Pop culture sings an ‘American Idol’ tune
LOS ANGELES ‘ In 2001, Simon Cowell figured a singing contest snapped up by British TV would be an easy sell in America. Instead, network responses ranged from lukewarm to hostile.
…I was thrown out in one pitch meeting. After 30 seconds, the guy told me to get out, recalled Cowell, making the rounds with entertainment mogul Simon Fuller. …The main thing we were being told was music doesn’t work on TV in prime-time. We tried to explain that there’s lot more than music on the show.
Billboard CD reviews: Kelly Clarkson, Bela Fleck
NEW YORK (Billboard) – If the lollipop-licking sleeve didn’t make it clear, the tense opening strums of the first single, “My Life Would Suck Without You, ” should do it: Kelly Clarkson is back in the pop fold, which is right where she belongs. “All I Ever Wanted” shows a lighter-hearted but more vocally mature Clarkson than on her last outing, 2006’s dour “My December.” Tracks like “Suck” and “Don’t Let Me Stop You” provide the high-power guitars and belt-able kiss-offs for which she’s best known, only with even more wit and strength. She enunciates the heck out of two tunes co-written by Katy Perry, “I Do Not Hook Up” and “Long Shot, ” giving unexpected pathos to lines like “My heartbeat beats me senselessly.” The ballads are more memorable too, like “Cry” and the kick-drum-driven “Already Gone, ” which she delivers with a ghostliness reminiscent of Sinead O’Connor. Clarkson’s always had the best throaty yell in the business. But now she’s becoming a masterful interpreter too.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
‹American Idol Finalist Megan Corkrey Owes Me Dinner
In late January, after being wooed by Megan Corkrey during her …American Idol audition, I wrote a piece that quoted liberally from music critic Kalefa Sanneh, compared Corkrey to Feist and basically stated that while I found her voice (and, let be honest here, her appearance) to be quite pleasing, she had no hope whatsoever of actually winning …Idol, if only because singers like her never do.
The Rushfield Review: 13 to lead us
Three weeks ago they walked out on the “American Idol” semifinals stage 13 nobodies, but Thursday night each one came back a star.
It is the inexorable life cycle of the “Idol” season, but still it is breathtaking to watch. Whatever the year ups and downs, the show retains the unshakable ability to pull a handful of young dreamers from the unwashed masses and transport them to a land beyond their wildest dreams.
Thursday night, immediately after the wild card show, the newly named Top 13 celebrated their anointing at West Hollywood Area nightclub. Before they could party inside, however, the first red carpet of their lives beckoned. They walked the rope line one by one, granting mini-interviews to the dozens of assembled world press. Each of the new stars seemed giddy from the heady moment, but it is hard to imagine that any truly comprehend how their lives have just been forever altered.
‘American Idol’ plans Double Elimination week, plus other scoop from top 13 party
It’s been a week of serious reality show drama. First Jason chooses — then unchooses — Melissa on The Bachelor, and gets back together with Molly. Then Jewel and Nancy O’Dell drop out of Dancing With The Stars due to injury. And last night, American Idol shocked the country (and its contestants) by picking its first ever Top 13. KTV reporter Marisa Roffman hit Idol’s finalist party yesterday evening to find out what’s up…
Idol Worship: Partying with the Top 13
Well Thursday was plenty eventful in our little corner of Idol world. We started the evening by watching the East Coast feed of the show so that we could get up to speed on who sang what and, of course, who made it through. Applying the last brush of makeup, we heard the news: 13 contestants! Anoop Dogg is back in the hizzle! We thought back to a conversation we had with Randy Jackson a few months back. When we learned that Idol was premiering a week earlier, he joked that they’d probably end it a week later, too (presumably, to pump the show’s ratings muscle for as long as possible). Turns out, he was right. Think the judges are getting paid overtime? We doubt it. Or maybe they’ll pull an Apprentice and eliminate two people at once. We wouldn’t necessarily discourage that twist, in the interest of saving our Memorial Day weekend. But we digress…
3/6: Interviews with Anoop Desai, Megan Joy Corkrey, Jasmine Murray, Matt Giraud, Michael Jackson theme next week
Good timing for Michael Jackson to announce his comeback tour in London: his songs are going to be the theme next week, Ryan Seacrest revealed on his morning show today. So much for Paula note a few weeks back that MJ is the …kiss of death for singers.
We had only 15 minutes with each contestant and we didnt get a huge amount of news. But here what I compiled. Have a great weekend, by the way! And I threw in a poll for kicks. Ill be handicapping the top 13 early next week, too.
Judges offer advice to ‹Idol top 13
The judges on …American Idol stunned both contestants and viewers when they announced the reality competition first-ever top 13 finalists during the wild-card round Thursday night.
The judges all stressed one thing for the new crop of singing hopefuls: Pick the right song.
Dish of Salt: ‹Idol Adam Lambert On His Photo Scandal
The …American Idol finalist handily addressed the recent photo scandal where votefortheworst.com posted pictures of him dressed in drag and kissing another man.
…You know what, I have nothing to hide. I am who I am. And this is about singing ¦ nothing else, Adam told Accesshollywood.com Laura …Dish of Salt Saltman at last night Top 13 party.
For the record, Adam said he is currently single. When he spoke with Access last week, the photos had not yet surfaced and Adam admitted he had been Google-ing himself while competing on the show to see what people were saying about him.
Introducing Adam Lambert’s Mystery Man
American Idol ‘s Adam Lambert got the web buzzing when photos surfaced of him kissing another man.
First only described as “Brad”, the man’s identity has been further revealed by the blog Geno’s World.
“Brad Bell aka ‘Cheeks’ [is] a music star in his own right!” it says. “One of Brad’s people told me that ‘Brad doesn’t want to mess with Adam’s chances in Idol. His main concern right now is to support Adam and give him 100% of his support and love!'”
Danny Gokey, Milwaukee Contestant on FOX’s American Idol Season 8
WITI-TV, MILWAUKEE – In this unusual season of “American Idol” twists and turns, we should have seen that Ryan Seacrest would pull a fast one on us, America. But if you think about it, there are four judges, so it makes sense that each would have a wild card pick, giving America 13 finalists to consider for coronation.
Album review: Kelly Clarkson’s ‘All I Ever Wanted’
Kelly Clarkson had a bit of fun at her own expense in a recent posting on her blog. Critiquing her computer-enhanced image on the cover of her new album, …All I Ever Wanted (RCA), she wrote, …it very colorful and they have definitely photo-shopped the crap out of me but i dont care haha! whoever she is, she looks great.
Now that the kind of pop star anyone could root for. She garnered even more go-get-‹em applause in 2007 when the former …American Idol winner rebelled against her record label boss, Clive Davis, and made a more personal album, …My December, against King Clive express wishes. Sales tanked, but Clarkson at least strongly suggested that she had a personality far more interesting and contradictory than the mainstream assembly line would allow.
“Grease” at the Civic Theatre
First, full disclosure: Ive always been a curmudgeon when it comes to …Grease. I believe the message it transmits to callow youths, of whatever age, is a terrible one: Nice girls have to become slutty to win their guy.
That complaint, of course, means nothing to the legions of fans who have embraced the musical spoof of ‹50s music and high school mores since its 1972 Broadway debut ‘ after which it went on to become, for more than a decade, the White Way longest-running musical. It subsequently got a revival and national tour in 1994, and another in 2007. The tour of that latest edition is now at the Civic Theatre, presented by Broadway/San Diego.
Recovering From Flu, Cook Says SSU Enjoyable ‘American Idol’ Winner Sells Out Portsmouth Show, Dad In Audience
American Idol David Cook played to a sold-out audience at Shawnee State University (SSU) on Friday, February 27. In an exclusive conversation Monday with the Community Common, Cook says he enjoyed the show and would entertain the thought of coming back some day.
Before Cook performed he had seen a doctor due to a bad case of the flu. …I am feeling good enough now to move forward, he said.
Cook is currently on his first solo tour that has been selling out all across the country. He has been playing mostly college campuses such as SSU.
Kelly Clarkson returns to form on new pop album
Two years ago, Kelly Clarkson proved she wasn’t afraid to take risks, releasing an angsty, minor-chord-heavy album called My December. But she’s decided to give pop another chance on All I Ever Wanted , her new album coming out Tuesday. The return to form began last month, when the first single, “My Life Would Suck Without You, ” claimed the fastest-ever rise to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
We caught up with the 26-year-old Burleson native via e-mail:
KELLY CLARKSON will return to Australia
KELLY CLARKSON will return to Australia in late May for a promotional tour, including a live performance.
The singer, who hit No.1 on the US Billboard charts with her new single My Life Would Suck Without You (which is surely one of the worst song names in history), is on the verge of releasing her new full-length album in her home country this week. Australian fans have had a sneak preview of the album, All I Ever Wanted – it was released here on Friday. Even amid the overseas hype surrounding her new music, Clarkson is planning a return trip to Oz.
“We’re still negotiating on dates at the moment. It’ll be late May or early June, ” says a source from Sony Music.
Fantasia, Sugarland announce area concerts
Two Gulf Coast concert venues announced major concerts today. The Saenger Theatre in Pensacola will welcome …American Idol winner Fantasia, while country music superstars Sugarland are set to make a return visit to the Amphitheater at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Ala.
R&B singer Fantasia will perform at the Saenger on April 10. In addition to winning …American Idol in 2004, the singer, whose full name is Fantasia Barrino, has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards and starred on Broadway in the musical version of …The Color Purple. Her hits include …I Believe, the top selling single of 2004 according to Billboard magazine.
American Idol Star Mandisa Drops 75 Lbs.
Suffering Simon Cowell’s barbs about her weight during season 5’s American Idol auditions ‘ he cracked that the show would need a “bigger stage” to accommodate her ‘ was a “worst fear come true” for the singer Mandisa, but that pain was nothing new.
The Grammy-nominated Christian singer’s weight battle was borne of early trauma ‘ she was sexually molested as a child and raped at 16. “A lot of girls turn to men to fill that void and some turn to drugs, ” Mandisa, 32, tells PEOPLE. “I turned to food as my drug of choice.”
Former contestants starting spring break tour ‘Idol Style’
As the American Idol phenomena continues to sweep the nation entering its eighth No. 1-rated season, several former finalists are hitting the road to kick off spring break “Idol Style” which launches March 15 at the Newberry Opera House and will make stops in several cities across the United States.
The “Idols in Concert: Spring Break Tour” will feature a combination of four of the top 10 finalists from past seasons who will take to the stage for an exciting night of solo, duet and ensemble performances.
Former “American Idol” finalists Jon Peter Lewis, Mikalah Gordon, Rickey Smith and Trenyce will be entertaining once again.
Simon Voted Smartest, Paula Most Stylish
HCD Research polled 1, 150 “Idol” viewers and found some interesting answers.
Paula Abdul was voted as the judge who viewers would most like to receive fashion advice from, with 36 percent of the votes. She also received 53 percent of votes for judge most likely to sign autographs. Kara DioGuardi was voted as the judge viewers would most like to be on a desert island with (26 percent), but she just edged out Abdul and Simon Cowell who each received 25 percent of the votes.
As to who people think is the smartest of the bunch, Cowell was the overwhelming choice (64 percent). Cowell was also the judge that viewers would most like to see drunk (49 percent).
