‘American Idol’s’ Alejandro Aranda began at open mic nights, sidewalks in Pomona, Claremont – “Basically if you were hanging out in downtown Pomona last year, 2017, 2016, he was around doing open mics and performing,” open mic host Victor Martinez told me. “He was always really happy to perform.” Martinez ran shows at dba256 Bar and Gallery and at O’Donovan’s Pub. Even though Aranda was playing at bars where people typically treat live music as background to whatever conversations they’re having, his effect on audiences was electrifying. “He would play and everyone would kind of stop what they were doing,” Martinez said. “They were in awe. It was a real attention-getter. Sometimes it was four people in the room. He would get 100% of everyone’s attention.” – Read more at Daily Bulletin
‘American Idol’ Singers & Judges Share Earliest Disney Memories, From Unusual Set of Mickey Ears to ‘Bambi’ – The top eight contestants’ first Disney memories are considerably newer — no surprise, considering their ages. “For me, it’s The Little Mermaid, for sure,” says Laci Kaye Booth. “That movie came out in 1989. I fell in love with the film and everything Disney at a young age.” – Read more at Billboard
‘American Idol’: Katy Perry on Why She Went All Out for Disney Night With Ursula Transformation (Exclusive) – ET spoke with Perry and her fellow judges after the show on Sunday, and the 34-year-old songstress opened up about why she chose to dress up as the beloved antagonist in honor of Disney night. “I was thinking about [being] the Little Mermaid but then I realized, Ursula is a character who isn’t done very much, [while] the Little Mermaid always gets her moment in the sun!” Perry explained, in the character’s menacing tone. “And Ursula, actually, really wants Ariel’s voice. And that’s what I want, is these contestants’ voices!” – Read more at ETOnline
Fantasia, Tori Kelly Performed on the CBS Special Motown 60
You might have missed it–it aired opposite American Idol on Sunday.
Fantasia (@TasiasWord), @Meghan_Trainor, @ToriKelly, and @chloexhalle are evidence that the classic songs of @Motown continue to influence the voices of today. #GRAMMYsMotown60 pic.twitter.com/i9kKtU0YzP
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) April 22, 2019
Kelly Clarkson Told Her Kids That ‘Mommy and Daddy’ Made Their Easter Baskets — Not a Bunny – The Voice coach, 36, was honest with her younger kids — daughter River, 4, and son Remington, 3 — about the fact that she and husband Brandon Blackstock, 42, were responsible for their Easter baskets (and not the Easter Bunny!), but it led her to believe that she “may not have done [the holiday] right.” “Even my nanny came in this morning and was like, ‘What did the Easter Bunny bring?’ And I was like, ‘Wait what?’” Clarkson tells PEOPLE. “I kind of just was like, ‘Mommy and daddy did these for you.’ I knew my mom always did it — maybe don’t show this to children.” – Read more at People.com
Winning ‘The Voice’ changed Cassadee Pope’s life. Six years later, her career is still evolving. – Although striking out as an independent artist has been scary at times, Pope said, she knew she had to leave the major label world when she started worrying too much about whether country radio would play her music — rather than focusing on the quality of the song. “We’re in this format where we’re trained to think about what the mother in South Dakota [listening to the radio] will think of this song instead of thinking, ‘What’s my fan base? Who am I? And what do I want to say?’ ” Pope said. “The fan base will form around the songs, so why am I trying to do the opposite? That makes no sense. Once I wrapped my head around that and really broke that way of thinking, it opened my brain and I was like, ‘Oh!’ And I just started writing differently.” – Read more at Washington Post
American Idol Lee DeWyze Keeps it Real – “When I went on American Idol, the show wasn’t really conducive to the singer-songwriter; it was more about creating pop stars,” explains DeWyze. “I love performing, and I love playing, but the reason I went on the show and the reason I’m still doing it ten years later is that I always put songwriting at the forefront of what I’m doing. It’s hard to really get know an artist from just watching them on [the program]. I think that [American Idol] has learned that rather than trying to create celebrities, it’s okay to create artists. – Read more at Westword
‘I never really got much of an explanation’ – X Factor winner Ben Haenow on his experience with the show and Simon Cowell’s label – After the release of his self titled album it was announced that he was parting ways with Syco Music, despite the record having been certified with gold sales in the UK and several other countries. “I thought the album had done well, it achieved gold sales in the UK and got into the Top 10 of the album charts. Realistically for me that was a win and it was going alright, but for them I guess it wasn’t.” “I never really got much of an explanation, they were just like ‘we think we’ve come as far as we can and we’re going to part ways with you’.” “It wasn’t a choice of mine but at the time you don’t get a choice in it – it’s essentially like getting fired.” – REad more at EveningNews24.co.uk