Idol Headlines for 07/09/09

Here’s a cute video of the Castro family (Jason, Jackie, Michael, and Betsy) jamming in the car to Demi Lovato’s song “Here We Go Again”,,,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG6ipmxcB-4

Jackie’s YouTube description:

Typical car ride….my family jams to demi lovato and we make fun of jason. hahah. good times.

cant wait for the concert!!! Demi is gonna be AMAZING and i cant wait to see archieee woo hoo.

Just got word from my friends who went down to Orlando to audition (im crying cuz i couldnt go), they just got thu all the preliminary contest winners(assuming a big chunk were Dream Ticket winners from the Disney AIE)- there were about 40 of them who auditioned and she said roughly 15 got thru. She said there was a blind chick who was really good who got through (hello top 12). Other than that she said nothing out of the ordinary. Her section is second to go and one of the people in her group made it to hollywood last year so im interested to see if he makes it thru again this year.

Crowd song: Poker Face – Lady GaGa

It seems the Vancouver Sun journalist really hate Kris. Maybe he is the conspiracy theorists he mentioned himself in the article.

It seems the Vancouver Sun journalist really hate Kris. Maybe he is the conspiracy theorists he mentioned himself in the article.

I didn’t notice specific hate for Kris — it seems more like he doesn’t respect anything about Idol or think anyone who was on Idol has much legitimacy.

So, I’ve read that Ticketmaster or some other service releases good seats the day of the Idol Concert … HOW DOES THAT WORK? HOW DO I GET GREAT LAST-MINUTE SEATS???

I’ve got 2 horrible seats for the Dallas concert on July 23rd…and would LOVE TO BUY better ones (just NOT at $350 each as are available now), and thought if someone would let me know if this is true, how I go about buying the last-minute tickets???…

What time that day do they start selling them? Can you do it online? Or is over-the-phone better?

In short, if one of you guys knows the best method to attempt, I’d be ever-so-grateful! In fact, I pledge to GIVE my two $55 tickets to some needy kiddos at the gate if I can score better ones…

If not, of course, I’m going to be sitting in those crappy seats, along with my 13 yr old daughter, sporting our sliver and blue glittery versions of “Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders from Planet Fierce” costumes!

What a great city for Adam’s colors to match the professional team’s colors! There will be lots of STARS, for sure!

And, thank you for the info, in advance.

It seems the Vancouver Sun journalist really hate Kris. Maybe he is the conspiracy theorists he mentioned himself in the article.

Nah…..he just seems unenthused about Idol tours in general and doesnt think there’s much to them.

Its actually snippets and reviews like these that I enjoy reading…the less invested eye

From tbo.com “Last year’s runner-up, Adam Lambert, has inspired many contestants to wear punk rock outfits and apply heavy eyeliner.”

I cant WAIT to see this!

I can’t even start to say how happy it makes me to see Matt getting some good reviews and recognition!

We’re hoping and praying that you make it too, Sarah!

From The Salt Lake Tribune :

Besides Bikini Girl, the surprise win of Kris Allen, the is-he-or-isn’t-he debate regarding Adam Lambert, and the complete absence of a contestant with a surname of Archuleta, there were still plenty of things worth watching during the most recent season of ‘American Idol.’ 

Doesn’t that paper have a copy editor? Because I think that’s suppposed to say “Despite Bikini Girl, the surprise win. . .” As it reads now, it’s saying Bikini Girl and the absence of Archie were things that made the season worth watching. I doubt David’s howetown newspaper meant to say that. Although then it would be dissing Kris Allen. Oh hell, just chuck the whole thing and start from scratch.

Some of the known local winners with VIP treatment in Orlando:

Desmone Sanders
E.J. Cardona
Katie Bernard
Kelsey Madsen
Lauren Minenok
Mary-Beth Salguero
Ryan Sterling
Samantha Leigh

Here is a very brief clip of Danny and Matt interacting with fans in Vancouver yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/user/cadcx0#play/all/uploads-all/1/nC21-stYGyc

double post.

Here is a very brief clip of Danny and Matt interacting with fans in Vancouver yesterday.

Thanks JX223…I havent seen any vids of the idols in vancouver, save the performance ones

On Michael Jackson’s official site they have a page with some of the statements celebrities have made since his death. They have DC on there along with Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Usher, Britney Spears, R. Kelly and Chris Brown. Very nice.

53 cities and 53 reviews from article writers who just don’t have any investment in American Idol and will invariably think the show is much too low brow for them to invest in. Happens every year! Besides, and I say this even though I am invested in a few of the Idols, the show really is a kareoke sing-along with borderline staging, a reasonably good band, and a parade of also rans trying to impress somebody, anybody.

The show is not “a musical event”, it doesn’t showcase the performers (it showcases the show), the audience is so diverse and polarized (even though they are respectful to most of the idols) that you really can’t get a true feel of a performers relevance within their own eventual fan set.

I’ll take everyone of these tour reviews and articles with the proberbial grain of salt. It’s actually quite nice that they take the time to say anything at all….you don’t get a lot of reviews for most “amateur” shows. And, as a fan, I refuse to get over-invested in all the fan behavior and the ongoing competition. I’m enjoying this respite before Fall for what it is…campy and fun without a lot of substance. I’ll be a lot more “concerned” when my favs head out into the real world and on to their own tours….then the reviews from seasoned musical reviewers will mean something.

And that just 31 million viewers in the U.S. That doesn’t count internet viewings, gatherings of the memorial, worldwide events, etc. MJ’s memorial was definitely an international event.

The Vancouver Sun article was really negative. Its the first review I read that didn’t really like anyone… but I think the writer has a problem with the show in general from the tone.

Only 9,000 in Orlando to audition for AI. The numbers are way down this year. I remember when it used to be 20-30 thousand in one city alone. Now they are lucky if they can crack 10 thousand.

Sounds as though Graeme McCranor (Vancouver Sun) was dragged kicking and screaming to the Idol concert. Lol! I love it when people try to appear so above it all.
Most people I know are the same….”Oh, you watch American Idol? I wouldn’t watch that crap!” Sigh.

So giving a chance to a bunch of ordinary kids from ordinary lives a chance of something better is crap? Or too far beneath a reporter to allow him to write a review without pointing out how beneth him it all is. I assume he was getting paid for it.

At least he gave Adam his due.

Well, both of my friends got cut down in Orlando (including my friend who made it to hollywood last year). Apparently they had him sing 2 songs initially, then they brought over another producer who asked him to sing something contemporary. Sounds fishy to me. Well, they ended up letting him go. He said one of the producers recognized him standing in line earlier and i’ve read a lot about how idol doesnt like repeats (ie Cody Sheldon (sp?) getting cut first round this year). Anyways, i’m still waiting for two other girls who i know who are trying out (both are phenominal and if one of the girls doesnt make it, i will cry bloody murder because in all honesty, her voice blows away half the top 12 each year…she tried out a few years back and got cut right before the judges round…she has since worked on her image a lot which might be the reason they passed her up). OK. Done for now.

Only 9,000 in Orlando to audition for AI. The numbers are way down this year. I remember when it used to be 20-30 thousand in one city alone. Now they are lucky if they can crack 10 thousand.

This is not a good sign. Seems to me that perhaps Idol is wearing out its welcome…

As far as the Vancouver Sun reporter, why send someone who already had a negative agenda? You can tell that from the first line of the column. Sometimes bad publicity is NOT better than no publicity, tho Idol is not coming back to Vancouver, so perhaps it doesn’t matter. He pretty much slammed everyone, and he certainly slammed the Tour in general (and certain Idols specifically).

And yes, it was nice for Matt to get a shout-out. I really hope he gets a recording deal, and soon. What is refreshing to me is that in one of his interviews he said that no matter what happens, he wants to continue to play music for audiences. There’s someone who just loves music and performing. And he sends the nicest tweets as soon as the show is done (Scott does, too). I hope Matt comes to Boston.

I really enjoyed the Adam/Megan interview – they seem super cool together, and very connected. I can definitely see them having similar personalities, and him getting a kick out of her kookiness and uniqueness.

Kind of weird format though, to have them answer questions for each other: “So Megan, what is the worst thing about fame that Adam has to deal with?” Huh?

Unless they did “Poker Face” before I got into the arena, that was NOT the crowd song for Orlando. We were learning “Heartbreaker” when I got in here.

So far about 50 people have gotten thru, about equal numbers of guys and girls. There are about 8 or 9 sections to go before my section heads down to the floor.

Interesting tidbit – I haven’t seen any of the other vocal coaches here, but Debra Byrd is auditioning people at table 1.

The average for auditions last season were about 7,000-9,000. They are down from some of the earlier seasons, but actually up slightly from last season.

Duke – who was it who was cut that made it to Hollywood last season, Julissa Veloz?

Only 9,000 in Orlando to audition for AI. The numbers are way down this year. I remember when it used to be 20-30 thousand in one city alone. Now they are lucky if they can crack 10 thousand.

This is not a good sign. Seems to me that perhaps Idol is wearing out its welcome’ ¦

Hmm. But it’s a positive if you want to try out – at least the odds are SLIGHTLY better. (Not that I’d ever try out, way too frightened!)

Still, I honestly believe that AI, problems and all, will stay a juggernaut until, perhaps, Simon decides to leave. I think he will be the hardest void to fill on the show.

From my count, about 60,000 have auditioned so far.

Boston – 7,000
Atlanta – 10,000
Chicago – 12,000
Dallas – 10,500
Los Angeles – 12,000
Orlando – 9,000

So, I’ve read that Ticketmaster or some other service releases good seats the day of the Idol Concert ‘ ¦ HOW DOES THAT WORK? HOW DO I GET GREAT LAST-MINUTE SEATS???

TXArchitect, I’ve done this several times, and while I can’t guarantee anything, this is how I’ve done it:

Starting about 11 a.m. on the day of my show, I’d open Ticketmaster’s website, select my concert, and look for tickets. I’d get crappy seats (or none at all) at first, but I kept trying again and again, every 5 minutes or so. Eventually the good seats pop up. Last year, I found excellent seats around 12:15; in 2005, it was at 11:30. I’ve gotten as close as 4th row!

I should mention it pays to gamble a little: You may get, like, 28nd row of the floor at first, which will sound fantastic, but if you give them up and search again, you may get even better seats. Sometimes, while the Ticketmaster clock is counting down, I’ll open a second window and try again. Good luck!

Duke I hope your friend makes it, and I’m sorry you couldn’t go. Perhaps you can make it to auditions in another city?

Good luck Sarah!

Good Luck Sarah!!!!! My fingers are crossed for you.

Yes, good luck Sarah!!

The max number of auditions at one city has been 20,000. Never has exceeded that amount. And that has only happened on one of two occasions. Plus, i highly doubt the producers seperate the non-auditionees from the ones who actually sing as to inflate their numbers. The numbers, IMO, are only slightly slightly down from Season 7 (ie S9 and S8 had very similar numbers from the looks of it).

Duke – who was it who was cut that made it to Hollywood last season, Julissa Veloz?

LoL. no. it was not her. He didn’t get any camera time so you wouldn’t know him. But he did get to chat with Adam while in line for breakfast on the first day of Hollywood week. Now that’s like winning in itself!

And Sarah, i was told by my friends that they got the Poker Face song when they registered for their wristbands. So they must have changed it. Interesting…

Here is David Cook with an Acoustic version of Souvenir a song that did not make the record. This is a beautiful version of the song. There is a bit at the beginning when David’s phone rings very funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6FgvQxS9BQ

TXArchitect, I’ve done this several times, and while I can’t guarantee anything, this is how I’ve done it:

Starting about 11 a.m. on the day of my show, I’d open Ticketmaster’s website, select my concert, and look for tickets. I’d get crappy seats (or none at all) at first, but I kept trying again and again, every 5 minutes or so. Eventually the good seats pop up. Last year, I found excellent seats around 12:15; in 2005, it was at 11:30. I’ve gotten as close as 4th row!

I should mention it pays to gamble a little: You may get, like, 28nd row of the floor at first, which will sound fantastic, but if you give them up and search again, you may get even better seats. Sometimes, while the Ticketmaster clock is counting down, I’ll open a second window and try again. Good luck!

Thanks for the input! I was wondering about this too. I already got tix to one show in my area, but I am seriously considering getting another show nearby (lots of venues are within 3 – 4 hours of each other on the east coast!) but wanted to try it at the last minute via ticketmaster. This is really good to know!

Haha! Matt replied to my tweet about what sort of tattoo he should get…all right!

My tweet:

@mgiraudofficial For tatt, cross love of Disney with love of music. Tigger (in a fedora) playing piano?

Matt’s reply:

#hahaha now THAT’s an idea!!#about 8 hours ago from web

I’m glad he liked my suggestion. I honestly never expect anyone (famous or not) to respond to my tweets (or emails or whatever) so this is very cool.

Here is David Cook with an Acoustic version of Souvenir a song that did not make the record. This is a beautiful version of the song. There is a bit at the beginning when David’s phone rings very funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6FgvQx59BQ

That link isn’t working. It says ” The video you requested is not available.”

ETA: Thanks for fixing it!

yeah, “Poker Face” was what was on our paperwork, but they “taught” us “Heartbreaker” and that’s what we taped. Shrug.

They’ve cleared out 6 sections so far. 7 more to go before I go down there. I think I’ve decided for sure on “Killing Me Softly” as my song, and then “I’m Yours” and/or “Chasing Pavements” for the 2nd and/or 3rd.

Sorry about the link I fixed it now if you go up and click on it.

Acoustic Souvenir was just gorgeous!

TXArchitect, I agree w/above commenters, just keep trying ticketmaster the morning of the show. I’ve gotten great seats that way – 7th row floor and 1st row lowers right next to the stage. Good luck!

And good luck Sarah!

I didn’t see these posted. These videos are pretty cute. Crazy questions in the first one.

http://www.kirotv.com/video/19995778/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnkmNkZnhAA

Thanks for bringing over the acoustic Souvenir! I love acoustic Dave and that song is one of my favorites.

I am post hoing sorry but here is a press release from MLB about a performance by David Cook at the All Star Game’s Homerun Derby: http://www.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20090709&content_id=5782100&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

David Cook’s participation in the MLB All Star week is confirmed in this press release. Apparently, Nikko Smith (dunno who he is) will perform the anthem.

Delete. Triple post! Haha!!! Hope DC’s MLB performances find its way to youtube!

Apparently, Nikko Smith (dunno who he is) will perform the anthem.

He was on American Idol… Carrie’s season.

There is a bit at the beginning when David’s phone rings very funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6FgvQx59BQ

LOL
I don’t think it’s David’s phone, but someone who has Declaration as ringtone. That was a sweet performance of the song. It’s interesting David chose to perform that one though.

Thanks for the acoustic David Cook link – Yummy!

Apparently, Nikko Smith (dunno who he is) will perform the anthem.

Nikko was an R&B-style contestant from Season 4. He is the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, so that might have given him a leg up on getting the gig.

He was eliminated from the sow During Top 16 night, but Mario Vazquez subsequently quit the show (yet was given a contract with RCA Arista anyway), so Nikko was invited back as the next highest male vote getter (that year, the rules dictated that even number of males and females made the finals). He was subsequently voted off 9th.

Yay for DC performing at the Home Run Derby – that’s a cool gig

It’s interesting David chose to perform that one though.

It is interesting, isn’t it? Wonder what their plans are for that song… hmm!

On the front page of Adam’s official website (adamofficial.com), there is a new posting that he will be in the new US Weekly magazine. The title is: Adam Lambert in the studio with US Weekly!. They have a picture of him in the studio with a quote from him saying that with the 7 hour sessions, its the best diet in the world due to no lunch breaks!! lol

Yay for DC performing at the Home Run Derby – that’s a cool gig

Yes very cool I wonder what two songs it will be. I bet one is Heroes.

Looks like Sarver really tweaked something in his foot last night:

michaelsarver1 Well guys I woke up this morning unable to put weight on the back of my foot. So pray. Thank u for all the love.

Only 9,000 in Orlando to audition for AI. The numbers are way down this year. I remember when it used to be 20-30 thousand in one city alone. Now they are lucky if they can crack 10 thousand.

The numbers are usually around 10,000, sometimes over, sometimes under. The highest turnout was in Philadelphia a few years ago, they might have cracked 20K that year.

Thanks for the link to acoustic Souvenir. Gorgeous. Interesting that Cook’s starting to do these “stripped” performances for radio stations. I recall him doing M&G’s for radio stations, but until recently, those did not include performances. Hope we get more vids.

Here’s another video from Cook’s recent acoustic set at Mix 92.3 New Orleans. A lovely version of Come Back to Me. He continues to play around with the tempo and the melody.

Minority opinion? I love the acoustic stuff even more than the performances he does every night with the band. I could listen to that voice stripped down like that constantly. Can’t wait for the MLB appearance!

What’s going on with his official site? I saw something on Twitter a little while ago about DCO going global so I went there, there were 2000 people online and like a minute later it crashed..?

Here’s Adam’s piece on MJ from Rolling Stone:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/29025979/michael_jackson_remembered_adam_lambert_on_icons_imagination

And good luck Sarah!

sarah’s auditioning? good luck and do let us know how the auditions went

Minority opinion? I love the acousitc stuff even more than the performances he does every night with the band.

Me too — I love his voice, and when he plays acoustic that’s what you get. I love the sets with the band, too, it is a whole different vibe and the guys are super talented. But sometimes just David is just right . I keep wishing for an acoustic set at Birchmere… a girl can dream, right?

Here’s Adam’s piece on MJ from Rolling Stone. Article Link

wow…. great piece on MJ by Adam!!! Is Adam the only Idol contestant that Rollignstone picked to be part of this celebratory special on MJ?

I love AcousticDave, and he’s now done acoustic versions of 2/3 of the regular DCTR:

Declaration; Heroes; Light On; Come Back to Me; Life on the Moon; Mr. Sensitive (still not posted anywhere); Lie (semi-acoustic); Permanent; Time of My Life (bonus).

Still no acoustic versions of BBS (can’t quite wrap my mind around that, but….); I Did It For You; Avalanche; A Daily AntheM; and the two “bonus” songs, My Last Request and Breathe Tonight.

And additional acoustic versions of various other songs (from Idol and otherwise), now including Souvenir. My AcousticDave playlist on my ipod is increasingly full, which is awesome.

ETA: Pretty cool that the official MJ website included DC’s quote about him.

ETA #2: Extremely cool that he’s playing before the Home Run Derby. I love the Derby—one of my favorite sporting events of the year.

Here’s another video from Cook’s recent acoustic set at Mix 92.3 New Orleans. A lovely version of Come Back to Me. He continues to play around with the tempo and the melody.

I really like that. That must be the best performance of the song I heard from him yet. On some day he sounds good, some day not so good, this is definitely one of the best ones.

Here’s a little bit of Heroes if it hasn’t been posted before -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0NV28qf8gM

How many songs were performed there? Anyone knows?

Not Idol related, but if anyone remembers Eli Mattson – second place winner on last year’s AGT, I read some news today on his Myspace.

Announcing Eli’s new manager:

Gillie Crowder
GPC Management out of Nashville!

and from Eli:

Hey everyone out there!

I guess the word is out, but I wanted to make it formal. I have a new Manager!
I’m really excited to be working with Gillie, and can’t wait to be back on the road. Thank you all who have been supporting me and the music, and the new record is in the works!

Also, Thank you to Charlee out in Maine. She set up a great show in Freeport, and the Haraseeket Inn has been one of the nicest places I have played. Also Thank you to Chip for Finding me a piano.

I’m getting some home recording done, and will post some new tunes soon for people to check out and tell me what you all think.
Much love to everyone, and I’ll see you soon on the road!

Cheers.

Eli

Cyedit, THANK YOU for the info on getting better tickets on the day-of-the-show from Ticketmaster!

It sounds like I’ll be able to do the internet searching and actually secure the better tickets by 1pm or so, which is wonderful because I was wondering how dangerous it was going to be when I had to do the Ticketmaster thing WHILE I was driving from Houston to Dallas to get to the show! This way, I can score the tickets and THEN get on the freeway!

And aren’t we all glad for that? lol

Thanks again; I’m sure there are many out there who were wondering…

Oh hey, great news for Eli!

Haven’t seen or heard anything from Sarah – I wonder if she made it?

I think it was smart of Idol to move the auditions up. They are closer to the end of the show and I think some of the residual buzz will help bring more people out and, importantly, more media. Didn’t they used to be in August, which is the next best thing to a national holiday vacation month.

How many songs were performed there? Anyone knows?

That day I think those 3 songs.
KHMX also posted a video of his performances there. Instead of Heroes he did Mr. Sensitive that day. Link

Hey MJ, I saw this look at some of the rejected auditioners from Pasadena and wondered if you’d seen it. Some of them are, of course, really good and this is a nice article and video about them.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/247825/american-idol-reality-rocks-season-9-lost-auditions-episode/

^ link doesn’t work, but its a great video. i reposted it below

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/247825/american-idol-reality-rocks-season-9-lost-auditions-episode/

ETA: nevermind! u got it.

leome, thanks for that link to acoustic Mr. Sensitive. I hadn’t heard that before. Oh my gosh. The guitars on that are beautiful. (And David was a’ights too, I guess. *grin*)

The Idols are apparently taking the plane to go back to the US:

AnoopDoggDesai had the slowest customs line in the entire airport. pretty sure these people in front of me were actually applying for a passport.

wow’ ¦. great piece on MJ by Adam!!! Is Adam the only Idol contestant that Rollignstone picked to be part of this celebratory special on MJ?

No, they have lots of celebrities.

Hey MJ, I saw this look at some of the rejected auditioners from Pasadena and wondered if you’d seen it. Some of them are, of course, really good and this is a nice article and video about them.

That video was posted, and discussed in headlines yesterday.

I hadn’t seen that acoustic “Mr. Sensitive” link anywhere else! A good day for us Cookie fans!!

Extremely cool that he’s playing before the Home Run Derby. I love the Derby’”one of my favorite sporting events of the year.

Excuse the ignorance. I do watch baseball, including the All Star game on occasion, but don’t follow the All Star week events, and have no idea what the Home Run Derby is. Is it televised?

LOL. The “word association” questions that the DJ asked in that video from KHMX Houston yielded some pretty funny anecdotal stuff about Ryan and the judges. I’m not sure why the idea of Dave grabbing a beer with Seacrest is so funny, but it cracked me up. I wish they had included the third song of the set (another version of Souvenir apparently), but it was great to finally be able to add Mr. Sensitive to the acoustic playlist.

No, they have lots of celebrities.

I know they have lots of celebrities. My question was if Adam is the only person from American Idol included in the special issue on Michael Jackson? I’m guessing he is since no one has said otherwise. I didn’t know if they included David Cook since he performed Billie Jean so briliantly last year.

I know they have lots of celebrities. My question was if Adam is the only person from American Idol included in the special issue on Michael Jackson? I’m guessing he is since no one has said otherwise. I didn’t know if they included David Cook since he performed Billie Jean so briliantly last year.

No mention of any other AI alum in the MJ issue. Celebs also include Quincy Jones, Slash, Brooke Shields, Chris Cornell, “Weird Al” Yankovic (because of his humorous versions of MJ songs — “Eat It”, etc.) and others. Adam was the first one they put up online. Chris Cornell is also up. I don’t know how much more they will put up online before magazine is out.

My guess is that since they put Adam’s out with the issue promo, his RS issue must have sold well. It was also their lead news release today.

I have always loved the All-Star Game and the Home Run Derby. I won’t steal LadyM’s thunder, as she dug up some cool stuff on DCO regarding the Derby, but it airs three times on ESPN, gets a good audience (and lots of young males), and is a lot of fun to watch. It is not unusual for the Derby to be more entertaining than the Game itself. Plus, last year, they played one of the songs from the Derby during the Game, so double exposure.

Fingers crossed for Heroes…..

Loving, loving, loving the new acoustic stuff this week. It’s one of the things that I love about DC and his band—they always seem to be playing around with their songs, creating acoustic versions and tweaking the non-acoustic versions. Keeps it fun for me as a fan, and probably helps to keep things fresh for them. It also probably makes it attractive for a radio station to get to be the first to air one of the songs as an acoustic version—sure, they also did the current single, but each of these two stations got to “premiere” an acoustic song, as well.

Excuse the ignorance. I do watch baseball, including the All Star game on occasion, but don’t follow the All Star week events, and have no idea what the Home Run Derby is. Is it televised?

Yep, it’s televised – outside of the game itself it’s the biggest event of the All Star break. It will air live on Monday night on ESPN and will be re-run a gazillion times over the coming months on their various channels (I still see Derbys from past years aired on ESPN Classic all the time). Last year the live broadcast drew 6.1 million viewers according to TV Week, and was the highest rated cable broadcast of the year to that point. It also won the night in key demos, pulling the highest share amongst men 18-34, men 18-49, men 25-54, adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.

3 Doors Down performed in this slot before the Derby last year, and they aired one of their two songs during the broadcast. I assume this year will be similar.

ETA: You can steal my thunder anytime FolkFan! And I’ll second the request for Heroes – since that song has already been used to promo NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, and professional figure skating and gymnastics, it’s only fitting that it gets a little MLB action as well.

I did not see any other Idol on the RS site but I think that other Idols are represented in other places. Michael Jackson’s homesite has a testimonial from David Cook on it today. So like I said they are represented pretty well and this is two examples.

Well, it turns out Adam is not in the printed issue, but how awesome they chose Adam to write an MJ piece. What an honor.
adamlambert@ohferras @ali22san lets write another song together!
ohferas@adamlambert @ali22san Its a must.

That was a long essay. I thought it was only going to be one paragraph. Michael Jackson wanted to meet Adam. He must have seen his BoW performance.

How awesome they chose Adam to write an MJ piece to be included with so many established stars. What an honor.

I agree. And think that it must of really meant a lot to Adam because MJ was one of his favorite artists. I sorry that Adam never got a chance to meet MJ.

And I’m glad Adam didn’t do Thriller on Idol, but I would have loved to see his makeup, costume and production for it!

http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2009/07/09/8216american_idol8217_finalists_feel_free_on_tour/

Another review- I don’t believe it’s posted yet? It has nice things to say but this stood out:
“Meanwhile, prodigies Adam Lambert and Kris Allen put on a mini-concert and successfully presented themselves as fully realized rock stars.”

It’s cute that someone thinks they’re prodigies. hehe

Here’s link to some more (2) interviews featuring (in various pairings), Adam, Kris, Allison and Megan…

http://watercoolerconvo.blogspot.com/2009/07/kradam-krallison-interviews.html

AC Boston Globe article is a reprint of the LATimes article from Monday with the Boston concert promo added on.

girlygirl – thanks for posting that link. Really fun.

In yesterdays headlines there was an E Online Q&A with Adam and he mentioned being treated like a tourist attraction, I felt really bad for him about that. I was thinking about getting a tshirt made up for him that says:

The Adam Lambert Attraction
Rules of Engagement

And then listing a bunch of rules civilized people would automatically follow when approaching a celebrity for an autograph, etc. I can think of a bunch of appropriate rules myself, but it should also include some funny ones, and I am not very good at funny. I was hoping some of you might come up with some funny rules for me to include. It would be great to get a laugh out of him. Serious ones too in case I miss a good one or two.

Any suggestions welcome!!!

KrisAllen4Real: Stacey carosi just smiled at me. My heart just melted a little inside

=====
ha ha cute.

Should I know who Stacey Carosi is?

Never mind…I’m being told who that is by my work colleagues. I didn’t watch Saved By the Bell…I’m an idiot

I love Saved by the Bell. That was my show growing up. I think I like Kris a little bit more. ha ha

Should I know who Stacey Carosi is?

Look up Stacey Carosi on google and got this. I think/hope Kris means someone else!

Stacey Carosi (played by Leah Remini) was a temporarily major character on Saved by the Bell, lasting for only 6 episodes of the series’ run during its third season, yet remaining fairly memorable due to her identification with its classic “Malibu Sands Era”.

:clap_tb:

THERE IS AN ERROR IN MY COMMENT REGARDING ADAM’S RS ARTICLE:

RS put Adam’s and Chris Cornell’s on their Website at the same time but Adam’s is the one that they featured in their press release. Sorry, and trivial, but I didn’t want to leave wrong info out there.

MJ – I added a correct to this comment right after I posted it but it vanished.

DishofSalt

Hey guys. Adam Lambert intv. coming up next Thursday. Send me your questions this week ill ask what YOU want.

omg, so Kris watched Saved by the Bell and Boy Meets World (mentioned in a different interview)?! we are meant to to be! haha

:thumbup_tb:

My question about who Stacey Carosi was has now sparked a big conversation at work reminiscing about t.v. shows we watched as kids – good times (our boss is gone for the day – ha)

KHMX also posted a video of his performances there.

OMG, finally watched Mr. Sensitive acoustic, and it’s amazing! And you know what? I’m gonna go ahead and say something about DC’s oft belittled guitar skills– I think he does some neat stuff there. I mean, I’ve noticed he always does more intricate stuff on acoustic than when he’s on the electric guitar. I mean, I think lead singers in rock shows just don’t tend to play as much, you know?

I think lead singers in rock shows just don’t tend to play as much, you know?

David Gilmour…Pink Floyd…DC will never even come close!

Stevie Ray Vaughn mostly stopped playing when he sang / didn’t sing when he played… I agree it’s more common for the lead vocalist NOT to play Lead guitar at the same time he sings. At the most – they will usually play rythym and do the lead vocals – and take guitar solos during the vocal breaks.

I also think that it depends on whether they play by ear – or play by reading music or tab. It is much more difficult to sing and play-by-ear than sing and play memorized notes.

Also, there is the physical demand made by singing and by playing an instrument. This is best illustrated by the scarcity of singing drummers (Phil Collins…Ringo Starr???). Obviously drums are tough and demand a lot of energy – but guitars are heavy and many players are quite energetic while performing….

Hey MJ, I saw this look at some of the rejected auditioners from Pasadena and wondered if you’d seen it. Some of them are, of course, really good and this is a nice article and video about them.

That video was posted, and discussed in headlines yesterday.

Ah, I see, it was posted in the comments. I only looked at what you’d posted. That’s where my confusion came in:).

Here’s another video from Cook’s recent acoustic set at Mix 92.3 New Orleans. A lovely version of Come Back to Me. He continues to play around with the tempo and the melody.

Wow. DC continues to amaze me. IMO, he’s hands down the best male singer to come out of Idol. Just amazing.

Anyone know why the Idols flew to San Fran instead of taking buses to Sacramento? Inquiring minds want to know.

I’m a little late, but thanks for posting the acoustic DC songs. He really doesn’t need anything but a guitar and his voice. So gorgeous. I’m also glad someone (sma11ie!!) came out and said that David really isn’t as bad a guitar as he makes himself out to be. I’ve always thought he was a very, very good acoustic player. There was some really nice guitar work on the acoustic Mr. Sensitive, by both Neal and David. And, of course, he plays rhythm in concert. He has an excellent lead guitarist, which frees him up a lot to crunch away on rhythm and focus on vocals.

I don’t think anyone was comparing DC to David Gilmour. Maybe he doesn’t come close, but he’s good enough for me!

Anyone know why the Idols flew to San Fran instead of taking buses to Sacramento? Inquiring minds want to know.

They tend to fly the contestants if it’s a long distance. It kind of sucks to spend a long time in a bus. It’s like a 16 hour drive to San Francisco and the driver has to stop for breaks so it would take even longer or they’d have to have two drivers per bus. Flying gives the contestants a chance to get a better rest.

Yesterday, there were no buses at the venue during the concert so they probably sent the buses back down to the States earlier in the day.

I agree with you EmmaJK. The guitar work on Mr. Sensitive by both guys was just exquisite.

This is best illustrated by the scarcity of singing drummers (Phil Collins’ ¦Ringo Starr???).

Don Henley of Eagles fame also played the drums while singing. That being said, when you are the lead singer of a band with very good supporting instrumentals, you don’t have to be the lead instrumentalist on *anything.* What puts David in a category beyond just “getting by” is that he can move from being the lead singer of a very good, tight band to being a lead singer who can go off — alone or with his lead guitarist — and put on a special acoustic performance accompanying himself or doing so with one other gifted musician. He is a true talent and I will always be grateful to Idol for bringing him — and his band mates — to national attention.

Anyone know why the Idols flew to San Fran instead of taking buses to Sacramento? Inquiring minds want to know.

That is strange they flew into SF instead of Sacramento. They have a day and a half off, so maybe they preferred being in SF? They prolly don’t have as much time to do sightseeing on Sat & Sun, where they will be closer to SF.

#sophiasheart is trending on Twitter right now. People are doing it for Danny. That is wonderful and sweet. :smile2_tb:

During Idol, the critics on allmusic.com said that DC was a good to very good rhythm guitarist. Based on what we’ve seen, he would not be hired to be a lead guitarist, but he’s a good rhythm guitarist, and he is (I think) quite a good acoustic guitarist. Granted, when Neal is on the stage with him, it is a guarantee that he is not the best guitarist on the stage, but…. Long story short, I agree with smallie. [smile]

#sophiasheart is trending on Twitter right now. People are doing it for Danny. That is wonderful and sweet.

Yes, Jx223, it is sweet, as were Allison’s, Matt’s, and Anoop’s tweets to Danny. Glad he has good friends…he needs them.

Yes, Jx223, it is sweet, as were Allison’s, Matt’s, and Anoop’s tweets to Danny. Glad he has good friends’ ¦he needs them.

I think that Anoop’s Matt’s and Allison’s Tweets were sweet too. And I am glad that he has them as friends too. :smile2_tb:

Checked to see when they arr in SF. I guess they just have tonite and prolly tomorrow morning, then taking the bus to Sac’to. I’m guessing they are staying in the city and not close to the airport.

Jx223
Jul 9th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
#sophiasheart is trending on Twitter right now. People are doing it for Danny. That is wonderful and sweet.

Yes , it #4 and the Adam and Kris fan sites are promoting it, too. It’s really a nice AI8 thing. Very nice for Danny because I’m sure it’s a really rough day for him.

New cool article about David Cook
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/saginaw/index.ssf/2009/07/david_cook_takes_steely_determ.html

wellhesback, thanks for that David Cook article! Can’t seem to get enough Cookie crumbs

It’s amazing how many people on twitter have come together and made #sophiasheart a twitter trend tonight. It’s really nice to see. I hope Danny has his friends around him — today of all days.

(In a really weird coincidence, today is also Kris’ wife’s birthday)

During Idol, the critics on allmusic.com said that DC was a good to very good rhythm guitarist.

Really? I’m pleasantly surprised. Part of the reason for my initial statement about DC’s oft-belittled guitar skills, besides DC’s own self-deprecation, is because the few times DC’s guitar skills were mentioned in reviews, they were along the lines of, oh well, DC’s guitar skills are nothing to write home about, etc.

But then the pressure and hectic pace of the show barely allowed him enough time to work out the arrangements with the band and focus on his vocal, so I didn’t think that was fair. I remembered how Brooke mentioned the instruments were a double-edged sword because they already had so much work in so little time, and they were an extra thing to memorize. And how in one of the later episodes, Jason admitted on air that he should’ve practiced the guitar more. Carly said recently when she was interviewed for the finale that Jason’s advice to Kris was to ditch the instruments after Top5 or something, cuz it’s too much to memorize, and how DC had like 20-something songs to learn his final week between the group performances, etc. plus guitar chords to memorize. All that to say, yeah, I think DC played just fine on Idol, but it was totally understandable that his playing wasn’t the focus.

#sophiasheart is trending on Twitter right now. People are doing it for Danny. That is wonderful and sweet. :smile2_tb:

That is sweet! Today must be pretty rough for him.

“wow’ ¦. great piece on MJ by Adam!!! Is Adam the only Idol contestant that Rollignstone picked to be part of this celebratory special on MJ?”

- Yes, he is the only Idol contestant who wrote in the RS special issue to MJ but there were a lot of celebrities in this issue who also wrote something about MJ. It should have been a dream come true for Adam if he had also met MJ since he mentioned that MJ was interested in meeting him.

Re: Danny/Sophia: Is today the anniversary of her passing? Oh, that’s got to be hard.

Re: DC guitar playing/allmusic.com: Yeah, I was pretty surprised, not that I didn’t think that DC was a solid rhythm guitar player, but because the allmusic critics were a pretty harsh crowd. [It was kind of a mixed blessing that they did not blog the show this year---it was an interesting read, but generally quite tough on the contestants.] But during the blog for the AI7 finale, One of them complained that the sound mix was off for the ZZ Top performance, with DC’s guitar way too low in the mix, which was unfortunate, because DC was a solid rhythm guitarist.

Poor Danny – this had to be a really tough day for him.

Here’s Adam’s piece on MJ from Rolling Stone:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/29025979/michael_jackson_remembered_adam_lambert_on_icons_imagination

This was very good. I wish Adam and Michael were able to meet, but it has to be very flattering to know Michael wanted to meet him.

LOL. Somebody should have told these guys just cuz they’re in CA, SF temperatures not like LA.

Not sure where to post this, but this was in the Toronto Star a couple of days ago:

“Gene Simmons thinks Adam Lambert should have stayed in the closet Unfortunately, the closet was full of feather boas, leather pants, photos of hot boyfriends and five unread copies of Thank You For Your Stupid, Unsolicited Opinion, Gene Simmons.”

One of them complained that the sound mix was off for the ZZ Top performance, with DC’s guitar way too low in the mix, which was unfortunate, because DC was a solid rhythm guitarist.

I remember reading some bloggers comment that DC was letting “the pros” do the heavy lifting w.r.t. the guitar playing on that song. I thought he looked fine. But then I remember DC said himself in an interview that his brain was so burnt out by that point that he was really grateful the ZZ Top guys were so nice about making it as easy for him as possible, and he even said he was “rocking the same 3-4 chords” the entire time. So yeah, I think he’s well aware that his playing was limited due to the hectic pace of the show, etc.

- Yes, he is the only Idol contestant who wrote in the RS special issue to MJ but there were a lot of celebrities in this issue who also wrote something about MJ. It should have been a dream come true for Adam if he had also met MJ since he mentioned that MJ was interested in meeting him.

Yes. I guess thats why they included him in the special issue.

spring2009
Jul 10th, 2009 at 7:10 am

Not sure where to post this, but this was in the Toronto Star a couple of days ago:

‘Gene Simmons thinks Adam Lambert should have stayed in the closet Unfortunately, the closet was full of feather boas, leather pants, photos of hot boyfriends and five unread copies of Thank You For Your Stupid, Unsolicited Opinion, Gene Simmons.’ 

Bwhahahahahahhaa

I wish Adam and Michael were able to meet, but it has to be very flattering to know Michael wanted to meet him.

Agree, what a compliment! And how cool that Adam was asked to contribute to RS again, whether it made it to the print issue or not. I’m sure Adam’s acquaintance with MJ’s choreographer was a plus. People seem to know a friend-of-a-friend in entertainment, but Adam’s BorW must have made an impression for MJ to want to meet him. Quite a comment on Adam’s talent and charisma. Speaking of R.Stone, I was at Wal-Mart yesterday and saw a rack of tote bags with R.S. covers imprinted on them, including Beyonce’s cover, Kurt Cobain, and the recent Jonas Brothers rs cover. It’s too soon for Adam to have that same cache, but I found myself looking for his cover on one of the tote bags, anyway…It would have been great to carry to the concert, right?

Speaking of R.Stone, I was at Wal-Mart yesterday and saw a rack of tote bags with R.S. covers imprinted on them, including Beyonce’s cover, Kurt Cobain, and the recent Jonas Brothers rs cover. It’s too soon for Adam to have that same cache, but I found myself looking for his cover on one of the tote bags, anyway’ ¦It would have been great to carry to the concert, right?

Aw man that would have been awesome!