Bid on Items at the Idol Gives Back Auction
Just added: Items from Adam Lambert and Kris Allen. The auctions close at 3 am ET
Check it out HERE.
American Idol Winner Sparks Smoking Debate
Just a few miles after passing a towering Marlboro Man ad, a second billboard off the highway promotes cigarettes with a new American face: Kelly Clarkson.
The former American Idol winner invites fans to buy tickets to her upcoming concert in Jakarta, the nation’s capital. The logo of her sponsor is splashed in huge type above her head — the popular Indonesian cigarette brand L.A. Lights. Similar ads also run on TV.
Such in-your-face tobacco advertising has been banned for years in the U.S. and many other countries. But in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, tobacco companies have virtual free rein to peddle their products, from movies to sports sponsorships and television shows. The country remains one of the last holdouts that has not signed the World Health Organization’s tobacco treaty.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Ryan Seacrest: ‘American Idol’s’ Big Problem?
“Mama Sox” is likely to blow viewers away this week with an inspirational song of her choice, but whether or not Seacrest is a hero remains to be seen. Some seasoned “Idol” buffs say Seacrest’s recent outlandish behavior is a sign he’s making a play for the spotlight that outgoing judge Simon Cowell will leave behind.
“A lot of users on our site said they have noticed an ego battle between Simon and Ryan, ” TVGuide.com Senior Editor Adam Bryant told ABCNews.com. “Maybe Ryan’s ego is getting the best of him and he’s trying to be the center of attention.”
The Queering of Ryan Seacrest
The American Idol host—whose recent erratic behavior on the air has prompted chatter—has for years alternated between receiving and delivering homophobic, gay-baiting attacks. Thaddeus Russell on the Seacrest persona.
Even if he is heterosexual, Ryan Seacrest should consider being gay.
After watching the American Idol host both gay-bait Adam Lambert (“my tongue isn’t nearly as talented as yours”) and dance with a man in the audience during one of last week’s broadcasts, I was reminded of the late literary critic Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. When asked by a journalist whether she was gay, Sedgwick, who helped create the academic field known as “queer theory” by finding homoerotic subtexts within classic literature, responded that the answer to that question depended upon which “regime” one was operating within.
Is Kara DioGuardi the Best Judge on American Idol?
American Idol’s current season of contestants is spottier than a D.I.Y. dye-job., but the judging panel isn’t exactly a cohesive powerhouse either. Between Randy Jackson, Ellen DeGeneres, and Simon Cowell, critiques have been vague, pandering, and suspiciously biased, respectively. Meanwhile, Kara DioGuardi has improved from her first season, now ably diagnosing issues with song choices and artistic intention. Could the withering backlash against her have had more to do with her sometimes-cloying way of addressing the contestants than with her views themselves? Here are three advantages Kara has over her fellow judges:
Crystal Bowersox: From Chicago Hopeful To ‘American Idol’ Front-Runner
As Crystal Bowersox heads into inspirational-songs week on “American Idol, ” she’s the one contestant who seems to be rousing positive energy from viewers in the midst of this season of unexceptional singers and humdrum personalities. The “Idol” audience embraced the 24-year-old mother — MamaSox, as she is now known — once she become a crooner-to-watch in Hollywood and has stuck with her through illness, controversy and some killer performances.
We first met Bowersox during the auditions in Chicago, the city that also gave us Katelyn Epperly and Lee Dewyze. Dressed in jeans and a suede vest with her guitar strapped to her side, Bowersox sang “Piece of My Heart, ” a tune made famous by Janis Joplin.
Adam Lambert: No Plans for More Male Makeouts
More makeout sessions with his male band members is not—we repeat, not—on Adam Lambert’s agenda when he launches his upcoming nationwide Glam Nation tour.
“That is not the plan, ” Lambert told me at the GLAAD Media Awards. “I don’t want that to become some sort of schtick. If I keep doing it, everyone is going to expect it all the time. I don’t work like that. I like the element of surprise.”
Another thing not happening? Rent!
Lambert tweeted just the other day that he has not signed on for the upcoming Hollywood Bowl production of the hit Broadway musical.
‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ Soundtrack: Who Will Make The Cut?
When it comes to the “Twilight Saga, ” the soudtracks are almost as anticipated as the films themselves. And with the “Eclipse” soundtrack set for release on June 8, many fans are wondering which artists made the cut.
Adam Lambert had hoped that his song “Suburban Decay” could find a home on the soundtrack. He told MTV News that it could be the perfect tune to further elaborate the love story between Bella and Jacob. “It’s a great song and I hope to perform it someday, and I think it will find a home on a soundtrack or something … maybe ‘Twilight, ‘ ” he said. “It just didn’t quite fit [in my album]. It’s very theatrical. … It’s very campy, and it was just a bit too campy for the album as a big picture.”
North Shore’s Gypsy to Star Vicki Lewis; “American Idol” Vet Fedorov Set for Joseph
“American Idol” finalist Anthony Fedorov will star in the title role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which follows Aug. 3-22. Fedorov previously performed the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical for the 5th Avenue Theatre and the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma.
Glee’s Matthew Morrison Dispels Hair-Product Rumors, Gives Spoilers, and Is Generally a Good Sport
Broadway audiences have known about Matthew Morrison’s sweet tenor for some time now, thanks to leading roles in hit musicals like Hairspray, The Light in the Piazza, and South Pacific, but the (yes, straight) actor has gained a whole new fan base of screaming girls (and boys) thanks to his central role as put-upon Spanish teacher Will Schuester on Glee. In the back-nine episodes of the show, Morrison says, we’ll see a new side of the seemingly naïve and wholesome Mr. Schue, starting with tonight’s much-vaunted all-Madonna episode. Morrison spoke to us from L.A. about who he will and will not be singing with going forward, why he still loves Broadway (but screw those In the Heights guys!), and answered quite a few of our commenters questions.
Cory Monteith Thought Glee Producers Chose Him By Mistake
Glee star Cory Monteith says he was so shocked at being cast in FOX’s hit musical show that he at first he thought the decision was made in error.
“When they picked me for the part, I thought they were mistaken, ” he tells Entertainment Tonight for an interview to air Tuesday. “I thought I was going to be swiftly recast and fired and deported [back to Canada]!”
In the audition, he jokes, he chose a rather unusual instrument on which to demonstrate his musical talent.
‘Glee’: Jenna Ushkowitz and Dijon Talton on being fierce
Madonna is bringing out a whole new side of our favorite “Glee” characters.
And while we teased that fans of Artie-Tina might have a certain special moment coming their way tonight (April 20), don’t expect it to be without drama.
“You see Tina’s aggressive side a few times in the future episodes, ” Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) tells Korbi TV in the video below. “It’s definitely something to look forward to. She needs to get out her aggressions somehow. It’ll be fun.”
‘Glee’ Ready To Flex ‘The Power Of Madonna’
Bust out your disheveled wedding dresses, cone bras and Kabbalah water – tonight Fox’s “Glee” will unveil its first episode to be dedicated entirely to one artist with “The Power of Madonna.”
Putting together a weekly television show is a rigorous experience even under normal circumstances, but the all-Madonna-all-the-time tribute came with some extra pressures.
At first, Team Madonna said no to the usage of her songs in the show, according to “Glee” music supervisor P.J. Bloom. “With respect, we had gone in cold with little explanation as to what ‘Glee’ and [creator Ryan Murphy’s] episode plan was, ” he says. “Once we laid the groundwork, Ryan closed the deal with an amazing appeal in letter form to Madonna, not just as the creator and driving force behind the show but as a true life-long fan.”
Madonna stands to profit from ‘Glee’ episode
If everyone hits the notes they’re supposed to, Tuesday’s Madonna-themed episode of “Glee” is going to leave the Material Girl very, very happy — and not just from the female empowerment motif or Jane Lynch’s stylized version of “Vogue.”
For one thing, it’s the only episode so far of the hit series dedicated to a single artist.
“I could see it happening again infrequently in the future, ” Adam Anders, “Glee’s” music producer told TheWrap. “But Madonna was a great choice to start with because of the depth of her catalogue.”
Will Dancing’s Evan Lysacek Drop His Pants, Too?
Evan Lysacek and his Dancing With the Stars partner Anna Trebunskaya are a bit worried.
As of this morning, they didn’t know what kind of dance they would be performing next week.
“Anna and I have to wait to see if we make it through today, ” Lysacek told me during our exclusive weekly chat. “We’re a little nervous because, for some reason, everyone else has their dance for next week but we don’t!”
‘Dancing With the Stars’: Kate Gosselin is ‘BEGGING’ for votes
Turns out that Kate Gosselin has started her very own “Keep Kate” campaign.
Before Gosselin stepped out for her tango last Monday (April 12), she sent an email out to her friends asking — actually “begging” — for their votes to keep her dancing.
The famous mom of eight explains in the email (obtained by Life & Style) that she has been “emotionally drained and ‘absent’ for much of practice, ” even adding that she’s “much less than confident this week and am actually BEGGING you this week to vote to the max.”
Gosselin goes on to ask her friends to blast the email to ten people.
Video Roundup:
At Birdland in NYC over the weekend, Season 1 Idol, RJ Helton, performed Scott Alan’s song “Blessing”, a song that asks parents to accept a gay son.
Matt Giraud interview with FOX 17 – includes a few seconds of Matt singing the National Anthem at the Detroit Tigers game last week.
Anoop Desai performs at NBC’s Studio B
Allison Iraheta Behind the Scenes of her Latina magazine cover
Check out her beautiful cover HERE.
Simon Cowell calls Larry King Interview ‘Uncomfortable’
Interview with Extra’s Terri Seymour
