Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
G.I., phone home
…This year, the goal was to double that amount with a larger fundraiser including former …American Idol contestant Leslie Hunt of St. Charles, former 1985 Chicago Bear Otis Wilson and oldies band The Moods…
Antonella Is Booked This Summer at CU
Antonella Barba is coming back to Washington! Almost definitely. She’s pretty sure, anyway.
The Catholic University architecture student, who became a whirlwind sensation on “American Idol” and a cautionary tale for the MySpace generation, says she’ll return this summer to make up the classes she missed while competing on the show, in hopes of graduating with her friends next spring. Though if showbiz offers arise . . . ?
“If I want to do music, I’ll have to pursue it, ” she said hesitantly. “Wouldn’t it be great if I could do both?”….
Local entries help salute our heroes
…Other participants included St. Joseph High School graduate A.J. Tabaldo, who appeared on the …American Idol reality TV show; Santa Maria attorney Michael Clayton and his pirate ship float; and the Compton Sounders drill team…
Vocalist to sing with her ‹Idol
…DeNesha ‘ who was almost named …Miracle ‘ was selected to attend the second annual Ruben Studdard Music Camp in Dothan, Ala. Studdard won the second season of …American Idol….
…DeNesha, a sixth-grader at Max Abbott Middle School, was selected for her vocal skills after a lengthy audition process. The camp, which will be held this week on the campus of Wallace Community College, is designed to promote the growth and development of young, amateur musicians and performers.
Camp attendees will have the opportunity to play in the orchestra, sing in a choral group and also perform with Studdard in concert while learning about the music industry.
A finale concert will be at 6 p.m. June 10 at the James A. Smith Convocation Center…
Hot dog jingle whiz rides in style
Rocky Mount singer/guitarist and his family were given the V.I.P. treatment in Los Angeles.
…The commercial promoting this year’s “Sing the Jingle” contest debuted May 24 during the “American Idol” season finale. Former “Idol” contestant and Richmond native Elliott Yamin is the host for the 2007 contest.
The commercial will air on both network and cable television for the next three months. It can be found on the “Sing the Jingle” Web site, along with extra videos and skits featuring Baruch and the other winners. There’s one called “The Hot Dog Hills, ” which finds the kids letting the Hollywood glamour get to their heads as they chat on cell phones by the pool, goof off at an arcade and lounge in the Wienermobile.
Although Baruch’s part in the 15-second commercial is brief, he’s just happy to have been a part of it…
THE CHANGING FACE OF AMERICA
…Although I thought Melinda Doolittle was the strongest singer throughout the competition, Jordin brought it home at the end with mesmerizing vocals. Hailing from Glendale, Ariz. Jordin, seemed so young when the season started, yet she clearly grew and matured as the show progressed.
Also, I couldnt help but root for the daughter of a black man and a white woman who made it to the top without an obvious hint of racial controversy.
Decades ago, certain whites would have strung a black man up a tree and killed his racially mixed baby for mating with a white woman…
Notes: Cordero on a record pace
… Comedian Bill Engvall attended Saturday’s game against the Marlins and sat in the home dugout before the game, chatting with Yost and radio broadcaster Bob Uecker. … Elliot Yamin, the 2006 American Idol third-place finisher, sang the national anthem…
PBS’s ‘Great Performances’ has the love for ‘Ella’
…When Cole is asked what young singers could learn from Fitzgerald – whom Cole knew as a child as Auntie Ella when Fitzgeraldappeared with her father, Nat King Cole, on his TV show – she pauses on her way to take a photograph with Wonder and says, “They need to learn how to stay on pitch. That would probably be number one. Pitch, phrasing, tell the story, sing the song. Give the message, and get your ego out of the way.
Musical education
“It’s all about the music. It gets about you later. Because if they love the music, they’ll love you. They think it’s the other way around. You’ve got to sell the song.”
While there is an “Idol” alumnus on the show, Austin believes many young singers don’t have the musical education to sing the songs that Fitzgerald made famous.
“Nobody’s teaching them how to do it, ” she says. “It’s a whole other form. It’s not something you can just jump up and do, especially if you’re a pop singer. It’s another mentality to consider…
Second Cup Cafà ©: Mandisa
“American Idol” Finalist Debuts Her First Album, “True Beauty”
“American Idol” fans remember the powerful vocals of finalist Mandisa, who appeared on the show in 2006. Now the rest of the world will get a chance to hear her with the release of her debut album, “True Beauty.”
Mandisa visits Second Cup Cafà © to sing songs from the new album…
Celebrities brighten Strand
Fans brave storms at Sun Fun event
The sun wasn’t shining on the Sun Fun Festival on Saturday, but the stars sure were.
Celebrities – American Idol’s Justin Guarini, NFL Hall of Famer “Mean” Joe Greene, soap opera stars and others – drew hundreds of fans to the festival at Myrtle Beach’s Plyler Park, despite a pesky drizzle that occasionally erupted into a downpour…
‘Idol’ insider shares stories
For three seasons, Louisville native Art Conn has held a prized spot inside the whirling, white-hot supernova known as “American Idol.”
On a weekly basis this spring, wardrobe stylist Conn would take Jordin, LaKisha, Sanjaya and other “Idol” finalists shopping for their stage attire…
Big mouth strikes again
Dont look now, but TV Mr Nasty is about to muscle in on our Saturday evenings all over again. Who knew being rude could reap such rewards?
…Walking up the stone steps to his large Holland Park house, therefore, is slightly intimidating. There a chauffeur outside and a security camera that lights up when you press the bell at the gate. The James Bond part of me is hoping for the front door to open onto a sprawling laboratory of popular culture, with vast super-mega-computers calculating the perfect cheekbones for a male singer, and a secret room of songwriting elves bashing away at fairy pianos, writing hits for The X Factor. When Cowell comes to the door, however, he all bounce and smiles. He wearing jeans and a dark, crew-neck jumper, his hair tousled. He carries a small, unmarked brown bottle in the same hand as his cigarettes and lighter, and dumps them before perching on a vast modern armchair in an immaculate, tasteful room decorated in muted autumn colours, a bit like a hotel. (He lived in one once, until he got bored with the room-service menu.) He ‘ or, rather, his housekeeper ‘ makes me tea, biscuits and hot cross buns, and he chats away, hesitant and cheerful rather than dry and snappy. I make some obvious goofs that television Mr Nasty would have leapt on, but he warm and friendly, and constantly calls me …Stephen. ….
I WON’T BE A SPOIL SPORTY
…”But if the other girls do decide it is the way forward I don’t want to miss it so we’ll have to see.” She and the other girls – EMMA BUNTON, GERI HALLIWELL, VICTORIA BECKHAM and MELANIE BROWN – have been offered £1million each for a one-off Christmas concert.
Ex-manager SIMON FULLER is co-ordinating everything. It is only Mel C who is holding things up…
Elvis Everywhere!
…With the gate to the main concert area on Front Street not opening until 5 p.m., people were lining up in the rain as early as 3:30 p.m. to assure themselves good seats.
Minnie Williams was there to see 2006 American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and didnt care how long she had to wait.
…He was my favorite Idol winner, said Williams. …This will be my first time seeing him in person. If I have to sit in a little rain to get a good view of him than so be it….
