Oprah’s No Phone Zone rally in L.A.
KABC is teaming up with Oprah Winfrey to host a live No Phone Zone Day rally in Los Angeles. We invite you to join us at John Marshall High School this Friday morning for the LA No Phone Zone rally that will feature two American Idol stars, Kris Allen, last season’s winner and Allison Iraheta.
Gates open at 6 a.m. at the John Marshall High School football stadium. The rally starts at 7 a.m.
Our own Danny Romero, host of ABC7’s Cool Kids will be on hand to emcee the rally, which will also feature special Oprah correspondent Lisa Ling and City Council Member Tom LaBonge.
Kris/Allison Duet probably Won’t be Aired on Oprah
@GinaOrr: “The @krisallen and @allisonIraheta performance for Oprah is to warm up the crowd for “No Phone Zone Day.” Will probably not be aired on TV…@krisallen and @allisonIraheta will be talking to Lisa Ling at the rally. Oprah show airs Fri 4/30.”
Adam Lambert joins the million-download club
With week-over-week sales falling a mere 14 percent, Adam Lambert easily eclipses the million mark for Whataya Want From Me downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. And, with more than 86, 000 downloads, it’s still the week’s best-selling Idol track.
Carrie Underwood also had a good week, her downloads boosted by appearances on the Academy of Country Music Awards and Idol Gives Back. Temporary Home, Cowboy Casanova, Before He Cheats, All-American Girl, Undo It and Jesus, Take the Wheel all saw double-digit percentage increases, and the studio version of Change, her Idol Gives Back song — rocketed a jaw-dropping 2, 001 percent..
Glee’s ‘Madonna’ Powers To No. 1 On Billboard 200
It’s all about “The Power of Madonna” this week on the Billboard 200 albums chart where the soundtrack from last week’s Madonna-themed episode of Fox TV’s “Glee” debuts at No. 1 with 98, 000 copies sold according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The week’s second-highest debut is also a soundtrack: AC/DC’s “Iron Man 2” at No. 4 with 76, 000 sold. Thus, with soundtracks debuting at Nos. 1 and 4, it marks the first time in the Billboard 200 chart’s nearly 54-year history that two soundtracks have simultaneously debuted in the top five.
More Idol Headlines after the Jump…
Carrie Underwood gets CD sales bump from ACMs, ‘Idol Gives Back’
Get high-visibility performances on two major networks during prime time, and your CD sales are bound to rise. Between her Entertainer of the Year win at the Academy of Country Music Awards show and her performance of Change on Idol Gives Back, Carrie Underwood saw week-to-week sales of her Play On album jump 54 percent. Some Hearts and Carnival Ride sales also saw increases. In fact, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Carrie’s combined album sales increased 48.4 percent over the previous week — with an additional 89, 000 individual Carrie Underwood songs being purchased online. (For a great gallery of Carrie Underwood photos, click here.)
Danny Gokey Recalls His Own Country Music ‘Idol’
Country music week on ‘American Idol, ‘ had Shania Twain returning to the show to mentor the final six contestants, who sang songs from her songbook. Danny Gokey, who was among last year’s top finalists, was the one performer to venture into the country music world, after getting some very good advice from a country legend.
Aaron Kelly tops Tuesday’s Idol Meter ratings
This week’s Idol Meter shows overall low scores but a surprising reversal of roles, with Aaron Kelly at the top (“Raves across the board for a contestant in perceived danger, ” writes Ken Barnes) and Crystal Bowersox at the bottom, following her season-high performance of People Get Ready last week. “A left-field performance didn’t jell and broke a streak of excellence, ” Ken writes. “So she’s human — and we kind of like her even better now.”
American Idol’s Siobhan Magnus: “I Feel Bad for Simon”
Of all the emotions ever thrown the way of Simon Cowell by the American Idol contestants, pity is probably not one of them. Until now.
“I feel bad for Simon. I really do, ” Siobhan Magnus told us after last night’s show, in which the King of Mean called her performance “a bit wet.”
Why?
According to Siobhan—who wasn’t quite sure what Simon meant by “wet, ” either—the tight-shirted Brit has it the worst of all the judges.
Idol’s Katie Stevens honored at arts banquet
From left, Ryan Ford, of Jostens, Edward Cumming, of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Katie Stevens and 17, Eric DeAngelis, 18, of Pomperaug High School and Everett Lyons President of Connecituct Association of Schools stand during the 15th annual arts recognition banquet at the Aqua Turf Tuesday April 27, 2010.
Idol’s Casey James Wishes He Would Have Kissed Shania Twain
Ah, regrets!
American Idol contestant Casey James tells UsMagazine.com he didn’t hear Simon Cowell urging him to kiss guest mentor Shania Twain on Tuesday night’s show.
“Is that what he said? See, I want them to crank up the monitors because if I had heard it, I would have laid a big one on her, ” the 27-year-old Texas rocker told Us. “I would have went for it.”
Jane Krakowski is on Team Crystal Bowersox
Jane Krakowski may be among the fans dialing in to support Crystal Bowersox on American Idol tonight.
“She’s organic, ” the 30 Rock star, 41, tells me during a Garden of Dreams Foundation rehearsal held at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall. “Organic is my favorite thing about her. I think that’s really who she is, and that’s when an artist in music can organically blend and then bring them to stardom. She’s not faking anything, I don’t feel.”
Heroic Dentist Offers Crystal Bowersox the Free Teeth-Fixing She Deserves
But one observer would like to point out perhaps the most serious challenge faced by this year’s presumptive winner Crystal Bowersox: Her teeth.
Or rather: The media-readiness of her teeth. Bowersox’s imperfect grill has been something of a going concern this season among a certain Idol subculture, second perhaps only to the quality of her hairstyle. But NYC celebrity dentist Laura Torrado hopes to correct this as soon as possible with a free reconstructive effort on the singer’s behalf, because according to an open letter sent Movieline’s way this afternoon, she can’t be a real star without it.
‘American Idol’ Experts Predict The End (Again) For Michael Lynche
He might have gotten the judges’ save a few weeks ago, but time appears to have run out for brawny personal trainer Michael Lynche — at least according to MTV’s “American Idol” experts.
“I think it’s finally Big Mike Lynche’s time to go, ” said MJ Santilli, webmaster of the “Idol” fan site MJsBigBlog.com. “He sang a very competent version of [Shania Twain’s] ‘It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing, ‘ but unfortunately, Aaron Kelly and Casey James, two other contestants on the cusp, stepped it up this week.”
‘American Idol’ Report Card: Who Nailed Shania Twain Week?
Oh, you crazy “American Idol” kids! We’d been worried all day for you. Was the songbook of ’90s country queen Shania Twain the type of “Idol” classroom material that would sink every single one of you? Were we in for a live performance on Tuesday night that would have us harkening back to those ear-bleedingly awful top-24 shows in late February?
No and no. Collectively, this was the finest group of performances of the year, and we’re pleased to announce that for the first time, not one contestant notched a failing grade on our weekly “Idol” report. That doesn’t mean we’ve got a bunch of honor students on our hands. In fact, the ranks of the Average Idols have swelled — which is to say that while no one crashed and burned, almost no one soared. Considering how worried we were, though, let’s just be happy with how the whole thing turned out. On to the grades!
Interview: Adam Lambert
American Idol might be one of the biggest television shows on the planet but, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Jordin Sparks aside, the majority of its most famous contestants have made little impression on the charts this side of the Atlantic.
All that’s set to change with the arrival of Adam Lambert, one of the most talented – and certainly the most flamboyant – singers to ever grace the Idol stage. Having wowed Simon Cowell and the judges with his renditions of songs by the likes of Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, Lambert may have finished second to Kris Allen on season eight of the talent show, but it’s his glam poprock style that abides.
‘Idol’ Guest Blog: Anoop Desai Has The Top 6 On His Mind
Last year, country week was my favorite week. I felt no pressure to outperform anyone or live up to another version of the songs we had to choose from because, quite frankly, I didn’t really know any of the songs. I think I would have found myself in the same position for this year’s iteration of country week featuring the music of Shania Twain. I have a feeling that’s what some of this year’s contestants felt as well. Some of the most original and natural songs this week came from contestants who were simply riding along as part of the pack. It took a week like this, featuring songs that aren’t necessarily iconic, for them to let their true selves shine.
Kelly Clarkson Live in KL: All We Ever Wanted!
It was a night to remember at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil on April 25 as American Idol star Kelly Clarkson made her way to our shores for a spectacular one-night only concert as part of her All I Ever Wanted tour – much to the delight of her legion of fans here!
The atmosphere at the packed stadium was abuzz with excitement at the prospect of seeing an international award-winning star finally perform here (especially after the disappointment we felt after Beyonce and Rihanna cancelled their shows previously). Warming up the stage for Kelly was Malaysia’s very own Idol Jaclyn Victor who belted out a medley of her greatest hits and famous covers, closely followed by an encouraging performance by One in a Million winner Suki Low.
‘Glee’: Romy Rosemont wants Finn’s mom to don a stonewashed denim wedding dress
An unexpected bonus when Kurt decided to hook his dad up with Finn’s mom on “Glee”? Fans got to see a different side of Carole Hudson.
“It was such a touching episode because how many single mothers do we know that are exhausted [like Carole]?” Romy Rosemont, who plays Carole, tells Korbi TV in the video below. “And I love the fact that they gave her this transformation and no more acid-washed jeans, which I was grateful for.”
‘Glee’: Highest-Rated New Scripted Series
Sue Sylvester’s cheerios have something significant to cheer — and sing — about: With its ratings on Tuesday night, ‘Glee’ has edged past ABC’s laugh-riot ‘Modern Family’ to become the highest-rated new scripted series of the season.
Thanks in part to ‘American Idol’ having run a few minutes late, the ‘Glee’ gang attracted an impressive 12.6 million viewers and, in a week that saw most shows slip in the ratings, held steady with last week’s numbers.
‘DWTS’: Chelsie Hightower Didn’t Vote For Jake Pavelka
“I’m sorry!” said an embarrassed Chelsie Hightower on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live‘ last night after she and ‘The Bachelor‘ star Jake Pavelka became the fifth couple booted from ‘Dancing With the Stars.’
“I have to say I didn’t [vote]…I mean, my phone was broken and my laptop was gone. Jake took my laptop to vote on it, ” she explained. (Jake voted for himself, of course.) “I’m sorry!”
