The American Idol XIII Hollywood Rounds begin tonight! 8/7c PM FOX. Nashville airs on ABC at 10/9c PM ABC.
NYC FAB 50 presents AMERICA CELEBRATES THE BEATLES – This once-in-a-lifetime event will “come together” on Saturday, February 8th, 2014, featuring music legends, New York music institutions and up-and-coming stars singing Beatles classics and their own hits. Special guest performers include Melissa Manchester, Al Jardine (Beach Boys), Tommy James, Melanie, Gene Cornish (Rascals), Danny Aiello, Fred Schneider (B-52s), Gary DeCarlo, Greg Hawkes (Cars), Ron Dante, Walter Egan, Marshall Crenshaw, Ian Lloyd (Stories), John Ford, Meghan Linsey (Steel Magnolia), Randy Jackson, Larry Kirwin, Siobhan Magnus, Aztec Two-Step, Emily West, Richie Scarlet, Samantha Landrum, Graham Alexander, Roger Kellaway, Julie Grant, Rich Pagano and other SURPRISE artists. – Read more at The Town Hall.org
‘American Idol’ contestant Samantha Calmes took a risk that paid off – Calmes reflected upon her initial audition, which was judged by a panel including fellow Louisiana native, Harry Connick Jr. Did Calmes’ Louisiana pedigree give her any extra traction with Connick? “When I told him where I was from, I could kind of see him open up a little bit,” Calmes said, “but that’s a tough call, because he also said in the audition that he wasn’t a fan of my voice.” – Read more at Nola.com
American Idol contestant Shubha Vedula roots for her sister in season 13, works on new music – American Idol is now a family affair for the Vedulas. After Mount Pleasant’s Shubha Vedula had a successful run in 2013, making it to the singing competition’s top 20 female competitors, it’s now another family member’s turn on the Idol stage. You can hear the excitement in Shubha Vedula’s voice as she discusses her sister Priya Vedula’s journey on American Idol season 13. But, after several years of auditioning, Priya Vedula finally made it to Hollywood this year. Shubha Vedula said seeing her experience helped her sister, who is a pre-med student at the University of Michigan, excel in this year’s audition. – Read more at MLive
Council honors ‘American Idol’ contestant C.J. Harris – Jasper City Council members honored one of the city’s newest celebrity’s Tuesday morning when they recognized C.J. Harris, a 2010 graduate of Walker High School who’s competing on this season’s “American Idol.” Council member Jennifer Williams Smith introduced Harris to the council and commended him for representing Jasper in a positive manner during his audition that aired last week. Harris, who turned 23 last Tuesday, received rave reviews from “Idol” judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. and advanced to compete in Hollywood, which begins tonight. Locally, “American Idol” airs on Fox 6 beginning at 7 p.m. – Read more at Daily Mountain Eagle
Jessica Sanchez: The next chapter – “For 2014 in itself, I’m just trying to be a little more creative and try to find myself. Even if it takes, like, years to create, I wanna make an album that is completely Jessica Sanchez and completely authentic to me. So that my fans can get to see who I am, because a lot of people think I’m boring or whatever. And I’m not boring, haha, I’m just a quiet girl, you know. Everybody’s different, so I just want people to see who I really am behind the scenes.” The new album, she discloses, would be “a little more r’n’b, a little bit of Pop, of course you know, Top 40. Urban, of course. You know me.” “I was (happy with the performance of my first album.) It wasn’t a bad album, I don’t think. But I think it could be adjusted more to who I really am. You know, it wasn’t completely me. There were a couple of songs in there that I loved, like, they weren’t bad songs, but I don’t think they were Jessica Sanchez. And that’s what my goal is for the next album. “I think I just wanna start from scratch. I was so caught up in a lot of stuff, you know relationships (Jessica was then in a relationship with fellow Idol alumnus Deandre Brackensick) and being tired from Idol and everything, that I wasn’t completely mentally there to record my album. So I think now that I’ve gotten my rest, I’m back in the game. I’m ready to go and just be me.” – Read more at Manila Standard Today
American Idol’s Ruben Studdard on Why Harry Connick, Jr. Is the New Randy Jackson – What do you think of Harry Connick, Jr. as a new judge? I’m actually really a huge fan of Harry Connick, Jr. and I was really excited when they announced he would be a judge. The level of music he performs is outstanding, so to have him there to critique the kids is great. You want people there that are at the top of their craft and they have three judges there this year that are most definitely at the top. J.Lo in the way she performs, Keith Urban moves a crowd like no other, and Harry Connick, Jr. is really technical and it’s great for the kids to have that like we had Randy Jackson.” – Read more at Parade
Biggest Loser Winner Rachel Frederickson Goes from Size 20 to Size 0/2: See the Shocking Pictures – Whoa. Rachel Frederickson was the season 15 winner of the Biggest Loser — losing a record-breaking 59.62 percent of her total body weight. Shrinking down from 260 pounds to just 105 pounds, the former high school swimmer, 24, looked utterly unrecognizable at the final weigh-in. Frederickson, who beat out fellow finalists David Brown and Bobby Saleem, won the grand prize of $250,000, and was ecstatic speaking with Us Weekly about her transformation. – Read more at US Magazine
