I have the TV Guide channel on and they are doing a 2 hr pre idol special. A lot of past idols have been on and a lot of the current 12. Ace, Mandisa, Nadia, Scott, George Huff, Kimberly Locke, Anthony that I can think of right off. They had Josh Gracin and Paris on the other day. Mandisa has a new single released today.
Nadia has a new movie out, Scott is going on tour with a group from Cincinnati, I missed most of Ace’s bit. Lisa T. on now talking about her upcoming tv show. Brandon Rogers on earlier as well as Jared Cotter talking about his own tv show. Sounded like it was a local show. So far, all liked both contestants in the final but almost all think Blake will win. Check out the audience tonight, will be full of ex idols.

There will be a 2 hr red carpet show tomorrow night pre idol also.

They have also reran various idol tonight, idol chat shows all day. Also an hour special on Kelly C and one on Clay A. Interesting stuff.

Also just saw that Kellie P dad was arrested again for stealing old cars and taking them to a junk yard. In jail in lieu of 26,000 bond so far. Poor Kellie.

AJ Gill, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Kimberley Locke, Fantasia ( family was a gospel group ), Jennifer Hudson, George Huff, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Paris Bennett, Chris Daughtry, Mandisa. I probably missed a few too.

There were a couple from Season One..

Well, Jordin, isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t the only oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ Not much was revealed about Phil eitherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦
We knew he was in the Navy and that he missed the birth of his second daughter.. We did not know that he was the music director of his church or that he attended a religious affiliated college.

Let’s not forget Chris Sligh — who is worship leader at his church and has composed numerous worship songs.

Melinda Doolitle is a devout Christian who has sang backup with gospel singers like Cece Winans, Yolanda Adams, Sandy Patti and even George Huff.

This should not come as a surprise… we have had many people who sang in church before and a lot of them got their basic training singing in front of churches. The following come to mind :

AJ Gill, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Kimberley Locke, Fantasia ( family was a gospel group ), Jennifer Hudson, George Huff, Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, Paris Bennett, Chris Daughtry, Mandisa. I probably missed a few too.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Having an undiscovered songwriter create the winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s single seemed like a natural next step for our show. Not only do the fans pick their American Idol, but also his or her first single. This show has always been, and will continue to be, all about fulfilling dreams.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

It certainly sounds like they were looking for an amature songwriter. Not some dude who has written multiple songs for soundtracks (as one contestant has). I’m not saying it should have been only for people who decided to write their first song ever, but the promo for this contest was misleading. Why not just bill it as a “songwriting contest” then instead of the search for an undiscovered songwriter.

Well, this entire contest was mishandled. It was on and off again so many times. Then, when it was finally on, there was only a short period of time to enter and then a short time to vote. It didn’t get all that much attention. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Nigel had a roomful of interns parked in front of computers voting full-time for the song he wanted to win…no loo breaks allowed.

ETA: Great news for Ace, pj!

Runners-up, top-five finishers have soared over the past few seasons.

When I was on the show, I realized that after I got off I received so much press I really donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t think anyone in the world would have known who I was [otherwise],à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  said Young, who is finishing work on his S-Curve Records (Joss Stone) debut,

MTV News

This is the first I’ve heard a specific label associated with Ace!!!! Hope it’s true. :clap_tb:

I know what youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re trying to say MaryS, and ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not trying to dispute that. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m just trying to understand the people at that site that think because someone has connections to someone already in the industry theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re not eligible for the contest.

You’re right, radname. As far as I can tell there was no restriction on submissions by professional songwriters, but some of the songwriters who who entered the contest felt the promotional materials were misleading because they claimed to be looking for a real amateur.

It may simply be sour grapes, but there were numerous connections between some of the finalists and various people on AI. One guy played with Randy Jackson. One guy produced something for Paula Abdul. One guy was on several events with Ryan Seacrest. And then, the David Foster thing. Etc.

I don’t think it really matters if they get a decent song out of it, considering the song submission guidelines, but it is noteworthy that so few of the finalists actually seem to be amateurs.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Having an undiscovered songwriter create the winnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s single seemed like a natural next step for our show. Not only do the fans pick their American Idol, but also his or her first single. This show has always been, and will continue to be, all about fulfilling dreams.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

Yeah, well undiscovered by “America”, LOL, not undiscovered by the Music biz.

But if it means the entered song could not already be in a publishing deal, then that is your loophole to let the profs in.

Just like the contestants on AI, some will have experience as pros, but not signed to a record deal. Apparently, they got 25,000 song entries at $10 a pop.

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s amazing how Christianity is the focus this year, but there hasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really been talk about it at all while the show is on. If you didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t read the internet you would have no idea how religious Jordin is

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Well, Jordin, isn’t the only one… Not much was revealed about Phil either…
We knew he was in the Navy and that he missed the birth of his second daughter.. We did not know that he was the music director of his church or that he attended a religious affiliated college.
The viewing public only found out his father was a minister and that he was not allowed to listen to specific genres of music about the time he was booted…

EDIT: I knew he had attended Lee due to the fact that the college is located in my area, and my local Fox news interviewed some of the students that attended Lee.

Didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t they say they got 10k entries? Then they only choose 20?
—-
à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“amateurà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  contest for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“untappedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  talent. There was never any mention of professionals being allowed to participate and, if you look at all the information weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve all gathered on the final 20, they are all entrenched professionals.

Looks like this was a windfall for 19E, with a $10 per song entry fee!
Apparently the rules stated that the songwriter could not already have a publishing deal -now if this means they couldn’t have ever published anything, then the professionals should be out . But if it means the entered song could not already be in a publishing deal, then that is your loophole to let the profs in.

http://spinme.com/2007/04/american-idol-songwriter-contest-rules-reviewed/

I would say a Safety Net was definitely put in place..

“amateur” contest for “untapped” talent. There was never any mention of professionals being allowed to participate and, if you look at all the information we’ve all gathered on the final 20, they are all entrenched professionals.

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I, for one, am NOT surprised..
I also found it interesting that four or five of the Top 10 this year have strong ties to the Christian genre of music.
Hadn’t really connected the dots on that page until just recently..