Your weekly Idol sales fix: The albums
Puppy lover Carrie Underwood plays on with the best-selling Idol album, according to Nielsen SoundScan, in a week where most Idol album sales are down (and most Easter candy is drastically discounted). Adam Lambert’s digital Remixes EP makes its debut, selling considerably more than 1, 000 copies through his official site. Look for that number to rise exponentially on next week’s chart, between the EP’s wide release and Adam’s performance on Idol.
Vulture Asks Former American Idol Co-Host Brian Dunkleman About Ryan Seacrest’s Failed Joke
It must feel pretty nice that people cheered for you.
I’m flattered, if not touched, that people actually clapped. It’s a good feeling. And hey, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium is literally walking distance, so if they need me, I’m available.
So you’re making a show about leaving American Idol …
Yeah, the premise is: What if the biggest mistake you ever made in your life is brought up to you on a daily basis? So maybe Seacrest’s attempt at a joke could actually make it happen, because I was No. 2 on Google searches last night. It’s pretty awesome; I appreciate him giving me free press. Anything that he can do that leads to me working, I am completely in favor of.
From @HeadlineCountry
#1 Bob Cavallo, Disney Music Group Chairman, confirms that Lyric Street Records is closing down. Lyric Street is home to Rascal Flatts, others
#2 Lyric Street is also home to Bucky Covington, Love and Theft, Sarah Buxton, Kevin Fowler, newcomer Tyler Dickerson.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Crystal Bowersox and Michael Lynche tied atop our Idol Meter
Crystal Bowersox and Michael Lynche wind up in a surprise tie atop USA TODAY’s Idol Meter rankings today, with Ken Barnes saying “no fan will forget [Crystal’s] gospel rave-up, another in her frighteningly consistent sequence of excellence and probably the best of the night.”
‘American Idol’ ratings: Down but far from out
But to say that Fox is wringing its hands over the drop in ratings would be an overstatement. For one, single-digit declines like those suffered by Idol in the key demo (down 5 percent on Tuesdays and 9 percent on Wednesdays) aren’t unusual given the current trend of audience fragmentation. (Veteran favorites like Grey’s Anatomy, CSI and Desperate Housewives are down this season, too.) And Idol still handily beats Dancing With the Stars on Tuesdays, when the two reality shows go head-to-head. Season-to-date, Idol remains the No. 1 show on Tuesdays (a 9.6/24 in 18-49 and 25.9 million viewers) and on Wednesday (9.1/23, 24.7 million). Even if Idol went on to lose roughly 10 percent a year in the demographic, Fox projects the competition show will still remain one of TV’s top five for years to come. (Assuming, of course, that no new series come along and shake up the ranks — and TV is certainly overdue for another big tent reality show in the vein of Idol and even Dancing with the Stars).
‘American Idol’ Experts Predict The End For Andrew Garcia, Katie Stevens
Our other eagle-eyed “Idol” watcher, MJsBigBlog.com webmaster MJ Santilli, agreed that Garcia has finally worn out his welcome. “He has a loyal fanbase that’s kept him afloat through weeks and weeks of mediocre performances, [but] unfortunately, his consistently poor performances are probably not winning him new fans, ” she said.
She was split on who the other elimination could be, torn between the two high-schoolers: Stevens and Kelly. “I don’t think Katie’s fanbase goes that deep, ” she said. “And the fact that she was good again this week, but not quite as good as last week, might lose her some casual votes. I doubt Aaron picked up many casual votes last night either, for his amateurish performance of ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’ But Simon’s negative remarks may kick his fanbase into overdrive to vote, vote, vote for Aaron.”
‘American Idol’ finalists talk about Ryan Seacrest’s strange behavior: ‘We were worried about Ryan a little’
We started off with Tim Urban, who perhaps suffered the worst of Seacrest’s weirdness: the Idol host’s decision to start slow dancing with one of Lee DeWyze’s beefy buddies while Urban was performing “I Can’t Help Falling In Love.” “It was a little weird, ” Urban said backstage after the show, “because people laughed at [Ryan] dancing in the middle of the song, so I had to zone it out. I could kind of catch it in the corner of my eye that he was dancing. I just tried not to think about it.”
Urban wasn’t completely taken off guard, however; turns out that Seacrest also danced during Urban’s dress rehearsal as well. “What he just did on [the live show] was nothing, ” Urban said. “Dress rehearsal was nuts. We were in the back going, ‘All right?’ We did not know what was happening.” Fellow contestant Crystal Bowersox agreed. “We were worried about Ryan a little, ” she said. “He was kooky, in a sweet Ryan kind of way.”
Casey James explains his obscure song choice, decision to perform in the ‘American Idol’ Swaybot pit
We caught up with the contestant himself after the show and asked why he selected “Lawdy Miss Clawdy, ” one of Elvis’ lesser-known jams: “That’s pretty much exactly why I picked it, ” said Casey, explaining that Elvis’ more iconic numbers are too infused with the King’s personality. “I wanted to pick one that I didn’t really know so that I [wouldn’t] have [Elvis] singing it in my head as I’m doing it. That was my thought.”
Did Crystal visit a Vegas wedding chapel? What was up with Ryan’s wacky antics? Your burning ‘Idol’ questions answered!
Waltzing in the “Idol” studio, playing air guitar, mouthing along to Kara’s comments — what was up with Ryan Seacrest’s erratic behavior on Tuesday night? Believe it or not, Ryan was acting even kookier during the afternoon dress rehearsal. “What he did on stage was nothing, the dress rehearsal was nuts, ” said Casey James. “We were in the back and didn’t know what was happening.” That’s when Katie Stevens straight-up asked. “[Ryan] goes, ‘I’m really tired right now, so I’m trying to fool myself into thinking I’m awake, ‘” she said. And Ryan’s dance with a Michael Sarver look-alike wasn’t the half of it. Ryan also played air guitar and seemingly mocked Kara DioGuardi’s comments (though she didn’t seem to mind). Added Crystal Bowersox: “Ryan drank a lot of coffee — it was definitely caffeine overload.” Fortunately for Tim Urban, the distraction didn’t seem to faze him during his performance. “I could tell something was happening off to the side, but I couldn’t really see what was going on, ” he said.
‘American Idol’ Season 9 Idols on Adam Lambert, good luck charms and Aaron’s new nickname
The “American Idol” Season 9 contestants took some time to share with Zap2it some behind-the-scenes secrets including their good luck charms, pre-show rituals, how Adam Lambert helped them and Aaron Kelly’s brand new nickname.
‘American Idol’s’ Didi Benami: ‘I’m still rooting for my girls.’
Part of the “Idol Gives Back” volunteer day at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank included Season 9’s own Didi Benami. She tells Zap2it about the “Idol Gives Back” project, what she’s up to now that she is off “Idol” and who she is rooting for.
“Today we are packing backpacks of non-perishable food items for some of the students who don’t have food over the weekend, ” Didi explains. “They also have packets that have nutritional information, so that’s really awesome.”
Was Adam Lambert A Good ‘American Idol’ Mentor? Experts Weigh In
Adam Lambert has never been shy about expressing his opinions, but on Tuesday night, the season-eight “American Idol” runner-up provided some of the most candid and spot-on advice of any mentor in the show’s history.
While previous mentors have typically offered sweet nothings, praise and light advice to the contestants, like another season-nine guide, Usher, Lambert dug in and really encouraged the singers to push the envelope and display their personalities, providing concrete suggestions for molding their performances.
Seacrest Out. REALLY Out.
In past “American Idol” seasons, viewers looked to Paula Abdul to supply the show’s requisite loopy comedy and awkward moments. But now, with Paula gone, host Ryan Seacrest seems to have stepped into that buffoon role, exhibiting increasingly bizarre behavior all season long. Until this week, his oddest antics had occurred when sparring with Simon Cowell (seriously, the two of them have practically come to blows during their “witty” banter). But on Tuesday’s Elvis Night episode, Ryan took his cray-cray shenanigans to a whole new level–or more specifically, a new low–thus setting the blogosphere and Twitterverse ablaze.
‘Idol’ Guest Blog: Kim Caldwell Tackles The Top 9 Yet Again
Last night’s American Idol was one of the rare performance episodes where not even the worst contestants of the season (Andrew Garcia, Tim Urban) were all that bad. (Consider that a triumph or a tragedy, depending on why you watch the show.) Of course, that’s our humble take on Elvis Presley night, and we’ve never had to shake, shimmy and belt in front of millions of people—so let’s check in with somebody who has.
The gorgeous Season 2 finalist Kimberly Caldwell returns as Idolator’s weekly Idol guest blogger, and she has the honor of discussing the Top 9 contestants for the second week in a row! She lauded the contestants last week for tackling the songs of Lennon/McCartney, but did they impress her with their take on The King? Jump below to read the Idol alum’s review. (And we thank you, thank you very much, Kim, for offering your great Idol insight!)
‘American Idol’: Past Idols volunteer for ‘Idol Gives Back’
Look for some one-on-one interviews with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank volunteers in the coming days as we get closer to the “Idol Gives Back” charity event on Wednesday, April 21.
Dish Of Salt: Wednesday TV Dish (Former ‘Idols’ ‘Give Back’)
Despite his recent arrest for alleged identity theft, David’s season seven castmate Chikezie Eze was in great spirits yesterday. “I’m smarter from it, ” he told me of the aftermath from the arrest. “There is (sic) certain people you don’t want to trust.”
He reportedly attempted to use “fraudulent means” for a purchase at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills according to the LA County Sheriff’s Department.
Watch more from my Chikezie interview about the incident HERE.
‘American Idol’: Adam Lambert on female voters, the cutest boy and the Season 9 stand-outs
When asked about the Season 9 female struggling (they’ve had three women go home versus no men being eliminated yet), Lambert commented that it definitely shows that women are the ones that vote. So girls don’t vote for other girls? “Not as much as the boy they think is cute, ” he quips.
Of course, everyone pounces on that. Which boy is the cutest? “You tell me!” Adam teases. “That’s up to you, not me. That’ll just be sensationalized and turned into another headline, ” he laughs.
Former “Idol” contestant on TV; to make local appearances
So for Todd Tillery – owner of four local Moe’s restaurants, including both Virginia Beach locations at Hilltop and Lynnhaven – picking a musician for a television advertising campaign was a logical fit.
As “American Idol” continues to receive huge ratings, Tillery landed Chris Richardson for Moe’s latest 15-second commercial spot. Richardson, formerly of Chesapeake and a graduate of Great Bridge High, finished in the top six on the show’s sixth season.
Justin Moore Does Some ‘Reading’ with Chely
Justin Moore, Sarah Buxton, Rodney Crowell, Bucky Covington
and Jann Arden have all signed on for Chely Wright’s annual Reading, Writing, and Rhythm benefit, slated for June 8 at TPAC’s James Polk Theater in Nashville, Tenn.
This marks the 10th year anniversary for the benefit, which raises funds to benefit music education programs nationwide.
The evening will also feature a silent auction and several live on-stage auction items.
Ellen DeGeneres poses for May cover of ‘Shape’
Ellen DeGeneres, 52, opted not to wear a bikini for the new Shape, on sale April 19, but she did bare her feet.
And she talks about how she keeps in shape: She says yes to yoga, no to sweets, and never eats meat.
“It’s so weird, ” says Ellen. “Food used to be really important to me. I loved steak, I loved hamburgers, I loved all that stuff.” But now she treats food as fuel instead of reward and shakes her head regretfully over the ghosts of cheeseburgers past.
MTV’S “RANDY JACKSON PRESENTS AMERICA’S BEST DANCE CREW” PARTNERS WITH DOSOMETHING.ORG TO AIR ITS FIRST-EVER CHARITABLE EPISODE
Fans will get to see the five previous “ABDC” winners kick off the show in an explosive, one-night-only group performance; watch them give back as they work side by side with the youth volunteer and later perform a solo routine in their honor; and learn how their lives have changed since they were last on the “ABDC” stage. After viewers watch this very special episode, they can impact change themselves by logging onto DanceCrew.MTV.com to find out how to take action through DoSomething.org.
