Idol Headlines For 05/07/09

‘American Idol’: On the scene for the Top 4 results night TRAVESTY

Well, so that happened. I mean, what do you want me to say, PopWatchers? I know. I know. You want righteous indignation. You want fireballs. You want to hear about how I desired to throw up on Kara DioGuardi’s face when she was spazzing out during Allison Iraheta’s gutsy final performance as though she’d ever given that girl more than the most cursory compliment over the course of the season. Whatever. We’re in a recession. There’s swine flu. The Taliban is taking over Pakistan. Santa Barbara is on fire. And tonight was one of my best friends’ birthdays, and I could only pop in at her party because I had to come home and write this silly recap about a silly talent show that attracts silly voters who wouldn’t know real talent if it hit them with the mic stand that it carries around because it’s trying to look “rock.” I get it. It’s not such a big deal. Allison went home. Adam Lambert’s gonna win. Or Danny Gokey. Or Kris Allen. (?) And I guess we’ll go on, unless we die broke and sneezing and on fire while subject to hardcore Sharia law. It’s fine. I’m fine. You’re fine. This…is what happened tonight at American Idol.

Entertainment Weekly

‘American Idol’ recap: Go Fourth and Prosper!

She never won Simon’s wholehearted approval, never got a ”you could make it to the finale” critique from the judges no matter how fantastic her performances. Well, except for that one time. From Kara. (Waah-waah.) And tonight, naturally, she didn’t even get a single post-elimination word of advice or encouragement to send her on her merry, sabotaged way.

But the good news for Allison Iraheta, fourth-place finisher on season 8 of American Idol, is that, like a high-school grad who moves on to the next stage of her life without giving a second thought to her locker, or her textbooks, or where she’s going to sit in the cafeteria during lunch, Allison won’t need to concern herself with the petty rituals of the Idol machine anymore.

Entertainment Weekly

More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…

Ann Powers: What we lost when we lost Allison

Alison300 The 60 million-plus voters who contributed to Allison Iraheta’s departure from “American Idol” this week did nobody any favors. Not only is this now an all white-male competition, which is demographically dull; it leaves us with an utterly unbalanced trio. Danny Gokey and Kris Allen are twin sons of different mothers: mild-mannered, modestly cute blue-eyed soul boys trained in the megachurch. Adam Lambert is barely from the same planet. Iraheta, the dirty-sweet teen with a voice of leather and a heart of dulce de leche, bridged the gap. Now she’s gone, and what we’re left with is a pretty weird vibe.

Iraheta out-sang and out-strutted both Gokey and Allen during Rock Night, and in her duet with Lambert, she brought what’s been a fairly tense competition its sweetest moment yet of unalloyed joy. It’s tough to feel that justice was served this week. But one kind of justice à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  the poetic variety à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  did surface.

LA Times

Allison Iraheta’s exit makes ‘American Idol’ a boys’ club

It was another night destined to end in heartbreak. For what has widely been called the strongest final four in “American Idol” history, there was no obvious chaff to be cut from the wheat on Wednesday — and any cut was bound to be unjust. As host Ryan Seacrest named which singers would advance to the final three and which one would be dropped, the tension in the audience was palpable.

Alison300 In the end, 17-year-old Allison Iraheta, the youngest remaining contestant and the only female left in the race, was left out. Her spunky personality was a force of humor on and around the “Idol” stage, and her hard-rock vocal style made for memorable performances.

LA Times

The Rushfield Review: Tween girls, J’accuse!

Well, they finally did it.

Last year, “American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s” tween overlords, drunk on their power, first sent notice that their days of playing fair, giving everyone a chance, rewarding strong song choice, etc. were over. From now on (the memo came down loud and clear) their mandate was: cute boys and more of them. If you were not a cute boy, you might as well sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll Be Cominà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Round the Mountainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  on Rock Week for all the good your hard work would do you.

But last year, power-mad though the tweens were, there lived just an ounce of decorum still — just a little sense that they couldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t take things too far or we peasants might get restless. So they let all of one girl — Syesha Mercado — stick around to the Top Three. Or perhaps they just wanted someone there to witness their wrath — to tell the world what they were capable of. When I interviewed Syesha last year, she spoke of the terror campaign inflicted upon her when she would stand near David Archuleta on stage, how from the mosh pit dozens of pairs of eyes would squint at her in sullen warning.

LA Times

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a boysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ club on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢

On a night where No Doubt played its anthem to girl power live on stage, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ said goodbye to the last of its female finalists.

Allison Iraheta was always a longshot to win. She was in the bottom three during the second week of the finals, and twice more before this week. Even her feisty back-and-forth with a critical Simon Cowell wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t enough to win over an audience that had always liked her less than the judges did.

Still, the 17-year-old managed to hang around long enough to outlast the remaining four women in the competition and impress the showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s host.

MSNBC

Gokey makes final 3 on “Idol”; party set for Friday

Milwaukee’s own Danny Gokey made the final three on “American Idol.” This means he’s coming home, and Friday is the big day.

The plans are still coming together, but here’s what we know. He’ll do the national anthem and throw out the first pitch at the Brewers / Cubs game, do a live concert at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse at Summerfest, parade down Wisconsin Avenue with Aaron Rodgers and several other Packers players, visit an AT&T store, hang with the Bronze Fonz and much more.

Here are all the details, including how you can see Danny live. Below is a schedule of locations and times (all are subject to change) for Danny’s day in Milwaukee.

On Milwaukee

Welcome home, Matt Giraud: Hero’s welcome planned in Kalamazoo, Michigan for the ‘American Idol’ Top 5 finalist

KALAMAZOO — Like a winning Stanley Cup hockey team, “American Idol” Top 5 finalist Matt Giraud will be welcomed back to his adopted hometown of Kalamazoo with a major public celebration Thursday.

Organizers say they are holding the homecoming at downtown’s outdoor Arcadia Creek Festival Place to ensure enough room for the expected large crowd of well-wishers of Giraud, whose run on the Fox TV singing competition ended last week with his elimination. He placed fifth in the contest.

MLive

American Idol: IDOL’s Matt Giraud talks his picks for the finale

American Idol’s Matt Giraud talks about Adam being in the bottom two, his piano skills, and who he thinks will make the finals.

TV Guide

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Matt Giraud on Winning Over Lady Gaga, Dancing With Paula Abdul

Ousted American Idol hopeful Matt Giraud stopped by the Rolling Stone offices yesterday to chat about the big Save, finding a fan in Lady Gaga and convincing people heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not in fact Justin Timberlake. Before we learn who the next eliminated singer will be later tonight, hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Giraud, in his own words:

Rolling Stone

American Idol Recap: The Final Four Slash And Burn

Rock Night on American Idol gave us the answers to two burning questions: whether it was possible for Kara DioGuardi to say something dumber than “Studio 57″ and confusing a six-word sentence with an eight-word sentence; and what would happen if a judges’ pet happened to unleash one of the worst performances in the show’s history a mere two weeks before the final.

Film.com

Will Adam Lambert Win à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ? Giraud, Anoop, Lil Weigh In

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The last few weeks, I always thought I was going to be the one going home,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  Matt Giraud told Rolling Stone when he stopped by the office yesterday (read the rest of his interview here!). Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s definitely been tough to read who was going to get the boot each week this season, but based on reader comments on our American Idol stories à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  like last nightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Rock Week report à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  Adam Lambert has emerged as the clear favorite. With a strong final four à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  perhaps the strongest in the showà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s eight-season history à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  we asked finalists Giraud, Anoop Desai and Lil Rounds to break down the competition. Nobody wanted to name a clear winner (they do have to bunk on the same tour bus this summer, after all), but they did have some insight into Kris Allen, Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta:

Rolling Stone

‘American Idol’ alums weigh in on season 8 and the Final Four

Sure, Adam Lambert may be the front runner on American Idol this season, but Danny Gokey, Kris Allen, and Allison Iraheta are all nipping closely at his heels. Indeed, the ratings juggernaut has never seen a Final Four who’s as evenly matched as Allen, Gokey, Iraheta, and Lambert — which makes tonight’s results show all the more nail-biting.

To commemorate their quasi-historic place in the Idol firmament, we phoned four previous American Idol contestants — (pictured clockwise, from bottom left) Michael Johns, Melinda Doolittle, Jim Verraros, and Jon Peter Lewis — to get their take on this quartet and the larger-than-life glam rocker leading the pack. (None of them had seen last night’s rock-and-roll performance show when they spoke with EW.) Some of their favorites may surprise you.

Entertainment Weekly

Kelly Clarkson & Lady GaGa — Fashion Yin & Yang

There is something jarringly hilarious about seeing Kelly Clarkson and Lady GaGa standing next to one another since they represent style’s North and South Pole. On the one hand you’ve got Kelly, the best example of a girl next door that Hollywood’s got. Next to her, you have GaGa, the kind of person about who you think, “Where the bleep did she come from?”

So what could bring these two ladies together, aside from a “Holiday”-esque life swap? Both performed at the Grammy Celebration Concert Tour at Boston’s House of Blues. And it makes sense that they’re getting in good with the organization right now since they’ve both been nominated before and will undoubtedly be nominated again.

NY Post

Kelly Clarkson Singing Twilight Sequel Song?

Kelly Clarkson may have a thing for Edward Cullen, but that certainly doesn’t guarantee her a spot on the New Moon soundtrack.

Recent Internet chatter claims that the unreleased Clarkson song “Did You?” will likely be featured in the Twilight sequel.

However, a rep for movie studio Summit Entertainment is singing a different tuneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦

There are no plans to use the song, according to the rep.

The angst-ridden, rocked-out ballad certainly sounds like a good match for the flick. “Did you ever care for me?” Clarkson sings in the chorus. “Did you ever believe in me?/Did you ever love me?”

A source tells me that director Chris Weitz has made no decisions regarding the music for the movie. Currently filming in Vancouver before taking off for Italy, New Moon is set to hit theaters on Nov. 20.

EOnline.com

Daughtry Is Not Here To Shock You

TRL DAUGHTRYà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“No Surprise,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  the lead single from Daughtryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s second album, doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really have any, er, surprises in its bubblegrungy package, especially when you take into account that Daughtry co-wrote the song with fellow pop-rock strangleholder Chad Kroeger. The lyrics could be seen as a metaphor for his early exit from the show all those years ago: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s no surprise I wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be here tomorrow / I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t believe that I stayed till today / Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s nothing here in this heart left to borrow / Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s nothing here in this soul left to say,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  the chorus goes. Probably a bit too bitter for it to be next yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s elimination-montage song, but you have to give him an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“aà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  for effort. (YouTube rips of the track are getting pulled faster than you can say à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Katharine McPhee,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  but ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s streaming from his official site. [Official site]

Idolator

Kellie Pickler, Lance Smith Will Reveal CMT Music Awards Finalists

Kellie Pickler and CMT’s Lance Smith will co-host the 2009 CMT Music Awards Nominee Special on May 19 at 10 a.m. ET/PT. The 30-minute special will reveal the four finalists in all categories except video of the year. The video of the year finalists will be announced at the beginning of the live broadcast of the awards show on June 16. The 2009 CMT Music Awards Nominee Special will be simulcast on CMT.com, and a version will be available on CMT Mobile. The awards show takes place at the Sommet Center in downtown Nashville. Fan voting for the winners continues at CMT.com.

CMT

Fantasia Set for Los Angeles Engagement of Color Purple; Broadway/L.A. Season Announced

Singer Fantasia Barrino — who has previously been announced to reprise the role of Celie in the national tour of The Color Purple when it plays Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center (June 30-August 2) and Chicago’s Arie Crown Theater (September 2-13) — will also play the Los Angeles engagement of the tour, February 10-28, 2010.

Fantasia previously played the role on Broadway, where she won a Theatre World Award. She first came to fame when she was declared the winner of season 3 of the TV series American Idol. Since then, she has released the hit albums Free Yourself and Fantasia, written her autobiography Life Is Not a Fairy Tale and starred in the television film adaptation of the book. She will also be the subject of a VH1 reality series to air in 2010, focusing on her life as a recording artist and a single mother.

Theater Mania

American Idol’s LaKisha Jones Toughs it Out

LaKisha Jones of “American Idol” fame is one strong lady! Expecting in August, she’s keeping up a string of concert dates all across the country, despite the fact she’s been fighting stomach upset and other pregnancy-related discomfort. Onstage, she says, “I have to have a Kleenex in my hand because I have to spit a lot. It’s gross. I have pills for my nausea à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ My doctor gave me June 20th as the cutoff when I have to stop traveling. Until then, it’s pretty much every day.”

The singer, who has her “So Glad I’m Me” album coming out May 19, adds with a laugh, “I told my husband, ‘You picked the wrong time!’”

National Ledger

Taylor Hicks Fans Are No Fans of Mine. Sadface.

I feel like I should make something clear: I don’t hate Taylor Hicks. I don’t know how that rumor got started. I was probably more of a Katharine McPhee fan that season of American Idol, sure, but I thought it was actually kind of cool, at least from a novelty standpoint, when he won.

And sure, I made some jokes about his upcoming appearance at the Wal-Mart in Orange, but it wasn’t really about him, it was more the inherent oddity of a relatively recent winner of one of the biggest television competitions in history appearing in the middle of the afternoon, on a weekday, at a Wal-Mart in Orange. If it was one of my favorite artists, I’d think it was funny (and sad. Very, very sad). Still, apparently my words offended some Taylor Hicks fans. Such as:

OC Weekly.com

Taylor Hicks Talks ‘Breakdown,’ ‘Idol’ Win

When Taylor Hicks took the title of ‘American Idol’ during the show’s fifth season, many wondered how long the gray-haired soul singer would last. Hicks told PopEater that he’s had the last laugh. Juggling a “tour within a tour,” Hicks is starring as Teen Angel in the touring production of ‘Grease’ while still performing live concerts in promotion of his second album, ‘The Distance.’

Popeater.com

In Her Own Words: How Paula Abdul Eventually Came Clean

Paula Abdul this week lifted the curtain on a lot more than a new dance single.

After years of speculation, the singer and American Idol judge is coming clean about her 12-year struggle with pain medication. Abdul, who has been diagnosed with the chronic pain illness reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, says she went into rehab just this past November to end her reliance on medications. Here’s a look back at her past statements about drug abuse.

Seattle Pi

Paula Abdulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Top Five Highest Moments

This just in from the Department of No-Duh: Paula Abdul has fessed up to Ladies Home Journal that sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s been fighting an addiction to pain killers. For 12 years, Ms. Straight Up was anything but, shooting syringes of lidocaine into her butt before graduating to a donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t-try-this-at-home pain killer patch thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s 80 percent stronger than morphine. [NYDN]

Paula started managing her pain in the mid-1990s when her famously geometric dance routines compounded injuries from her days as a Laker Girl. In 2005, she got something called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  symptoms of which included shingle-esque lesions and crippling pain. She slapped on that patch of morpine-plus and started gobbling muscle relaxers. Abdul kicked the crazy-making juice in November, when she checked into rehab at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, CA.

The Frisky.com

Abdul has kicked painkillers, she tells magazine

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Paula Abdul is ready for another fresh start, now that she’s kicked her addiction to painkillers, the “American Idol” judge told a magazine.

The former pop star released a new song this week and will take the “American Idol” stage Wednesday night to perform it.

Abdul, in an interview for the Ladies’ Home Journal’s June issue, acknowledged what she has denied for years — that she had a drug problem.

But last November, days after an obsessed fan apparently killed herself outside Abdul’s home, she went to a health spa where weaned herself off prescription pain medications she had used for a dozen years.

“Withdrawal — it’s the worst thing,” she told the magazine. “I was freezing cold, then sweating hot, then chattering and in so much pain, it was excruciating. But at my very core, I did not like existing the way I had been.”

Her painkillers were, in fact, not pills. Abdul wore a patch that delivered a pain medication about 80 times more potent than morphine, she told Ladies’ Home Journal.

CNN.com

Jordin Sparks: American Idol pop star grounded in faith and family

It’s the Commander-in-Chief’s inaugural ball hosted by President Barack Obama and the vast, elegantly dressed throng are in the highest spirits. On stage the band goes into a slow ballad and the singer, a black haired beauty in a svelte evening dress, begins with an introduction. The song, a new one, “Faith”, is penned by the singer herself and is dedicated to the US troops being shipped off to Iraq. Jordin Sparks begins to sing. The combination of her moving dedication, the wistful beauty of the melody and Jordin’s exquisitely phrased, perfectly pitched vocal quietens the crowd who minutes before were noisily chattering. As “Faith” reaches its anthemic climax the entire audience stand mute as Jordin’s voice soars heavenward. “And when the sky’s the darkest/And when you fall the hardest/You find how strong you are/Close your eyes, and rest awhile/It’s been a long, long day/So come on baby, baby, come on baby/And have little faith/Have a little faith.”

Cross Rhythms.co.uk

Dancing With the Stars Recap: Melissa Rycroft Feels No Pain

Psst! Guess who’s back from the dead on Dancing With the Stars, and who’s got one more night to live? Aww, you guessed. Judges swooned over Melissa Rycroft, who taped up her ailing rib and shook her chest so hard it’s amazing she didn’t break another one, and Ty Murray coasted just about as far as he can on the title of Most Improved. On Tuesday, they’ll tell him, “Git along, little dogie.”

Except for Ty, the level of competition was surprisingly high. Right out of the gate, Shawn Johnson earned a standing ovation for a nimble quickstep. She looked like she was having actual fun, a big shift from her usual grinding, nervous earnestness. I’m pretty sure I saw her crying during the tougher moments of rehearsal. Shawn! There’s no crying in ballroom!

Film.com

Carrie Ann Inaba blogs ‘DWTS,’ week 9

WHAT A SHOCKER! Lilà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Kim went home. The whole room collectively dropped their jaw when Tom Bergeron made the announcement. I am shocked by the outcome of the audienceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s vote. However, I think we may be in for some surprises from here on out. Since we have such great competitors left in the game, and they are all sitting quite close to each other on the leader board, the audience vote is really going to come into play. We never know how the audience votes on our show and that keeps it interesting and never allows anyone to have a clear idea of how anyone is doing. I thought Lil’ Kim would be one of the last performers standing. I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think I was alone in that thought. But the show must go on.

Entertainment Weekly

Derek Hough & Mark Ballas Leaving Dancing With the Stars?

Julianne Hough may not be the only pro skipping out on Dancing With the Stars next season.

Her brother, Derek, just told me that there’s a chance he and Mark Ballas could be following in her footsteps.

“Mark and I might not be back, either,” Derek says. “We have other things going on.”

Like what exactly? Read on…

Derek and Mark’s band, Ballas Hough Band, released their debut album, BHB, in March. “Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a bunch of stuff on the table right now,” Derek said, “and we’re going on tour this summer.”

E Online

Julianne Hough is hot in Hollywood after leaving ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Perhaps leaving Dancing With the Stars after five seasons was exactly the right career choice for multi-hyphenate talent Julianne Hough. Sources tell EW.com that the professionally trained dancer and country singer is a very hot commodity in Hollywood these days. She’s in the running to star opposite Christina Aguilera in the contemporary musical Burlesque for writer-director Steven Antin. Sony’s Screen Gems division would not confirm this report, but the casting seems like a logical move considering that the film’s plot centers on an ambitious small town girl with a big voice who finds love, family, and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club, according to Variety. Sources say Hough would play one of the other burlesque dancers.

Entertainement Weekly