Today’s Idol Appearances:
- Jennifer Lopez appears on the Ellen Degeneres Show
- Danny Gokey performs at the Opry. More info HERE.
Metromix Presents: Anoop Week
From May 9-May 15 you can hang out with Metromix and Anoop Desai from Season 8 of American Idol. The week long schedule of events will feature Twitter Tuesday, a party with Anoop at Gold Room, free yogurt with Anoop at Yogli Mogli, Kick It with Anoop kickball game at Piedmont Park, a live performance and lots more.
For all the details follow @Metromixatl and @Anoopdoggdesai on twitter and use the hashtag #mmxANOOPweek.
Read more at Metromix
‘American Idol’ Owner CKX Sells To Financial Firm, Ending Robert F.X. Sillerman’s Dream
The results are in and CKX — the company that owns the rights to American Idol — is leaving: It said this morning that it has agreed to sell itself to privately held asset manager Apollo Global Management for $5.50 a share, which suggests that CKX is worth $512 million. Apollo Senior Partner Aaron Stone said that CKX, which also owns the licensing rights for Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, offers “a strong foundation on which to build an exciting future.” But the deal brings to an end one-time radio and concert mogul Robert F.X. Sillerman’s dream of creating an entertainment power built on the licensing rights of the baby boom’s cultural icons. At one point he even hoped to land rights to The Beatles.
Read more at Deadline
Wheeling, Arlington Park ready to host another ‘Idol’ party
With her parents sitting in the front row, Wheeling officials on Monday announced plans for a hometown celebration in honor of Haley Reinhart.
If Reinhart makes it past Thursday’s elimination of “American Idol, ” there will be two local events on Saturday. The first is a short parade that will start at Northgate Parkway, head east on Dundee Road and end at Wheeling’s village hall, where a stage and celebration will be waiting.
Then it’s off to Arlington Park where Reinhart will host a short concert, similar to the show put on by Mount Prospect’s Lee DeWyze last year.
“We’re all very excited to say the least, ” Wheeling’s Village Manager Jon Sfondilis said.
Read more at Daily Herald
Clay Aiken sings national anthem at Durham Bulls game
“American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Durham Bulls’ second annual Back to the DAP game against the Indianapolis Indians Monday Night.
‘Glee’ star Matthew Morrison finds ‘American Idol’ no way to go
“I love the journey I’ve had, really worked my way up to where I am now, ” he says. “Sometimes, I get frustrated with shows like American Idol, shows that just create people like that, like you get instant fame. I don’t think that’s the way to go about it. I don’t think you really appreciate what you have if you can get it that way. I’ve had people ask me, back in the day, why don’t you audition for Idol? No interest at all.”
Longer interview HERE.
Read more at USA Today
Next season, you might have to wait awhile for NBC’s ‘The Voice’
Since the show put up strong ratings the past two weeks, many TV insiders had predicted that long-battered NBC would hustle it onto the fall schedule as a ratings-boosting gambit. The first season is slated to end June 28th.
But now it looks as if NBC might be leaning toward making “The Voice” an annual midseason rite, à la Fox’s “American Idol, ” rather than a nearly-always-on option, such as ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars, ” according to a talent representative close to the show.
Read more at the LA Times
Daly: ‘Voice’ Is a Fresh Take on TV Music Contests
Carson Daly admits he was worried about comparisons of his new singing competition show, “The Voice, ” with “American Idol.”
“Everybody was a little bit worried about it, ” he said. “I mean we all know about “American Idol” and it’s a great, great story in this country and television. It’s a juggernaut. It’s incredible. It’s a needle mover.
“But on “The Voice, ” we wanted to be sort of a fresh take on the music competition series.”
Read more at the Associated Press
‘The Voice’ has openly gay singers: Where are they on ‘American Idol’?
The Voice has featured two openly lesbian contestants during its premiere, then two openly gay men during its second episode. While there have been gay Idol contestants, most famously Adam Lambert and Clay Aiken, they’ve either publicly acknowledged their sexual orientation after their respective seasons concluded, or that aspect of their identity was ignored on the show itself. In fact, out of hundreds of contestants that have appeared on TV’s biggest series over 10 years, openly gay portrayals are either nonexistent, or at best extremely rare, let alone in numbers like The Voice has depicted in its first two weeks.
Read more at EW
‘Dancing With the Stars’: Kirstie Alley’s weight loss down to ‘Oprah reveal’ level
As it’s been the case for most of her recent career, discussion of Kirstie Alley’s participation on “Dancing With the Stars” almost always turns to weight.
The 60-year-old actress’ size has wildly fluctuated over the years, and though she’s lost a noticeable amount since she first stepped out at the “DWTS” announcement, she’s still not saying a number.
She says she hasn’t weighed herself, but we think she’s just being coy.
Read more at Zap2it
Hines Ward to his ‘DWTS’ fans: ‘I hope they vote for us. I’m not a bad guy. Nothing happened’
Hey, it was all just a misunderstanding! But Hines Ward and his partner Kym Johnson knew last week’s strange run-in with the law might still be on the minds of fans, so the two tried to spoof it in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-moment during Monday’s Dancing with the Stars. (Apparently, Johnson pretended to hold a gun during one of their two routines).
Read more at EW
Frenchie Davis Wants to Stay Far Away From Simon Cowell’s ‘X-Factor’ — Exclusive
Well, this makes two singing competitions under your belt. If you don’t win, would you ever consider X-Factor?
No. This is my last shot for reality TV competitions. I was really only on Idol for two minutes, so people didn’t even get to see a portion of my singing talents and what I’m capable of on stage. The fact that people still remember me from Idol is a huge blessing though. I just want to re-introduce my talents to the world on The Voice, but don’t expect to see me on another competition after this.
Read more at Celebuzz
Top 4 at a Top Secret! Shoot
@AmericanIdol tweets, “Our top 4 at a top secret shoot…waaaiittt a second!! Where is @LAlainaAI10?? @clusterfly21 get outta there!!!! http://yfrog.com/h8q2tmsyj”
Brad Paisley Realizes the Magic of ‘Old Alabama, ’ Full-Length Albums and Duets With Carrie Underwood
‘Remind Me, ’ your duet with Carrie Underwood, is clearly a standout track on the album. Why did you pick Carrie to sing with you on that song? Was she your go-to person to call?
Oh, yeah. I think we’ve become really close, having toured together and become friends and co-hosting the CMAs for several years. We just get along great and sing great together. She’s probably pretty much my first choice to sing with when it comes to a duet with a woman like that. I mean, we just sort of share the same values and get along that well. And also, I just don’t think there’s a better singer than her, so it’s sort of selfish to be able to sing with her and perform. Every take sounded like that [the final recording].
Are you considering ‘Remind Me’ as the next single?
Yeah, definitely. I think it probably will be. I don’t think there will be any holding it back. I’ll be very excited for fans to hear this because she’s off the radio right now, you know. She doesn’t have a current single out. So that’ll work out really well.
Read more at Taste of Country
Brooke White – Girls with Glasses – Best Cupcake in the Valley
