Salvation Army’s Albany disaster relief outreach gets helping hand from Phillip Phillips – The tornado that struck southeast Albany on Sunday afternoon has brought in an outpouring of support from all walks of life, from the everyday citizen to well-known city leaders and even an American Idol. The Salvation Army’s disaster relief vehicle, joined by “American Idol” winner and chart-topping recording artist Phillip Phillips, continued its relief efforts Wednesday, venturing into an environment where there are building checks, tarps on roofs, scattered debris and trees as far as the eye can see. “You are never promised anything,” Phillips said. “You don’t want to take anything for granted. Until you get out in it, you don’t really know how bad it is. “This is my home, these are all my people (and I want to do) all I can.” – Albany Herald
Aaron Gibson Ready to Make a Record
The Voice season 11 Team Miley member is recording an album…
First day of recording the album starts now… #thatswhat #aarongibsonmusic
— Aaron Gibson (@aarondgibson) January 26, 2017
Lauren Alaina is “All About Acceptance of Others and of Yourself” – On Feb. 2 in St. Louis, Alaina starts the CMT Next Women of Country Love Unleashed Tour 2017 with headliner Martina McBride. And she can’t get on her tour bus fast enough. “I’m dying,” she kidded. “I’m obsessed with her. I get to ask her questions, learn from her and grow. And she’s such a nice person, too. So I’m excited to be able to just watch her and take it all in.” – Read more at CMT.com
Marietta’s Zach Seabaugh (‘The Voice’) starring in Alliance’s ‘Troubadour’ through Feb. 12 – Playwright Janece Shaffer and Sugarland’s Kristian Bush canvassed New York and Nashville for an actor to play the 1950s era 23-year-old up-and-coming country singer trying to get out of his famous father’s shadow. But they found their man right here in Marietta. “I did musical theater in high school so I was able to transition back,” said Seabaugh. No doubt his time on “The Voice” helped his stage presence. And for him, getting to sing the words of Kristian Bush, a great songwriter, inspired him. – Read more at AJC.com
Crystal Bowersox: I want my son to “be whoever he wants to be” – Bowersox feels the same way about her son, an “eight-year-old miracle.” “Whoever he turns out to be, I will love and support him, no matter what,” she says. “That’s love. True love.” That same unconditional love has long guided Bowersox, and it was the main factor in her decision to audition for American Idol. “I knew that I needed to turn my 100-dollar bar gig job into a career and give my son a better life,” she says, adding that she never really considered doing anything but music for a living. – Read more at Metro Weekly.com
Exclusive: Interview with Jax – According to Jax, she doesn’t know how she would get through life without writing. She jokingly mentioned how she’d probably be in an asylum if she didn’t have a piano or something. “I feel more at home onstage than I do in my own room sometimes and there’s nothing more exciting than for people be able to hear my story and be on the journey with me,” says Jax. “There’s nothing quite like connecting to the fans and watching them literally preach the lyrics that you wrote; it’s an amazing feeling that I really couldn’t even describe it if I tried.” – Read more at Celebmix.com
‘Idol’ alum Jax wise beyond her years – “I’m really, really nervous and excited about (the album). It tells a bunch of stories. It’s sarcastic and romantic all in one,” Jax said, over the phone from her East Brunswick home. She may be nervous about how her EP will be received, but she’s no longer nervous about her health. She said she’s feeling “really good,” both physically and mentally. Looking back to April … not so much. Feeling subpar, Jax toughed her way through a sold-out Webster Hall show in New York City, then basically fell off the face of the earth. It wasn’t until August that she disclosed to her fans that she had been sick with thyroid cancer. – Read more at NJ Herald
Mickey Guyton on Being a Black Country Singer: ‘It Should Be Normal’ – Mickey Guyton grew up in Texas and has been singing country music ever since she was a little girl, yet people are usually surprised to learn she’s a country singer. “I have people saying things all the time, like, ‘Oh my God, you sing country? That’s not you.’ But it is me. Why can’t it be me? Why is it not normal? My family is so country!” Guyton, 33, tells PEOPLE. “Still, I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy,” she says. “There isn’t a lot of diversity in country music. But I get a lot of messages on Facebook and Twitter from women about how I am opening doors for them. And that’s what pushes me, reading messages like that. I feel like I’m every woman. – Read more at People.com
Former American Idol contestant on trial for child porn charges – An Elmore County jury on Thursday is expected to get the case of a former American Idol contestant facing almost a dozen child pornography charges. Brandon Cox, 26, of Wetumpka, is charged with seven counts of possession of obscene material depicting persons less than 17-years-old and two counts of intent to distribute obscene material depicting persons less than 17-years-old, courthouse records reflect. Cox was a 2012 American Idol contestant. He was cut from the show during the group round during Hollywood Week, reports show. – He was on season 11. I don’t remember this guy or can find a mention of him in any recap – Montgomery Advertiser
