Kris Allen predicts American Idol winner – In a new interview with Logan and Nicole in the Morning on Philadelphia radio station Mix 106.1, Season 8 American Idol winner Kris Allen predicts the winner of the latest season of American Idol. Although he admits Jessica Sanchez is “killer,” the singer says, “I think Phil Phillips will win.” – Listen to the Interview at WTAM
News: Keck’s Exclusives: Idol’s Jessica Sanchez Booked For PBS’s National Memorial Day Concert – Just four days after America Idol crowns its next winner (the finale airs May 23, 8/7c on Fox), finalist Jessica Sanchez will be on the West Lawn of America’s Capitol building. Jessica has been added to the lineup of PBS’ National Memorial Day Concert (May 27, 8/7c), featuring such celebrities as CSI:NY’s Gary Sinise, Ellen Burstyn, Selma Blair, Dennis Franz, Natalie Cole and Chris Daughtry. “I’m going to be singing the national anthem and ‘The Prayer’,” Jessica tells me exclusively. Having previously sung “The Star-Spangled Banner” at two San Diego Chargers football games and “The Prayer” on Idol, Jessica says she’s more excited than nervous about the upcoming live event. “I’ve known these songs my whole life and they’re both special to me. I’m really happy about this.” Read more at SeattlePI
Jury begins deliberations on Jennifer Hudson family murders – The fate of the man accused of killing three of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson’s relatives is now in the hands of a jury. After four hours, closing arguments wrapped up Wednesday in the trial of William Balfour, with prosecutors stressing that there’s plenty of evidence to convict him, while defense attorneys said authorities simply tried to pin the crime on Balfour before investigating. – Read more at the Chicago Sun Times
‘American Idol’: Phillip Phillips admits ‘I should’ve been in the bottom’ – “I [try to] forget about how I’ve never been in the bottom, because I mean I know I should’ve been and it at least two or three times and it hasn’t happened,” he tells Zap2it. “I know a lot of people will go by past performances as well [when they’re voting], but a couple of times at least I should’ve been in the bottom — but I feel so blessed that I haven’t been.” – Read more at Zap2it
‘American Idol’: Jessica Sanchez on the problem with her tight dress – Sanchez tells Zap2it that she thinks the judges might not have taken issue with her tiny white number had she not worn it during the upbeat, sassy “Proud Mary.” “I think it was just becaus, like, I had my tight little dress on. I mean, if It were for ‘You Are So Beautiful’ it might not have been a problem. But I sang that song ‘Proud Mary’ and then I danced around everywhere and I flipped my hair everywhere and it was big and my makeup was on and it was all just way too much to take in for America, you know?” Frankly, she isn’t changing her look up much for Top 4 week. “I’m still going with dresses,” she explains. “They might be a little [on the small side] but I won’t be dancing around this time so [hopefully it’ll go over better].” – Read more at Zap2it
Has ‘American Idol’ gotten too touchy feely this season? – LOS ANGELES – Last week, a giddy Jennifer Lopez caused a stir after she declared that Joshua Ledet, the 20-year old soul singer from Westlake, Louisiana, was “one of the best singers (she’s) seen in 50 years.” While Ledet has unquestionable talent, many fans thought Lopez’s hyperbole epitomized the problems with the kinder, gentler version of “American Idol” since cranky British judge Simon Cowell left the series two years ago (not even addressing the fact JLo is only 43!).- Read more at FOX News
10 Things I Hate About ‘American Idol’ (Besides The Singing And The Judging) – Ryan Seacrest’s double/triple/quadruple fakeouts. Our host used to screw with the contestants by teasing the results before throwing to a guest performance or commercial. Now he gives those results using sentences so convoluted, with so many double-backs and twist-arounds, that you need a white board to diagram them and unpack their actual meaning. Frustrating the singers, yes. Confusing them entirely, no. – Read more at NPR.org
Casey James Credits His Mother for Pushing Him to Try Out For ‘American Idol’ – “Maybe I was afraid to try out because I thought that I would fail, and then I got to thinking, ‘What’s the worst-case scenario?’ They’re gonna say no. That’s it. That’s the worst-case scenario. And you can’t make decisions based upon the worst thing that can happen. You need to make the decisions based upon the best thing that can happen. So that’s what I did. I went, and, you know, things went really well.” – Read more at Country Music Is Love
Life is peachy for CMT Awards nominee Lauren Alaina – America watched 17-year-old Lauren Alaina rise to stardom throughout the tenth season of American Idol and now we’re seeing her graduate to new honors. This bubbly Georgia native and Idol runner-up’s debut album, Wildflower, climbed to the number one spot of the iTunes country chart the day of its release in October 2011. Since then she has been the opening act for Jason Aldean’s “My Kinda Party Tour,” and was personally asked by Steven Tyler to sing background vocals on Aerosmith’s new album. – Read more at USA Today
Haley Reinhart: Live & Exclusive! – Last time, she was singing about Wasted Tears, but this time she’s Hit the Ground Runnin!! And wow!! Gurl just keeps on growing!!!
U gotta check this one out (above)! – See the Video at Perez Hilton
Adam Levine: There Were No ‘Bad Intentions’ Towards Christina…
Jermaine Paul Says ‘Voice’ Victory Makes Him Feel “Complete” = Jermaine Paul had been on the sidelines of the music scene for years before winning Season 2 of “The Voice” this week, singing backup for the likes of Alicia Keys (who actually phoned him during Tuesday’s finale while he was onstage). And speaking backstage to Yahoo!’s Reality Rocks after his win (and right before heading off to celebrate at the afterparty), he proudly declared that all his hard work had finally paid off. “It means the world to me to be here. It helps me make sense of everything that I’ve done thus far. I know that sounds crazy, because this is a reality show, but that’s just how it is,” he said. “I’ve been singing background for 10 years, and I’ve been pursuing a solo music career for 17 years. And believe it or not, sometimes you’ve got to play the background to be up front. And that’s what I had to do, and it actually helped me figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I feel so complete.” – Watch the video at Yahoo.com
The Voice Winner Jermaine Paul: Former Boss Alicia Keys Is “So Proud of Me” – Named as The Voice’s second season champ, the 32-year-old R&B performer tells Us Weekly his former boss Keys, 31, was among the first to congratulate him on scoring a record deal with Universal. “She called me onstage,” Paul said after the show of Keys, whose manager is Paul’s close friend. “She was screaming at the top of her lungs. She made me feel like a million bucks.” – Read more at US Magazine
‘The Voice’: On the scene for the season 2 finale – Stuck in traffic on the way to the finale of The Voice tonight, I felt a palpable excitement, PopWatchers. Last night’s epic battle of Jermaine Paul, Chris Mann, Juliet Simms, and Tony Lucca had featured such fireworks – both literal and (yes, Adam) metaphorical – I felt certain that I was about to bear witness to a dramatic spectacle! Would Christina punch Adam in the face? Would Tony Lucca’s wife rip out Christina’s weave? Would audience members spontaneously combust in the heat? I did not know, but I was prepared for anything. – Read more at Entertainment Weekly
Howard Stern talks about playing nice on ‘America’s Got Talent’ – Indeed, Stern has always had a fondness for finding people with unusual skills and giving them a platform to either shine or humiliate themselves. However, sometimes it seemed he was more interested in amusing himself and his audience than in nurturing talent. Now he has to be nice, or at least nicer — the sensibilities of a broadcast television audience are far more delicate than for satellite radio. He insists that won’t be a problem. “I think to come in and say now I’ll be the harsh judge to fit the stereotype is ridiculous,” he said. “Anyone who listens to the radio show knows that there are times you’re harsh and there are times you’re overly compassionate. It’s called being a full human being.” – Read more at the Los Angeles Times
Simon Fuller, Lionsgate Team for Musical TV Drama – Lionsgate will team with “Amerian Idol” producer Simon Fuller to develop a scripted musical TV drama series that will follow “the lives and loves of a young California rock ‘n’ roll band,” the partners announced Wednesday. Showrunner meetings are underway, and the series is being shaped for both broadcast and cable outlets. Lionsgate and Fuller have launched a nationwide search for four young actors who are also skilled musicians to portray the band members. – Read more at The Wrap
