Cancelled Idol songwriting contest may return
As I first reported Tuesday, the American Idol songwriting contest has been cancelled for this season. That is not …rumored, but is official: it done for this year, but may return.
Why, after two seasons, is not returning this season? An American Idol publicist told me only that, …The contest has been a huge success, but producers are always tweaking the show a bit every year. They may bring the Songwriting contest back again, but chose not to have it part of this year season.
Bail refused for woman in online stalking case
A Melbourne woman facing new charges of stalking an American Idol contestant over the internet has been refused bail.
Authorities opposed bail for Tanya Maree Quattrocchi, who is awaiting trial for allegedly stalking a former American Idol runner-up.Quattrocchi, 23, pleaded not guilty in October when she was sent for trial on four charges of stalking Diana DeGarmo and others through electronic messages.
Ms DeGarmo had told the FBI that “no matter what I do I cannot get away” from Quattrocchi, who is accused of stalking her online.
Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa Top Hot 100
The week’s hot shot debut goes to David Cook, whose “Come Back To Me” enters at No. 63 after he performed it on “American Idol.”
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
American Idol in 60 Seconds
This week contestants picked songs from their birth year, and ended with America voting off Scott MacIntire. (4.8.09)
Rickey Minor: Scott should’ve stayed at the piano
American Idol music director Rickey Minor says he thinks Scott MacIntyre would have survived the week on American Idol had he chosen to stay behind the piano.
…He just sang the song for me and sang it beautifully, but he wanted to play guitar and show this side of him, Minor told me shortly after Wednesday results show. …I said to him, ‹This is really a risk. But I do believe that you must take risks in order to move forward, so I commend him on wanting to take a risk. As it panned out, it wasnt the right risk to take this time.
…He wouldve done wonderfully with it at the piano. I think had he played it at the piano, we wouldnt be having this conversation.
‘American Idol’ recap: Getting off Scott-free
Anyhow, I now pause this TV Watch for a moment to continue my season 8 results-night tradition of writing an Idol-themed ditty, and this one is dedicated to all of you Idoloonies who DVR’d last night’s performance show, only to find that you’d missed Adam Lambert’s ”Mad World” (head over to mjsbigblog if you want to check out the video) thanks to the show spilling well into the 9 p.m. hour. Naturally, I’ve set this one to a Song From the Year I Was Born (1972!), Robert John’s ”The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (incidentally the No. 21 song on Billboard’s year-end chart). Click here if you want a little musical accompaniment!
‘American Idol’: On the scene for elimination night
All together now: “Awwwwwwwww.” Yep, I know you’re disappointed — and not just because the good-natured Scott got a (not-so-surprising) boot tonight. You’re sad to discover that Auntie Whitterz and The Beav (you know that’s what we call him here in the EW offices, right?) are not here to blog the behind-the-scenes action from tonight’s show! Rest assured, my newfound friends, the kids’ll be back next week. It’s just that The Beav (aka Adam B. Vary) was catching a flight back from New York today and the Whitterz was resting up from days and days of maddening, post-Academy of Country Music Awards coverage (dang you, Toby Keith!) so they just couldn’t be with you.
Another singer gets the boot on ‹American Idol
Scott MacIntyre became the sixth finalist eliminated on …American Idol Wednesday on a night that brought out a level of emotion rarely seen from the judges stand.
MacIntyre, the first blind finalist in the show eight seasons, was an inspiration to many. Unfortunately for him, he couldnt come up with performances to match his backstory. In a field where nobody is making big mistakes, it the smaller issue of bland song selection that did him in. But it appeared to be with genuine regret that the judges sent him on his way.
Phil Stacey blog: Now, officially, an Adam Lambert fan
Maybe I’m easy to please. But I truly think there is some amazing talent up there this year. To me, the only reason Lil Rounds and Scott MacIntyre were on the chopping block was because of how GREAT everyone else is!
By the way, it is official. I am ready to eat crow. I have not been a big fan of this year – but I have said that if he delivered a performance worthy of being compared to Jeff Buckley and Freddie Mercury – I would become a fan. So as of tonight, I am officially an Adam Lambert fan. Dude can sing. He’s still a little crazy – but he’s a rare talent.
American Idol’s farewell to an inspiration
Wednesday night brought one of the more touching dismissals in …American Idol history as Scott MacIntyre, the visually impaired singer-songwriter, was eliminated from the competition, finishing in eighth place.
The journey of the Scottsdale, Ariz., native was one of the most heartwarming spectacles of …Idol eight seasons. A gentle, perpetually smiling 22-year-old, MacIntyre made his time on the show notable for his good humor and a sense that despair was unknown to him, even as he struggled to perform in his final weeks.
The Rushfield Review: Scott MacIntyre – an original whose time had come
It was as heart-rending a spectacle as the Idoldome has seen this season; the dispatching of Scott MacIntyre to the land beyond Idol shore sent the studio on an emotional roller coaster from which it wont soon recover. While in the end, there was a vast consensus that if an end must come to all, ‹twas best it came to Scott tonight. Nevertheless, there was a real sense of sadness in the room that such a seeming-innocent uplifting young man had to now, just though it may be, in his turn, drink from the cup of mortality that lies waiting at the end of all Idols journeys
“Idol” Working Overtime: Eight-Word Reactions To The Top Eight
Last night’s American Idol ran so far overtime, thanks to more silly playfighting between the judges during their critiques and the producers inexplicably deciding that the viewing public needed to see lots of video of Matt Giraud portraying an angel when he was a kid. So in honor of the judges’ inability to keep it short, I’m limiting my judgments of this week’s performances to eight words. The rundown after the jump!
Scott MacIntyre’s Search For The “American Idol” Title Is Over
Last night’s American Idol ended with Scott MacIntyre getting eliminated, even though there was some sort of split between the judges over whether or not they should use the save on him and allow him to stick around for another week. It’s hard to tell if that “debate” was just a bunch of drama manufactured for the show’s way-under-budget running time or more attempts by Paula and Kara to be kind of condescending to him. I mean, he seemed like a nice guy (and funny!), but a George Michael soundalike who prefers to model his performance style on Bruce Hornsby doesn’t exactly scream “contemporary artist.”
Adam Lambert’s ‘Mad World’: The Story Behind The Cover
Adam Lambert is making this look too easy. After revealing on Tuesday night that he has loved playing dress-up since childhood, he called upon his musical-theater experience to slip into yet another persona on a night when the “American Idol” top eight performed songs from the year of their birth.
This time, Lambert channeled a David Bowie-esque sensitive android, sitting center stage on a chair bathed in an eerie blue spotlight, the focus entirely on his piercing falsetto. But what was that song he sang?
‹Mad World singer Gary Jules calls Adam Lambert cover ‹unique and beautiful
Jules didnt know about the theme of the night ‘ songs from the year the season eight top eight contestants were born. Or that Adam Lambert was born in 1982 and that meant the original Tears for Fears song, …Mad World, was a possibility.
Still, Jules wasnt surprised when he heard that piano.
…I said ‘I knew he was going to do it.’ I knew it! He cool and he kind of emo-y and has black hair and seems sensitive. That who would have that song in their lexicon, Jules said. …He totally understood the vibe of it and the power of it and delivered it in a unique and beautiful way. … I think Adam is straight-up the most interesting, for my personal taste, of anyone Ive ever seen on the show.
Kris Allen’s ‘All She Wants To Do Is Dance’: The Story Behind The Cover
Kris Allen could have picked from thousands of songs released during the year of his birth, 1985, on Tuesday night’s “American Idol.” But, scooting by a number of tunes that would have been perfect for his Jason Mraz-ish soul pop vocal range (A-Ha, Simple Minds, Bryan Adams), he chose “All She Wants to Do Is Dance, ” from Eagles singer Don Henley’s second solo album, 1984’s Building the Perfect Beast.
Not the biggest hit on the album (that would be “The Boys of Summer, ” which won a VMA for Video of the Year), “Dance” was a #9 hit in 1985. Despite the seemingly carefree chorus ‘ “She wants to party/ She wants to get down/ All she wants to do is/ All she wants to do is dance” ‘ the song is actually a scathing takedown of American political apathy and governmental gun-running, not exactly the stuff of typical “Idol” dreams.
Is ‘American Idol’ Front-Runner Adam Lambert The New David Cook?
Adam Lambert has been heralded as one of the most original contestants “American Idol” has ever seen. The 27-year-old Los Angeles-bred stage actor’s compositions have been praised as unique and provocative, and his unorthodox vocal interpretations of some rather beloved tunes have had the judges cooing gleefully, labeling him as the one to beat this season.
Remind you of anyone from last season’s “Idol”? Perhaps the guy who ended up taking home the whole kit and caboodle, David Cook?
Adam Lambert: Before he was an American Idol
Now, Culture Monster isn’t one to play favorites, and we’re generally too modest to toot our own horn. But after watching Adam Lambert’s show-closing, show-stopping performance on “American Idol” last night, we thought we needed to single out this contestant and, at the same time, share a moment of prescience on our part.
‘Idol’ Overtime Pays Off for Adam Lambert
“American Idol” ran nearly nine minutes long Tuesday, preventing potentially millions of viewers who rely on their DVRs from seeing the performance of Adam Lambert — which, in turn, affected the number of viewer votes Lambert received.
Luckily for Fox, Lambert, one of this season’s most popular Idolettes, was not given the old heave-ho the next night; it was Scott MacIntyre instead who had received the fewest votes from viewers Tuesday night and was removed from the competition at the end of last night’s results-and-product-plugging show.
American Idol contestant has roots in Milan area
Every Tuesday and Wednesday evening, singers from across the country take a deep breath and walk out on the nationally-aired American Idol stage. Their only hope is to earn enough votes to stay for one more week and a chance to become the next big recording artist.
Meanwhile, the only hope for their families is to recruit as much support as possible to see their loved ones succeed. One such local family is experiencing the excitement through singer Matt Giraud.
Giraud tried out for Season 8 of the Fox TV program in Louisville, where he was accepted and sent to Hollywood for further auditioning.
Busy Giraud mentors, too`I can see a big change in myself, ‘ his mentee says
KALAMAZOO — It’ll be 1 1/2 years to the day on Thursday that Tre’ Rugg, 16, of Kalamazoo, has had Matt Giraud as a mentor.
Giraud, who is now in Los Angeles competing on Fox TV’s “American Idol” televised singing competition, became matched with Rugg, a sophomore at Kalamazoo Central High School, through the Big Brothers Big/Big Sisters of Greater Kalamazoo Inc.
Right before his now-famous Big Brother departed for the West Coast for tapings, Rugg, a typically outspoken young man with a short-cropped hairstyle similar to Giraud’s — except Rugg’s tresses are black and Giraud’s brown — was direct about what he expected him to do on the show, that is, to win.
“I’ll miss you so much, but I don’t want to see you for a long time, ” Rugg recalled telling Giraud.
American Idol: So Who Will Come In Second?
On Monday, the Post reported that oddsmakers worldwide have already decided that Adam Lambert is the prohibitive favorite to win this season of American Idol. Given that his Gary Jules’inspired version of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” last night was the only Idol performance in history (that we can remember, anyway) to illicit a standing ovation from Simon Cowell, we’re quite inclined to trust our bookie on this one. (Also, despite a national TiVo malfunction that caused all time-delayed viewers to miss him altogether, DialIdol still had him comfortably in first place last night.) So who will he defeat on this year’s finale?
‘Idol’ expands, opens doors to other genres
In its early years, “American Idol” contestants seemed squeezed into a tight compartment. This was a pop-singing context, nothing more. A few people rocked, but not for long. Then everything changed.
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“The one who really did it was Bo Bice, ” Ace Young said. “He opened the door for the rest of us.”
Young is in a good position to view this. He co-hosts “American Idol Extra” on the Fox Reality Channel; he was also an “Idol” finalist in the fifth season, as the show started to expand.
Judging ‘American Idol’ judges: Best catfight?
Considering that there will be a new Emmy Award this year for best reality-show judge, it’s important that we pay special attention to what those naysayers, sourpusses and rascals are up to now.
On TV’s top reality show last night, “American Idol, ” there was another hilariously revealing clash between Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul. I think it’s obvious to everyone, including Paula, that she’s on her way out. Her contract’s over at the end of this season and Simon ‘ who’s now running the show ‘ sometimes forgets to hide his disgust for her in the meantime.
Win Tickets to Attend Phoenix House 6TH Annual Triumph For Teens Awards Gala and Meet Kara DioGuardi
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – (Business Wire) Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, singer, and American Idol Judge Kara DioGuardi has launched the Phoenix House Triumph For Teens Awards Sweepstakes to support teen addicts in recovery.
DioGuardi is inviting fans nationwide to support the teen programs at Phoenix House, one of the country leading non-profit substance abuse treatment organizations, and enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win two tickets to Phoenix House’s 6TH Annual Triumph For Teens Awards Gala in Beverly Hills on April 30. Actress and singer Becky Baeling is hosting the charity event, which will include red carpet arrivals, a cocktail reception, silent auction, dinner, and a special performance by pop singer Colbie Caillat.
Largest Organ and Tissue Donation Event in U.S. to Cap April’s National Donate Life Month Observances
LOS ANGELES, April 8 /PRNewswire/ — Supporters of organ and tissue donation are raising their voices to inspire everyone to “Check Yes at the DMV” through a broad spectrum of programs across the Southland during National Donate Life Month in April. Capping the schedule is the seventh annual Donate Life Run/Walk at Cal State Fullerton on Sat., April 25, from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The largest Donate Life-themed community event in the nation, the Donate Life Run/Walk now includes support from Clear Channel Los Angeles radio personalities Valentine & Irma, Manny On The Streets, and Al B. Sure, who will be on stage and on the street with an estimated 7, 000 to 8, 000 walkers and runners. Other celebrities participating in the morning’s events include “American Idol” favorite Chikezie, country singer Hunter Brucks, and reality TV stars Kris Jenner and daughter Khloe Kardashian, recently on “Celebrity Apprentice.” Moss Adams LLP, the 11th largest accounting and consulting firm in the United States, has committed to be the presenting sponsor of the event for the next five years.
Carrie Underwood And Vince Gill To Play In Charity Softball Game
Carrie Underwood, Vince Gill, Montgomery Gentry and Josh Turner are among the artists who will step up to the plate for a charity softball game June 10. It’s considered the unofficial kickoff to the CMA Music Festival in Nashville. Two teams of stars will compete against each other to benefit City of Hope. It’s a research and treatment center for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
OK! Interview: Jordin Sparks
Former American Idol winner Jordin Sparks recently chatted with OK! about learning Japanese and trying to find love. …Jordin, she tells OK!, …is single.
OK!: Youre learning Japanese?
The past year Ive become really interested in Japanese culture. I thought it would be really cool to learn the language.
Wicks says ‹Dancing is good wedding prep
WASHINGTON – Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough arent engaged, but the country singer admits that performing with his girlfriend on …Dancing With The Stars could be good preparation for a wedding day dance.
Wicks and Hough have been dating for nine months and are paired together on the show. On Tuesday episode, after the pair finished their dance, he got down on one knee, sparking a bit of engagement buzz ‘ show host Samantha Harris even asked Wicks if he had anything to announce to the audience (he said no).
Handicapping ‘Dancing With the Stars’
Taylor First of all, you can tell that there must be a lot of NFL fans watching “Dancing With The Stars” and voting, because otherwise Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor would already be gone. Tuesday night, when (very funny) comedian David Alan Grier was eliminated even though he and partner Kym Johnson (who danced with Warren Sapp into the final night last year) had higher judges scores than Taylor, there was an audible gasp from the studio audience. That doesn’t usually happen. Even Taylor looked surprised and maybe even a little unhappy he’s stuck doing this another week.
Celebs shake off R-rated reputations on `Dancing’
NEW YORK (AP) ‘ Not so long ago, rapper Lil’ Kim perpetuated an X-rated public image that could make even the baddest girls blush.
Her raunchy roster of songs include the hit “Magic Stick” and lyrics much too graphic to repeat and she has jail creds, serving 10 months in prison for lying to a federal grand jury about a 2001 gun battle outside a New York radio station.
But now ‘ nearly two years out of jail ‘ Kim haunts the PG-rated pastures of “Dancing With the Stars.” Watching her twirl like a princess in floaty chiffon and weep with joy after her successful Argentine tango, it’s easy to forget the wild woman who wore a purple pasty on an exposed breast on national TV.
