Members of the cast of Glee (including Lea Michele and Darren Criss) will perform at tonight’s Grammy MusicCares honors Barbra Streisand event. Crystal Bowersox will be sitting in the audience. The event begins at Grammy.com at 10:30 pm ET
***
The Adam Lambert Charity Water fundraising project has met it’s goal. Adam tweets, “We did it! $290, 000 has been raised for Charity:Water!!”
***
Kris Allen continues his writing sessions, @SteveMillerROCK tweets, “Making ROCK songs again 2day w/@hodgesmusic & @krisallen. I like cool people. Smash jams.”
***
The Danny Gokey has a new friend! Watch.
***
More Headlines after the JUMP…
***
Blake Lewis does voice over for the series finale of Durarara
Blake Lewis tweets “Just got done with my voice over for the series finale of Durarara! An anime series. I played Yuhei Hanejima a News Reporter. It’s was fun!”
***
Idols Now: “KIMBERLEY LOCKE performs at the UCLA Dance Marathon Feb 19 in Westwood CA to help raise money for @oneheartland.”
***
Lara Johnston (Novato CA) passes SF American Idol Audition Feb 9, 2010
Lara Johnston (20), a recent graduate of San Rafael’s Marin Academy and daughter of Doobie Brother Tom Johnston, has just passed the San Francisco portion of American Idol’s latest round of try-outs. See the American Idol piece (below left) as well as two others that we took ourselves (A Marin City Festival & Slim’s). The middle video is particularly amazing for a performer who was only 19 at the time. We’ve also embedded the MP3 of the same song Ain’t That Somethin’ which is a fun, up-beat track about a girl taking back her life after her lover cheats.
Read more at LocalMusicVibe
***
Catching Up with Casey James
Two weeks ago, Season 9’s second runner-up, Casey James, announced that he will be the opening act for super-duo Sugarland’s 2011 The Incredible Machine Tour. We hopped on the phone with Casey to find out more about the tour, his upcoming album, his adorable dogs, and more.
Many of Casey’s Crew wondered if Casey will be performing all new material on the tour. He said, “I’m performing a few covers because people will like to hear something they know, but there will definitely be a lot of new stuff. It will be mostly new music and I’m really excited about it.”
Read more at American Idol.com
***
Salvadorian Allison Iraheta confesses that American Idol changed her life
Allison Iraheta, the singer of Salvadorian descent who won international recognition through the television contest American Idol is working on a second album completely written by her.
“Right now I’m writing and working on making new music, with new rock sounds, because I want my next album to be dark rock music”, Iraheta told Efe.
“Today, I don’t just want to be a singer, I want to be a singer-song writer, which is why I have been writing down my thoughts and feelings because when people listen to my music, I want them to connect with me”, she added.
Read more at Alliholics
***
Jennifer Hudson Enthusiastic About Aretha Franklin Film Role
Halle Berry may have taken herself out of the running to play Aretha Franklin in a film about the Queen of Soul’s life (according to Halle herself, it’s because she can’t sing), but there’s another Oscar winner who still has her eye on the role.
Newly svelte Jennifer Hudson, a Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner for 2006’s “Dreamgirls, ” admitted to Access Hollywood on Thursday that she wouldn’t say no to the part.
“I’ve been hearing a lot [of talk] about this lately, ” Jennifer told Access as she rehearsed for Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party honoring David Geffen in Los Angeles. “We met a couple of years ago actually, about I don’t know what, but if I get that opportunity I would love to do it.”
Read more at Access Hollywood
***
Jennifer Hudson: My Son’s a ‘Little Entertainer’
Jennifer Hudson, who’ll perform at super-producer Clive Davis’s Pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday night, had a special guest for her rehearsal this week: 1½-year-old son David.
“Motherhood is the best, ” Hudson, 29, told PEOPLE during a break Thursday, adding that her little one has already caught the showbiz bug. “He is such a little entertainer.”
Decked out in a fluorescent down vest and Pendleton shirt, David spent much of the time bouncing around the ballroom.
Read more at People
***
Lee DeWyze at today’s Grammy Radio conference
@CMTCody: Idol winner and all around cool guy @leedewyze backstage at the Grammys- catch him tonight live on air!
@RaceTaylor: Lee Dewyze with us now!
Lee DeWyze Interview with Q104
MYfm at the Grammys: Ty with Lee DeWyze
***
Tom Cruise ‘Would Just Crush It’ in ‘Rock of Ages’: Constantine Maroulis
American Idol alum Constantine Maroulis — who earned a Tony for his role of Drew in the surprise musical theater hit Rock of Ages — tells The Hollywood Reporter Tom Cruise would be a perfect fit to play Stacee Jaxx in New Line’s upcoming adaptation.
“I think the guy’s amazing, and I think he would just crush it, ” he tells THR. “I think it’s great to see him in different roles, not just the typical Tom Cruise leading-man role.”
Read more at THR
***
Kimberley Locke shares a songwriting Session
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4tTiy1wtLo&feature=youtu.be&a
***
Jordin Sparks on the MusicCares Rad Carpet
***
Jordin Sparks Talks to ‘Extra’ About ‘Idol’
At the Belvedere Special Edition Launch Party, “Extra” spoke to “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks. The singer said she is “pleasantly surprised” at this season and that she may lose her title of “Idol’s” youngest winner because “there are some great 15-year-olds coming up.”
Read more at Extra TV
***
Bid on a Jordin Sparks autographed “Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand” book!
Now is your chance to own the Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand book autographed by Grammy-nominated singer and “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks. Ms. Sparks, a supporter of the organization, signed the book to raise money for the cause.
Proceeds from the auction benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, whose mission is to raise money for and awareness of childhood cancer causes—especially research into new treatments and cures; and to encourage and educate others, especially children, to get involved and make a difference for children with cancer.
Read more at Alexslemonade
***
Jennifer Lopez’s Next Move: More Kids or American Idol Performance?
Who wants to see Jennifer Lopez perform on American Idol?
A.I. producers, that’s who.
“They’ve asked me to. And they’ve also asked Steve [Tyler], ” Lopez just told me at the UNICEF Women of Compassion luncheon honoring Gucci creative director Frida Giannini. “We’ll see.”
However, Ms. Lopez said…
She is finishing up the music video for her new single “On the Floor.”
Read more on EOnline
***
WATCH: ‘Glee”s Ashley Fink: People Fall in Love with People
It’s the TV plot everyone is talking about — “Glee”‘s bad boy Puck wooing voluptuous and spunky Lauren — and now actress Ashley Fink is discussing the storyline with our Mary Hart.
“I want to know who decided size [matters], ” Ashley tells Mary. “I think it’s so much more about the person than it is about the outside. … People fall in love with people.”
Ashley says persistence paid off for her when pursuing her acting career: “If you’re overweight, if you’re ‘other, ‘ people will try to stop you. … I was always just really resilient and I wouldn’t let people tell me no.”
Read more ETOnline
***
‘Glee:’ Behind the Music
Glee is up for two golden gramophones at this Sunday’s Grammy Awards, best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals for “Don’t Stop Believin'” and best compilation soundtrack album for Glee: The Music, Volume 1, and much of the credit is due to one person: Adam Anders, who produces all Glee-related songs for the show and albums as well as the music for the forthcoming tour.
It’s a full-time job times two, which is why Anders has a musical partner more than 10, 000 miles away working during the overnight hours. It’s also a highly demanding one, when show creator Ryan Murphy is your boss.
Read more at THR
***
Blind Item: Gay Character Not So Gay After All?
Here’s a blind item that I’ll wager — ba-dum-bump — you never saw coming: An imminent episode of a hit series will find a popular gay character wondering whether he might actually be — gasp — bi!
The question of sexual disorientation arises after the confirmed bachelor has an encounter with a pivotal member of the opposite gender. (A close encounter, I’d imagine!) Afterwards, he’s forced to consider the possibility that he swings both ways.
Read more at TV Line