Idol Headlines for 01/19/11- The Evening Edition

@IdolsNow: SCOTT MacINTYRE’s sister, Katelyn, won “The American Idol Experience” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando today.Katelyn MacIntyre, sister of Season 8’s SCOTT MacINTYRE, now moves into the finale at Disney’s Hollywood Studios tonight.

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WuLi Records tweets that there will be a 3rd Lee DeWyze album comprised of new pre-Idol material. The song “Never There” will be on it.

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Ryan Seacrest is a twitterbug today:

Do not miss the first 9 mins of tonight’s @AmericanIdol premiere. It explains where we’ve been & where we’re going.

I see the early edits of #Idol episodes when I do voice overs & I’ll tell u, FOX censors are working overtime with Steven Tyler haha

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Idol’s Nigel Lythgoe: Who to Watch for This Season

“There’s a 15 year-old girl who sings like Kelly Clarkson, [she] might give Kelly a real run for her money!” Lythgoe tells UsMagazine.com without naming names. “We’ve got good church voices we haven’t had since Jennifer Hudson and it’s [a male singer]. We’ve [also] never had a double bass country voice, but we’ve got a 16 year-old kid who sings right down in his boots. It’s unique.”

“The whole idea of the mansion is to give [viewers] another platform to see how they interact, ” Lythgoe explains. “We’re not really interested in who’s looking at who and if they’re touching or holding hands. It’s not Big Brother!”

Nigel pimping the teens!

Read more at US

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More Headlines after the JUMP…

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Fox reveals the way the companies will be featured in the show’s new season.

On Wednesday, Fox announced that Ford, Coca-Cola and AT&T have returned as American Idol’s official sponsors.

Ford — an Idol sponsor since the show’s 2002 launch — will be featured in contestants’ music videos (a new aspect of the show).

Read more at The Hollywood Reporter

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Sneak Peek! Judges Dish on New ‘Idol’ Season

Read more at ExtraTV

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Simon Cowell & Nigel Lythgoe Dish On ‘Idol’s’ Season 10

In a new interview airing Sunday at 10 PM on the Oprah Winfrey Network’s “Master Class, ” the British judge gets candid about his decision to leave “Idol.”

“I asked a very successful guy, ‘What’s the best advice you can give me?’ and he said, ‘Simon, always know when to leave the fair.’ And I think that’s good advice, ” Simon recalled. “Something inside you just says, ‘You know what, it’s time to go.’ Without any regrets whatsoever. And I can look back on the past ten years and say, ‘It’s been a blast.’ I’ve enjoyed myself, I mean it’s not the most difficult job in the world is it?”

In more “Idol” news, AccessHollywood.com’s Laura Saltman caught up with “Idol’s” executive producer, Nigel, who said the contestants this season are relieved not to have to sing in front of Simon.

“There isn’t the fear that there was of the embarrassment of singing in front of Simon for instance, ” Nigel explained. “Where the fear of what he might say really put them off, this is just a happy nervousness. And it does energize them a little bit. I think you’ll see a lot more fun this year.”

Read more at Access Hollywood

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Can a reboot save ‘American Idol’?

This season’s retooling comes in the midst of an aging “Idol’s” slide in the ratings the past few years. According to Nielsen data, the show peaked in 2006 when close to 36 million viewers tuned in to the season finale. Last year’s finale ratings were down about 18 percent from the previous year.

Many blamed the numbers this past year in part on a lackluster season nine, which had many fans crying foul. MJ Santilli runs MJ’s Big Blog, one of the most popular for “Idol” fans, and she says there is a simple fix that could help reinvigorate viewers.

Read more at CNN

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Adam Lambert Predicts Jennifer Lopez And Steven Tyler’s ‘Idol’ Style

MTV News recently caught up with “Idol” alum Adam Lambert at the season-three premiere of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in Los Angeles, and he mused that when it comes to fashion, both Lopez and Tyler will bring their A-list style game.

Read more at MTV

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Randy Jackson – Ryan Seacrest Interview

Randy Jackson

Jennifer Lopez – Ryan Seacrest Interview

Jennifer Lopez

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Steven Tyler Fox Philadelphia Interview

Jenn Fred’s Epic Steven Tyler Interview: MyFoxPHILLY.com

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Randy Jackson: We Want to Find the Next Lady Gaga — Or Bieber! Exclusive!

“This year we dropped the age requirement one year to 15, ” Randy says. “You’ll be shocked when you watch the show and see how much talent we found in the pool of kids. We aren’t looking for a teen specifically, but the holy grail is unbelievable talent, unique and a star. Those are the three prerequisites for everything about music that is relevant.”

Over the past few years, the hit show has been criticized for focusing too much on the judges’ antics and less on finding the next Justin Bieber, but Randy says they are looking for the next popstar.

“Maybe it’s like a diva, maybe it’s more like Lady Gaga, ” Randy tells HollywoodLife.com. “Maybe it’s Muse, Bono, or Brandon Flowers of The Killers, whatever dynamic star is out there … that’s who we are looking for.”

Read more at Hollywood Life

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Kara DioGuardi plans to watch ‘Idol, ‘ just not tonight

Turns out tonight’s American Idol season premiere isn’t appointment viewing for Kara DioGuardi.

When the show airs tonight (8 p.m. ET/PT, FOX), Kara, one of the show’s judges during the past two seasons, will be flying home to California after a trip to New York to promote the Folger’s Jingle Contest, which she’s judging. However, she says, “I definitely intend on watching it this season.”

Read more at USA Today

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Wild and Wacky Idol Contestants!

via FOX

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Watch Ryan Seacrest do Voice Overs for Idol Season Premiere

Ryan Seacrest.com

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Five Factors That Will Decide Whether American Idol Thrives or Dies

People have been predicting the demise of American Idol since Jennifer Hudson was prematurely given the boot in season three. And now, seven years later, it’s time for the media to do it again. However, this year they (by which we mean “we”) have more of an argument: Ratings were already dropping, Simon’s gone, last year’s competitors have already been forgotten, and Glee seems to have taken over as the official arbiter of mainstream musical tastes in America. All of this adds up to a lot of “nobody cares anymore” talk (and several dozen Idol-related tweets a minute) … which paradoxically indicates that people still do care, doesn’t it? And while it was easy to predict a downhill slide when the show remained largely stagnant, it’s harder to do so when the show is undergoing such an overhaul: rule changes, new judges, other networks’ different counterprogramming strategies. So as tonight’s premiere nears, here are five key questions that need to be answered before we know whether it’s finally over for Idol — or if the show is about to be newly reenergized, supplying us with another decade of predicting its downfall.

Read more at NY Magazine

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American Idol Spoilers: Avoid or Embrace?

I was never that kid who tried to sneak a look at his presents before Christmas morning, so I guess it’s no surprise that when it comes to American Idol spoilers, I’m the grown man with his eyes clamped shut and his fingers in his ears, belting “This Is My Now” at the top of his lungs. How else to drown out the widespread reports (easily accessible at JoesPlaceBlog, MJsBigBlog, and other Idol-obsessed sites) about which season 10 Golden Ticket holders have impressed the judges in the already taped middle rounds and reportedly advanced to this year’s Top 40?

Read more at TV Line

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‘American Idol’ Returns, Led By A Sparkly, Three-Headed Randy Jackson

The most promising moment in the preview that Fox sent out to critics showing a handful of auditions from the two-night American Idol season premiere involves new judge Steven Tyler listening to a contestant audition and then saying, “Well, hell fire, save matches, [bleep] a duck and see what hatches.”

This isn’t really clever, and it isn’t quite justified by the quality of the audition he’s just seen, but it’s something. It’s weird. It’s personality. And the biggest problem the show seems to have as it adds Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler to the panel (to replace Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres and Kara DioGuardi) is that what it has wound up lacks personality. It’s just a three-headed Randy Jackson with better hair and more hits.

Read more at NPR

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‘American Idol’ By the Numbers (INFOGRAPHIC)

Tonight marks the beginning of a new era with Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler joining the ‘American Idol’ judges panel.

To celebrate the return of the reality juggernaut, we looked back on ‘Idol’ history and present you a graphic representation of ‘American Idol’ by the numbers. From the total number of tweets to potential salaries, relive the past 10 years in quick and simple style.

See the graph at TV Squad

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Meet Vulture’s New American Idol Recapper: Paul F. Tompkins

Tonight begins the tenth season of American Idol. All-new judges and mentors! All-new loosened age requirements! An all-new seat for Randy! Well you know what, Fox? We’ll see your all-new and raise you one: Vulture has an all-new American Idol recapper, and it is dapper comedian/actor/podcaster/expert Cake Boss impersonator Paul F. Tompkins. But what are his credentials for analyzing and reviewing this pop-culture behemoth? We gave him a short questionnaire, and we think you’ll find that his credentials are in order.

Read more at New York Magazine

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‘American Idol’ Tell-All Author Says Show Must End Its Megastar Drought

“There’s so much we see, but there’s so much that has been untold — what really goes on behind the scenes and into the making of it, and how it affects the lives of the people involved, ” Rushfield tells PopEater. “It’s an amazing glimpse of what goes on backstage at ‘Idol’ and the pressures. How ‘Idol’ came into being has never been told.”

And who better to recount those tales than the show’s creator himself, the now-legendary British producer Simon Fuller?

Read more at PopEater

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My talk with Ryan Seacrest and photos of him through the years

Ryan Seacrest a couple months ago came to the Ronald McDonald House near Emory and I spoke with him for a few minutes. Here’s the video and me NOT doing a good job introducing myself and Ryan:

See the Video at AJC

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Bo Bice interview with FOX. Watch it HERE.

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Jennifer Hudson Christens the Disney Dream ship at Port Canaveral FL Today

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‘American Idol’: Paula Abdul has hopes for Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler

Former “American Idol” judge Paula Abdul’s sole advice to the new judges is to enjoy and appreciate the contestants.

“I just hope that they have as much fun as I did being able to be in the presence of budding and raw talent, ” she tells Zap2it, saying she’s impressed with the new panel of Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and original judge Randy Jackson.

Read more at Zap2it

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Zero: The Mixtape Progress

Thought I’d update you all on everything going on with my new project, Zero: The Mixtape. First, and most importantly, I’ve just recently moved to Atlanta to devote all my time and energy to the mixtape and the community of writers, producers, and industry folks around the area. Atlanta has, for the past six months or so, been the place where I’ve been most productive. The move is a natural choice. I’ll travel back to North Carolina, LA, and New York often, but this is the place for me right now.

DJ Trauma and I have about 18 songs cooking right now for the mixtape, with more possibly coming. At the end of the creative process, we hope to have 16 killer songs for you to enjoy and spread around. I’m especially proud of the fact that I’m writing and producing nearly all of the original material on this album, with a few notable exceptions. I know you’re all excited to hear the finished product, so in the weeks prior to the mixtape’s release (that date is still TBD–right now, early March) I will be releasing a song every week via a different blog. We will also be releasing the video to “All is Fair (Crazy Love)” during this period. And yes, AIF and a special remix of AIF will appear on the mixtape.

Via AnoopDesai.com

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Diana DeGarmo fills Dolly Parton’s … shoes in ‘9 to 5’

Diana DeGarmo broke into the spotlight with the third season of American Idol. The American Idol alumna performs on the national tour with the role of Doralee Rhodes working “9 to 5” on the musical version of the hit.

Windy City Times: I find it interesting that you and Fantasia—from your season of American Idol—have both done Broadway shows.

Diana DeGarmo:It was funny because I was the first Idol contestant that they brought into theater. It was a big controversy because they thought it was stunt casting or they just wanted tickets sales when I did Hairspray. I don’t want to toot my own horn but I feel that I paved the way for the rest of the fellow Idol alums who decided to join Broadway because I actually did a good job at my job!

Read more at Windy City Times

About mj santilli 34891 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!