Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Bucky Covington
With Bucky Covington arrival in Nashville, sightings of …American Idol veterans along Music Row have become almost routine.
Thankfully, Covington Country credentials are as real as they come and his singing is anything but routine. Growing up with his identical twin brother Rocky in Laurinburg, N.C., Covington was still a kid when he started listening to and imitating Tim McGraw, George Strait and Travis Tritt on the family karaoke machine.
At 19, he heard guitarist Jeff Healey …Angel Eyes, and his fate was sealed.
…The minute I heard it, I pictured myself on the stage playing guitar and singing, Covington said. …It was the best, warmest feeling Ive ever had. So I bought an electric guitar………
Sweet sounds: Randy Goodman assesses Lyric Street success
…Lyric Street has clearly done that over its inception, with a track record that includes 10 No. 1 singles and sales in excess of 19 million units.
The current roster includes powerhouse Rascal Flatts, Aaron Tippin, SHeDaisy, Josh Gracin, Bucky Covington, Trent Tomlinson, Marcel and Sarah Buxton.
While Flatts exceptional sales feats over the past couple of years have been well chronicled, American Idol Season 5 finalist Bucky Covington is now burning up the charts with both his self-titled debut disc and the single …A Different World. The full-length project is 2007 biggest unit debut from a new country artist as well as the best first week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country performer since Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.
Covington was featured last week on Good Morning America during its coverage of the 2007 CMA Music Festival. But Goodman adds Lyric Street wasnt the typical independent operation from the beginning…
‘American Idol’ hair sensation Sanjaya knows how to laugh at himself
So what did Sanjaya Malakar think of all those Sanjaya jokes that came out of his run on the recently completed sixth installment of Fox’s “American Idol”?
“If they were funny, I laughed at them, ” the finalist says. “I can appreciate a good joke, whether it’s about me or not.”…
Utopia, Spring Awakening dominate Tony Awards
…Fantasia performed a number from The Color Purple as a tie-in to the Alliance, where the musical had its premiere before moving to Broadway last season. The American Idol winner joined the show this spring, and the resulting box-office rebound is credited with keeping the show open…
Ryan blames Simon for ‹Idol ratings drop
Plus: Katharine McPhee fans are angry about how a radio DJ treated her
…The angry calls and e-mails kept coming, and Kane shot back a lengthy response. …Im getting increasingly frustrated by e-mails from McPhee fans that dont know the whole story and are writing me angry e-mails, Kane wrote to them, scolding, …It makes Kat look bad when ever other word in your e-mail about how you thought we didnt handle the interview professionally starts with an f—.
He went on to describe in detail a scenario in which he said McPhee was pitched to the radio show on the condition that she appear live, that the appearance be pre-promoted, and that there would be no personal questions. He also challenged the excuses he was given for her failing to appear live ‘ pointing out, for example, that the flights from L.A. to Washington werent delayed that morning…
You are there at the four-day CMA Music Festival
…Good sign for Covington
American Idol finalist Bucky Covington almost surely had sore muscles in his right hand after his first CMA fest.
“There’s a bunch of really strong country music fans here, ” Covington said during a brief break Friday from his fourth two-hour signing session in two days. “You get to meet them from all different walks of life.”
Covington also worked in two performances, including an acoustic set that opened Friday night’s shows at LP Field. Immediately after, he hopped onto his tour bus and headed out for Philadelphia, where he had a show Saturday. “I get there in time to walk on stage.”
What She Wants: Retro, Soul and Hip-Hop (Just a Little Bit)
…Ms. Stone is a soul fan in the era of R&B and …American Idol, when disjointed vocal flourishes sometimes stand in for musical storytelling. She still had Mariah Carey moments when her voice dissolved into a whispery haze and hand-waving took over for singing. But for most of her set she connected with the songs: melting some notes and sharpening others, singing tartly or sweetly, sinuously dodging the beat or riding it with quick bursts of syllables. Instead of mimicking isolated phrases, as she did a few years ago, she is turning songs into narrative arcs…
New journal for parents puts focus on Pioneer Valley
…Elsewhere in the 23-page issue, a Longmeadow mom describes accompanying her son to an “American Idol” audition in Boston. At 6 a.m., writes Linda Gentile, “thousands of people around us were practicing their vocal skills or, in some cases, mauling the classics.”
Gentile tells how the whole crowd was instructed to sing “Singin’ in the Rain” about 20 times as the cameras swept over the “spontaneous” choral outburst, how 14 tables were set up in a football field to process the kids – and how proud, in the end, she was of her son…
Small town girl Pickler poised for stardom
With all the sticky sweet gloss now coating commercial country, it easy to forget the earnestness that once defined the genre.
But at a nearly full Tweeter Center last night, Brad Paisley Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour confirmed that not only is quality country being made, its performers are charismatic and charming.
With Taylor Swift apparently ill, …American Idol Season 5 top-six contestant Kellie Pickler opened in a sexy red top and skin-tight jeans…
RETURN OF THE SPICE GIRLS???
…Sources tell PEOPLE that the super girl band’s creator, Simon Fuller (now of American Idol fame) returned to London from Los Angeles early last week and is expected to put out a press release in the near future.
We celebrate LaKisha for all she gave us
I’ve heard some people grumble that the city of Flint shouldn’t have given “American Idol” star LaKisha Jones a homecoming celebration Saturday.
After all, they argue, she plans to move to Houston once her “Idol” commitments are over in November. She even said at the Atwood Stadium event that she’d use $6, 000 from first couple Don and Patsy Lou Williamson toward a down payment on a house in the Texas city.
Why celebrate a woman who has no intention of living among us?…
Paisley mixes old, new into his country
…The night’s biggest revelation was “American Idol” runner-up Kellie Pickler. The former drive-in waitress and Simon Cowell’s favorite “naughty little minx” has clearly left her roller skates and the Fox talent show behind. The 19-year-old’s performance was sassy and soulful, and though she’s still finding her legs onstage, the audience found theirs, giving her a standing ovation for her vulnerable motherless child piano ballad “I Wonder.”
Campus Hosts Athletes at the Northern California Special Olympics Summer Games
…Athletes were treated to entertainment with three songs from former American Idol contestant Katherine McPhee and a performance by artist David Garibaldi, who painted portraits of popular culture icons while accompanied by music.
Between songs, McPhee congratulated the athletes on their accomplishments.
…I hope that you guys feel at home here at the Special Olympics, McPhee said…
Local Filipinos celebrate nation’s independence from Spain
…”It’s bringing out all the Filipinos together, ” Callo said. She also got to see Filipino celebrities such as Camile Velasco, who was among the top 12 competitors in the third season of TV’s hit show “American Idol.”…
Chris Daughtry Is Powerful Showman
…Chris Daughtry Riverbend debut impressed me in the simple fact that he seemed to exude the confidence that most of the biggest musical artists Ive ever seen have had to do. It important to remember that Daughtry is not just a guitar player and a singer ‘ he an entertainer! As far as Im concerned he did a heck of a job entertaining the many thousands that showed up to hear his music, and watch his show. His band possessed power and showmanship, Daughtry songs were of a level that I found fairly impressive, to say the least. Ill admit that I really liked his song, …Over You. Frankly, my friends, it a darn good song. That said, I suggest that everybody that enjoys Rock & Roll check this man out ‘ I believe you may just thank me…
