‘Idol’ Winner Phillip Phillips BIG SURGERY IMMINENT – Newly-crowned “American Idol” champ Phillip Phillips will finally undergo urgent kidney surgery next week, TMZ has learned. TMZ broke the story … Phillips doctors ordered him to undergo a procedure to fix his severe kidney stone problems — which have worsened since the singer went on “Idol” — but Phillip refused, insisting on finishing the show first. But now that it’s all over … and Phillip won … we’re told he’s finally planning on getting the operation in L.A. in the next 7-10 days. We’re told Phillip’s parents will be flying in for support. – Read more at TMZ
‘X Factor’ Judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato Clash in First Critiques (Audio) – After a bloodbath of firings and the months-long media frenzy surrounding Simon Cowell’s replacements, new The X Factor judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato finally get to work as auditions kicked off in Austin on Thursday. And leaked audio from their first critiques shows that they could be looking for different things. According to tweets from the audience, Season 2’s first audition is a 14-year-old boy who incited very different reactions from the pop stars.- Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
I’m also seeing tweets reporting that Britney was gone from her seat for at least 4 contestants.
Britney Spears & Demi Lovato Make X Factor Judging Debuts – It may be 90 degrees in Austin today, but things just got much hotter when Britney Spears and Demi Lovato arrived to their very first round of X Factor auditions! But they didn’t arrive together. All four reality TV judges—don’t forget Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid!—rolled up to the venue solo. Read on for all the scoop on Spears and Lovato’s X Factor judging debuts… – Read more at EOnline
‘Idol’ alumni criticize results – “What a travesty,” Langone said of the results, brought to fruition by a record-breaking 132 million votes. Langone, who placed seventh in last year’s edition, added that he is not alone in noticing that the show has become a popularity contest, in lieu of results being based on talent. “Let me clarify — congrats to Phillips! — [but] for the integrity of the show, to me this is a travesty. The result this year solidifies the reality of idol no longer being a talent show but a popularity contest. Unfortunately, I’m not the first to have noticed,” said Langone, whose “Idol” stint saw the crowning of country singer Scotty McCreery. Yamin, meanwhile, echoed Langone’s sentiments, saying Sanchez’s second place finish was a “shame.” – Read more at CBN-News
‘American Idol’ Finale: What Happened to the Donna Summer Tribute? – Insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter that the all-star salute, which included 70s icons Gloria Gaynor, Patti Labelle and Thelma Houston along with Sheila E., Jennifer Holliday and Nelly Furtado, was scheduled for the first half of the two-hour show, but was pulled last-minute by the network. Some in the audience had seen a portion of the tribute taped at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater on Tuesday, when Kristin Chenoweth and Idol runner-up Jessica Sanchez duetted on “Enough is Enough,” Summer’s chart-topping single with Barbra Streisand. The performance was described by one observer as “weak” and possibly reason enough to pull the plug. – Read more at the Hollywood Reporter
CMT Execs on Why ‘American Idol’ Rules Country and How the Industry is ‘Divided’ on Reality Show Success – Idol season 5 finalist Kellie Pickler is a one of many examples of a television success story. She is nominated for Female Video Artist of the Year at the June 6 ceremony. “Whatever you have to do to get where you’re going you gotta do,” she said. As for Church’s comments, Pickler acknowledged that his statement may have been taken out of context, but added: “I haven’t lost a damn bit of sleep over it.” “It does not surprise me that [Church], or any other artist that paid their dues playing every shithole honky-tonk and bar in America, would not be a fan of fast track stardom on talent shows,” said CMT’s SVP, Music Events & Talent, John Hamlin. “On the other hand, if you are a truly gifted singer, overnight success — which is literally what the talent show track can be — is equally admirable in my book. One in a million is one in a million.” – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
Kris Allen: Surprise Performance at The Darby! – Kris Allen stops by The Darby restaurant for a surprise performance on Tuesday (May 22) in NYC. “I love pop music, but I love pop music that does something a little bit different. It’s not all ‘this is what we should be doing because this is the process of making music,’ it’s ideas and being creative,” the 26-year-old singer recently told USA Today. – See the Photos at Just Jared
Carrie Underwood’s Grunge Rock Past: ‘I Was All About Pearl Jam’ – “You know those stupid school pictures that you’d always forget about until you got there? I wore those wide-legged jeans, like skater wide-legged jeans and a black and white oversized plaid shirt,” Carrie confesses to The Boot. “And I remember when I got my picture back, one of my friends saying I looked like I was going to go rob somebody. Like I was a menace!” Carrie’s grunge past goes a lot deeper than the collection of Seattle-inspired plaid shirts she still keeps in her closet. As it turns out, the Oklahoman country crooner was raised on rock ‘n roll. “I grew up listening to ’80s glam hair metal. Then, when I got older in the ’90s, the whole grunge thing was huge and I was totally into it. I was all about Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Nirvana and all of that stuff.” – Read more at The Boot
‘Idol Hangover’: Taylor Hicks Talks Phillip Phillips, ‘American Idol’ Judges Then and Now (Video) –
Steven Tyler says Mick Jagger got him ‘so wrong’ on ‘SNL’ – Steven Tyler does not think that Mick Jagger did him justice while impersonating him on “SNL” this weekend. “Ohhh, [Mick] got it so wrong,” Tyler tells the Web site Hollywood Life, pointing out that Jagger didn’t attempt his signature yelp. “He could have done the, ‘Yeah yeah yeah!’” Tyler was referring to a skit on this week’s ‘SNL,’ titled “So You Think You Can Dance At An Outdoor Music Festival,” in which Jagger played the Aerosmith frontman. In the skit, a parody of reality competition shows, comedian Bill Hader introduces the faux Tyler saying, “On loan from ‘American Idol’ and those weird Burger King commercials. We’re lucky to have her… Steven Tyler!” – Read more at the New York Post
