“Idol” champ Fantasia to star in reality series
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Former “American Idol” star Fantasia Barrino will return to reality television in a new unscripted series on VH1.
The nine-time Grammy nominee has received a series commitment from the network for a show, as yet untitled, that will premiere in early 2010.
The project will chronicle Fantasia’s life as a recording artist and young single mother.
The North Carolinian rose to fame as the winner of the third season of “Idol” and has gone on to a successful career as a recording artist. Her autobiography, “Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, ” led to a Lifetime movie in which she played herself.
Yogi Berra to throw out ceremonial first pitch in the new Yankee Stadium’s home opener
Ceremonies for the grand opening of the team’s new home will begin at 12:10 p.m. and will feature the West Point Band, a joint FDNY and NYPD color guard, American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson to sing the national anthem and more than 40 of the Yankees’ best-known players — including Whitey Ford, Rich “Goose” Gossage, Rickey Henderson and Willie Randolph — who will be introduced in a pre-game ceremony on the field.
‘American Idol’ judges can’t win an Emmy!
For now at least, you can forget the news you heard last year that the Emmys were planning a new award just for the judges of reality TV shows like “American Idol.” TV academy chairman John Schaffner told Nelson Branco of TV Guide Canada the new category would be in place this year, but now it looks like American Idol Simon Cowell Kara Dioguardi Paula Abdul Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi won’t be competing against each other like Kris Allen, Anoop Desai, Matt Giraud, Danny Gokey, Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert and Lil Rounds do on stage.
TV academy awards chief John Leverence tells Gold Derby that the new Emmy Award isn’t ready to go this year.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
‘American Idol’: On the scene at the Top 7 results night
Sorry, Smirkelstiltskin, but you’re going to have to sit this one out. Even though, during last night’s American Idol results show, we were seated just two rows away from Cory the Warm-Up Comic’s first ever pro-Cory-sign-brandishing fan club (i.e. his family); even though Danny Gokey kept making his hand into a heart and flashing it with a doofy grin to his friends and family in the audience, and they kept flashing it back; and even though the person sitting next to us was wearing an “I [heart] Kara” t-shirt with the word “Kara” in a font that made it look like the letters were literally on fire, my snark demon has packed it in for the night. It may not have quite seemed so on the TV, but when Matt Giraud sang his way to safety — and, I assure you, in that room, it definitely came over that it was his singing that saved him — it was such a rousing, moving climax that it simply proved far too genuinely emotional for poor Smirkel to handle. He simply exploded then and there on my shoulder in a cloud of sulfur and glitter paint.
Phil Stacey blog: Gambling on Giraud
The judges give Matt Giraud a tax day bailout, and let him keep his day job another week. Although Simon made us think that he was not going to save Matt, he came around and Matt was given a second chance to wow America.
Idol-duo Lil Rounds and Anoop joined Matt in the bottom three. Anoop was in the bottom three for the third week in a row (I can sympathize) after one of his best performances, but was quickly sent back to safety. Lil Rounds could have easily been the one chopped tonight and has been in a bit of a funk the last couple of weeks. Both Anoop and Lil will definitely have to bring something amazing next week to make it past the double elimination. I think that disco will hurt Anoop (I fear the corny playboy will come back) but help Lil (Does anyone else hear ‹I Will Survive?). With a double elimination and a disco ball, next week should at least be interesting.
‹American Idol offers a surprising night
When Matt Giraud finally gets sent home from …American Idol, he wont be able to say he didnt get every chance in the world to stick around.
Matt didnt make it out of his semifinal heat, but was bailed out by being made a judges’ wild-card choice. When he needed a break for a second time on April 15, the friendly foursome obliged by making him the recipient of the first-ever Judges Save.
‘American Idol’ Recap: Better ‘Save’ Than Sorry!
It’s fitting that the most dramatic results show of American Idol’s eighth season arrived during ”Songs of the Cinema” week ‘ brought to you in part by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Ford, Coca-Cola, AT&T, the soundtrack to Hannah Montana: The Movie, New Line Cinema’s 17 Again, Quentin Tarantino’s movie that cannot be named, and the Paula Abdul ”Forever Your Girl” jewelry line (an HSN exclusive!).
Live from the Idoldome: The top seven choose life
One PM on the CBS lot and all is fairly quite save an sporadic bursts of teenaged cheering coming from just outside the Idoldome. Approaching, one finds not America Idol itself but Idol Tonight one of the largest bodies orbiting in Idol planetary system, taping their weekly review show.
Appearing on the TV Guide network, Idol Tonight, is one of the four weekly shows devoted to covering every fluctuation of the Idol universe, and is also one of the major stops for former Idols touring the globe. This week Elliot Yamin and the recently ousted Megan Joy.
TIME OUT, ‘IDOL’
I told you it would come to no good, didn’t I? That whole adding-the-other-judge nonsense on “American Idol, ” I mean.
From a ratings decline this year to an overtime incline, the show is turning into one giant out-of-control mess. If you thought last week’s totally unprofessional overrun of nine, count ’em, nine minutes was bad (anyone DVRing “Idol” and “Fringe” missed the end of both shows), the decision to cut the judges’ opinions to two-per-contestant this week was like putting a bottle cap on an open fire hydrant.
Kris Allen’s ‘Falling Slowly’: The Story Behind The Cover
Mild-mannered Kris Allen has not exactly proven to be a risk-taker during his run on “American Idol.” But on Tuesday night, the 23-year-old from Conway, Arkansas, set himself apart from the other finalists by going very contemporary on a night dedicated to songs from movies.
With a pleading look in his eyes and a spare arrangement, Allen performed a moving rendition of “Falling Slowly, ” the Oscar-winning waltz-like ballad from the sleeper 2007 indie flick “Once, ” the only song of the night to come from the 2000s. Like the scrappy songwriters behind the tune, Irish rock survivor Glen Hansard (the Frames) and former girlfriend and first-time actress Markà ©ta Irglovà ¡, Allen has at times seemed like the underdog. But with the roll of the dice on a song that judge Kara DioGuardi feared many in the audience might not know, Allen delivered what she deemed one of his best moments to date on the show.
Adam Lambert’s ‘Born To Be Wild’: The Story Behind The Cover
Adam Lambert is the leading contender on this year’s “American Idol.” The 27-year-old musical-theater veteran proved it yet again Tuesday night during a tribute to Hollywood movie music when he went way back to 1968 for a hyped-up cover of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild.”
While the majority of the other contestants stuck to songs from the 1990s, and all the rest went the ballad route, Lambert stood out because he chose a 40-year-old high-octane rock song associated with the iconic 1969 hippie road movie “Easy Rider” (likely one of mentor Quentin Tarantino’s all-time top 10).
Adam, Anoop get the most ‘Cinema’ airplay
American Idol’s ‘Songs From the Cinema’ night looks to have been a flop from a radio perspective. As of early Thursday morning, Mediabase shows only two finalists receiving any airplay for their performances this week — Adam Lambert, who received three spins for his Born to Be Wild, and Anoop Desai, who got two for his cover of Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It for You.
‘American Idol’: Will Kris Allen help boost sales of ‘Once’?
During last night’s American Idol, we heard our final seven perform plenty of ho-hum tunes from the likes of Bryan Adams, Bette Midler and Steppenwolf for Songs from the Movies night. (Really, Adam? You couldn’t do my personal choice for you, Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited”? Really?) Thankfully, season 8’s doe-eyed underdog delivered the goods with “Falling Slowly, ” a beautiful song from indie darling Once that, might I add, is not at all “obscure, ” thankyouverymuch Kara. It won an Oscar.
“American Idol” Should Have Gone On The QT A Bit More
Last night, American Idol brought Quentin Tarantino in for Songs From The Movies night, and he was probably one of the best mentors the show’s ever seen, honestly. (He was completely geeking out the whole time, and it was kind of great how he treated his mentorship like directing a movie, and talked about the whole package of each performance’ hey, he tried to rein in Danny Gokey’s preacher hand movements, albeit to no avail.) But the night overall was something of a dud, thanks in large part to the unfortunate song choices’ seriously, two Bryan Adams tracks?’ that made me think that my idea to restrict the night’s repertoire to songs that had appeared on Tarantino soundtracks should have been employed. Although I guess doing so would have resulted in Kara calling every song “obscure, ” since she gave that tag to the song that won the freaking Best Song Oscar two years ago. (This freakin’ show.) On to the rankings!
American Idol: Sit Back and Relax, Enjoy the Schmo
Forget you, Sasha Frere-Jones. The hip hipster face of music appreciation is now Quentin Tarantino. The onetime Idol guest judge was a Mentor to the kids last night. With, you know, predicatably disastrous results.
Tarantino is a genuine fan of the show, yes, and he’s a very talented movie director, but that doesn’t exactly qualify him to coach singers, even if they’re singers on something as non-technical as American Idol. The whole conceit of the episode was that it was Idol Goes to the Movies, so Quentin was directing the singers as if they were actors. He was coaxing a performance out of them. Except… Eh. Not really.
‘Idol’ Favorite Adam Lambert Called ‘Coy, ‘ Universe Guffaws
This ABC News piece about current American Idol front-runner Adam Lambert has perhaps the most unintentionally hilarious opener I’ve seen in the recent entertainment press, all under the headline, “Adam Lambert: America’s First Gay ‘Idol’?” and the subhead, “‘American Idol’s’ Adam Lambert Leads Competition, Keeps Coy About Sexuality.”
Jason Castro Has Stockpiled More Than 30 Songs For Debut
To Jason Castro fans, this week’s news that the dreadlocked “American Idol” season-seven finalist inked a recording contract with Atlantic Records must have seemed like a return from a long, lonely exile.
But for Rockwall, Texas, native Castro, who just turned 22, the nearly yearlong wait to secure a record deal seemed like no time at all. “I hear it happened pretty quick compared to what it usually takes to get a record deal, ” Castro said. “I’m pumped. There’s a big misconception about how fast things move … but since I got off the ‘Idol’ tour, I’ve been writing nonstop and meeting with publishers, and I actually signed a publishing deal ahead of the label one.”
Hudson, Thicke talk about their joint tour
She’s the power-lunged Oscar and Grammy winner who has emerged from a family tragedy with unspeakable grace and class.
He’s the blue-eyed soul man whose sexy tunes have nabbed him an ardent female following and critical respect for his muscular funk.
Jennifer Hudson and Robin Thicke don’t have a ton in common — except a shared love of R&B — but somehow, their joint tour makes a ton of sense.
Both are at a similar midlevel point in their careers: Hudson’s self-titled debut, released last year, sparked the single “Spotlight, ” which made it into the Top 20 on Billboard’s singles chart, and Thicke finally popped through to the mainstream with 2006’s “The Evolution of Robin Thicke.”
Simon denies having feud with new ‹Idol judge
LOS ANGELES – Contrary to reports, there is no bad blood brewing at the judges table of …American Idol ‘ at least, as far as Simon Cowell is concerned.
Rumors had been swirling suggesting Cowell had been trying to get new …Idol judge Kara DioGuardi fired. However, in a statement to Access Hollywood, Cowell said he had no beef with his …Idol counterpart.
…I get on really well with Kara. Ive really enjoyed having her on the show, Cowell told Access. …I look forward to continually working with her.
RYAN’S FLAME
RYAN Seacrest’s mystery gal is a mystery no longer. Seacrest was spotted recently taking a break in Paris with a buxom bru nette who was described by online gossips as a “Megan Fox look-alike.” Now our source says the “American Idol” host’s new catch is Jas mine Waltz. “She’s a cocktail wait ress at Guys nightclub in LA, and that’s where they met, ” said our snitch. A rep for Seacrest had no comment.
‘American Idol’ Judge Kara DioGuardi Working With Cobra Starship
“American Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi is probably getting fitted for her hoodie as you read this.
That’s because, in addition to her desk duties on “Idol” (which may or may not include feuding with fellow host Paula Abdul), she’s also working with Cobra Starship on songs for their new album.
According to a spokesperson for the band’s labels, Fueled by Ramen/ Atlantic, DioGuardi ‘ who’s penned tracks for everyone from Celine Dion to Kelly Clarkson ‘ has spent time working with the guys (and gal) in Cobra Starship, who are busy recording the follow-up to 2007’s Viva la Cobra.
‘Dancing With the Stars’: Carrie Ann Inaba blogs week 6
Hi Everyone ‘ Woohoo! Week 6!
Can I just start out by congratulating Tony and Julianne on one of the most beautiful performances weve had on the show in all eight seasons??!! WOW! They performed to Rascal Flatts and did an incredible job. It was indeed poetry in motion. Dances like that are not easy to come by. What a beautiful number indeed and a great way for everyone to be reminded of the artistry of dance at its best. The number choreographed by Mark and Artem was also great. I liked the theme of revolution, and the costumes brought a different flavor to the ballroom, as well. Rascal Flatts were incredible as usual. They are such nice people — they came over to the judges to say hello and they’re some of the most personable performers, talented and so grounded. It nice to see them doing so well and have such great success.
‹Dancing judge Inaba shocked by Grier’s rant
LOS ANGELES – Carrie Ann Inaba has admitted she was …shocked that David Alan Grier bashed her following his elimination last week on …Dancing With the Stars.
During a phone interview with Billy Bush for Access Hollywood and …The Billy Bush Show on Wednesday morning, Inaba revealed that Grier profanity-laced comments about her critiques of his …Dancing performances threw her for a loop.
