‘American Idol’ Alum Jason Castro on Life After Dreadlocks & New Band – While the 29-year-old married father of two embraces his Idol past — he recently brought his family to the show’s series finale (his 5-year-old daughter was crushed when her fellow Texan Dalton Rapattoni was eliminated) — his future with his siblings is especially bright. Diamond Dreams was released Sept. 2 via Fervent Records and is resonating with fans: The title track has over 600,000 plays on Spotify. Not even a day after the EP was released, it shot to the No. 1 spot on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart, and Triple A and Non Comm stations are embracing the band. – Read more at Billboard.com
Lauren Alaina triumphs over eating disorder – “This song came from a part of me that isn’t the prettiest part of me, but I want to use it to encourage people regardless of what they see as their flaw,” said Alaina, who wrote the song with pop star Meghan Trainor and Jesse Frasure. Alaina was forced to admit her illness during an office visit to treat polyps on her vocal cords. The polyps were severe, and the singer had had them since she was a child. When the doctor asked her if she’d ever had an eating disorder Alaina denied it — but her mother forced her to tell the truth. “She said, ‘Lauren,’ in that mom voice,” Alaina recalled. “I remember being so embarrassed. I thought I was hiding it from her, so when she said that, I was like, ‘Oh.’ I burst into tears.” – Read more at The Tennessean
Maureen McCormick Is Ready for ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Despite Her Fear of Dancing in Public – “You can conquer anything at any time in your life,” McCormick told ET. McCormick can hardly go anywhere without hearing “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” but her 34-year-old DWTS partner admitted he never watched the show growing up in Russia. “I haven’t seen Brady Bunch at all, but week two, we’re going to be doing something Brady Bunch,” he teased. – Read more at ETOnline
Dancing’s Derek Hough on His Return: Everything Happens for a Reason – The cast this season is great bunch. They’re all really nice. I’ve hung out with Jana Kramer a little bit. I’ve been really impressed by James Hinchcliffe. I think he might be an underdog. He’s another Helio in the making. He’s got a great personality and is a really likeable guy. Then I saw him rehearse and I was like, “Wow!” I think he’s definitely someone to watch out for. I think it’s cool that Cheryl and Maks are back this season too. It was a total coincidence for the three of us to return at the same time, but it’s fun for us old-timers to be back. – Read more at TVGuide
