Idol Headlines for 3/18/08

Idol Power: The Top 11

As the contestants make the final push to qualify for the season 7 tour, Chikezie makes a massive jump, while Michael Johns continues to slump. See where Michael Slezak ranks your favorite, then vote in our weekly poll

1. Jason Castro

Entertainment Weekly

‘Idol’ coaches panel has short advice for these long shots

Idol season had barely begun before David Archuleta was crowned winner and Carly Smithson proclaimed top female contestant. But it’s a long road, and upsets lurk in every theme week. We asked the Idol Coaches to pick a long shot and share a winning strategy.

USA Today

More Idol Headlines After the Jump

American Idol Wagering Odds Shuffle After Lennon, McCartney Songs

Archuleta is still the favorite to win the competition, but his odds have come back to Earth. He is now a 5-4 favorite. That is down from the 2-3 odds from last week.

Brooke White did a stunning rendition of “Let It Be”, and has now jumped up to be the second choice at 4-1. David Cook also wowed the audience with his “Eleanor Rigby” choice. He has moved up to the third pick at 9-2.

Syesha Mercado and Michael Johns both were downgraded from favorites to the lower end of the choices. Mercado is now 30-1, and Johns, 16-1.

Casino Gambling

Taking à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ chances

Bettors are gambling on David Archuleta as the odds-on favorite to become this seasonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idol.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Soul Man from Utahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  tops the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  list with 5-to-4 odds of taking the title, according to the betting bunch at sportsinfo.com.

The next safest bet? That would be blond beauty Brooke White, who has got the whole Carol King thing going on. She has a 2-to-1 chance to win the popular FOX singing series contest.

Boston Herald

‘American Idol 7′ – Top 11 predictions

This week, the top 11 will have another shot at the Beatles’ catalog. There’s a lot at stake in that everyone who makes it through this round gets to go on the tour, while the person who’s eliminated does not.

History has taught us that people who are eliminated in this round generally fade into obscurity pretty quickly (think Stephanie Edwards, Kevin Covais, Mikalah Gordon, Matt Rogers, and Charles Grigsby). So, with no clearly defined fodder left, everyone needs to be at the top of his or her game this time out, that’s for sure.

Idol Thoughts

Kin-Dread Spirit: Castro Family Musical

When Jason Castro tried out for “American Idol,” it raised his number of public singing appearances from a handful to a-handful-plus-one.

The soft-spoken 20-year-old Texan with long dreadlocks is padding his singing resume now. As one of 11 contestants still in the running for the “Idol” title, Castro is winning fans with his laid-back style and musical talent.

Part of a close-knit musical family, Castro has played drums since he was young. While attending Texas A&M, the construction science major decided to try playing the guitar and singing as well.

SF Gate

‘Idol’ Contestant Beauty School Dropout

Brooke White’s friends say she never had pop-princess fantasies as a little girl. She never saw herself crooning soulful melodies to a packed house.

The “American Idol” contestant never imagined herself on stage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  period.

Her dreams took place behind a chair.

“She’s probably the most successful beauty-school dropout,” said Heather Harris-Torriente, who enrolled in beauty classes with White at age 16 and remains one of her closest friends.

SFGate

Is Amanda Overmyer Idol’s “Worst”?

The comparison between the hard-rocking nurse and the most infamous American Idol contestant ever would end there, except for one other thing: Like Sanjaya, Overmyer has won the endorsement of Vote for the Worst.

“She mumbles through her song, does crazy dancing and basically makes a mockery of the competition by singing every song the same way,” the Idol-subverting site declared. “This is why we love her.”

To Idol blogger Rickey Yaneza of Rickey.org, Vote for the Worst’s selection only proves producers’ contentions that this year’s batch of contestants are, on the whole, “good to go.”

E!Online

Kelly Clarkson Storms Stage At Carling Academy

SHE might have been barefoot but Kelly Clarkson managed to stomp her way through a rocking set last night.

The winner of American Idol showed off her powerful and unique voice with a medley of songs from her three albums as well as her forthcoming one.

The crowd lapped up Kelly’s banter as well as her songs as she played the first of a two-nighter at Glasgow’s Carling Academy.

She remarked: “It was so freezing today, but the people made it hot.”

Daily Record

Kelly Clarkson live in Yonkers

Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s official: Pop princess Kelly Clarkson will sing for the pope in Yonkers on April 19.

Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not a big à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“American Idolà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  guy, but I have heard her sing a few times and she has the pipes, as they say. Sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll sing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ave Mariaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  for Benedict XVI, which the kids at the big youth rally should love, you would think.

Clarkson, who I understand is Catholic, will also sing at the pre-pope concert at Dunwoodie (where 20,000 youngsters will be assembled for hours before Benedict arrives).

Blogging Religiously

Bo Bice Performs In Columbia County

An “American Idol” fan favorite made his mark on Columbia County as Bo Bice kicked off “The Music Evolution Series.”

The singer performed before a large audience at the county Amphitheater.

Bice was a runner up to Carrie Underwood during the show’s fourth season.

NBC Augusta

Stars Reveal Good Luck Charms

American Idol Jordin Sparks holds onto the past. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I have a blanket my grandmother made for me when I was born. I take it with me all the time. A couple years ago I ripped it in two so I could have it with me and have it at home.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ 

OK Magazine

‘Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul,’ as read by Dalton Ross

In a new weekly series, EW’s Dalton Ross performs dramatic readings of passages from the recently published book Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul. Today’s “author”: Haley Scarnato.

Popwatch

Christos Dantis & Sister Sledge to Perform at Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund

Scholarship presenters will include Actor/Singer Constantine Maroulis (who will also reprise his role as Guest Host of the concert portion of the evening), Fox News anchor Ernie Anastos, CBS News anchor Alexis Christoforous, Fox-5 meteorologist Nick Gregory and Judge Nicholas Tsoucalas. Big Screen Presenters will include: CSI:NY star Melina Kanakaredes, and television legend Betty White. Over 1500 people are expected to attend as the HTSF awards over $100,000 in scholarships to Greek-American students from across the country. To date, the HTSF has awarded over One Million Dollars to over 500 students.

Hellenic News

ICE-CREAM IDOL:

Former “American Idol” finalist Chris Richardson is scheduled to visit the Winn-Dixie supermarket at 6188 U.S. 41 N., Apollo Beach, on March 26 as part of a promotion for Edy’s Slow Churned American Idol ice cream. He will sign autographs from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Consumers in the Tampa area who vote for their favorite flavor at slowchurned.com by 1 p.m. March 25 will be eligible to win a private concert with Richardson the night of March 26.

TBO.com

2007 ‘American Idol’ contestant visits Paradise

A woman who was part of the top-rated “American Idol” TV series wrapped up a family visit in Paradise Monday.

Performer Gina Glocksen spent five days visiting her father, Gene, and his girlfriend in Paradise. Glocksen finished ninth during the show’s sixth season, which aired on FOX in 2007.

Her last day included chatting with reporters at Darlene’s Fine Chocolates in Paradise.

Glocksen noted that she skipped higher education because she was determined to be a singer.

“Being on ‘American Idol’ was a very surreal experience,” she said. “Rarely do people have the guts or courage to follow their dreams.”

Asked about facing the show’s judges, including tart-tongued Simon Cowell, Glocksen said it was hardest during the auditions when it’s decided who makes the cut. When viewers begin to vote, the judges become part of the audience, and she tried not to pay attention to them while singing.

ChicoER

Diabetes surprised ‘American Idol’ judge Randy Jackson

Here’s one thing you won’t hear Randy Jackson talk about on American Idol: his type 2 diabetes.

Jackson says America’s most popular series is “not a preachy platform.” He’s busy critiquing singers and bantering with fellow judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul.

So Jackson is getting the word out other ways: appearing in a public-service announcement for the American Heart Association, sharing his story at IKnowDiabetes.org and doing interviews to bolster the association’s Heart of Diabetes campaign.

Orlando Sentinal

Shut down Randy Jackson’s Music Club à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’  immediately

Not that his versatile chops should ever have been in doubt – heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not just name-dropping when he recites his credits on the show, yà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢know – but thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s proof here, if any scoffing hater still needed it, that Judge Dawg is indeed as badass a session cat as heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d have us believe.

Doubters should refer to the sole interesting track on this years-late tie-in, a version of Willie Dixonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Wang Dang Doodleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  that finds Sam Moore, Kebà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Moà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and a notably inspired Angie Stone making soulful over Randyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s slippery syncopated groove – one that, the more it turns in on itself, keeps throwing my wiggle off the downbeat.

What sort of cruel, greedy mind casts Kat McPhee in a duet with Elliott Yamin, knowing heà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll instantly show her up as little more than the model-hot backing vocalist she is?

Popmatters

Aussie ‘Idol’ to audition in U.K., L.A.

“Australian Idol” is expanding its auditions this year to Los Angeles and London, in a first for the show, with producers hoping to find an expatriate singer who can reinvigorate the sixth edition of the series.

On Monday, FremantleMedia Australia and broadcaster Network Ten said two of the three Aussie judges will travel in April to audition contestants from about 1 million Australians living overseas.

FMA said that more Australians live in the U.K. and the U.S. than live in the smallest Australian states of the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania combined, and that they want to “tap into this fantastic and as yet unknown talent pool.”

Hollywood Reporter

Spot the Seacrest 2.0 differences

There’s more than just a sullen face–or is that a come-hither stare?–separating the Ryan Seacrest you know and love from the one looking back at you on the cover of the current Details. In the tradition of everyone’s favorite happy hour touch-screen time-killer, we now invite you to Spot the Six Enhanced Differences in the above two photos of the beloved showbiz ubiquity. Feel free to leave your guesses in the comments. The answers (four easy and two for expert competitors only) are after the jump:

Defamer