Idol Headlines for 03/10/09

By On 03/10/2009 · 78 Comments · In Uncategorized

‘American Idol’: Now it gets serious as the finals begin

With 13 finalists, one of several changes at least partly meant to spur interest in the long-running show, Idol apparently will have to eliminate two during one week. The particulars will be announced tonight. Executive producer Ken Warwick also promises another surprise tonight or during Wednesday’s elimination show (9 p.m. ET/PT), on which Kelly Clarkson and Kanye West will perform.

USA Today

‘Idolatry’: Who’s your season 8 fave? And who’s suddenly loving Paula?

I hope everyone is limbering up their speed-dialing fingers RIGHT THIS SECOND, because we’re about 24 hours away from the very first episode of American Idol’s eighth season finals, after which you can vote for whatever contestant rocked Michael Jackson night the hardest! (And the whole world has to text or else call, just to tell you once again: Who’s bad?!?!) I am shocked to report that I got a sudden surge of the internal squealies as I typed that last sentence, despite the fact that none of this season’s top 13 contestants has yet to turn me into a megafan. (Allison Iraheta, you’ve come the closest. Do not disappoint me and choose something atroshe like “Ben” or “Heal the World.”)

Popwatch

More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…

After so much fluff, the main course

They’re just bringing out the entree for the annual American Idol contest tonight, with the 13 finalists competing head-to-head for the first time. And already it seems like the longest Idol season ever.

It’s not just that Fox squeezed every last advertising dollar out of the preliminary rounds, padding them so badly they resembled a playground full of kids in snowsuits.

There’s also the superfluous addition of a fourth judge: the curiously one-note Kara DioGuardi. The judges’ comments now take longer than the performances. And with the exception of Simon Cowell, they’re all saying the same thing anyway, in their own annoying idiom.

Philadelphia Inquirer

‘American Idol’: Our Advice for the Top 13

From Scott’s retro charm to Alexis’ Aretha obsession, we eye the strengths and weaknesses of the 2009 season’s contenders — and suggest some songs we’d love to hear ‘em try

Entertainment Weekly

Spoiler Chat:

Tiffany in Connecticut: Are we going to see major makeovers with the American Idol contestants now that we’re in the top 13?
Yes. In fact, American Idol stylist Miles Siggins tells us that there will be “two major makeovers.” Anoop Desai and Michael Sarver. “You should’ve seen how long it took us to persuade Anoop to wear that Polo shirt last Thursday,” Miles tells us. “It was very adventurous for him. And Michael needs some help too. I’m going to help them look the best they can.” Oil rigger Michael tells us he’s up for the challenge: “I’ve been shopping a lot lately and trying to take my style more seriously. I was never a shopper before.” Meanwhile, Idol makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy has some big plans in store for rocker Adam Lambert: “My goal is to tone Adam’s makeup down. Instead of people paying attention to his song, they’re like, ‘Oh my God. He has so much bronzer on.’ I’m going to help him with that.” Yay for Wet Wipes!

E! Online

Former Idols Advise the Top 13

As the top 13 compete for the first time tonight, Us enlisted finalists from seasons past to handicap the competition and tell Us what the newbies are in for this year.

JIM VERRAROS, season 1 (2002)
“I’m rooting for Adam Lambert all the way! If he doesn’t make it to at least the top five, there is something seriously wrong with America!”

DIANA DEGARMO, season 3 (2004)
“Scott MacIntyre’s story is incredible, but Adam is a theater actor, like me, [who's] showing that he can truly cross over to the pop genre. I respect that so much.”US

USA Today

‘American Idol’ needs to open the closet door

Adam Lambert isn’t the first contestant to have a back story that doesn’t fit perfectly inside the homogenous whole the show tries to present.

This week, the lucky 13 contestants in the latest top tier of “American Idol” begin the serious phase of competition with a dip into Michael Jackson’s songbook. Jackson, who just has returned from isolation to announce a series of comeback shows, is the single biggest influence on the young R&B stars that many “Idol” strivers emulate, but he’s also the ideal subject for what’s turning out to be a rather strange season.

LA Times

Another stage for American Idols–the iPhone

If you can’t get enough of “American Idol,” the producers behind the hit celebrity-making reality show are giving fans from the rabid to shyly closeted an official app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The release of the $1.99 app, called (verbosely) American Idol Season 8 Exclusive Videos, is opportune, just in time for the season’s final 13 contestants to really battle it out as more Idols get axed.

Each week, the app will stream exclusive videos, many of them confessional, that take you deeper into the contestants’ worlds–for instance, what inspires them and what makes them tick. The “Idol” app may center around the 78 videos airing on just the iPhone by the season’s end, but it also includes the same daily newsfeed and blog post you can find online, a handy section on the singers’ biographies, and links to the iTunes music store, where you can directly buy the tracks performed by your favorite up-and-comers.

Cnet.com

Jasper residents proud to be in national spotlight with Michael Sarver’s Idol dreams

A decade ago, the town of Jasper became synonymous with hate and racism as news media across the nation reported the tragic story of James Byrd Jr.’s dragging death.

Today, news organizations give Jasper air-time and print space once again. This time around, residents hope Michael Sarver’s bid to become the next “American Idol” can somehow show the nation that Jasper is as humble and friendly as Sarver shows himself to be on television.

“This is Jasper, Texas, and for 10 years there has been a cloud over our city …” Sarver said during a brief visit home three weeks ago. “This is more than about Michael Sarver. It’s about Jasper, Texas, and a city that has more to give the world than hate.”

Beaumont Enterprise

“Idol” gets Latino flavor with Puerto Rican Nunez

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “American Idol” is going to be hearing a lot more Spanish this season.

Puerto Rican college student Jorge Nunez, who divided the judges over his heavy accent, won congratulations from Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez after singing his way through to the coveted Top 12 of Fox’s top-rated talent show.

Encouraged by the superstar music couple, Nunez said he hoped to sing a few verses in his native language in future rounds of the competition, saying “my voice sounds best when I am singing in Spanish.”

KTAK Radio

You heard it here: Hometown hero Gokey will win on ‘Idol’

At the risk of being labeled a homer, here’s a prediction that Milwaukee’s own Danny Gokey will win the eighth season of Fox’s “American Idol.”

If you haven’t been following “Idol,” Gokey and a dozen other finalists take to the stage for the first time at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Channel 6 to compete for viewer votes.

And, in many ways, Gokey’s an easy pick. He has a complete package of attributes that makes it almost impossible for him not to win:

JS Online

Matt Giraud’s former bandmates host ‘American Idol’ party to spur votes

KALAMAZOO — Forget the pain of the criticism from “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell.

Local songstress Emily Jamieson has found that being a friend of show Top 13 finalist Matt Giraud, of Kalamazoo, comes with its own share of “pain” — the kind from phoning in hundreds of votes for him — but she said she hasn’t minded if it means he will win.

MLive

Carrie Underwood Ready To Send 12 Losers Back Home

This year, in the always delicious and shamefully manipulative results show, twelve American Idol hopefuls will be banished back to their normal lives (or given major label contracts) when they fail to secure enough votes to advance to the next round. And when they stand on stage for the last time they’ll be ushered back off to normalcy (or begin the road to pop stardom…damn you Daughtry et al for making things complicated) with what AI euphemistically refers to as the “farewell song,” an institution that has brought such abominations as Daughtry’s “Home” and Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” into the mass cultural consciousness. This year the torch has been passed to Carrie Underwood. But what Underwood ditty will be twisting the knife a little deeper/giving succor to the losers?

Idolator

This week’s Idol airplay chart

Half of the songs in the Top 10 of the Idol airplay chart see spin increases this week. Kelly Clarksonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s My Life Would Such Without You, of course, stays in the top spot with nearly a thousand more spins (12,357 to 13,309). Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s currently at 3 on USA TODAYà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Top 40 airplay chart and 4 on its Hot AC chart.

USA Today

CD Review: ‘All I Ever Wanted’ by Kelly Clarkson

By the standard of her second album, Kelly Clarkson’s third effort was a commercial disappointment: “My December” has sold only a fraction of the copies that “Breakaway” did.

The fraction happens to be about one-fifth, which sounds bad until you consider that “Breakaway” was a once-in-a-career effort, and that “My December” has still shifted 2.5 million units worldwide — an unqualified success by any other standard, especially in an era where million-sellers are increasingly rare.

Courant.com

Review: Kelly Clarkson’s ‘All I Ever Wanted’

Kelly Clarkson has learned her lessons well.

She figured out that the problem with her last album, “My December,” wasn’t that it was dark, but that it was unfinished. The emotions were valid, but the way she expressed them was a bit lacking.

No problem with that this time. Not only is “All I Ever Wanted” (RCA) overflowing with potential hit singles, but it covers all the same ground she wanted to cover the last time – esteem issues, betrayal, longing – in a far more effective way, using a wide variety of pop styles to make her points.

Newsday

A chastened Clarkson stays true to formula

Only three forces in the universe can never be denied: death, taxes and Clive Davis.

Kelly Clarkson found that out the hard way when she released her last album. The original American Idol squared off against her mentor, the great god Clive on her third CD, 2007′s “My December,” insisting on doing it her own way.

Defying both Davis’ wishes and his wisdom, she employed darker instrumentation, explored a more individual point of view, and offered fewer, hit-’em-between-the-eyes pop hooks. She even brought her beef with Clive to the press, causing a temporary rift between the two

NY Daily News

Kelly Clarkson comes back with big pop-star hooks

Now that’s more like it.

Kelly Clarkson, the original and best “American Idol,” returns from the abyss on her new album, “All I Ever Wanted” (in stores today). Her 2007 album “My December” marked a gloomy foray into Serious Artist territory, and nearly derailed her career when a nasty spat with her label and record-biz head honcho Clive Davis over the album’s direction went public.

But Clarkson rolls up her sleeves, smiles and re-embraces her pop instincts on “All I Ever Wanted.” And it’s good to have her back.

Detroit News

Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted

Kelly Clarkson, what have you done. You’ve gone and turned in one tight little pop album that should get all of your American Idol cousins (except Chris Daughtry) a wee-bit green-eyed. Right from the opening guitar riffs of the megahit “My Life Would Suck Without You” (ours too, Kelly), we are hooked on your poppy, essential album that features tons of likely chart shredders that we happily will be burnt out on by Summer’s end. Unlike what went down on your moody My December (that now deserves a revisit and a personal apology from each maligner), your energy level is spiking again, and you prove Simon Cowell correct when he once stated on Good Morning America that your pipes were better than your fellow Idolsters “by a mile” (okay, that was years ago, but still…).

Huffington Post

Going the distance

“This time last year, I didn’t have a deal,” says Taylor Hicks. “I think it’s a pretty good comeback story.”

The comeback involves a couple of things, but at the moment it’s mainly about “The Distance,” the album that Hicks releases today.

It is his first studio album since the self-titled release that followed his May 2006 victory in the fifth season of “American Idol.”

That one went platinum, hit No. 2 on Billboard’s album chart, and squeaked a couple of singles into the adult contemporary Top 20. This one may be the acid test for establishing the dimensions of Hicks’ career, now that the “Idol” glow is fully behind him.

AL.com

Taylor Hicks travels ‘The Distance’

Taylorhicks250 The new album from”American Idol” Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks hits stores on Tuesday. The former champion is also currently touring with the road company of “Grease,” performing in the role of Teen Angel. During the tour, he will also play solo shows for “The Distance,” which is his second studio album. The first single from “The Distance,” “What’s Right Is Right,” is a catchy hit, with a sleek soulful video to boot.

We caught up with Hicks over the phone during the San Diego leg of the “Grease” tour. L.A. is the next stop, with Grease going onstage at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater March 10-22 and Hicks playing Sunset Strip’s The Roxy Theatre March 18.

LA Times

Acts Shine on Country Radio Seminar’s New Faces Show

Kellie Pickler, James Otto, Chuck Wicks, Lady Antebellum and the Zac Brown Band displayed their musical wares to an appreciative audience Friday night (March 6) at the Country Radio Seminar’s annual New Faces Show.

Staged at the Nashville Convention Center, the show was the final event on the Seminar’s agenda. This year’s audience was noticeably smaller than those of the recent past, possibly a reflection of the nation’s tightening economy.

“I want to welcome you to the hillbilly Cirque du Soleil,” joked Charlie Monk, who hosted the proceedings. He continued with a barrage of jokes aimed at the soft spots of prominent radio and music industry figures

CMT

Jennifer Hudson Rocks Jessica Simpson ‘Pouchy Pants’

Jennifer Hudson did her best Jessica Simpson impersonation this weekend at the 2009 Women’s Empowerment Series in Indianapolis.

Girl knows how to rock a black pouchy pant. Take note Jessica Simpson, all black works better than light denim, especially if your gonna confine that belly with a tight brown belt.

When wearing a fitted one-piece that gives you a fupa, tons of necklaces draw the eye up to the face instead of down to the … um fupa. It’s all smoke and mirrors Jess!

NY Post

Ruben Studdards Talks to Sister 2 Sister About New Album

He talked about his upcoming album (due out the day before Motherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Day) on which he had the chance to work with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis who, in case you arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t familiar with them, have an incredible track record in the industry. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m really looking forward to hearing what they came up with! When Jamie asked what fans can expect from the album, Ruben said: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just a lot of great, classic songs. I got a chance to do a record with some guys that I looked up to in my adolescence, and thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Boyz II Men. Yeah, I did a song with them, a Bryan Adams record, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Heaven.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  I did a song with Kenny G, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Careless Whispers.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s just a lot of great music. Terry kept saying that he wanted us to pick songs that people can really see the Ruben that they voted for [in] and not somebody that let people pick the songs. They just wanted to hear I could really, really sing.

Insider.com

Newbies impress on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Dancingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ premiere

No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Dancing With The Starsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  season has ever à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  ever à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  started with a celebrity saying anything as utterly fantastic as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I am dedicating my first dance to my girls at the Federal Detention Center.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

That was rapper Lilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Kim, introducing the cha-cha she and Derek Hough performed. Her incarcerated peeps had reason to smile: Lilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Kim opened the show with a decent if unspectacular dance. It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the breakout performance that marks a frontrunner, but it was solid, and as all the judges noted in giving her straight 7s, it showed promise.

MSNBC

Melissa Rycroft on ‘Dancing With the Stars’: ‘It’ll show everybody I’m okay’

Wearing a sequined turquoise dress and dancing to a song that only days earlier was meant for Nancy O’Dell, Melissa Rycroft — a.k.a. The Bachelor’s most famous reject ever — closed out the premiere of Dancing With the Stars Monday with a waltz to “show everybody I’m good, that I’m okay.” Rycroft stepped in for O’Dell on the morning of March 7 after a knee injury forced the Access Hollywood host to quit the competition. Rycroft, who was dumped on national TV March 2 by Jason Mesnick, had already returned to Texas to resume her career as an event planner when she got the call about DWTS on the morning of March 6.

Entertainment Weekly

‘Dancing With the Stars’ recap: Steppin’ Out

Welcome to season 8 of Dancing with the Stars, the Little Reality Show That Could…add a Playboy Bunny and a Bachelor Dumpee at the very last minute and somehow play out rather normally. The Girls Next Door’s Holly Madison and recent ABC darling Melissa Rycroft replaced former contestants Jewel and Nancy O’Dell, both of whom withdrew last week due to injuries. Apparently, Dancing With the Stars’ primary goal for season 8 is to support the flailing industry of general surgery. All Cheryl has to do is fling Gilles Marini and his troubled groin into a spin fast enough, and she’ll keep the dream alive! Don’t you dare do it, Cheryl. Here’s how the 13 couples à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  let’s call ‘em The Top 13, for Steve Wozniak’s sake à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  ranked after either the waltz or the cha cha chaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

Entertainement Weekly

 
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  • frogcooke

    *new tour date added*
    David Archuleta to Perform in Pocatello, Idaho on March 23rd!

    David will be performing at the Stephens Performing Arts Center in Pocatello, Idaho on March 23rd!
    Tickets go on sale Friday at 10am.

    Per Fans of David, info was found here:

    http://www.z103.fm/pages/2738592.php

  • t2

    Dear Mr. Warwick,

    You scare me what with all your “surprises and twists” that may actually be “surprises and twists” or it may be that you will be pushing Cherry Coke this year instead of Classic Coke.

    Could you please make your surprise be that you will share the actual real, truly completely counted votes with the American public? Probably not. (and yes, this comes up every year)

    Could you please make your twist be that you will not allow the judges to attend the dress rehearsal because all it does is give them time to figure out how to phrase things to sway the public to vote for their favorite? Uh…Definitely not.

    O.K., if you can’t do either one of those, can you please just make the twist something that will not slant the competition in favor of any one contestant (for instance, the !!Gokey!!)

    Yeah, probably can’t do that either — all right. Just give me a heads up before you announce your “twist” (which most assuredly will give the judges more power in getting their chosen one in place) so that I can turn the tv off and read about it instead. Really, it will save me money on tv repairs….

    A concerned (very concerned) viewer,
    t2

  • Aileen

    Ryan Seacrest just twittered about the “problem” with the phone numbers, like it was all a big surprise to him.

    Latest message is: Just talked to one of the Idol producers and they have a plan…*crossing fingers* – ryan

    I wonder what the plan is and if that has something to do with the twist. Could it be as simple as just acquiring new phone numbers?

  • http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=587900002&ref=name cruzceleste

    Bravo t2!!!!!!!!! lol!!!

  • frogcooke

    lol t2 haha

  • http://www.myspace.com/rjveritas MrRJ

    Nice letter T2.

    This seems, so far, to be a very producer/judges driven season. It would have made much much more sense for the Judges to pick 12 for a second chance round, have them sing and have the VOTERS choose the final 3 to go to the final 12. I am very uncomfortable with the Judges choosing 4 finalists. They seem to have some sort of strange vested interest in Megan, who really butchered her song yet got praise……

  • dv
  • laurskaos

    Wow, great Kelly review from the Huffington Post!! I loved how the reviewer touched on possible musical influences for each song, it was a cool read. Though I have to disagree about Whyyawanna.. and I Want You being the throwaway tracks – they’re actually two of my faves!

  • widz

    Ryan’s Tweets:

    oh man…1-866-IDOLS-00 is dirty too, lol. Just talked to one of the Idol producers and they have a plan…*crossing fingers* – ryan
    18 minutes ago from TweetDeck

    crap, were gonna have a problem on Idol tonight – just dialed 1-866-IDOLS-13 and its not quite SFW…
    33 minutes ago from TweetDeck

    LMAO.

  • poporange

    Here is blog from Taylor Hicks—something about a second single?
    http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=55986260&blogId=475775625

    T2-The tv repair people may see a rise in business this week;)

    -Let me guess the producers will have an “epithaphamy” and suddenly say that they will let the voters totally deside only crtique the music and no pushing for thier favs?Yeah and thier will be unicorn at my doorstep w/ a 20million check n her mouth for me…

  • jan

    I just came to post about Ryan Seacrests twitters but I see others beat me to it. I can’t believe they just found out about this. If so, that is really bad planning.

  • Kirsten

    crap, were gonna have a problem on Idol tonight – just dialed 1-866-IDOLS-13 and its not quite SFWà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    I see two possible scenarios:

    1) The producers are as dumb as a sack of hair. If a bunch of “internet losers” (as Nigel likes to call Idol fans who know how to use a computer) can figure out on the weekend that those numbers are “taken” and post it all over the freakin’ place, shouldn’t the Idol producers and their minions have figured this out before now? These guys couldn’t plan their way out of a paper bag and the Grassy Knoll just exploded.

    2) The producers think we are as dumb as a sack of hair (and will buy that they didn’t know this).

    I don’t, for a moment, think that the AI decided during the Live Wildcard show to make it a final 13. I think Simon’s “Recently” is at least two weeks ago if not 8 months ago. I also think they must have figured out the numbers thing a while ago. My goodness, they haver AT&T on speed dial. Surely, one of the of the production assistants, stage hands, make-up people or studio lackeye would have thought to try Idol-13 before now. I expect Simon or Ryan to lie badly tonight and try to pretend that they didn’t know this and will have to make some “sudden” change. OOO! Scandal.

  • Victoria

    Lol @ Ryan’s tweets… they’re just figuring this out? Haha.

    ETA: I wonder what this “plan” is the procudershave going on?

  • widz

    Kirsten – I think scenario #2 is most likely..

  • kbr

    For any Michael Johns fans out there he is featured in Playboy’s Rock the Rabbit musician series with some other very cool musicians such as Perry Ferell (I know…Playboy but there are no nudie shots I swear!). They have a cool interview with Michael on their Web site and also an updated version of “Fire” a song from his original solo effort. This version of “Fire” is so much better…perhaps this means it’s on his album?

    Anyway, I can’t post the Playboy link since I am at work, but if you want to check out the article it’s on mjo: http://michaeljohnsonline.com/2009/03/09/michael-johns-rock-the-rabbit-playboy-interview/, from there you can also get to the Rock the Rabbit page with his song.

    I know Playboy is a bit racey for the Idol scene, but it’s a good interview and who knows it may help Michael increase his male following!

  • frogcooke

    Kirsten… have I told you lately I love you?

  • Buckeyegirl

    Long time lurker, first time poster!

    Ryan had Megan Michaels (Idol Producer) and then Peter Lagori (sp) from FOX on this morning…both said they had known of the 13th phone line issue (it sounds like Ryan is the only one that this is breaking news). They didn’t say how long they knew, but said that there will be a special number for the 13th contestant, the other 12 will use the normal Idol numbers.

  • frogcooke

    oh yes… because having one special number wont be confusing to the general people… who blindly dial consecutive numbers… no not at all..

  • Victoria

    Long time lurker, first time poster!

    Ryan had Megan Michaels (Idol Producer) and then Peter Lagori (sp) from FOX on this morningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦both said they had known of the 13th phone line issue (it sounds like Ryan is the only one that this is breaking news). They didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t say how long they knew, but said that there will be a special number for the 13th contestant, the other 12 will use the normal Idol numbers.

    Hello!

    So they’re using a different number? I wonder how many people will call Hot Horny Girls instead? And what if, say, Danny Gokey gets the pimp spot? Poor little kids and grandmas!

  • DBfan

    Daughtry album is being released in June/July as per Chris himself.
    http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid416542555/bctid14466404001

  • yeahyeahsure

    Daughtry album is being released in June/July as per Chris himself.
    http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid416542555/bctid14466404001

    That definitely makes it possible for them to appear on Idol. If his timeline holds, there would be a single come April/May. Unless RCA wants to release the single again after the album release. :ponder_tb:

  • weareallinnocent

    oh yesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ because having one special number wont be confusing to the general peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ who blindly dial consecutive numbersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ no not at all..

    Yeah, but cuz it’s for the pimp spot, I would hope you’d have more invested, on the ball fans. Maybe not. :-)

    Ann Powers LA Times article is thought-provoking and pretty well done in my view. I think she’s probably right in raising the issues she does, I just wish folks wouldn’t put so much significance-pressure on Adam. He’s courageous and daring, and pure exciting talent, to be sure. But saddling him with the potential culture-bending breakthrough is a really tall order. I just want to hear him sing. :-(

    I’m also a little embarrassed that she picked up and ran with the several suggestions that he sing “In the Closet,” although I appreciated the overall theme of her article and her insights and opinions about Michael Jackson.

  • frogcooke

    New Utah date also added to DA’s Tour

    Utah resident and “American Idol” season 7 runner-up David Archuleta will make his way south to perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, in the Burns Arena in St. George.
    Advertisement

    Tickets are $25 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. Purchase them online at tickets.dixie.edu or at the Burns Arena Box Office, the Cox Auditorium Box Office or the Eccles Theatre Box Office.

    http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090310/NEWS01/90310009

  • Tess

    Ok…13th spot, typical pimp spot…new phone number. I’ll guarantee you that the producers will ignore the numbers count for the 13th spot. To be fair, it would put that contestant at a disadvantage, and since they don’t publish the actual numbers count, what the heck. Pimp spot: Danny, Adam, Lil, or Anoop?

  • Victoria

    Pimp spot: Danny, Adam, Lil, or Anoop?

    I’m betting on Adam.

  • http://www.myspace.com/rjveritas MrRJ

    I don’t care if Adam Lambert likes boy, girls or both. He has a powerhouse voice and great vocal control. I would love to see him win.

    My daughter, on the other hand, thinks he is “hot” and continues hope is more straight than gay……..

  • cheese

    Pimp spot: Danny, Adam, Lil, or Anoop?

    Hmm, Danny. Maybe Allison Matt or Alexis. They had Simon tell Anoop that he can’t really sing last week, so I think they’re putting him in the “fun” box and probably want him to be this year’s dancing monkey (Don’t do it, Anoop!).

  • yeahyeahsure

    Pimp spot: Danny, Adam, Lil, or Anoop?

    Danny or Anoop

  • widz

    Anoop Desai’s cover of Aerosmith’s Angel

    Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s another apartment recording (must have been a fun place to hang out!) – this time ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Anoop and some buddies covering à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Angelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  by Aerosmith.

    The previous ‘apartment recording’ was Sam Cooke’s Bring It On Home to Me.

    Pretty good for an amateur recording (i.e. non-studio)..

  • http://www.myspace.com/rjveritas MrRJ

    It won’t be Anoop. I can see Danny, Adam or Lil. My guess would be Danny, but with the shortage od girls, it could well be Lil.

  • Victoria

    Spoiler Chat

    Meanwhile, Idol makeup artist Mezhgan Hussainy has some big plans in store for rocker Adam Lambert: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“My goal is to tone Adamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s makeup down.”

    Good luck with that. :laugh_tb:

  • sma11ie

    I mentioned this in the Ryan twitter thread. I could see/hope the pimp spot goes to Alexis or Allison or Matt G even, since the 4 who already got it really shouldn’t again, and I personally think they are contenders. Maybe they’ll give it to Scott since they love him and he could use the help? But if you throw in a different # for the 13th contestant, the pimp spot advantage might be diluted…

    Speaking of contenders, I just read some quotes from the USA Today piece that I found interesting.

    From Randy:

    Jackson lays out a long list of contenders, including Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, Lil Rounds and Allison Iraheta. “At least eight of these could really zing it out,” he says. “I don’t think anyone can have a bad week this time.”

    From Rodney Ho (Idol blogger)

    “There’s a reasonable depth to this group,” he says. “It’s not an obvious David-to-David competition,” referring to Season 7′s Cook and Archuleta.

    So, I’ve been a big complainer of this Top 36 format, and how we haven’t had any watercooler moments because there’s no growth allowed in this one-shot setup (ignoring the WC performances, though those were also largely underwhelming). But reading these quotes, I guess I finally understand what the producers were aiming for with this setup. Rodney was absolutely right that by the Top 12, Season 7 was already shaping up to be a David-David 2-man race. Granted, DC had a ways to climb still before he caught up with Archie, and the other contestants were really good too, so many of them still had a shot if DC faltered and they killed it… but for the most part the general plot of S7 was already set: could DC catch up to Archie? For those who became increasingly invested in the Davids, it was good TV, but for the other casual viewers, it was 12 slow weeks of sluggish plot advancement before they got to the inevitable David-David finale. This was proven when ratings fell throughout the finals until it went back above 30 million for the finals.

    I’m guessing for Season 8, Warwick wanted this uncertainty going into the finals. We have at least 3 who’ve been hardcore pimped (Lil, Danny, Adam), and arguably, all 4 of the WC guys are producers/judges favorites. Not to mention, the non-WC finalists comprise of only the top vote-getters, so they are at least fan faves. So there’s still this sense, this deep in the competition, that any number of these guys, could rise up. So I think I’m finally seeing now, that perhaps Warwick sacrificed quality and excellent performances in the semi’s for hopefully more sustained interest in the finals. We’ll see if it works out. (P.S. Sorry for the thesis!)

  • http://www.myspace.com/gwendolyndiane GwendolynD

    Pimp spot: Danny, Adam, Lil, or Anoop?

    Allison

  • CathyMK

    DCO has a new episode of Pork Beans up, hosted by Terry the light tech (who bears a suspicious resemblance to David Cook).

    http://www.davidcookofficial.com/pork-beans

    I saw that this was posted in yesterday’s Headlines thread late last night, so I figured I’d bring it here in case anyone missed it.

  • t2

    Thanks all for reading my rant — I just hope Warwick reads it too.

    And speaking of the Grassy Knoll, everyone is assuming that the 13th person will get the different number — would not surprise me if they gave the dreaded first spot a number that is different — this way, we can all just forget that Michael Sarver/Kris Allen/Jasmine (one of which will go first) ever performed.

    If the “different” number goes to the 13th spot, then !!Gokey!! will go last and his number will be 1 – 866 – AIWINNR

  • tinawina

    sam11ie, I totally agree with you. I think that is exactly how the producers viewed the changes. And it could work, if the season does play out in an interesting way. What remains to be seen is if they ended up putting though a larger than usual number of people who only had one good performance in them, making for a painful number of weeks until the not-ready-yet are purged. I think TPTB believes that because they got to see all the Hollywood week performances (which don’t forget, included instruments and happened on the main idol stage for the first time this year) they have a better idea of who can hack it and who can’t than we do… thus the OTT pimpage. I’m not saying they are right, but I believe that’s what they think.

    If TPTB want to keep this format next year, I think it is imperative that they put less people through to the semis (maybe 8-10 per round instead of 12 – or doing 2 weeks where we vote in more people each round instead of 3 weeks) and allow viewers to feel some kind of control during the wildcard round (voting one of the wildcards through? having the 4th place contestant automatically qualify? deciding through a combo of judges & viewer’s votes?). Also, TONE DOWN THE PIMPING. They need to remove some of the clutter so we have more space to get connected to the contestants in order to feel invested in their success.

  • Laurie

    I don’t think it was such a sure thing in season 7 that the 2 left standing would be the double D’s, until midway through. Up until Jason had such obvious mishaps, there was a huge fanbase pulling for Jason, even though the judges weren’t. When it got to the last 3 was when it became a sure thing it would be the Davids’. I preferred last years format. I can’t even remember anything from the first round of performers this season. Many of my friends who have been long term Idol watchers aren’t feeling it for this season either. I was thinking maybe it was just me, because I became so invested in David. I feel no connection to these kids whatsoever. I feel no excitement and I don’t think that will change. I will tune in to see Kelly. I hope I’m wrong and this year turns out to be a good year. I just don’t see it happening.

  • bjesgirl

    Pimp spot: Danny, Adam, Lil, or Anoop?

    Jasmine. She needs it- she’ll be voted off otherwise.

  • Lisa

    Is there a better vid for DC’s Heroes ACC Tournament promo then this somewhere out there?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcOyrgmqIC0&feature=sdig&et=1236686922.82

  • http://myspace.com/girlgeek mj

    sam11ie, I totally agree with you. I think that is exactly how the producers viewed the changes. And it could work, if the season does play out in an interesting way. What remains to be seen is if they ended up putting though a larger than usual number of people who only had one good performance in them, making for a painful number of weeks until the not-ready-yet are purged.

    Yeah, I understood the whole Top 36 deal was to combat the sluggish ratings in the middle of the Top 12. But in the meantime, the semis were SO painful, you have to wonder if more peeps have tuned out in the meantime, never to return…

    BTW, here’s Michael Slezak’s Power List:

    http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/03/alexis-grace-id.html

  • LaurelG

    Memo to Ann Powers at the LA Times:

    So you think Adam is “doing a little dance around a major aspect of his private life” by not actually uttering the word “gay?” Who the hell are you to suggest that Adam has to somehow apply a label to himself to satisfy your or anyone else’s curiosity? So what if he declines to discuss his sexual orientation? Who the hell has the right to even ask the question? This is a singing competition, lady.

    Why not point out how gracious Adam was in responding to those types of intrusive questions from the two-bit, faux lifestyle journalists who asked them rather than somehow insinuate that Adam was less than open about himself? Or maybe you fail to grasp the meaning of the word “private” in the term “private life.”

  • tinawina

    Yeah, I understood the whole Top 36 deal was to combat the sluggish ratings in the middle of the Top 12. But in the meantime, the semis were SO painful, you have to wonder if more peeps have tuned out in the meantime, never to returnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    True dat. I think (hope) things could still turn it around if the contestants break out with a lot of strong performances tonight. If this episode generates big water cooler buzz, things can turn around. But if it’s predictable and/or full of meh, I think that could spell BIG trouble for idol.

    ETA: Did y’all see the results of Slezak’s poll at mj’s link? Look like we might have some clear frontrunners already, some of them surprises…

  • http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=587900002&ref=name cruzceleste

    13. Ricky Braddy: (Last week: No. 8) Yeah, the judges gave him the boot during the Wild Card round. So what? His “Superstition” was note-perfect and chock full of personality, and so we’re making him the poster-boy for shafted contestants like Kristen McNamara, Mishavonna Henson, Ju’Not Joyner, and Felicia Barton. It’s a protest ranking, y’all!

    I think I have a crush on Slezak… why the good man are gay or married (j/k)

  • Niall

    Ann Powers has clearly not been paying attention if she really thinks Adam is dancing around anything. It’s all out there, actions speak louder than words.

  • http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=587900002&ref=name cruzceleste

    My crush ehhh I mean Slezak just posted his suggestion list for tonight Michael Jackson theme:

    Allison Iraheta: “Scream” (Am I the only one who loves this song?) (Yes.)
    Adam Lambert: “State of Shock”
    Jasmine Murray: “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”
    Kris Allen: “The Way You Make Me Feel”
    Matt Giraud: “I Want You Back”
    Alexis Grace: “It’s Your Thing”
    Lil Rounds: “Human Nature”
    Scott MacIntyre: “Butterflies”
    Anoop Desai: “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”
    Megan Corkrey: “Off the Wall” (dance, girl, dance!)
    Michael Sarver: “Another Part of Me”
    Jorge Nuà ±ez: “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (could be a-mah-zing or could be disastrous, I know)
    Danny Gokey: “Say Say Say

    lol can Kriss dance like Michael in The Way You Made Me Feel…prety please

  • frogcooke

    DA in the TV guide for his HM apperence, from fans of david:

    GUYS!!! i got my tv guide magazine today and davids in it! theres a picture of him on hannah montana! and they said the song he will be singing with her is called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“i wanna know youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  !!

    THis is what it says: American idol meets tween idol when David Archuleta guest stars on Hannah montana later this season. Archuleta, who plays himself, comes to town and asks Hannah to duet with him on the song à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“i wanna know you.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“This is a real fun episode, and i think ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a really funny one, too,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  says archuleta, who enjoyed working with cyrus. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cool and has a strong personality”

  • http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=587900002&ref=name cruzceleste

    ^Thanks for the info Froggie…

  • soundscene

    they said the song he will be singing with her is called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“i wanna know youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  !!

    Really, David? I mean… really? You really wanna know her? Ok!

    lol. Just kidding. I’m sure the episode will be cute. I just have to sit through the over-acting. I wonder if it was weird for the HM music people to produce the song and have to autotune one vocal and not autotune the other…

  • frogcooke

    hahaha lisa

  • weareallinnocent

    Did yà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢all see the results of Slezakà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s poll at mjà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s link? Look like we might have some clear frontrunners already, some of them surprisesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    I know, I’m dense. But, where is “Slezakà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s poll at mjà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s link?” TIA~

  • frogcooke

    heres a small pic from the TV guide thanks to fod

  • jan

    There’s going to be an onscreen kiss in David Cook’s new video

    Kiss

  • frogcooke

    oh boy jan…. lol

  • progression

    Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to be an onscreen kiss in David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s new video

    Yeowza *fans self*

  • Trina

    I just ploded. kthnkx
    :eek_wp: :jittery_tb:

  • leome

    Excuse my shallow comment… But he’s looking hotter than ever! I want that video now.
    And that picture does no justice to that actress. I’ve seen her before and she’s really beautiful.

  • itsalleternal

    You can add yet another Idol release:

    Diana DeGarmo just released her EP, Unplugged in Nashville.

  • Trina

    Here’s her MySpace
    I’m so glad his first on screen kiss is with someone really hot. GO DC!!

    ETA: I suspect they purposely avoided any major, widely seen to the public casting calls for the sole reason there was a kiss LOL Probably smart to go right to central casting and get a professional.

  • Jolene

    LOL at some of us debating if there even was a love interest in this video (since there was no casting call sheet). Who is this girl? I have no idea if I’ve seen anything she did.

    Getting more and more excited about this video. So funny that David would choose to share that the video shoot included backwards singing, but neglect an on-screen kiss.

    PS – are the fanboards ‘ploding over this?

  • May

    Cook looks like a movie star in that shot! I vaguely remember the actress from the Disturbia movie but I haven’t seen her in anything else.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDmnhD5XkRg

  • ilovetohateai

    Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to be an onscreen kiss in David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s new video

    i wonder how much money was paid to the girl for her to agree on a kissing scene. eeeew! gross!!!

  • hypertwink

    I liked Sarah Roemer in Disturbia. She seems like a good actress and she’s pretty in a non-intimidating way. I mean, you would believe that she could fall in love with someone geeky like Shia, which was my problem with Megan Fox in transformers. She was too hot for anyone in the movie, except maybe Josh Duhamel.

  • EmmaJK

    Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to be an onscreen kiss in David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s new video

    Holy…..

    No words. He looks like a movie star. Dang.

  • Michelle

    Hawt!

    eta:

    I just ploded. kthnkx

    me too! I want this video now!!!

  • Keel

    So . . . I guess the person/thing he wants to Come Back to Me (him) in the video isn’t gonna be his dog who got lost in the bowels of LAX’s luggage delivery system? Damn, that would have been a cute concept. Especially the part where they could have shown the dog’s head hanging out the car window as the line “I picture you with the wind in your hair” is played.

    Oh well, a HOT kiss it is then. I guess I can live with that. (*plodes inside*)

  • Jolene

    Seriously, do we have an ETA on this video? I want to see it. These little spoilers are making me impatient!
    Sarah is indeed very pretty and she’s 24. Here’s her IMDB page.

    PS – I guess this seals the whole debate about whether this video is an upgrade from LO or not… Looks like a major upgrade to me.

  • undercooked

    LaurelG -Memo to Ann Powers at the LA Times:

    Can I sign that memo too. I couldn’t have said it better. And I think she was clueless that those photos came from Burning Man, where everyone was dressed up.

  • weareallinnocent

    Did yà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢all see the results of Slezakà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s poll at mjà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s link? Look like we might have some clear frontrunners already, some of them surprisesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

    After an exhaustive search, lol, when I found the survey the results looked as I expected for the top 5 – Anoop, Danny, Alexis, Adam, Allison. Of course, that Ricky is next in line is a little surprising, I guess. :-) It appears to be the year of the letter “A” or at least I’m hoping, as I’ve no appreciation (yet?) for Danny….

  • Layla

    Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s going to be an onscreen kiss in David Cookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s new video

    Do I sound sick if I say I wanna see some tongue? Yeah baby yeah!

  • tinawina

    After an exhaustive search, lol, when I found the survey the results looked as I expected for the top 5 – Anoop, Danny, Alexis, Adam, Allison. Of course, that Ricky is next in line is a little surprising, I guess. :-) It appears to be the year of the letter à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Aà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  or at least Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m hoping, as Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve no appreciation (yet?) for Dannyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦.

    LOL. Well, for me the surprise was how far down Lil Rounds and Matt G were in the poll, with 4% and 3% respectively. I was also surprised at how strong Allison’s showing was, and that Anoop beat Danny by as much as he did. Everyone else was about where I’d expect them to me.

    If course it is a poll of EW readers, so I suppose you can’t read too much into it. But its fun to try!

  • sma11ie

    Ooh, pretty pics! But despite the provocative title from JustJared(for blog hits?), looks more like a near-kiss? Hmm… Anyway, is it weird that the main think I noticed was… normal shoes! Haha. Where are the pointy boots?

  • Michelle

    there. had. better. be. a. KISS.

  • Jolene

    Well, the pictures appear to be authorized (As in – they do not look like papz, they look like promotion), so I think they wouldn’t release pictures of the kiss itself prior to the video debut, because that would sort of steal its thunder, wouldn’t it? I’m guessing if the title says “on-screen kiss” there’s going to be an actual kiss.

    PS – I know it’s not going to happen, but how cool would it have been if they showed a clip of the video next week on Idol before David performed (if he is indeed performing).

  • http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=587900002&ref=name cruzceleste

    ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Starts Strong

    With its most-watched premiere ever in terms of total viewers and second-highest among ad-centric 18-to-49 year olds, ABC’s two-hour “Dancing With the Stars” waltzed over the competition with a 6.1/15 demo rating and share. That was up 9% from last spring’s premiere and 13% from last fall’s.

    Combined with the 3.0/8 for “Dance” partner “Castle,” which had its series premiere, ABC won with a 5.1/13 overall average, beating Fox (4.2/11), CBS (4.0/10), NBC (2.6/7) and the CW (.5/1).

    Up against the ratings results for ABC’s dancers, most other programs seemed to have two left feet. Fox’s “House” (4.8/13) and “24″ (3.6/9) fell 14% and 5% from their original-episode averages. The geeky guys on NBC’s “Chuck” (down 16% to a 2.1/6) and “Heroes” (3.2/8, off 18%) had an even harder time against “Dancing,” as each fell to its lowest original-episode rating of the season.

  • sma11ie

    Well, the pictures appear to be authorized (As in – they do not look like papz, they look like promotion),

    Weird! When I clicked the link much earlier, there were a few more pictures that have since been removed, one of which was a bit blurrier, where DC looked like he was giving the photog a bit of a sideways stinkeye… which was why I thought they were pap pics. Now only the super clear ones are left… so I’m confused…

  • Trina

    small1e yeah I saw that too earlier..he didnt look thrilled. Just Jared is definitely paparazzi. They may not have been pushed away by DC’s people but I’m not so certain they’re authorized either.

  • Trina

    Here’s the pic that disappeared from there

  • hardkandy

    The girl in DC’s new video is not very pretty IMO. I was so irritated with her in Disturbia.