch

Playboy Teases Rock Fans

In 2007 Playboy held the first ever Rock The Rabbit, an online program dedicated to blending music, fashion and art. RTR is put on to correspond with the magazine’s March music issue, and this year features a variety of rock and hip-hop artists, including A-Trak, Chromeo, Diplo, Dragonette, Eulogies, Harlem Shakes, Jackson Swinton, Jay Reatard, Kenan Bell, Lady Sovereign, MGMT, Michael Johns, Midnight Juggernauts, Motley Crue, Perry Farrell, Pharrell Williams, Q-Tip, Royksopp, Saving Abel, the Kooks, the Gay Blades, the Morning Benders, the Wedding Present, the White Tie Affair and Yelle.

The participating artists will be featured in the March issue, as well as on Rocktherabbit.com. In addition to photo spreads (clothed, we’re assuming) of the artists, each act has been asked to design a new take on the iconic Playboy rabbit symbol, all of which will be featured on the site and available on T-shirts. Artist interviews, mp3s and behind-the-scenes video footage is available at their website.

www.rocktherabbit.com

CMJ.com

Idol Bits: Melinda’s coming, David Cook isn’t

Melinda Doolittle will make two area stops to promote her new “Coming Back to You” CD, part of her tour of Borders around the country. She is set for the Borders at Columbus Circle tomorrow at 7 p.m. and the Borders at Atlas Park in Glendale at 7 p.m. Friday. Doolittle will perform and then sign copies of her CD.

David Cook, on the other hand, doesn’t have any area dates open the public set for his current college tour. (He’s playing Long Island University in Brookville on March 2, but that’s only for students.) The closest he gets is the Borgata in Atlantic City on March 20 and 21. Dix Hills native Ryan Star is Cook’s opening act for all these dates, but he’s also found some time to headline Bowery Ballroom on one of his nights off, on March 17.

Newsday

Justin Guarini talks Bikini Girl and Britney Spears

American Idol is in full swing, but let’s not forget where it all began. I caught up with Justin Guarini, who gave us his lowdown on the current season, bikini girl, and what it takes for an Idol to go the distance after the season ends.

TVS: So some Idols fade away and some à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ like you, for instance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ are still in the public eye years later. What’s the secret?

TV Squad

GREASE Starring Taylor Hicks Comes to Detroit’s Fisher Theatre June 9 – 28

The Fisher Theatre announced today that “American Idol” winner, Taylor Hicks will appear in the first national touring production of the Tony Award nominated Broadway musical GREASETM when it comes to Detroit for a limited engagement

June 9 – 28, 2009. Tickets will go on sale April 5 at the Fisher Theatre box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 1-800-982-2787, and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.broadwayindetroit.com.

Broadwayworld.com

‘Idol’ winner Studdard ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ by any means

Since winning “American Idol” in 2003, Ruben Studdard has been keeping busy. The “Velvet Teddy Bear” is putting the finishing touches on his fourth CD and doing eight performances a week on the national tour for the Fats Waller musical tribute “Ain’t Misbehavin.”

So how is he getting it all done?

“Prayer, that’s pretty much it,” Studdard said in a recent phone interview from the show’s stop in College Station, Texas. “I just have to stay prayered up and do what I’ve been given the opportunity and blessing to do. A lot of people would want to trade shoes with me, especially the about 1 million people who were laid off this week. So I think I can keep singing and dancing.”

Coloradoan.com

Modern musical twist on classic story comes to Waco

Close your eyes, click you shoes and make your way over to the Hippodrome Theatre’s Emerald City for this Saturday’s production of “Oz, the Musical.”

Writer, director and choreographer Todrick D. Hall, 22, has revamped “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum for modern audiences. The production also stars American Idol finalist Diana DeGarmo, 21, as Dorothy.

“It’s the same basic plot,” Hall said. “There is a girl named Dorothy, but instead of her being an innocent little girl, she is a rebellious teenager. She causes problems just like a typical teenager and she just wants to get away. She learns more than anything else that there really is no place like home and she comes back to her family in the end.”

Baylor.edu

Kellie Pickler Takes Manhattan

What would Loretta do? Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what I always ask myself when I see couture fashion seeping into the lives of country artists. Loretta Lynn has always prided herself on overdressing for concerts, but I wonder what sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d have to say about Kellie Picklerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s recent jaunt to New York for Fashion Week. Pickler is pictured at countless fashion shows, designer booths and hanging out in Bryant Park in about a dozen different outfits. A red pea coat, a white pea coat, a Roaring à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢20s fringe shift (and oh, my God, are those false eyelashes on her bottom lashes?), a fuchsia tiered dress, a glistening navy one-shoulder cocktail dress, a beaded gown, a low cut red party dress, a sailor-inspired strapless number and so so so many more. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a nice change of pace to see Pickler all dolled up, but I hope she sticks to jeans and T-shirts on tour.

CMT

Maroulis, Spanger and Carpinello to Star in Broadway’s Rock of Ages

Complete casting has been announced for the upcoming Broadway production of Rock of Ages, which will begin previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre March 17.

Following an acclaimed run at Off-Broadway’s New World Stages, the eighties-scored musical will officially open on Broadway April 7.

The cast will be headed by “American Idol” finalist Constantine Maroulis (The Wedding Singer), who will reprise the role of Drew that he performed Off-Broadway. He will be joined for the Broadway run by Amy Spanger (The Wedding Singer; Kiss Me, Kate) as Sherrie and James Carpinello (Saturday Night Fever, VH1′s “So NoTORIous”) as Stacee Jaxx.

Playbill

Dancing with the Stars Partner Photos

Season eight of DWTS kicks off with a two-hour premiere on Monday, March 9 on ABC and we have official partner pictures of each of this seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 12 contestants in costume.

Pop Crunch