Something Pitchy: ‘We’re Good’ on Motown Night!
The kids put in some solid performances on Motown night, and thankfully J.Lo was taking notes, while Steven appeared to be asleep at the wheel. Myself, Rickey Yaneza and MJ Santilli share our thoughts on the new and improved “Lusky Stank Lite” and contemplate Naima Adedapo’s chances of bringing African dance to the ‘American Idol’ tour. And, of course, more love for Paul McDonald from a certain member of the Something Pitchy crew!
Watch the video at TV Squad
Check out the American Idol elimination poll from Zap2it.com HERE.
Brad Paisley’s Next Single Carrie Underwood Duet?
A Tampa country station tweets, “Just got word that Brad Paisley’s next single will be called “Remind Me”. It’s a duet with Carrie Underwood! Can’t wait for that!”
Justin Guarini tweets that he will be a guest on the Joy Behar Show tonight, CNN Headline news.
More Headlines after the JUMP…
For Finalists, Is It Better to Be Schooled in ‘American Idol’ History?
Some contestants, like last year’s Casey James and Season 10’s Paul McDonald, arrive at the contest with zero awareness of anything that had happened on the Idol stage prior. They proudly proclaim their ignorance at the start of the season, and most often, it ends up being an advantage — they perform with their hearts, not their heads. But when it comes to an iconic moment, like Lambert’s toned down “Tracks of My Tears, ” is it better to bone up?
“I never knew it was a song that’s been done, though I’m sure it has been, ” said Paul after trying the Smokey Robinson and the Miracles hit on Motown night. “But I’ve been out of the Idol loop for, pretty much, ever, so I’m learning about all this as we go along.” Normally, I’d find this trait quite endearing, but in Paul’s case, it feels like a miscalculation.
As for Stefano Langone, he said he found out about Cook’s version of “Hello” just before the performance. “You just go out there, do what you can do and bring what you have to the game, ” he explained, before acknowledging that perhaps in the future, he will research the song’s history on Idol before committing.
Read more at THR
Simon Cowell’s ‘X Factor’ has high expectations
Of course, there is one big difference. In 2002, few Americans knew of Idol’s predecessor, England’s Pop Idol. Fewer knew its tart-tongued judge, English record executive Cowell. Expectations were low for the summer fill-in show.
That’s hardly the case for X Factor, which is a huge hit in the United Kingdom, and Cowell, who is now a household name. People have been waiting more than a year for the arrival of the new singing competition, which premieres this fall on Idol’s network, Fox.
Cowell acknowledges the high expectations with a frankness familiar to anyone who has seen him on Idol. “You’re under constant pressure all the time. Anyone who says they’re not is either a liar or an idiot.”
Read the entire article at USA Today
‘American Idol’ Elimination Predictions: Is Haley Reinhart’s Ride Over?
Once again, I’m totally on the same page as MJ’s Big Blog editor MJ Santilli, who agreed that a girl would leave tonight and that girl will be Reinhart. “Despite taking a page out of the Haley Scarnato book of ‘Idol’ plays, it’s too late for even those impossibly high heels and short shorts to save her, ” Santilli said of the unfortunate outfit. “Haley picked the right song and employed some impressive licks and growls throughout the performance, but I think the improvements over the past couple of weeks are too little too late.”
Santilli thinks that teen Thia Megia and Naima Adedapo would be in the bottom three as well this week (even despite Adedapo’s energetic African dance breakdown). “Naima is the most entertaining of all the girls — including the pitch-perfect but snoozy Pia Toscano — so I hope she’s safe for the tour, ” she said. “Naima’s addition of crazed African dancing to her version of the classic ‘Dancing in the Streets’ may have been a bit over the top for some viewers.”
Read more at MTV
Eyeing the ‘Idol’ odds
Predicting the results on American Idol isn’t a science. But it’s fun to approach it that way. Along the lines of the research that meticulous Idol scholars are conducting into what’s known as Idolmetrics, we’ve come up with a pseudoscientific fast-track formula to gauge each singer’s momentum. Contestants can score up to 100 points or if they’re in danger into double-digit negative numbers. Our progress reports are handed out the day after the performance show, with final grades given after elimination.
See the poll at USA Today
The Hub inks RCA/Jive, Buffet deals
Hasbro and Discovery Communications’ joint venture the Hub announced new deals with Sony Music’s RCA/Jive label and Warren Buffett at the kid net’s inaugural upfront Thursday.
The Hub ordered nine new original series. The highest profile might be “Majors and Minors, ” a reality series that follows 16 performers mentored by established recording industry artists, with one winner earning a recording deal with RCA/Jive and a cross-country tour.
Skedded to participate are Leona Lewis, “American Idol” champ Jordin Sparks, Sean Kingston and One Republic’s Ryan Tedder. Show is created by Rihanna and Beyonce songwriter Evan Bogart, Tim Bogart and Gary A. Randall. Series is produced by the Boardwalk Entertainment Group in partnership with Sony Music’s RCA/Jive label group, and BMI.
Read more at Variety
Jennifer Hudson — I’m NOT Watching ‘Idol’
Don’t ask Jennifer Hudson how she feels about the new “American Idol” judges … or the new contestants … because the former “A.I.” finalist says she hasn’t watched ONE episode this season.
A super-slimmed down Hudson was at LAX yesterday — when she told photogs she just hasn’t had time to watch the show that launched her career this season.
Read more at TMZ
Tony Bennett pairs up voices for ‘Duets II’
Sept. 20 will bring the release of Tony Bennett: Duets II, a follow-up to 2006’s platinum-plus, double-Grammy-winning Duets: An American Classic, which paired Bennett with such latter-day stars as Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Bono, Tim McGraw and Celine Dion.
The lineup for Duets II is just as diverse, ranging from Andrea Bocelli to Carrie Underwood, from Norah Jones to Amy Winehouse.
The sessions are being filmed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Dion Beebe (Chicago) for a documentary due in the fall.
Read more at USA Today
FRECKLEFACE STRAWBERRY to Take Summer Break; Reopening Set for August
The hit off Broadway family musical “Freckleface Strawberry” based on the popular best-selling children’s book by Julianne Moore, will be leaving their playground at the New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street on Sunday, April 24th and going on Spring Recess. The musical will reopen on August 3rd at their new home, the brand new MMAC (pronounced “Mack”) Theatre , 248 West 60th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and 11th Avenue.
These will be the final weeks to see American Idol’s Sanjaya Malakar along with Remy Zaken, Julia Bray, Andrew Cristi, Linda Gabler, Kimiko Glenn, Mykal Kilgore and Morgan Smith. The show opened on Friday, October 1st, 2010. It has music and lyrics by Gary Kupper and book by Kupper and Rose Caiola. Buddy Crutchfield directs with choreography by Gail Pennington Crutchfield.
Read more at Broadway World
Simon Cowell Looking For ‘Unusual People’ At ‘X Factor’ Auditions
“I love unusual people. I always say, you’ve got to embrace the madness, ” Cowell laughed. “I like that we’re going to be very open-minded. I think we’re going to have good enough people on this panel that we’re not gonna miss out on anyone who’s got potential.”
“We want someone who’s gonna sell all over the world, ” he continued. “You look at what’s happened over the last couple of years, I think originality is key and you’ve got to be different to what’s out there already … I would say on this show, we’re much more open to people being ‘out there’ and anything goes, basically.”
Watch the video at MTV
Toby Keith to Perform on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
“We’ll get lost on this dance floor, spinning around, ” Toby Keith sings in his mega-hit, ‘You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This.’ But we certainly never thought we’d ever see the day the big guy laces up his dancing shoes.
OK, so he’s not exactly doing the tango, but the country superstar has been tapped to sing on ‘Dancing With the Stars, ‘ performing two songs on the April 19 episode.
Read more at The Boot
