I got a whole roundup of Idol updates just for you, below…
The new Season of American Idol Extra premiers on the FOX Reality Channel Thursday, March 26, and it looks like the show will be taping a slew of Idol performances Saturday, March 14 (tomorrow) to be sprinkled throughout the season.
Taylor Hicks, Blake Lewis, Jason Castro, Brooke White, Michael Johns, Kristy Lee Cook, Syesha Mercado, and Carly Smithson will all be performing at the Los Angeles taping, hosted by Jillian Reynolds.
According to the New York Daily News, Clay Aiken was on the set of Tina Fey’s awesome comedy, 30 Rock filming a cameo for the show. Also on set? Elvis Costello (I flove him!) and Mary J. Blige. What a trio, eh? I am SO tuning in for that!
Gospel singer, and Season 5 contestant, Mandisa, is set to release her sophomore album, Freedom, on March 24. You can listen to the album now on her MySpace page, by clicking on the “Freedom” widget. She talks about how she lost 75 pounds in a blog post here. (She hired a personal trainer and changed her eating habits). Her goal is to lose 100 pounds by April 23rd for the Dove Awards, where she’s nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year.
Speaking of the Dove Awards, Season 6 contestant, Chris Sligh is also nominated for a Dove as Best New Artist–a category that will be decided by fan vote. Go to the Dove awards site HERE to vote for Chris. His single, “Empty Me” is nominated for Song of the Year.
The sophomore album from Season 3’s George Huff, simply called, George Huff, is set to be released April 7. You can listen to song snippets from his gospel-flavored effort at his MySpace HERE.
Fresh from a European USO tour, Bucky Covington is working on a new album set to be released September 8. Mark Sawyer of Sawyer Brown will be returning to produce Bucky’s sophomore effort. The first single, “I Want My Life Back” will release to radio soon.
