Today’s Idol Appearances:
- Premiere of Soul Surfer feat. Carrie Underwood
- Jennifer Hudson appears on the Ellen Degeneres Show
Season 9’s Nikko Smith will sing the National Anthem at the St. Louis Cardinals home opening game in St. Louis on March 31.
Casey Abrams tweets, “Alright friends, tonight is the night I go bold. Remember to vote as many times as possible :) If you do I WILL give you a hug”
The Top 11 in 60 Seconds
The Top 11 sat down with us to answer some rapid-fire questions in just 60 seconds. Watch all eleven videos to find out fun facts like the one food each finalist can’t live without, their favorite childhood toy, nicknames they may or may not want you to know, and more!
Click each name to watch:
See the Videos at American Idol
More Headlines after the JUMP…
Casey Abrams & Haley Reinhart: Idol’s Hot Hookup
An Idol insider tells In Touch that Haley, 20, and Casey have become quite the cozy couple. Though he once serenaded a female friend in the audience, he’s really into Haley. “Most of their downtime is spent together and they have a very touchy-feely relationship, ” says the insider. “They’re always lying on each other when they’re around the other contestants and everybody thinks they’re hooking up.”
Now the question is: Will their puppy love survive the competition?
Read more at InTouch
‘American Idol’ Top 11 look forward to summer tour
“When I was 12 years old, I just fell in love with New York, ” Thia Megia says. “I’d love to see it again. Hopefully, we’ll have one of our concerts there. It’d be awesome.”
The idea of playing the Garden sets James Durbin’s mind reeling — for its history of hosting wrestling events as much as for its concerts. “Sitting backstage there, knowing that Brett Hart, Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, Undertaker — all those guys — have been there. Not including like Zeppelin, Sabbath, Iron Maiden — everybody. Everybody has played the Garden.”
Read more at Idol Chatter
@AmericanIdol tweets, “Mari, owner of our AMAZING “post-haunted mansion” accommodations, threw an amazing buffet for us tonite.”
Where are the Idols?
Meet the New ‘American Idol’ Backup Singers
Case in point: American Idol’s new double blonde backup singers Destinee and Paris Monroe, whose sweet, down-home harmonies have accented performances by the likes of Paul McDonald (see video below) and Lauren Alaina. Four years ago, they were two out of three members of little-known group the Clique Girlz who arrived from Hollywood from that hotbed of tween talent — New Jersey — with big dreams of Bratz-like branding, chart-topping singles and eventual world domination. I know, because I wandered into producer Ron Fair’s studio one day when he was bouncing around the control room speaking those very buzz words.
Still, Iovine didn’t send the girls packing back to Egg Harbor Township. Rather, after including a Destinee and Paris song on the Neptunes-produced Despicable Me soundtrack, he put them on Idol, the biggest stage in the world, where, despite being positioned in the background and only brought out on country-esque tunes, Destinee, 16, and Paris, 15, have shined.
Read more at THR
Idol Meter: Don’t discount Scotty McCreery
Idol’s widely projected front-runner Casey Abrams nearly was knocked out last week, so it would be prudent to put Season 10’s quirkier characters in the Idol Meter spotlight while they’re still here.
Read more at USA Today
Make it to Idols Live tour: Check!
“The tour was my biggest goal when I started doing Idol, ” the curly-haired contestant, who was voted off only to be saved by the judges in a dramatic turn of events, said in an exclusive interview. “I had nightmares about making it to top 11 but not making it to top 10.”
He didn’t, then he did. And, in a first, Idol will take its top 11 on its annual summer tour. But Iain Pirie of 19 Entertainment says the decision to take an extra singer was made before the judges rescued Abrams from elimination.
Read more at USA Today
‘Idol’ star uses local firm to release new album
Stacey, a Nashville singer whose 2008 album “Phil Stacey” hit No. 8 on the Billboard country music chart, released a new album Tuesday on Conquer.
The album, “Faith, ” is a slick production of contemporary Christian music, which Stacey says is his first love. And Stacey says Conquer gives him the freedom, both as a businessman and creative artist, that he never found on his previous labels owned by Sony and Disney.
For $39.99 a year, Conquer allows artists to upload as many songs as they want and collect 50 cents for every 99 cent download that customers buy.
And that also means artists won’t depend on, or be indebted to, record labels that invest money in an act that can be a potential flop.
Conquer also holds shows for the artists at its massive semiannual conventions, one of which takes place in Greensboro each year.
Read more at News-Record
Chris Sligh covers Katy Perry for ‘Soul Surfer’ soundtrack
Soul Surfer, the Bethany Hamilton biopic that features Carrie Underwood in her film debut, has involved another American Idol alum: Season 6’s Chris Sligh covers Katy Perry’s Firework for the soundtrack. It’s one of two previously unreleased tracks on the soundtrack album, the other being Mat Kearney’s Runaway. Other acts on the set include Brian Setzer and Michael Franti & Spearhead.
Read more at USA Today
Adam Lambert’s Bardot Date Night
Making the most of the wee hours of the evening, Adam Lambert was spotted at Bardot Nightclub in Hollywood last night (March 29).
Sporting a black jacket, zig-zag t-shirt, and grey trousers, the “For Your Entertainment” singer looked to be having a great time as he made his exit while holding hands with new beau Sauli Kosinen.
See the photos at Celebrity-Gossip
OK! Interview: ‘American Idol’ Castoff Karen Rodriguez
New Yorker Karen Rodriguez came onto the show as a girl who looked up to American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez, but sadly Top 12 was as far as she made it. After singing “Love Will Lead You Back, ” she did not get enough votes and sadly had to say goodbye. OK! caught up with Karen and we talked about whether the mansion is really haunted, who her best friend in the house was and how she is liking her experience on Twitter.
Read more at OK
Which season is truly the most talented group ever on ‘Idol’?
The message from “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest and the judges is clear: This is the most talented group of finalists ever.
That’s the big theme of this year … and if it sounds familiar, it’s because it was also the theme of the nine previous seasons. Rarely has there even been a hint of acknowledgement that the field in a particular year may not be as strong as those who came before.
But is it accurate? Time will tell, but here’s one man’s opinion of how each season’s field of finalists ranks.
Read more at MSNBC
‘Dancing’ Comes Through STRONG for VIP Fan
Everything went according to plan for Maksim Chmerkovskiy Monday — because the special plans he organized for a fan dealing with cancer treatments went off without a hitch … and TMZ has all the details.
TMZ has learned … Maksim’s special guest — a woman named Lisa — had a VIP parking spot waiting for her when she arrived to the studio … and was greeted by the “Dancing” star himself.
Sources connected to Lisa tell us … she was then treated to a full tour of the backstage area where she met Kendra Wilkinson and Tony Dovolani. In fact, Tony even took Lisa to his trailer to hang out and take pictures!!!
Read more at TMZ
Cheryl Burke and Kirstie Alley Snub Chris Brown Backstage at ‘Dancing’
“Usually when a big star comes in to sing, the entire cast is excited to meet them and spend the day together at rehearsals, ” a ‘Dancing’ insider tells me. “With Chris, no one wanted to be around when he rehearsed.”
In particular, my source observed that “Kirstie wanted to spend as little time as possible around him. It was hard enough for her to be in the same building as him.”
Even the show’s super friendly host Tom Bergeron warned that there might be trouble if he got the chance to interview Brown. “I did say to the producers that it might be to their advantage to not have me interview him, because my natural tendency would be to say something, ” Tom told Ryan Seacrest.
Read more at Popeater
First Listen To Jennifer Lopez’s New Single ‘I’m Into You’ Featuring Lil Wayne [AUDIO]
On the heels of her smash hit “On The Floor, ” Jennifer Lopez called into “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” Wednesday to exclusively reveal a sneak peek at her new single “I’m Into You” featuring rapper Lil Wayne.
The singer and “American Idol” judge revealed that the release of the full version of “I’m Into You” lies in the hands of her fans, as they will have the power to “unlock” the song on Jennifer’s official Facebook page. The “Give It LOVE? Get It Early” campaign allows fans to unlock the song on iTunes before it’s official on sale date of April 5. Additionally, fans who “like” the song will also be entered to win a flyaway to the “American Idol” season finale show in Los Angeles, CA.
