Allison Iraheta added to ASCAP I Create Music Expo Lineup
It’s less than a month before the EXPO and we have some more names to announce before Discount Pricing ends on March 31st! We have 25 more additions to our stellar list of EXPO participants, including digital guru Ted Cohen, The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, executive George Howard, American Idol’s Allison Iraheta, prolific film composer Mark Isham, hit songwriter and artist Chantal Kreviazuk and more! (Expo runs from April 22-24) More info HERE.
Kate Gosselin Wanted Her ‘DTWS’ Partner Fired
Exclusive: Sources backstage at ‘Dancing With the Stars’ tell me the sparring between Kate Gosselin and partner Tony Dovolani that we saw last night is just the tip of the iceberg, and that things escalated so quickly that Kate insisted Tony get the boot from the show! However, from what I’m hearing, it’s not Tony who’s the problem. Inside ‘DWTS’ you won’t get anywhere else, after the jump!
“Everyone involved in the show thinks Kate is impossible. We all feel very sorry that poor Tony got paired up with her. She talks to him as if he is her ninth child, ” sources tell me. “At one point things got so bad that Kate demand that the shows producers fire Tony and get her a new partner. However, everyone would rather get rid of her than Tony, who is loved by all the staff.”
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Proof the Dish Network Does Not Care About American Idol
Scott E. in LA sent us this Dish Network/TV Guide listing for American Idol. It must have been written by the biggest Ellen DeGeneres fan at all of TV Guide. Her love of Ellen outweighs even her love of employment.
American Idol’s underwhelming Top 10: Sepinwall on TV
This is about the point in an “American Idol” season – the chaff of the semifinals has been cut and we’re down to the 10 finalists who will go on the summer concert tour – when we’ve heard a lot of Randy Jackson going on and on about how these are “the most talented finalists we’ve ever had.”
But check this out: The Dawg hasn’t been saying that, at all, because there’s no way he could do it with a straight face. A lot of the remaining contestants have talent, but two weeks into the season-nine finals, this is one of the least interesting groups they’ve ever had.
A talent pool that has changed
Enough with the hand-wringing.
Ratings are down, catcalls are up and the Idolosphere is a-twitter over how this season’s American Idol talent pool is wallowing in the shallow end.
A four-page lament in Friday’s edition of Entertainment Weekly, headlined Why Can’t The New Idols Sing?, blames the dearth of ability on everything from too much guitar strumming to a tired songbook to a surfeit of style at the expense of substance and good-old-fashioned singing ability. It’s all true.
Cape Cod’s Siobhan Magnus shines among second-rate ‘Idol’ hopefuls
Siobhan Magnus faces the greatest challenge of her fledgling musical career on tonight’s “American Idol.”
Can she sing an r & b song to prove to the nation that she can do more than just grab a note and hurl it through the ceiling?
Barring a horrendous performance – unlikely – the Cape Codder seems a lock to continue in the Fox competition that remains the No. 1 show in prime time (at 8 p.m. on WFXT, Ch. 25).
‘American Idol’ contestants have long to-do lists
After Wednesday’s elimination show, there’s little time for sad goodbyes and reflection.
The contestants must have decide by Thursday morning what song they’ll sing for the following week. On Friday, they generally record the song for iTunes, and Saturday is spent doing shoots with mentors, like this week’s guest, Usher.
On Sunday, they film their Ford music videos and spend Monday doing more recording and rehearsing.
David Cook gives back with the U.N.
American Idol champ David Cook is in Ethiopia today helping the United Nations Foundation spread the word about female empowerment. Cook is there to visit the UN’s Biruh Tesfa (Bright Future) Project, which was started to educate and empower girls in Ethiopia in an effort to break the cycle of poverty and curb child marriage rates.
Footage from his special trip will air during the annual charity television special, Idol Gives Back on Fox on April 21.
Poll: Who has the hottest spouse?
“Tough one, ” says an Eastern Conference vet. “Many of us are good-looking guys with charm, so there is a lot to choose from. I’ll take Mike Fisher’s fiancée, though.” You may know her as Carrie Underwood; she grabbed 48 percent of the envy. Others with high approval ratings: Mike Modano (10 percent), who is married to model Willa Ford, and Mike Comrie (6 percent), the future Mr. Hilary Duff.
VIDEO: Idol Confessions with Kevin Covais
Season 5 finalist Kevin Covais recently stopped by the L.A. Times studio. The Long Island, N.Y., native filled us in on his favorite memories from the show, an entire episode he’d like to forget and his life since “Idol, ” starring… Lindsay Lohan?
That’s right! Check out the video below and look for Kevin on this year’s “American Idol Rewind.”
‘American Idol’: 20 Songs We’d Ban from the Show Forever!
From the overplayed ”I Have Nothing, ” to the always unsuccessful ”Heat Wave, ” we count down the songs that no contestant should ever bring to the ”Idol” stage again!
‘Dancing with the Stars’ recap: Trust Your Pro
Last night’s second performance episode of Dancing With the Stars touched every moment from euphoria (Pamela Anderson’s ‘O’ faces) to despair (Tony threatening to quit on Kate Gosselin). Some of these moments took place in the past, like Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon and Shannen Doherty donning a Heathers-inspired business suit. Congratulations to DWTS for whipping out a Heathers revival so soon, and for the record I’d very much like to see Shannen conduct a Lunchtime Poll with DANCMSTR, Bruno, and Carrie Ann at their judges-only cafeteria table. I trust that this table is extra-sturdy in case Bruno decides to jump on top of it and swivel his hips for the rest of the staff, or in case Winona Ryder drops by and tries to steal it. It’s probably blocked off by sparkly ***LIFT POLICE*** tape because Carrie Ann thinks everything around her is a potential crime scene. You know the rules: It’s safety first at Dancing With the Stars. Then tears. And finally — crucially — an artful and deliberate arrangement of perky breasts. Here we go.
Kate Gosselin to Tony on ‘Dancing With The Stars’: ‘A lot of people quit on me in life’
Yikes. Dancing With The Stars “shopping cart” Kate Gosselin reduced her partner Tony Dovolani first to quivering rage and then to quivering apology before their jive-in-every-sense dance on Monday night.
In the taped rehearsal segment before their performance, Kate was shown asking Tony for more detailed instructions, and after a while, Dovolani expressed his frustration to the camera by saying, “Nothing in dancing is natural to Kate.” Getting hot under the collar, he chafed, “I’ve never been questioned in my teaching, ” and finally: “I quit.” He walked out, while Kate looked at her camera and said, over and over, “I don’t get it.”
Eyeing X Factor, Is Simon Cowell Deliberately Sabotaging American Idol?
The hot new dance in Idolmania forums is the Season Nine Hate-Rag — we shuffle, pout, call the talent pool a worthless bunch of nervous tickers, boo, turn it all about, and blame Ellen DeGeneres too. That seems valid in the broad strokes, but my latent conspiratorial sense wonders if Simon Cowell hasn’t concocted this ennui himself. After season nine’s coronation ceremony, the 50-year-old judge will leave Idol for this fall’s American debut of X Factor, which he produces and has a financial stake in. Wouldn’t a muddled ninth season of Idol give X Factor a better chance to shine? Have we already forgotten that the original UK version of X Factor effectively wiped out Pop Idol after Cowell jumped ship? Ahead of tonight’s episode, we postulate three ways The Underwhelmed One may be cutting down Kelly Clarkson’s alma mater after the jump.
Tony Dovolani: I Regret Telling Kate Gosselin “I Quit”
Tony Dovolani regrets telling partner Kate Gosselin he “quit” after a rehearsal spat featured on Monday’s show.
“I don’t like speaking when I am upset, and I don’t ever want to bring back words that I don’t mean, and ‘I quit’ I guess was one of them, ” he told Entertainment Tonight. “And I only said one word, and I guess that’s the one I take back.”
DWTS’ Maks, Erin Andrews Play Coy on Romance Rumors
Dancing with the Stars partners Maksim “Maks” Chmerkovskiy and Erin Andrews played coy when asked about rumors that they’re heating up off the dance floor.
“We’re married already!” Chmerkovskiy, 30, joked with UsMagazine.com after Monday’s show. “We’re way past the point of anything else.”
OK! Blog: Anoop Desai’s ‘Idol’ Dish
Of the more than one million people across the country who have auditioned for American Idol, only a few dozen know what it’s truly like to live the Idol life. And that’s why OKmagazine.com has brought in an expert! Every week, former finalist Anoop Desai shares his insights on the new season, only for OK!.
I’ve had to explain away many of the inadequacies of this season by telling people about what it’s like on the inside of the “Idol Bubble.”
‘Glee’ Exclusive: Nationwide casting call for season two begins today!
How many of you Gleeks have imagined yourself singing opposite Glee’s Lea Michele or Cory Monteith or Matthew Morrison? Well, that Gleeky dream could soon become a reality. EW has the exclusive news that Glee producers are beginning a nationwide casting call today for performers between the ages of 16 and 26 to be featured in season two of Fox’s hit series. Beginning today, those interested can go to this MySpace page and upload audition videos through April 26. The videos should explain why you want to be on Glee and feature a performance of one of Glee’s hit tracks, like “True Colors, ” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want, ” and “Lean on Me.” Performances can either be a cappella or with a single instrument via My Space karaoke. Videos should be only five minutes in length (one-minute intro, four-minute performance) and are limited to one per person.
Lythgoe to deliver keynote at Banff
TORONTO — It’ll be Strictly Come Banffing this June for TV talent judge Nigel Lythgoe.
The “So You Think You Can Dance” executive producer is to deliver a keynote address at the upcoming Banff World Television Festival.
Lythgoe, who co-founded Big Red 2 Entertainment with 19 Entertainment founder Simon Fuller, will also receive an award of excellence at the Canadian TV gabfest and market, set to run this year from June 13 to 16 in the Canadian Rockies.
Evan Lysacek: “I Wasn’t Hurting Until This Morning”
Evan Lysacek is in pain.
“I wasn’t hurting until this morning, ” Dancing With the Stars’ latest Olympic gold-medalist contestant just told me. “My calves are a little sore and my feet, too. Even my ankles hurt. I’m so used to them being supported by the skates, but now they hurt. I’m resting now, but we have rehearsal later today because of my schedule—but then more rest.”
But it’s all worth it if it means taking home that disco ball trophy, right? Read on for the first installment of my exclusive weekly chats with Mr. Lysacek. We talked Kate Gosselin’s meltdown, not fighting with his partner, Anna Trebunskaya, and what he does before every performance…
