Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
MultiVu Video Feed: Bon Jovi to Join Golf Legend Tiger Woods For 10Th Annual Tiger Jam on May 26 In Las Vegas
Daughtry, Hootie & The Blowfish Also Scheduled to Perform…
Paisley in overdrive with “5th Gear”
…The new album features a duet with Carrie Underwood on the song “Oh Love.” Underwood toured with Paisley last year, when the two would sing “Whiskey Lullaby.” When he needed a female voice for the new duet, Underwood was a natural choice. “I’m a huge fan of her singing. She’s just tremendous and deserving of everything she’s getting, ” he says. “When I heard that song, it flipped me out, (especially the line) ‘Strong like a mother holds her child.’ If that doesn’t appeal to me at this point, I don’t know what does.”…
Star-studded Kingdom Assignment Event, ‘The Well Done Awards’ to Celebrate Extraordinary Stories of Faith
The Kingdom Assignment book series has been featured on Oprah, ABC Nightly News, The Hallmark Channel, People Magazine and written about in countless newspapers around the world. This special night honoring 31 people who have accomplished amazing stories of faith, will honored with a night of celebration featuring: Guest Artists: American Idol’s Katharine McPhee; “The Pursuit of Happyness” Chris Gardner; Entertainers Bebe Winans, The Groovaloos, The Dailies Band, Dave Koz, Roddy Chiong and American Idol’s Chris Sligh….
Young artists draw praise for festival exhibit
This year’s Festival in the Park contest received more than 100 entries from 16 schools.
…Tonight’s concert performance in Elmwood Park will feature the 1970s band Pure Prairie League, with an opening performance by Josh Gracin, the fourth-place finalist on the second season of American Idol…
‘Idol’ worship
Contestant parlays TV success into music career
A lot of performers have influenced former “American Idol” contestant Elliott Yamin, from icons like Stevie Wonder to more contemporary artists like Ray LaMontagne.
But the most surprising name on Yamin’s list of musical inspirations is deceased singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, a performer who never had a Top 10 hit but whose signature album has sold more than 2 million copies……
Dad’s life is story behind Sparks’ ‘Idol’ win
It always is the middle of the story that solves the riddle.
Not the beginning, when Phillippi Sparks watched his single mom walk through the door after one of her three jobs with a bag of fried chicken from her fast-food employer. Not the end, when Jordin Sparks looked out at the audience after being crowned the new American Idol and said, “Mom, Dad, I love you.”
But in between, where you learn how Sparks grew up in west Phoenix wanting more and found it – in the NFL, where he played for nine seasons, and in a family, where he and his wife, Jodi, produced a daughter who suddenly is more recognizable than all the members of President Bush’s Cabinet…
Maroon 5 strikes a balance between the serious and the sexy on new album
..In person, Levine is refreshingly candid and often hilariously profane, but his salty language can’t hide his decent core. At the end of the interview, he apologizes for slightly poking fun at “Idol” contestant Blake Lewis, whom the band has known for years, during the interview; as if the notion he may have said something demeaning has been weighing on him the whole time. Or maybe he’s just afraid that his innocent comment will be taken the wrong way…
Newspaper Features Clay Aiken In Cartoon
The News & Observer daily newspaper of Raleigh has posted another “spoof” cartoon by animator Grey Blackwell and this time, the cartoon focuses on Clay Aiken and other American Idol stars from North Carolina….
American Idol’s Entertaining Finale
…While watching one of the production numbers, it occurred to me that everyone seemed on the edge of delirium, all sporting effusive, broad grins, perhaps owing to the fact that virtually everyone on camera either had and/or will be making a great deal of money. I suppose that is cause for a smile or two.
But I will hand it to the producers. Idol was, in its infancy, virtually the antithesis of Wednesday evening’s program. The first year or two it was painfully obvious that the show was being produced on a shoestring budget. The show’s great success since has opened the network’s checkbooks and production values have soared…
Atlantic City: Hermits stars Noone
Peter Noone was thrilled when he was asked to coach this season’s “American Idol” contestants during “British invasion” week in March.
He was equally thrilled he paid his dues more than 40 years ago and didn’t need the show as a vehicle to launch his career…
‘Idol’ McPhee just a ‘C’
“American Idol” alum Katherine McPhee earned only a “C” for her work at a Minneapolis-area nightclub…
American Idol Winner Jordin Sparks Loses Voice, But Keeps Her Cool
It’s just a few days since Jordin Sparks was named the youngest “American Idol” in the show’s history, and in the red-hot media frenzy it sounds like the 17-year-old singer has lost her voice…
Antonella kicks back
“Idol” contestant learned a lot, moving forward
It would be easy for Antonella Barba to regret ever auditioning for American Idol. But the 20-year-old doesn’t.
“I try not to have regrets, ” the Point Pleasant resident says. “I look at everything as a learning opportunity . . . right or wrong, and grow from the experience.”
Barba has learned a lot since February, when she was named to the Top 24 on the musical reality television show………
MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCES
Town pedals for patriotism: Bike parade features local Iraq war vet, local star; veterans march in Highlands
Point Pleasant Beach rolled into the season Saturday with its Memorial Day bike parade, which featured “American Idol” contestant Antonella Barba and a local resident who served in Iraq…
Wal-Mart: Back To Basics
Company Still Looking For Identity As Shareholders Meeting Nears
Wal-Mart put on a shareholders meeting last year that some compared to an off-Broadway extravaganza, with singer Beyonce shimmying in a yellow dress and “American Idol” Taylor Hicks doing his somewhat goofy song-and-dance routine.
The company executive credited with that musical extravaganza — or fiasco, depending on who you talk to — is gone this year, her departure wrapped in controversy…
Ask Kelly Clarkson a Question!
She’s the original Idol ‘ and now she’s answering your questions! Tell us what you’re dying to know about the pop superstar, and your question may appear in PEOPLE.
American Troops Are Remembered with Gifts of Music
This Memorial Day weekend, our American troops will be remembered in many special ways. They were remembered today as it was announced that Redstone Properties, at http://www.theoaks-gpi.com/home/, has donated 1, 000 Taylor Hicks CD to the Proud Of Our Troops drive. The Proud Of Our Troops drive is an ongoing drive sponsored by Jewelry Sprout, which sends Taylor Hicks CD to our men and women all over the world who are serving our country.
The Proud Of Our Troops Drive began in June, 2006, and in 21 weeks, 3, 157 copies of Hicks debut single, “Do I Make You Proud” were sent to American soldiers overseas! The goal for Part 2 of the drive is 10, 000 copies of Taylor’s new CD, titled “Taylor Hicks….
Views and reviews from Star Party
MUSIC REVIEW: The critic and some fans exchange opinion of performers at the annual event, the 19th of the series.
…Critic: Whether she went in a pop or an R&B dance direction, her material sounded generic. Kat’s most convincing piece was her interpretation of Alanis Morissette’s “Mary Jane.” Not only was it a more personal song, but it was a nice showcase for her voice, both her range and colors. Grade: C+ …
Idol Watch: Another year, another Idol
…Is it ignorant for me to believe that the powers-that-be will cut her a marketing break and not have her coming out looking like Katharine McPhee on her album cover? She is only 17, so surely they wouldnt do that…
A.M. Surf Report: Justin Timberlake Scores The ‘Coolest Chick Ever’; Kelly Clarkson Gets An ‘Idol’ Apology; Maroon 5 Elbow T-Pain
….Constantine Maroulis has been off “American Idol” for more than two years now, but between musical theater and soap opera roles, he hasn’t gotten around to putting out an album. Until now. Maroulis’ LP Constantine ‘ “better than the one I could have made right off the show, ” he told us ‘ is due August 4. Meanwhile, fellow season-four rocker Bo Bice tells us that his upcoming second album (due later this year) will bear more of his mark. “I didn’t have a lot to do with the first record, ” he explained….
…TMZ.com reports that Kelly Clarkson has received an apology from her record label for Clive Davis’ speech on Wednesday night’s “American Idol” finale ‘ not for the length of the extended monologue, but for its content. Davis, who has clashed with Clarkson over her upcoming My December, plugged new singles by Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks but not Kelly’s “Never Again, ” and highlighted the record sales of other “Idol” vets in the presentation. Davis’ rep denied the report to TMZ, and said that he was simply focusing on recent “Idol” successes, not freezing out Clarkson. …
‘American Idol’ Vets Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis Can’t Stop Rockin’
Unforgettable season-four contestants hanging tough with new albums.
…The album, titled Constantine, will drop August 7 on his label, with distribution from Sony/Red. Self-proclaimed “blue-collar guy” Maroulis is confident that his fans will find it and buy enough copies to keep him on the road. “I can sell a couple hundred thousand copies and do what I love to do: play clubs, ” he said. “I don’t need to be a huge star.” …
FLASHING BACK TO THE BEST MUSIC OF THE LATE 60s Peace, love & downloads
THE SUMMER OF 1967, perhaps more than any other single season before or since, had its own soundtrack. Some would argue that music was the most significant ‘ and lasting ‘ element of what came to be known as the Summer of Love…
…So load up the iPod with these tracks and take a stroll (real or imaginary) down Haight Street. It will be just like 1967 all over again ‘ well, kind of…
…- “A Whiter Shade of Pale, ” Procol Harum (1967)
The English psychedelic rock band skips the light fandango, turns cartwheels across the floor and hits the big time with one of the era’s most-enduring tracks. It’s been covered hundreds of times, with varying results. We don’t have to bring up Elliott Yamin’s version, do we? …
Nigel Lythgoe ups the ante on ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’
Former hoofer choreographs the drama, right down to the winning moment, on both Fox reality shows.
…The British man turned to the crew. “Did I frighten them?” he asked.
Of course he did, a bit. But the young dancers knew well that the occasional dose of high-voltage shock therapy was what they signed up for. And the speaker, Mr. Nigel Lythgoe, knows they know it too, because generating these shocks is how he spends his days, not just as judge of “So You Think You Can Dance” but also as an executive producer and co-creator (along with “Idol” warlord Simon Fuller). When not serving as judge and producer of “Dance, ” Lythgoe, along with fellow executive producer Ken Warwick, presides over the daily production of another little TV franchise, a show called “American Idol.”…
‹American Idol Recap: Christians a Definite Presence
…Besides Sparks, half of the singers on this summer …Idol tour ‘ five out of ten ‘ have Christian roots…
