Today’s Idol Appearances:
- Katharine McPhee performs with the Pacific Symphony in Laguna Beach CA. More info HERE.
- Casey James opens for Sugarland at the Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
- Crystal Bowersox plays the Idolator Pray for Pop party at the Pure Volume House 2-7 pm, part of the SXSW Conference in Austin TX
- Lee DeWyze will perform his new single on the Idol Results show
Casey James plays the 92.5 WXTU 27th Anniversary show on 6/4 at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden NJ. More info HERE.
Fantasia will perform at Indigo, Greenwich, England on May 13.
More Headlines after the JUMP…
Carrie Underwood on taking a role in the upcoming Soul Surfer film
Via The Boot
Barry Weiss Named Chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam and Universal Motown Republic Group
It’s official. Barry Weiss has been named Chairman & CEO of Island Def Jam and Universal Motown Republic Group. The appointment comes on the heels of Antonio “L.A.” Reid’s departure from IDJ, which was announced today. According to sources, Reid is headed to Simon Cowell’s ‘The X Factor, ‘ where he will serve as judge.
Weiss arrives at the Universal Music Group-owned labels from RCA/JIVE Label Group, where, as chairman and CEO, he oversaw a roster that includes Justin Timberlake, Jamie Foxx, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Kings of Leon, and Jennifer Hudson.
Read more at THR
Happy St. Patricks Day Vlog from David Archuleta
ACM Adds Acts To The First Fan Jam (including Casey James)
The ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC and DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS has announced that SUGARLAND will be joined by ERIC CHURCH, THE BAND PERRY, RANDY HOUSER, LITTLE BIG TOWN, LAURA BELL BUNDY, SARAH DARLING, BRADLEY GASKIN, CASEY JAMES and STEEL MAGNOLIA for the first-ever ACM FAN JAM. The jam is a fans-only live concert event taking place in LAS VEGAS during and after the 46th Annual ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, broadcast SUNDAY, APRIL 3rd at 8p (ET) on CBS-TV. The events will be hosted by GAC’s BILL CODY.
The ACM FAN JAM will include multiple live remotes into the 46th Annual ACM AWARDS telecast and will also include prizes and special giveaways only for attendees, such as autographed guitars, trip packages to Country music events and merchandise.
Read more at All Access Music
Lee DeWyze visits Ryan Seacrest
Lee’s favorite Season 10 contestants are Pia Toscano and Casey Abrams. Also…50 cent gave Lee career advice! Listen:
‘American Idol’ behind the scenes: ‘Idol’ coaches talk the Top 12 — EXCLUSIVE
Continuing last week’s exclusive, American Idol vocal coach and arranger Debra Byrd and associate music director and arranger Michael Orland chatted with EW following the Top 12 performance show. For 10 seasons, Byrd and Orland have been on the front lines with the contestants, from Hollywood Week to the grand finale in May. The two work with the contestants on their respective songs, helping them shine on the Idol stage and in front of a national TV audience. Click through to read their take on this week’s “Year the Contestants Were Born” show, including what Thia needs to accomplish to make it to the later rounds, which 1980s song Orland thinks is going to reemerge as a hit thanks to Idol, how Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” wasn’t Casey’s first song choice, and why Casey got to play an instrument.
Read more at EW
Island Def Jam executive L.A. Reid officially resigns: Read his letter to the staff here
After seven years of cultivating the careers of Island Def Jam superstars like Rihanna, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber, Island Def Jam Chairman L.A. Reid resigned this morning. In a letter to his staff, Reid explains that he’s “always thrived on growth and the next great challenge, and I look forward with much enthusiasm to what the future holds.” This seemingly sets the table for the record executive to join Simon Cowell as a judge on the new singing competition series The X Factor.
Read more at EW
Inside Jennifer Hudson’s Glamorous Life and Tragic Past
Jennifer Hudson appeared at this year’s Oscars presenting the award for Best Song but it was her newly svelte figure, wrapped in a striking tangerine Versace gown that really captured center stage.
After an impressive 80 pound weight loss, Hudson is now a size 6 and a rising fashionista. Most recently she was a guest at a dinner in Paris in honor of designer Michael Kors.
“The fun part is I get to do all the things that I have a love for like music, the film, and now fashion, ” Hudson said.
Watch Deborah Roberts’ interview with Jennifer Hudson on “20/20” Friday, 10 p.m. ET.
Read more at ABC.com
After last night’s show, Steven Tyler tweeted, “HOLEY SH*T SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE THE WORLD IS GOING TO HE’LL IN A HANDBASKET-IF IT WERNT 4 A CUPLA SONGS… THE #GOOP GREAT STUF IS MADUVE”
‘American Idol’s’ Paul McDonald on Kate Hudson: ‘I want to marry her!’
“This is Penny Lane, man. Show some respect.”
Penny Lane herself, Ms. Kate Hudson was in the “American Idol” audience on Mar. 16 for the Top 12 performance show. Accompanying the pregnant “Almost Famous” actress was her boyfriend Matt Bellamy, the lead singer of Muse, and her son Ryder.
Read more at Zap2it
Kelly Clarkson — Best Buy Fixed My Orphan Problem
Kelly Clarkson waged war on Best Buy this week — after one store refused to sell her iPods for her orphan charity drive — but, fortunately, this story has a happy ending.
Kelly wrote a diatribe on her Facebook page on Tuesday — claiming Best Buy at the Ridgemar Mall in Fort Worth, TX refused to sell her iPod shuffles … citing a store policy which limits how many iPods they can sell to a customer.
But according to sources at Best Buy, no such policy exists … and corporate is PISSED — in fact, a BB rep even left an apology on Clarkson’s Facebook, explaining, “We spoke to the management [at Ridgemar] and they’d like to apologize for this experience … their intention was not to upset you.”
But that’s not all Best Buy did — after Kelly was allowed to buy the iPods she wanted at a nearby location … BB corporate donated a bunch to her charity. Hooray!
Via TMZ
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Joe Perry changing tune on ‘American Idol’?
If Aerosmith is in fact scheduled to perform on “American Idol” this season, it’s news to lead guitarist Joe Perry.
“I don’t know anything about it, ” Perry told the Track yesterday. “No one’s said a word to me.”
Perry said he hasn’t heard anything about the TV gig from his frontman, “Idol” judge Steven Tyler. Ditto for his bandmates and manager.
“All I know is that we’re working on an Aerosmith record this summer, and we’ve got tours scheduled in South America and Japan in the fall, but Japan could be up in the air because of all that’s happened there, ” he said.
Read more at the Boston Herald
Casey James: the other country ‘Idol’
Casey James would love to cut the hair that made him Kara DioGuardi’s lust object on “American Idol” but he knows it’s probably his calling card.
?“I feel like it’s part of who I am for myself and a lot of people who have been supporting me, ” he said. “I don’t want to change that … but when the time comes, I’ll cut it.”
Meanwhile, there’s that first CD to consider. Because he wants to get it right, James has been testing songs on the road. Currently, he’s opening for Sugarland and Little Big Town and says fans will get a chance to help him pick which ones will land on the release.
Read more at Sioux City Journal
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Glam Nation Behind the Scenes
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Jennifer Lopez – Invading My Mind (Prod. By RedOne)
New song leak from Jennifer Lopez’s upcoming album
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‘Glee’s’ Cory Monteith: Finn and Rachel are ‘clearly in love with each other’
Though Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) may have evolved significantly since we first met her on “Glee, ” some things never change. In the most recent episode Quinn was pretty frank — at least in voiceovers — about her fierce desire to be prom queen. All she needs is Finn on her arm and she’s a shoe in.
Zap2it caught up with Cory Monteith at “Glee’s” PaleyFest event to see how the Finn/Quinn/Rachel love triangle will work out. It looks like Finn won’t remain clueless for long… at least in relative terms. “I think Finn is being used by Quinn for her prom queen aspirations, ” Monteith teases. “So I think he’s gonna wise up to that at some point and maybe that’ll send him back in the other direction.”
Read more at Zap2it
‘Glee’ costume designer talks regionals dresses. Plus: Will the Warblers’ uniform change?
Last year’s regionals dresses came from Betsey Johnson, which Eyrich says makes the “perfect show choir dresses.” This year, the show needed a designer who’s used to making dresses of varying sizes on a tight turnaround, so who better than a bridal designer? Eyrich’s team ordered aqua bridesmaids dresses from Los Angeles-based Jenny Yoo (who also did the girls’ dresses for Kurt and Finn’s parents’ wedding) on a Wednesday; Yoo made them on a Thursday, and on Friday, Eyrich and her team fit the dresses on the girls — who require a wide range of sizes — and added sashes around the waists and applied jewels from deconstructed BCBG necklaces to the fronts.
Read more at EW
‘American Idol’ Recap: Pia, Naima And Scotty Ask A Lot Of Questions
It’s that very special week of the year, when we collectively realize that “American Idol” contestants were born the same year we saw “Uncle Buck” at the Westbury Drive-In. It’s the dreaded “Songs From the Year the Contestants Were Born” theme, or as I like to call it, “Producers Force Thia Megia to Sing a Song That Wasn’t Written 100 Years Ago.”
