Today Idol headlines after the jump ¦
‘Idol’ Jordin Sparks excited about 4th, concert tour
It’s America’s birthday, but this year, it’s also another milestone for the newest “American Idol.”
Jordin Sparks makes one of her first major appearances since winning the Fox talent competition on NBC’s “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, ” the annual holiday special televised tonight at 9 on Ch. 4.
“I’m so excited to do this program, ” Sparks says in an appropriately excited tone……
PBS, NBC put together night filled with live music and fireworks
…NBC packs the most vocal power, with Martina McBride as its headliner, plus, tentatively, Joss Stone. It also plans one song that links this year’s top three “American Idol” finalists ‘ Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle…
Idol alumnus Daughtry delivers short show
Chris Daughtry needs to come up with more material.
On Tuesday night, the former “American Idol” contestant left 17, 500 fans–a sold out show–at Muskegon Summer Celebration clamoring for more, and not in a good way. After only 55 minutes onstage– with one noticeable lull in the middle — Daughtry and his band left for several minutes, only to come back and give the frenzied crowd a single encore number (the hardest song in his repertoire, “There and Back.”……..
Harmonicas are part of documentary of note
If you make a documentary about harmonicas, you need a harmonica theme song.
Houston filmmakers Todd Slobin and Marc Lempert have interviewed and recorded harmonica greats and celebrity enthusiasts for Pocket Full of Soul: The Harmonica Documentary, including Clint Black, John Popper from Blues Traveler, comedian Robert Klein, Huey Lewis, Taylor Hicks of American Idol, James Cotton and Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
They hope to finish the film by the end of summer but are still looking for their own harmonica-powered song, with the words Pocket Full of Soul in the lyrics, to put in the movie….
Celeb-a-razzi:
…McPhee bares skin, soul
American Idol Katharine McPhee bares some skin and her soul as the cover girl on the August edition of Stuff. McPhee, 23, reveals her views on dating older men (her man is 42), dealing with enormous boobs as a high school freshman and not being as innocent as people think. By the way, McPhee wants kids, lots of kids. “Oh yeah. I want to have, like, 15 babies, ” she says…
Byron Zanos …Secrets and Lies An American Idol Finalist
Byron Zanos and co-writer Drew Yowell song …Secrets and Lies was selected out of 25, 000 entries as a Top 20 finalist in the first-ever American Idol Songwriting Competition.
Byron Zanos and co-writer Drew Yowell song …Secrets and Lies was selected out of 25, 000 entries as a Top 20 finalist in the first-ever American Idol Songwriting Competition. Finalists in the contest were chosen by American Idol Executive Producer Simon Fuller and 19 Entertainment.
…When the call came in from Jesse Albert [of 19 Entertainment], I almost hung up on him thinking it was a phone scam, Zanos recalls. …What an honor to have our song selected from so many entries!
Although American Idol has launched Zanos into the national spotlight, he is no stranger to accolades. He has received songwriting honors from the 2006 We Are Listening Awards (Berklee College of Music), the 22nd Annual Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest, and the Billboard World Song Contest……..
AirTran Airways Celebrates Low Fares During Independence Day Events in Atlanta
…AirTran Airways will also sponsor the spectacular fireworks and special effects show at Centennial Olympic Park, complete with live entertainment and a Fountain of Olympic Rings water show. American Idol champion and R&B sensation Ruben Studdard headlines the musical acts, which also include local band Stokeswood, as well as the United States Air Force band, Max Impact…
Katie Holmes, Rosie O’Donnell among list of most influential celebs
..The top three entertainers — the “people who decide what we watch and listen to, ” according to OK! — were “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell, Carrie Underwood and model-TV host Heidi Klum…
PIGEON FORGE – The Pigeon Forge Patriot Festival kicked off Sunday with an inaugural gospel event.
…Wednesday’s entertainment will start at midday, with a Kids Karnival at 1 p.m. in Patriot Park. The StarJam musical production will begin at 5 p.m., featuring Bowling for Soup, QuietDrive, Tiffany Affair and former American Idol contestant Kimberly Locke…
Brad Paisley: Cruising in fifth gear
…The first half of the night was equally divided between Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler and Jack Ingram. Starting precisely on time, Ingram opened the show with a short set of rousing roadhouse country rock done Texas style, hickory smoked and full of barbecue brashness. Pickler followed, and the 2006 “American Idol” semi-finalist (a favorite of Simon Cowell) won over the audience with bubbly enthusiasm – after all, she had just turned 21 a few days before. Along with her hits (“Red High Heels” and the tear-jerking “I Wonder”), Pickler also did a faithful version of “Nine to Five” in honor of her own idol, Dolly Parton…
Stars Remember the Troops
…”American Idol” JORDIN SPARKS: “Thank you so much for everything you do. I am so appreciative, and the world is a safer place for people. So, thank you so much.”…
Independent artists fear the demise of Internet radio
…Because we aren’t regularly appearing on MTV, and American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest probably doesn’t know our names, Internet radio is one of our few real opportunities for exposure to large audiences. With more than 7 million Internet radio listeners every day – most of whom are tired of the redundancy they find on broadcast radio – the opportunities abound for the artists who before had very few. What’s more, over each of the last few years, Internet radio’s audience has grown steadily…
American Idol Singer Elliott Yamin: Home is Where the Heart Is
“American Idol” singer Elliott Yamin, who’s on the lineup of performers for tonight’s “A Capitol Fourth” concert special on PBS, admits that with his long list of current touring and recording activities, “I haven’t had much time to spend with friends and family for a long time. My brother was with me the first week of my solo tour, and we had some quality time, so that was nice…
‘Aiken’ for stardom: SCT’s ‘Idol: The Musical’ to open off-Broadway
The Syracuse Civic Theatre is not exactly a company waiting around for New York to discover it.
It hit the city Sunday, hoping for a breakout hit with “Idol: The Musical, ” a parody of the long-running reality show, “American Idol.”
And with the fan base of “Idol” alum, pop singer Clay Aiken, who was voted TV Guide’s Favorite Reality Star of 2003 among his many accolades, that may happen.
Visions of fans making pilgrimages to the 99-seat 45th Street Theatre, on the first floor of a walk-up in restaurant-filled Hell’s Kitchen along a tree-lined stretch of 45th Street between 8th and 9th avenues, may not be unrealistic.
Not at all…….
Walt Disney Records’ and Hollywood Records’ Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus Debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart
‘ Trifecta as #1 Selling Album in the U.S., #1 on the Billboard Soundtrack and #1 on Children’s Charts; Ships Platinum ‘
‘ Miley Cyrus is Youngest Ever Recording Artist with Two #1 Albums in Less Than a Year ‘
….”Hannah Montana” is seen on Disney Channels all over the world and on DisneyChannel.com via streaming broadband video. It is also available at the iTunes Music Store. In 2006 and 2007-to-date, it is the #1 series on basic cable television with kids age 6-14. In 2006, across all television, it was second only to “American Idol” in those key youth demographics. The series is also seen Saturday mornings on the ABC Television Network …ABC Kids programming block…
It a small world after all
From faulty American Idol connections to promising coffeehouse vibes, there a lot to read between the lines in this week concert calendar
It well known by now that American Idol runner-up Blake Lewis has the mad crazy beats-in-a-box and can give Maroon 5 Adam Levine a run for his money when it comes to producing androgynously high-pitched vocals. But who knew he could also be boring as hell? The Bothell native yawn-inducing rendition of …This Is My Now during the former hit show season finale merely hinted at the trance-like zen he channels on KJ Sawka Cyclonic Steel, which sees its release at Neumos this Friday. The electronica album features Lewis (a.k.a. B Shorty) on three tracks that sound something like Depeche Mode covering the Benedictine Monks’ Gregorian chant. For better or worse, Lewis is not scheduled to perform at this event…
